Fabulous Five 008 - The Runaway Crisis Read Online Free

rounded the corner and saw
Tony leaning against her locker again. He was watching her approach with the
same confident smile he had had the day before. But try as she might to stay
cool, she felt a warm glow as a smile spread over her own face.
    "Hi, there, Your Honor. Are we still on for today?"
    "Sure. I just have to get my jacket out of my locker,"
Katie said, but the instant the words were out, she started to worry. Had her
voice been two octaves higher than normal? Had she sounded uptight instead of
casual?
    She put the books from her afternoon classes into her
locker, keeping out only her notebook, and slipped on her jacket.
    Tony was grinning slyly as they started off down the hall. "Since
you only have your notebook and I have two big , heavy books ,
maybe today you should help me out," he reasoned. Then, before she could
answer, he flipped his history book toward her.
    Laughing, she reached out with her left hand and caught it.
    "Not a bad catch for a judge," he teased.
    As they left the school ground, Katie hugged her notebook
and Tony's history book to her chest and began to panic. She had to talk to him
about organizing a march for the hungry, and she had to do it today before one
of her friends got the chance to say something to him about it. One of them
might, too, especially Christie or Jana. They might stop him in the hall and
tell him how much they liked his idea. Her face turned red just thinking about
how confused he would be. He might even say something smart, such as, "Yeah,
let's march on down to the cafeteria and see what's on for today."
    Bumpers was packed, as usual, and Tony steered her through
the crowd as they looked for somewhere to sit. Katie waved to the rest of The
Fabulous Five in a booth near the front, and Tony gave high fives to Mark
Peters and Bill Soliday as they passed their table. Luckily they had just
stopped beside an orange bumper car when two eighth-graders vacated it, and
they jumped in before someone else could get it.
    Katie fidgeted nervously and took long drinks of the soda
Tony brought back from the order counter.
    "Are you always this quiet when you're alone with a guy?"
Tony asked.
    "No . . . I mean, yes . . . I mean, I was just
wondering something," stammered Katie.
    "Something about me?"
    Katie nodded. "How do you feel about hunger?" she
blurted.
    Tony was looking at her as if she had just asked if he had
ever walked on the moon. She knew her face was blazing. Why couldn't she keep a
cool head and talk like a normal person when she was around him?
    "Well, it's a constant struggle," he said with
mock seriousness. "I fight it with at least three meals a day and a bunch
of snacks in between." Then he gave her a puzzled look. "What do you
mean, how do I feel about hunger?"
    "I'm very concerned about it," she said over the
hammering of her heart. "You see, my mother is writing an article about
hunger, and she says that hundreds of people right here in this city go to bed
hungry every night. She also said that nothing new is being done about it, and
I think that's awful. Don't you?"
    "Well . . . sure. I guess so," said Tony. "But
what does that have to do with me?"
    "I just thought that if you were concerned, you might
want to do something about it. That's all."
    The puzzled expression was still on Tony's face. "Like
what?"
    Katie took a deep breath and charged on. She couldn't stop
now. "Oh, something fun . . . such as getting all the kids at Wacko to put
on a march for hunger."
    "Who, me? " Tony asked incredulously.
    "Sure. Why not?" said Katie. "I'd be glad to
help."
    Tony drank his soda in silence for a moment, and Katie could
practically see little wheels turning in his brain as he thought over the idea.
She chewed the end of her straw, not daring to wonder what she would do if he
said no.
    "You'd help, huh?" he asked, and then without
giving her time to answer he went on, "I know what you're doing. You're trying
to make me look good for Teen Court and also for Mr. Bell and