Kelsey
Well, here goes nothing, I thought, taking a deep breath and closing my locker door. It was the end of the school day, and most of the kids had gotten what they needed out of their lockers, and were on their way to Bumpers, the fast-food restaurant that served as the middle school hangout. But there were still a few students hanging around- including the Fabulous Five, who were congregated at Katie's locker down the hall a little ways. I had decided that this was a good time to approach them about signing my petition, since there weren't very many kids around and if the Fab Five made fun of me, not very many people would see.
Jennifer had offered to go with me when I asked them, but I told her no. I wanted to do this on my own. If I was really going to learn to become more outgoing and 'go for it', I had to start sometime.
I straighted my backpack, clutched my clipboard to keep my hands from shaking, and walked up to the girls.
"Hi," I said in the most confident voice I could muster, then cringed inwardly when I saw them all jump, wondering if my voice had been too loud.
"Oh, hi, Kelsey!" Melanie Edwards said quickly, covering up her surprise. The other girls murmered a greeting as well.
Well, there's a good sign. At least they know my name.
"How are you, Kelsey?" Jana Morgan said with a big smile. "Can we help you with something?"
I felt some of my insecurities slip away with Jana's encouraging smile. Jana was the leader of the Fabulous Five and possibly the most popular, as well as one of the prettiest, girl in school. Apparently, she had won the Miss Seventh Grade title last year, which meant she was liked and respected by everyone... or at least almost everyone. I knew that even Danae Waltrip and Lilly Fergusen admired her and were desperatly trying to get into her clique. (In case you're wondering, as this is the second time I've mentioned those two, Danae and Lilly are two girls who have been in my class since first grade. They're both pretty and had been very popular at Grover, although at this dumb school even they had no status. Personally, I was glad about this. I'm not exactly friends with Lilly and Danae. We had a misunderstanding, shall we call it, back in the fourth and haven't been on good terms since. They don't like Jen either, as she was smart Danae's biggest competion in the brains department back at Grover.)
I realized suddenly that they were all waiting for me to answer.
"Uh, yeah. See, I'm running for class president, and I was wondering if maybe you guys would sign my petition."
"Oh, wow, I'm really sorry," Jana sighed. "I already signed Shawnie's petition."
Beth Barry, Melanie Edwards and Christie Winchell nodded in agreement. I felt all my hopes being dashed and was wondering how I would ever get over this humiliation, when I noticed Katie Shannon had taken the petition out of my hands.
"Let me see your petition. I didn't sign Shawnie's. You have what you stand for at the top, right? Let's see, oh, here." She paused a moment to read then nodded. "Good. I'll sign this." She stated, scribbling her name in.
I was so shocked it took me a moment to recover.
"Oh, um, wow! Thanks! Thanks so much. I really appreciate it," I breathed. I knew it was only one little signature, but at least one of the Fab Five was giving me support.
"You know," Katie murmered, looking at my petition a little closer, "you still need a, um, few more signatures before tomorrow, and I think I might be able to help."
"Really?" I gasped. This was getting better and better!
"Yeah. I know some people who didn't want to support Shawnie who would probably sign your petition."
"Really?" Argh, I have to quit saying that. "Like who? I'll have to ask them soon, you know." I desperatly hoped she wouldn't say someone like Laura McCall, who I was even more scared of then Danae or Lilly. Even though I'd only been at Wacko for a little while, I had already heard chilling tales about Laura McCall and her group
"Oh, just some friends. Listen, I've got an idea: why don't you let me take your petition to Bumpers today and see if I can get you some signatures. Then I'll give it back to you tomorrow morning, deal?" Katie suggested, looking me in the eye.
I felt so excited and relieved I wanted to dance in place. Instead, I bit the insides of my cheeks to calm myself down, and said in only a slightly quavering voice, "Deal. And thanks so much! You have no idea how much I appreciate it."
"No probem. Oh! You don't care who signs, do you?"
"Oh, no!" At this point I would have welcomed an elephant signing my petition.
I looked quickly at the other Fab Fivers and noticed they were all smiling. Good. I was glad they weren't upset that one of their friends was offering to help me instead of helping Shawnie.
"So, Kelsey, how do you like Wakeman?" Tall and thin Christie Winchell asked.
I was surprised they wanted to continue talking to me now that my buisness with them was really done- at least for now- but I certainly didn't mind, so I replied, "Oh well, I haven't really been here long enough to tell, but it's... nice. A lot different from Grover."
Jana was opening her mouth to speak, but stopped when a masculine voice sounded behind us.
"Hey, are you ladies coming or what? We're never going to get a seat at Bumpers if you don't hurry up."
Without our noticing, two boys had come up. I caught my breath. Two very CUTE boys had come up. Both were well built and obviously football players, though one- the guy who had spoken- was blonde and the other boy had dark hair. I wondered if I looked okay.
"We were waiting for YOU, Mr. Arrington. You told us at lunch to wait by Katie's locker, remember?" Beth grinned, giving Shane a playful punch in the arm. Shane stuck his tongue out at her.
"I wouldn't keep a dirty thing like that in my mouth either," Beth retorted. They all laughed, and I wondered if maybe I should slip away, when Jana reached out and pulled me closer.
"Hey, you two, I want you to meet Kelsey Talbot. Kelsey, this is Shane Arrington, and this is Randy Kirwan. Shane and Randy, this is Kelsey." Jana said, pointing first to the blonde boy and then to the dark haired one.
"Pleased to meet you, madam. You are from Grover, no?" Shane said, with a mock bow.
"No. I mean, yes, I'm from Grover." I said with a little laugh. I could feel myself blushing from head to toe. I couldn't believe it. First I had participated in real live conversation with the Fabulous Five and now I had just been introduced to two of the most popular boys at school! I had never seen Shane or Randy before- that's why I hadn't recognized them- but I'd heard plenty about them. I had heard that they were both very sweet guys and that they were very athletic. I knew Shane had hippie parents and an iguana for a pet. I also knew that Melanie Edwards was Shane Arrington's girlfriend and that Jana Morgan was Randy Kirwan's girlfriend. I had even heard that Jana and Randy had been going steady since the 6th grade. They must really like each other, I thought. I couldn't imagine myself going out with any guy, let alone for two years!
"Hey, you're running for president, aren't you?" Randy Kirwan asked with a friendly smile, bringing me back to the present.
"Well, I'd like to, but you have to get nominated first and I'm not quite even there yet." I answered, not able to look him in the eye. He was so cute!
"I'm going to help her get signatures. Which means that we should get going so that we can get to Bumpers while everyone is still there," Katie broke in.
"Oh, well, you've got Katie on your side, I see." Shane laughed, giving Randy a nudge. "Don't worry- you're as good as nominated with her helping you!"
I was certainly cheered to hear news such as this.
"See you around, Kelsey!" Jana and Beth called in duet as they followed the others down the hall and out the door.
I waved back then turned to get a drink at the fountain before leaving myself. I was so excited I could hardly stand still. I couldn't wait to call Jennifer and tell her everything.