The Banana Split Affair by Cynthia Blair Page B

notice the difficulty she was having with his simple questions.
    “I adore Renoir!” she cried. “That’s my very favorite painter!” Chris was glad she was fast-thinking enough to use the word “that,” since she had no idea of whether this artist named Renoir was male or female.
    “He’s really terrific.” Keith nodded. “I could look at his paintings forever.”
    “He’s the greatest,” Chris agreed, relieved that she had at least discovered that Renoir was a man.
    After another brief hesitation, Chris said, “Well, I guess I should get back to my desk. The period’s almost half-over, and I haven’t even started yet.”
    “You know, I’m glad we had this chance to talk,” Keith said, smiling shyly. “I’ve seen you in this art class every day for the last two months, but you’ve always seemed so absorbed in what you were doing that I never had the nerve to speak to you before. But now I see that not only are you a wonderful artist; you also know a lot about art!”
    Again Chris was pleased at his compliment. The fact that she had barely gotten by in her conversation with Keith about painters didn’t matter. “Well, good-bye, I guess.” She was surprised to discover that she was reluctant to pull herself away.
    She went back to her desk, ready to tackle her paints. But as she became absorbed in squeezing blobs out onto a palette, she felt something nagging at her. A peculiar sense of confusion.
    It was obvious to her that contrary to her twin’s belief, Keith had been noticing her for some time. And not in any casual way, either. Keith West, as shy and quiet as he was, definitely had his eye on Susan Pratt.
    It had been her mission to discover that and to encourage any interest he might have in Susan. But now that that had been accomplished, there was something else bothering her. What was it? she wondered, trying to ignore her feelings and concentrate on art class. There’s something odd going on here, and I won’t be able to think straight until I figure it out.
    All of a sudden Chris dropped her brush. It fell across her blank sheet of paper, leaving a bright red streak across the white surface.
    Oh, no! she thought, suddenly understanding what was going on. I know what the problem is. I’m falling in love with Keith West!
     
Chapter Seven
     
    “We made it!”
    Susan and Chris stood at their lockers, grinning from ear to eat
    “I know!” agreed Susan. “I never thought we’d be able to pull it off. But we did! For a whole day we managed to convince everyone at school that I was Chris and you were Susan!”
    “It wasn’t easy, though. There were a couple of times there when I thought I was going to give the whole thing away. Like when your art teacher, Mr. Smith, stopped me on my way out of his class and asked me how I was enjoying the book he’d lent me.” Chris rolled her eyes and shook her head.
    “What did you say?”
    “Oh, I raved about it. I went on and on about how much I was getting out of it. I said I’d started reading it Saturday night and I just couldn’t put it down. Hey, Sooz, what book was he talking about, anyway?”
    Her twin started to giggle. “Basic Color Theory. Hardly the kind of thing you’d curl up with in front of a fireplace on a Saturday night!”
    “Oh, no! Now Mr.Smith must think I’m really weird!”
    “You mean he thinks that I’m really weird!” Susan laughed. “Well, I have to admit that I also had a couple of instances when things were touch and go. Would you please tell me who Carla is?”
    “Carla Truscott, of course. She was the captain of the varsity cheerleading team last year. Why?”
    “Some girl passed me a note in English class about her. And I didn’t know who she was talking about.”
    “Really? What did the note say?”
    “I don’t remember. Something about some guy who had finally asked her out.”
    “You’re kidding! You mean Jim finally got up the nerve? I don’t believe it! I never thought I’d see it happen.