Taffy Sinclair 007 - Taffy Sinclair and the Secret Admirer Epidemic Read Online Free Page B

the cute scale, Keith was first, Richie was second, Eric was third, and Matt, fourth. Now, I wondered, where do I go from here ?

CHAPTER FIVE
    W hen the bell rang and I slid into my seat a few minutes later, I thought about Mom. She was probably sitting at her desk at the Bridgeport Post doing her boring job, and here I was at my desk at Mark Twain Elementary trying to figure out which boy in my class was my secret admirer. I couldn ' t help feeling sorry for her, and I promised myself that I would think of something to make her life as exciting as mine.
    While Wiggins took roll and made the morning announcements, I checked my sweater pocket to make sure my secret admirer note was still there. Then I took the chart with the names of the eleven sixth-grade boys out of my notebook and slid it under my math book, where I could get to it in a hurry as soon as boys started looking at me. I glanced around quickly to see if any were yet, but they weren ' t.
    Randy was drawing something on a sheet of paper, and when I looked at him, I had a hard time looking away. He was so kind and sensitive, so sincere, the most wonderful boy in the world. What had I done? Why had he changed his mind about me? Surely if he still liked me, he would be taking me to the movie on Saturday.
    Just then I had the feeling that someone was looking at me. I sucked in my breath, but I didn ' t dare move. It might be my secret admirer. Sitting perfectly rigid, I walked two fingers over to the chart sticking out from under my math book and gradually drew it out until all the names were showing. Then, with my other hand, I rolled my pencil down my desk into my lap and grabbed hold of it. Finally, I moved my head very slowly to first the right and then the left until I spotted him. Keith Masterson! My heart did a flip-flop. He was the cutest boy in the class—next to Randy Kirwan, of course—and he was looking straight at me.
    I didn ' t know if I should smile or what I should do, but before I could make up my mind, Keith looked away. Oh, well, I thought. He ' ll probably look at me again if he ' s my secret admirer. Then I found the line beside Keith ' s name on the chart and made an X in the box for first period.
    I felt a tap on my shoulder. " Jana, I need to borrow a pencil, " Clarence Marshall whispered, so loudly that I ' m sure Wiggins heard it all the way up at her desk.
    I turned around and glared at him. I didn ' t want to get into trouble, so I made the words with my lips but didn ' t make a sound. " I didn ' t bring any extras. "
    Of course, Clarence couldn ' t read lips. " What? " he whispered even louder.
    In desperation I handed him my pencil. I could write with my ballpoint pen. Then a terrible thought occurred to me. Should I make an X by Clarence ' s name? He had not only looked at me, he had gotten my attention. Isn ' t that what you do when you like someone? Rats! I thought. Looking around, I could see that my four best friends were all concentrating on their math problems. Probably none of them had noticed Clarence bugging me. I smiled slyly to myself. No one would ever have to know.
    Just then I caught another pair of eyes looking in my direction. Scott Daly. Yipes, I thought. He was staring straight at me and he didn ' t look away when I stared back. I knew I had to make an X by his name, but what would Melanie say? She was already mad about Scott ' s name being on the list. Well, I thought indignantly, she would just have to understand. We were doing this in a very scientific manner, and naturally my secret admirer wouldn ' t be the only person in the entire universe who ever looked at me.
    I kept my head down and peeked at Randy again. He was still drawing. It seemed as if everyone were looking at me except him. I glanced at the clock above the blackboard. It had only been ten minutes since the bell, and I had already been looked at by two boys, three if you counted Clarence Marshall. I couldn ' t help feeling pleased. I had never