CHAPTER ONE
T affy Sinclair stared out the windshield as her mother turned the car into the long driveway leading to the front of Wakeman Junior High. It had been six long weeks since she had left home and gone to Hollywood to star in an after-school movie. Taffy had auditioned for the leading role in Nobody Likes Tiffany Stafford and won out over one hundred and fifty other girls. It would be shown on national television in a few weeks. Last night she and her mother had taken the long flight back from Los Angeles International Airport to La Guardia Airport in New York City. The plane had not landed until almost midnight, and the rest of the ride home in the car was just a sleepy blur.
Everything looks the same, she thought. Yellow buses lined one side of the drive, and kids milled about on the broad lawn and congregated near the doors.
" Look, Mother! There ' s Mona Vaughn. Oh, there ' s Shane Arrington, too, " she said happily.
" Of course, dear, " said her mother with a touch of impatience in her voice. " Now, don ' t forget to take all your books and to turn in the lessons that you did with your tutor on the movie set to each of your teachers. "
Taffy sighed. " I won ' t forget. I ' ll do it as soon as I get to class. "
How could I forget? she thought, feeling suddenly unsure about going back to being an ordi nary seventh- grader after living the glamorous life of an actress. She wondered for the millionth time how everyone at Wakeman would treat her, now that she was a movie star. Would she fit in again, or feel terribly out of place? At least I have Shawnie Pendergast, she thought, remembering how anxious her best friend had been for her to come home. I can ' t wait to see her and tell her all about Hollywood.
And then there was Cory Dillon. Cory was an eighth-grader who had moved to town from Louisiana last year. He had a soft southern accent and a gorgeous smile, and practically every girl in school had had a crush on him since he started Wakeman ' s first rock band, The Dreadful Alternatives. He had asked her out a month before she went to Hollywood, and they had dated every single weekend before she left. She had been sure then that it was just a matter of time before he asked her to go steady, and they had written a few times while she was away. Still, six weeks was a long time, and she couldn ' t help wondering if he still liked her.
Taffy took a deep breath to calm her jitters and got out of the car. She loaded the books into her arms and headed for the front door. An instant later she stopped, staring at Dekeisha Adams, who was coming up the front sidewalk in bright pink, fuzzy bedroom slippers. Taffy did a double take as her eyes traveled up the tall black girl from the bedroom slippers to the knee-length pink sleep shirt sticking out below her jacket.
" Dekeisha? " Taffy whispered in astonishment. " What on earth are you wearing? "
Dekeisha caught sight of Taffy just then and hurried toward her. " Hey, Taffy! Is that really you? Welcome back from Hollywood! When did you get home? "
" Last night, " said Taffy, feeling relieved that the first person to greet her was so friendly. She squinted at Dekeisha ' s clothes again and asked, " But why are you dressed that way? Are you in a play or something? "
Dekeisha twirled around to show off her outfit. " It ' s Pajama Day, " she said, grinning. " But I guess you wouldn ' t know about Pajama Day, since we just voted on it last week. Every month we ' re going to have one day where everybody comes to school in costume if they want to. This month it ' s Pajama Day. Next month it ' s going to be Clash Day. You know, nothing you wear can match. Then we ' re going to have School Colors Day, stuff like that. It ' s just for fun, and it ought to be a blast. "
" Gosh, I wish I ' d known, " said Taffy, frowning. " I ' ll probably be the only one at school wearing regular clothes. " And not fitting in, she added silently. Just like I thought.
" Hey, maybe we ' ll
T affy Sinclair stared out the windshield as her mother turned the car into the long driveway leading to the front of Wakeman Junior High. It had been six long weeks since she had left home and gone to Hollywood to star in an after-school movie. Taffy had auditioned for the leading role in Nobody Likes Tiffany Stafford and won out over one hundred and fifty other girls. It would be shown on national television in a few weeks. Last night she and her mother had taken the long flight back from Los Angeles International Airport to La Guardia Airport in New York City. The plane had not landed until almost midnight, and the rest of the ride home in the car was just a sleepy blur.
Everything looks the same, she thought. Yellow buses lined one side of the drive, and kids milled about on the broad lawn and congregated near the doors.
" Look, Mother! There ' s Mona Vaughn. Oh, there ' s Shane Arrington, too, " she said happily.
" Of course, dear, " said her mother with a touch of impatience in her voice. " Now, don ' t forget to take all your books and to turn in the lessons that you did with your tutor on the movie set to each of your teachers. "
Taffy sighed. " I won ' t forget. I ' ll do it as soon as I get to class. "
How could I forget? she thought, feeling suddenly unsure about going back to being an ordi nary seventh- grader after living the glamorous life of an actress. She wondered for the millionth time how everyone at Wakeman would treat her, now that she was a movie star. Would she fit in again, or feel terribly out of place? At least I have Shawnie Pendergast, she thought, remembering how anxious her best friend had been for her to come home. I can ' t wait to see her and tell her all about Hollywood.
And then there was Cory Dillon. Cory was an eighth-grader who had moved to town from Louisiana last year. He had a soft southern accent and a gorgeous smile, and practically every girl in school had had a crush on him since he started Wakeman ' s first rock band, The Dreadful Alternatives. He had asked her out a month before she went to Hollywood, and they had dated every single weekend before she left. She had been sure then that it was just a matter of time before he asked her to go steady, and they had written a few times while she was away. Still, six weeks was a long time, and she couldn ' t help wondering if he still liked her.
Taffy took a deep breath to calm her jitters and got out of the car. She loaded the books into her arms and headed for the front door. An instant later she stopped, staring at Dekeisha Adams, who was coming up the front sidewalk in bright pink, fuzzy bedroom slippers. Taffy did a double take as her eyes traveled up the tall black girl from the bedroom slippers to the knee-length pink sleep shirt sticking out below her jacket.
" Dekeisha? " Taffy whispered in astonishment. " What on earth are you wearing? "
Dekeisha caught sight of Taffy just then and hurried toward her. " Hey, Taffy! Is that really you? Welcome back from Hollywood! When did you get home? "
" Last night, " said Taffy, feeling relieved that the first person to greet her was so friendly. She squinted at Dekeisha ' s clothes again and asked, " But why are you dressed that way? Are you in a play or something? "
Dekeisha twirled around to show off her outfit. " It ' s Pajama Day, " she said, grinning. " But I guess you wouldn ' t know about Pajama Day, since we just voted on it last week. Every month we ' re going to have one day where everybody comes to school in costume if they want to. This month it ' s Pajama Day. Next month it ' s going to be Clash Day. You know, nothing you wear can match. Then we ' re going to have School Colors Day, stuff like that. It ' s just for fun, and it ought to be a blast. "
" Gosh, I wish I ' d known, " said Taffy, frowning. " I ' ll probably be the only one at school wearing regular clothes. " And not fitting in, she added silently. Just like I thought.
" Hey, maybe we ' ll
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