Taffy Sinclair 002 - Taffy Sinclair Strikes Again Read Online Free Page A

lots of ways to say what I meant, but none of them sounded right. "Fat" was definitely out. So were "overweight," " slightly overweight," and "unsexy figure." Those were things that would only hurt her feelings. Finally I settled on, "Doesn't know when to stop eating" and crossed and uncrossed my fingers three times that she'd understand.
    Before I put my Fabulous Five notebook away, I looked at the page where I had started writing down my own faults. Number one, "klutz." Number two, "bossy." I smiled to myself. Then I remembered to add number three, "hopelessly stereotyped." I could probably save my friends the trouble of making lists.
    Just then the doorbell rang. I threw the notebook back into the boot box and shoved it under my bed again. When I opened the door to my room, Mom was letting all four of my friends into the apartment as she left to go grocery shopping. I thought about Mom for a minute. She had faults, the same as anyone else. I wondered what she would think if I mentioned them to her?
    Then I got this great idea. What if everybody in the whole world told everybody else what his or her faults were, and then what if everybody tried to improve? There probably wouldn't be any more crime or even any wars. I could see it all. The world would become a wonderful place, and it would all be because of The Fabulous Five and what we were starting that day. I couldn't understand why no one had thought of it before. Just then my daydream was interrupted by my four friends piling into my room.
    "What's the matter, Jana?" asked Christie. "You have a weird look on your face."
    I was so excited about my great idea that I started to tell her, but then I decided to wait. Everyone would appreciate the possibilities a lot more when they saw how well the whole thing worked.
    "Nothing's the matter," I said. Just then I remembered that I had left my lists I had copied face up on the desk. I scooped them up before anyone saw them and folded each paper three times. Then I sat on my bed. Everyone else was flopping around on the floor trying to get comfortable. Everybody, that is, except Katie who was standing beside my stereo and tapping her foot impatiently.
    "Since we don't have a president to do it, I'm calling this meeting of The Fabulous Five self-improvement club to order," she said.
    Everybody stopped squirming and got quiet. I could tell they were all as anxious to find out what was on those lists as I was.
    "The moment has finally come," Katie went on, "to put our club into action. Today is the day we start to become the most fabulous girls in Mark Twain Elementary."
    Everybody was giggling and nodding except Beth. "Are we going to read our lists out loud?" she asked. There was a funny quiver in her voice, which surprised me, because Beth always seemed so confident. I had thought that when it came time to tell her what her faults were, she would act as if she were getting an Academy Award.
    "Why not?" I said. "We're friends, remember? We're only trying to help each other. Isn't that what The Fabulous Five is all about?"
    Beth nodded and so did everybody else, and a minute later we were scrambling around on our hands and knees handing out our lists. I sat looking down at the pile of folded papers in front of me getting more and more excited. I didn't know which one to open first. It was as if I were looking at a bunch of valentines, one from every cute boy in the sixth grade.
    Suddenly I heard this awful noise. It was Christie. Her eyes were bugged out, and she looked like she had just swallowed a wasp. "What!" she said as a shriek. "Who said I'm a show-off? Who could say such a terrible thing?"
    I gulped hard and grabbed for one of my lists, pretending to be busy with it. That might have been mine she had read. I only meant to help her. How could she have misunderstood? I could hear funny grumbling sounds coming from my other friends. What was happening? I was afraid to look up. Instead, I slowly unfolded the paper in my hand. I