Fabulous Five 006 - The Parent Game by Betsy Haynes

this
cola. Wasn't that nice?"
    Jana thought that Taffy was making an awful big deal about
his buying her a soda. But that's Taffy, she thought.
    "Isn't the Family Living project a ball?" Taffy
asked. "Randy is taking care of our baby right now. He's supposed to be
here pretty soon to give it to me."
    Jana gritted her teeth to keep from saving anything. She
hated to hear Taffy's talking about Randy as if they were married.
    Taffy seemed to wait a moment for someone else to speak, and
when they didn't, she went on.
    "I hear Shane's your partner, Jana, and I saw you at
school with a dinosaur. What a big baby. It looked as if you could barely carry
it and your books, too."
    "It's big, all right," muttered Jana. What was
Taffy getting at, anyway? she wondered.
    "Oh, Jana. I hate to ask you this, but I just
remembered. I have an appointment with my studio this evening, and I wonder if
you could sit for me. It will only be for a couple of hours."
    "Gee, Taffy, I don't know. I'm going to have Rex and my
bunny, and I've got a lot of homework."
    "Oh," said Taffy, looking hurt. "I thought
that since I was doing you a favor by keeping Laura away from Randy and
you were going to be home anyway, you wouldn't mind. I even thought you said .
. ." She didn't finish the sentence, but it was clear she thought Jana
owed her for what she had done.
    Jana flushed. "Shane is supposed to bring Rex and my
bunny by, too. I don't think I can get all three of them and my books home."
    "Oh, that's all right," Taffy said brightly. "I'll
drop Monique off after supper and pick her up after my appointment. Mother won't
mind stopping by your apartment. Thanks, Jana," she said before Jana could
protest. "You're a true friend. See you all later, Fabulous Five."
Jana was about to protest further, but with a swish of her skirt Taffy spun on
her heel and was gone, leaving Jana with her mouth open.
    "Wow, did you get sucked into that," said Beth.
    "No, I didn't," Jana protested weakly. "I did
say I'd do it the other day, and since I'm not going anywhere anyway, it won't
make any difference."
    "Well, don't you think it's funny that the favor your
biggest enemy is doing for you means she gets to spend time with your boyfriend?"
Christie asked suspiciously.
    Jana felt helpless to answer. Taffy had said she wouldn't be
Randy's partner if Jana didn't want her to, and hadn't Chad just bought Taffy a
soda? And Randy said Taffy talked about being Jana's friend. Wasn't all that
proof that Taffy wasn't trying to pull something? It wasn't that she was taking
Taffy at her word. Or did she just want it to be that way so badly that she was
blinded to what was really going on?
    After dinner, Jana sat in her room looking at the animals
that surrounded her at her desk. Randy had arrived at Bumpers with Shane and
had carried Rex home for her. There had been a brief moment of euphoria when
Randy had leaned forward, and this time, instead of her forehead, he had kissed
her on the lips. The world had turned to sunshine and roses for her at that
very moment. Later Taffy had come by in her mother's car and dropped off the
bear.
    "Hi, Jana."
    Jana hadn't heard her mother come in. "Hi, Mom."
    "My goodness, you've got even more animals. Who does
the bear belong to?"
    "That's Monique. It's Taffy's. I'm babysitting it for
her while she keeps an appointment."
    Her mother looked at her curiously. She's probably wondering
why I'm doing it, too, thought Jana. Her mother knew that she and Taffy had
been enemies all through Mark Twain Elementary.
    After she finished her homework, Jana went into the kitchen
to make up another batch of formula. All it was was water and cream of wheat,
but it looked like real formula, and besides, she was getting rid of a lot of
yucky cream of wheat.
    Her mother sat at the table. She had papers and receipts
pertaining to the wedding spread out in front of her, and she was looking over
the guest list. Jana walked to the table and looked over her shoulder. Her
father's