looked out at the sea of smiling faces through tear-filled eyes.
Marvin Trowbridge, the auctioneer, held up the first item. "I
have here an autographed football from the Denver Broncos football team."
Then he began in his singsong voice, "Whatareyougonnabid? Whatareyougonnabid?
Letmehearatwentydollar. Letmehearatwenty . . ."
Bidding cards flashed in the air as people held up their
hands to bid, and Beth couldn't resist applauding when Mr. Bell won the
football with a bid of one hundred dollars. Alexis Duvall and her parents
outbid Laura McCall and her father for the Brain Damage ticket coupons, and
Melanie almost exploded with excitement when she was able to buy the life-size
poster of Jason Rider. Even Alicia managed to borrow enough money from her
parents to get the autographed picture of Alf that Igor had written for.
One by one, all the items were sold. The concession stand
did a booming business, and as the bidding finished and the audience began
heading for home, Marge Whitworth left her camera crew, who had been filming
much of the auction, and strode purposefully up to Beth.
"Congratulations, young lady," she said, taking Beth's
hand and shaking it firmly. "You and your friends have done a fine thing.
It looks as if you've made more than enough money to pay for the repairs to the
school. Would you come to the television station after school tomorrow
afternoon? I'd like to interview you on the evening news."
"Wow! I mean, sure. I mean . . . thank you, Ms.
Whitworth," Beth stammered. "I'd love to."
The gym was almost empty now, and Beth turned for one last
look around before heading to the van where the rest of her family would be
waiting. She stopped when she saw Keith standing to one side. She had seen him
in the audience earlier, but now he seemed to be hanging around and looking at
her as if he wanted to talk.
Sighing, she went toward him. "Did you buy anything?"
she asked, not knowing what else to say.
Keith nodded. "I got the Bon Jovi tape," he said,
holding it out for her to see. "But I don't like them nearly as well as
Brain Damage." He paused and looked down at the floor. "I was
wondering if I could come over tomorrow night and bring my Brain Damage tape. I'd
really like for you to hear it."
Beth was flooded with all the same anger and frustration she
had been feeling for the past few weeks. "I don't know, Keith," she
began, shaking her head. "Things go super between us when there are just
the two of us, but I can't stand the way you act when your friends are around.
Like squirting green slime in my hair. That was gross!"
"I know," confessed Keith. He scuffed the floor
with the toe of his sneaker and looked at her sheepishly. "And I really am
sorry. I don't mean to act like that, but when I'm around them, I just do it. I
don't know why."
"And I even heard that you were telling them you broke
up with me ."
"They were teasing me. You heard Richie and Derek
pretending they were us smooching, didn't you?" said Keith.
Beth gave an exasperated sigh. So what? she almost shouted.
But something stopped her: the words from Trevor Morgan's letter. It's just
that not everyone takes the time to understand the other person. We need to
look below the surface sometimes and find out what really is going on inside of
others.
She looked at Keith. She had never seen him look so sad. She
had also never given a lot of thought to how hard it must be to take all that
teasing. After all, they were his friends, and sometimes friends influenced you
a lot. Thank goodness her friends were The Fabulous Five, she thought. They
were so mature and caring. Maybe Trevor was right and she should try to
understand what Keith was going through. I really ought to give him another
chance, she decided. He's definitely worth it. And maybe now that I understand
his problem, I can influence him at least as much as his other friends do.
"But you'll never guess what they're saying now,"
he added before she had a chance to speak. "Now that the
Marvin Trowbridge, the auctioneer, held up the first item. "I
have here an autographed football from the Denver Broncos football team."
Then he began in his singsong voice, "Whatareyougonnabid? Whatareyougonnabid?
Letmehearatwentydollar. Letmehearatwenty . . ."
Bidding cards flashed in the air as people held up their
hands to bid, and Beth couldn't resist applauding when Mr. Bell won the
football with a bid of one hundred dollars. Alexis Duvall and her parents
outbid Laura McCall and her father for the Brain Damage ticket coupons, and
Melanie almost exploded with excitement when she was able to buy the life-size
poster of Jason Rider. Even Alicia managed to borrow enough money from her
parents to get the autographed picture of Alf that Igor had written for.
One by one, all the items were sold. The concession stand
did a booming business, and as the bidding finished and the audience began
heading for home, Marge Whitworth left her camera crew, who had been filming
much of the auction, and strode purposefully up to Beth.
"Congratulations, young lady," she said, taking Beth's
hand and shaking it firmly. "You and your friends have done a fine thing.
It looks as if you've made more than enough money to pay for the repairs to the
school. Would you come to the television station after school tomorrow
afternoon? I'd like to interview you on the evening news."
"Wow! I mean, sure. I mean . . . thank you, Ms.
Whitworth," Beth stammered. "I'd love to."
The gym was almost empty now, and Beth turned for one last
look around before heading to the van where the rest of her family would be
waiting. She stopped when she saw Keith standing to one side. She had seen him
in the audience earlier, but now he seemed to be hanging around and looking at
her as if he wanted to talk.
Sighing, she went toward him. "Did you buy anything?"
she asked, not knowing what else to say.
Keith nodded. "I got the Bon Jovi tape," he said,
holding it out for her to see. "But I don't like them nearly as well as
Brain Damage." He paused and looked down at the floor. "I was
wondering if I could come over tomorrow night and bring my Brain Damage tape. I'd
really like for you to hear it."
Beth was flooded with all the same anger and frustration she
had been feeling for the past few weeks. "I don't know, Keith," she
began, shaking her head. "Things go super between us when there are just
the two of us, but I can't stand the way you act when your friends are around.
Like squirting green slime in my hair. That was gross!"
"I know," confessed Keith. He scuffed the floor
with the toe of his sneaker and looked at her sheepishly. "And I really am
sorry. I don't mean to act like that, but when I'm around them, I just do it. I
don't know why."
"And I even heard that you were telling them you broke
up with me ."
"They were teasing me. You heard Richie and Derek
pretending they were us smooching, didn't you?" said Keith.
Beth gave an exasperated sigh. So what? she almost shouted.
But something stopped her: the words from Trevor Morgan's letter. It's just
that not everyone takes the time to understand the other person. We need to
look below the surface sometimes and find out what really is going on inside of
others.
She looked at Keith. She had never seen him look so sad. She
had also never given a lot of thought to how hard it must be to take all that
teasing. After all, they were his friends, and sometimes friends influenced you
a lot. Thank goodness her friends were The Fabulous Five, she thought. They
were so mature and caring. Maybe Trevor was right and she should try to
understand what Keith was going through. I really ought to give him another
chance, she decided. He's definitely worth it. And maybe now that I understand
his problem, I can influence him at least as much as his other friends do.
"But you'll never guess what they're saying now,"
he added before she had a chance to speak. "Now that the
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