CHAPTER 1
"Gosh, Jana, it seems so weird to think that you
and Randy have really broken up," said Beth Barry as the two girls entered
the front door of the public library on Saturday afternoon.
Jana Morgan paused inside the door and looked solemnly at
her friend. Then she sighed. "It's only been a week, but if you want to
know the truth, it seems weird to me, too. I know it was the best thing to do,
though. And besides, I'm sure it will just be temporary."
"Right," Beth agreed, sounding as if she were
trying to convince herself. "But I still can't understand why you did it."
"I explained all that," Jana replied with a trace
of impatience. "We've gone steady since sixth grade. Neither one of us has
ever dated anyone else. How can we possibly be sure if what we feel for each
other is real or just a habit? Don't you see, Beth—Randy and I need to date
other people for a while."
Beth didn't answer.
Jana led the way to the main room of the library and put her
notebook down beside one of the newly installed computers that had replaced the
old card catalogs. She wished that Beth hadn't brought up Randy Kirwan. She was
trying so hard to keep her mind off their "experiment," as they had
decided to call it. They had even made a date for exactly one month from the
day it started to see if they had changed the way they felt about each other.
Still, as bad as she felt about not seeing Randy for an entire month, it made
sense to her that they should cool their relationship for a while—especially,
she thought with a chill, after the conversation she had had with her mother
not long ago.
She and Randy had been to a Friday night dance in the
Wakeman Junior High gym. Wakeman's own rock band, The Dreadful Alternatives,
had played, and she and Randy had had a great time. After Randy dropped her
off, her mother had fixed them both a cup of hot chocolate, and they had curled
up on the sofa to talk.
Jana had still been feeling dreamy about her evening with
Randy. "Mom, remember the story you used to tell me about how my father was
such a great dancer, and how you danced until after midnight on the night you
met?" she had asked.
Mrs. Pinkerton had sighed. "Yes. How could I ever
forget? Your father was handsome and witty, and he simply swept me off my feet."
She had gazed into the distance before going on. "I've often wished that I
had dated a few other guys before I married him and found out that we were
totally wrong for each other. Of course if I had," her mother had added,
giving her a warm hug, "I would never have had you, and that would have
been awful."
Jana had stared at her mother, thinking about Randy. She and
he were years away from getting married, of course, but they had never dated
anyone else. What if someday, after it was too late, they found out that they were wrong for each other? She knew that after the divorce her mother had had a
tough time and had been awfully lonely before she met Wallace Pinkerton, and
married him several months ago.
Jana couldn't explain all that to Beth any more than she
could to Randy. It was just too private. Her mother had told her in confidence.
The only person she had told was Christie Winchell, one of the members of The
Fabulous Five. She had moved to London, England, and wouldn't tell a soul. But
the story had convinced her that she had to find out for sure if she and Randy
really were meant for each other.
It had taken Jana a long time to convince Randy that they
should break up and date other people. He had argued that he knew how he felt
about her and didn't need to date anyone else to prove it. But she had stuck to
her conviction, and sometimes she couldn't help wondering if she had made a big
mistake.
"What topic did you choose?" Beth whispered from
the computer next to Jana's.
Jana blinked back to the present and opened her notebook to
the list of topics that Mrs. Clark, her Family Living teacher, had given to the
class. They were supposed to pick a topic, research it at the
"Gosh, Jana, it seems so weird to think that you
and Randy have really broken up," said Beth Barry as the two girls entered
the front door of the public library on Saturday afternoon.
Jana Morgan paused inside the door and looked solemnly at
her friend. Then she sighed. "It's only been a week, but if you want to
know the truth, it seems weird to me, too. I know it was the best thing to do,
though. And besides, I'm sure it will just be temporary."
"Right," Beth agreed, sounding as if she were
trying to convince herself. "But I still can't understand why you did it."
"I explained all that," Jana replied with a trace
of impatience. "We've gone steady since sixth grade. Neither one of us has
ever dated anyone else. How can we possibly be sure if what we feel for each
other is real or just a habit? Don't you see, Beth—Randy and I need to date
other people for a while."
Beth didn't answer.
Jana led the way to the main room of the library and put her
notebook down beside one of the newly installed computers that had replaced the
old card catalogs. She wished that Beth hadn't brought up Randy Kirwan. She was
trying so hard to keep her mind off their "experiment," as they had
decided to call it. They had even made a date for exactly one month from the
day it started to see if they had changed the way they felt about each other.
Still, as bad as she felt about not seeing Randy for an entire month, it made
sense to her that they should cool their relationship for a while—especially,
she thought with a chill, after the conversation she had had with her mother
not long ago.
She and Randy had been to a Friday night dance in the
Wakeman Junior High gym. Wakeman's own rock band, The Dreadful Alternatives,
had played, and she and Randy had had a great time. After Randy dropped her
off, her mother had fixed them both a cup of hot chocolate, and they had curled
up on the sofa to talk.
Jana had still been feeling dreamy about her evening with
Randy. "Mom, remember the story you used to tell me about how my father was
such a great dancer, and how you danced until after midnight on the night you
met?" she had asked.
Mrs. Pinkerton had sighed. "Yes. How could I ever
forget? Your father was handsome and witty, and he simply swept me off my feet."
She had gazed into the distance before going on. "I've often wished that I
had dated a few other guys before I married him and found out that we were
totally wrong for each other. Of course if I had," her mother had added,
giving her a warm hug, "I would never have had you, and that would have
been awful."
Jana had stared at her mother, thinking about Randy. She and
he were years away from getting married, of course, but they had never dated
anyone else. What if someday, after it was too late, they found out that they were wrong for each other? She knew that after the divorce her mother had had a
tough time and had been awfully lonely before she met Wallace Pinkerton, and
married him several months ago.
Jana couldn't explain all that to Beth any more than she
could to Randy. It was just too private. Her mother had told her in confidence.
The only person she had told was Christie Winchell, one of the members of The
Fabulous Five. She had moved to London, England, and wouldn't tell a soul. But
the story had convinced her that she had to find out for sure if she and Randy
really were meant for each other.
It had taken Jana a long time to convince Randy that they
should break up and date other people. He had argued that he knew how he felt
about her and didn't need to date anyone else to prove it. But she had stuck to
her conviction, and sometimes she couldn't help wondering if she had made a big
mistake.
"What topic did you choose?" Beth whispered from
the computer next to Jana's.
Jana blinked back to the present and opened her notebook to
the list of topics that Mrs. Clark, her Family Living teacher, had given to the
class. They were supposed to pick a topic, research it at the
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