Mel smiled and gave in. “All right.”
She and P.J. found seats in the theater, and P.J. draped his jacket over the seat next to Mel while he went to the lobby for popcorn. The previews were just starting when he returned. He sat down and balanced the popcorn on the armrest between himself and Mel.
Mel ate a handful, then concentrated on the screen. It went black for a moment, then tiny white letters appeared in the middle and loomed larger and larger. When Mel could read them, she realized they were the title of an upcoming movie: Holding On. More tiny letters appeared under the title and slowly blew up.
Mel caught her breath.
The new words read simply: “Starring Justin Hart.” And under them: “Coming Soon.”
Mel’s heart began to pound. She stiffened, staring rigidly at the screen. The black background faded to a scene in a classroom. The camera was behind the students, and only the backs of their heads were visible. Slowly it circled to the front of the room. It zoomed in on one student—Justin Hart.
His face filled the screen, looking gorgeous and serious, just as Mel remembered it.
She wanted to die. She wondered if P. J. could tell that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But P.J. stared placidly ahead.
Later, Mel remembered little of the movie they saw. P.J. had apparently enjoyed it. At any rate, he had laughed all the way through. And when he and Mel went to Fitzwillie’s later, he reenacted most of it for her. Mel was grateful. It meant that she didn’t have to talk much.
When they left Fitzwillie’s at ten o’clock, Mrs. Braderman was waiting. She followed P.J.’s directions to his house. “Mel?” said P.J. as he got out of the car.
“Yes?”
“Do you want to go out again next Friday?”
Mel paused. P.J. was nice. He was considerate. But he wasn’t Justin. On the other hand, Justin might as well not exist.
“Sure,” Mel replied. “Thanks. See you Monday?”
“See you Monday.”
The date was over.
Mel decided that she felt like an old shoe.
Chapter Six
THE DAYS PASSED SLOWLY after Mel’s date with P.J. She tried to concentrate on things that wouldn’t remind her of Justin, but somehow everything reminded her of him.
The following Wednesday was the debut of “It’s No Joke.” Mel decided to watch it at Diana’s house. The idea of watching it at her own house was not very appealing. She knew that Dee and Timmy and even her parents (who all planned to watch) would talk about Justin as if they had known him intimately—which they hadn’t. Furthermore, Diana was going to be the only one at her house that night. Her older brother had left for college and her parents were going to a school board meeting. Watching with Diana would be the next best thing to watching in private.
Mel had long since apologized to Diana for her outburst in the cafeteria. Ever since, Diana had been especially tactful on the subject of Justin.
“So you really liked him?” she had asked Mel during study hall one day.
Mel nodded. “Really.”
“But what happened? Why haven’t you been in touch with him? Did you guys have a fight?”
“No. We just…It isn’t going to work out, that’s all.” Mel would not admit the truth to anyone but Lacey.
After a moment, Diana said, “Remember when you first told me about Justin and I said his name sounded familiar?”
“Yeah.”
“I finally realized why. It was because I had just read a magazine article about kids in commercials. There was a paragraph on Justin. Did you know that he used to be the My-T Soft Diaper baby?”
Mel giggled. “Really?”
“Yes,” said Diana, not pausing to say anything about Mel’s not knowing. And then she was off on another subject. Mel was grateful.
On Wednesday, Mel arrived at Diana’s a half an hour before “It’s No Joke” was to come on. “Oh, good,” said Diana. “You can help me make popcorn.”
“You need help? You’ve got a popcorn popper.”
“Don’t be a jerk,” said Diana mildly. “We’re making Fudgy Popcorn in honor of the occasion. Here, melt these chocolate bars in the double boiler.”
Diana’s popcorn invention turned out to be delicious. Mel put a plate of it on the table in the TV room. Then she and Diana settled themselves on the couch. Diana turned the television on with the remote control and switched it to channel 4.
Mel glanced nervously at her. “I feel like I’m about to watch someone audition or take a test.”
“I guess it is a test, in a way,” said Diana. “I mean, the show’s supposed to be a hit and everything, but no one’s seen it yet. The people in the audience are the ones who will really decide whether the show is popular.”
“Shh!” Mel said suddenly. “Here it is! Here it is!”
The words “It’s No Joke” appeared on the screen with lively music playing in the background. Then came a shot of a residential street. It could have been any street in any town in America. The camera rolled down the street past several homes, then slowly zeroed in on one house. After a moment, it zeroed in even closer on an upstairs window. A girl, Tania Delaney, came to the window. Her name flashed tastefully across the bottom of the screen. Gorgeous Tania smiled a gorgeous smile.
Mel stuck her tongue out at her.
The camera moved to the next window, and another character was introduced. Window by window, everyone in Justin’s TV family was presented to the viewers.
“But where’s Justin?” Mel asked in frustration. “Everyone’s been introduced already—even the adults and the dog.”
“Wait, wait! There he is!” exclaimed Diana.
The camera had pulled back slightly and the front door of the house opened. Justin stepped out. In large letters appeared the words “And Starring Justin Hart.”
“Wow,” breathed Diana. “Starring. He’s the star of the show!”
“Yeah,” Mel said softly.
Diana glanced at her, about to say something, then changed her mind and turned back to the set.
Mel thought that the plot of the first “It’s No Joke” was not really very special. In the story, Susannah Brody, the character played by Tania, wants to start dating boys, and Zack (Justin) suddenly becomes an overprotective big brother and does all sorts of wild things to ward off any possible dates. Nothing new. Mel had seen it all before.
However, Mel thought that the actors and actresses were wonderful, especially Justin. They made a mediocre script into a very funny show. Mel even had to admit that Tania was good.
As the final credits were rolling, Diana turned to Mel and said, “I don’t know about you, but I loved that! I plan to be sitting right here on this couch from eight-thirty to nine every Wednesday evening from now until the show is off the air.”
“Oh, you know I liked it, too,” Mel replied. She and Diana had laughed nonstop during the show. They had laughed so hard that they’d missed some lines and had had to keep turning to each other and saying, “What? What did he say?”
Suddenly Mel began to giggle. “Remember when Susannah’s first date, Joel, arrives at the house and Justin meets him at the door in the gorilla suit?”
Diana began to laugh, too. “Yeah, and Joel says, ‘What gives?’ and Zack goes, ‘What do you mean, what gives? It’s Wednesday—Gorilla Day. Isn’t Wednesday Gorilla Day at your house?’”
“And Joel turns around and runs home!” Mel finished up. Then her smile faded. “Diana, tell me honestly. What did you think of Justin?”
Diana pretended to swoon. “I thought he was…Gosh, ‘gorgeous’ doesn’t seem like a good enough word for him. I’ll use that just for his looks,” she decided. “I think there’s a lot more to him than good looks. He seems warm and—and funny, of course—and caring. I feel silly saying that when all I know of him is what I saw on a half-hour TV program.”
“No, you’re right,” said Mel. “He’s all those things.” What Mel didn’t add was that she was more
in love with Justin Hart than ever. “The nation’s Hart-Throb.” That was a pretty accurate description, she thought. Mel made up her mind. She would call Lacey as soon as she had a chance for a private conversation.
Mel got her chance the next evening. While Dee and Timmy were busy with their homework, and Mr. and Mrs. Braderman were having coffee in the living room, she closed herself in her parents’ room and dialed the Reeders. Mel had realized that she might be calling Lacey a lot and had decided to stop asking permission each time. She would deal with the phone bill when it arrived and her parents hit the ceiling.
“Lacey,” Mel said as soon as Lacey was on the phone, “did you see ‘It’s No Joke’ last night?”
“Are you kidding?” cried Lacey. “Sure! It was great. It was all anybody could talk about in school today.”
Mel hadn’t planned to ask it, but the question slipped out of her mouth: “What did the girls say about Justin?”
“Oh, they’re all in love with him. They said what a hunk he is and how cute he is. One girl said she was having a Hart attack over him. They’re thinking about starting a Justin Hart fan club. They say they’ll call it Hart Beat.”
“I was afraid of that,” said Mel.
“What do you mean?”
“Not only is Justin tempted by that Tania Delaney every day on the set, but now he’s got every girl in America falling all over him. Look at my competition. How can I beat that?”
“Mel, are you saying—”
“I’m saying I’ve decided I’m not giving Justin up without a fight. But what a fight it’s going to be—me against millions of girls having Hart attacks.”
“But you are going to fight back?”
“Well, I decided that at least I want to talk to him one more time. If nothing else, I want to find out why Justin kept all this stuff a secret and why he wouldn’t give me his phone number. If he doesn’t want to see me anymore, fine. But I have a right to know those things. And it wasn’t fair of him to leave our relationship unfinished, especially when he knew I’d find out about him so soon.”
“All right!” said Lacey. “Good for you. What are you going to do?”
“First, I’m going to try to call him. Even a phone conversation would be all right at this point. Now, I’ve remembered his parents’ first names. Do you have the phone book there?”
“Yup,” replied Lacey, “and I’m opening it to Hart.”
“Okay,” said Mel. She waited several seconds. “Have you got it?”
“Got it. Go ahead.”
“His mother’s name is Jade.”
“Jade?” Lacey repeated in astonishment. “Jade Hart? What a name!”
Mel giggled. “Really. I know.”
“Let’s see…Gosh, there aren’t any Jade Harts listed, but there are fourteen J. Harts… Hey, maybe his mother goes by her maiden name, since she and Justin’s father are divorced. Do you know her maiden name?”
“No,” replied Mel, discouraged. “Well, let’s try his father. His father is Madison Hart.”
“Madison Hart…Madison,” murmured Lacey. “Well, no Madison Harts, but twenty-one M. Harts.”
“Just for kicks,” said Mel, “see if any Justin Harts are listed.”
“No,” said Lacey a few seconds later. “No Justins. Hey, do you know where he lives?”
“No. And I’m not going to go calling all those J. Harts and M. Harts asking for him. It would be embarrassing.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Mel thought for a moment. “Lacey?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing a week from Saturday?”
“Why?”
“How’d you like a guest? I feel like going into the city and eating at Serendipity and shopping at Bloomingdale’s. I could use a change of pace. I’m sure Mom and Dad would give me permission.”
“I think it would be great. I’d love to see you.”
“Oh, thanks! I’ll call you next week to tell you what train I’m taking. Will you meet me at Grand Central?”
“Of course. At the information booth?”
“Sounds good. Talk to you later. “Bye, Lacey.”
“Bye, Mel.”
Chapter Seven
THE DAYS BETWEEN MEL’S phone call to Lacey and her trip to New York seemed endless, even though they were punctuated by P.J. Perkins. First there was Mel’s date with him on Friday, the day after Mel had phoned Lacey.
They went to the movies again, and afterward met some of P.J.’s friends and ate French fries at Hugh’s House of Hamburgers. P.J. and his friends talked about the Bronxville High football team for over an hour. Mel barely said a word. She decided that P.J. was tired of her. But he called her at home three times the next week, and twice they ate lunch together in the cafeteria. Then she didn’t know what to think.
When they were alone, their conversations were, Mel decided, more interesting than talking about football with P.J.’s friends, but far less interesting than the dullest conversation Mel had ever had with Justin. On a conversation scale of one to ten, P.J. rated a five, and Justin rated an eighty-two.
On Thursday evening during the third phone call, Mel began to wish that P.J. would stop calling her. It was at that moment he said, “Mel? I’ve kind of been wondering. Would you like to—to be a couple? You know, not go out with anyone except each other?”
Mel felt her mouth drop open. “Be a couple?” she squeaked. No. No, she did not want that. She also didn’t want to hurt P.J.’s feelings. “Gosh, P.J.,” she managed to say. “I’m—that’s really flattering. But that’s…a big step. I don’t know if I’m ready to, like, commit myself to someone. Can I think it over?”
“Sure,” he replied.
Mel knew she was going to have to tell him no eventually. She wondered if she was making a big mistake. She was going to turn down P.J., a sure thing, for a shot at Justin, a pie in the sky.
Mel had a fairly easy time convincing her parents to let her take the train into New York to visit Lacey. The Bradermans trusted Lacey and knew that Mel and Lacey needed to see each other from time to time. Furthermore, ever since the beginning of September, they had seemed to trust Mel more than usual. Mel couldn’t tell if it was because she had entered high school and become a responsible ninth-grader or if it was because she had actually had a relationship with a major television star. Whatever the reason, she was glad to be allowed to visit Lacey.
The girls planned their meeting carefully.
“The train gets in at eleven-oh-three,” Mel told Lacey at least eight times.
“Okay. I’ll be waiting at the information booth in the main room.”
“What if I can’t find you? Remember that time I went out the wrong door and wound up in the subway system?”
“It won’t happen again. I promise. Just follow the crowd. They’ll all be heading for that central room. Then once you get to the room—”
“It’s the one with the paintings on the ceiling, right?” asked Mel.
“Right. Once you get there, ignore the crowd and just look for the information booth. I promise I’ll be there.”
“At eleven-oh-three.”
“At eleven-oh-three.”
Whenever Mel went to New York, much as she enjoyed the trip, she felt as if all her insecurities poured forth, while Lacey’s sophistication took over.
Mel’s trip into the city that Saturday was uneventful. The train was crowded, but Mel still managed to end up with a window seat. She had brought two magazines along for the ride—Star Gazer and What’s Hot. Each carried a feature story on Justin Hart, America’s Hart-Throb. Mel read them with a combination of eagerness and dread. She didn’t learn anything about Justin she didn’t already know, except that reliable sources were already carrying rumors of a possible romance between Justin and the gorgeous Tania Delaney.
By the time the train arrived in New York, Mel had a lump in her throat. But it disappeared when she saw Lacey waiting for her at the information booth.
“L
acey!” Mel called.
Lacey looked around, searching the crowd for Mel’s face. “Hi, Mel!” she cried a moment later.
When Mel managed to squeeze her way through the crowd to Lacey, the girls threw their arms around each other.
“Gosh, I’ve missed you,” Mel exclaimed. “It feels like months since we’ve seen each other, instead of just a few weeks.”
“Oh, I’ve missed you, too!”
Mel stuffed her magazines into her bag as they walked along. For some reason she didn’t want to lose the articles on Justin. In fact, over the weeks she’d saved everything she’d read about him, including the little blurbs from TV Guide, describing what was going to happen on each episode of “It’s No Joke.”
“So,” said Lacey as they hurried through the crowds in Grand Central, “what do you want to do first? I made a reservation for lunch at Serendipity for one o’clock, so we have almost two hours before it’s time to eat.”
“Bloomingdale’s,” Mel replied promptly. “Let’s go to Bloomingdale’s. But let’s walk there. Can we? Is it close enough?”
“About fifteen blocks,” replied Lacey.
“Oh, no problem. We’ll walk, then. Okay? Let’s go up Lexington.”
“Your wish is my command,” said Lacey.
The girls walked slowly up Lexington Avenue. Mel, who was almost always in a hurry in Bronxville, was rarely in a hurry in New York City. She had long ago decided that it was because there was nothing interesting to see in Bronxville, while everything in New York was interesting.
“Even the pigeons are interesting,” Mel said to Lacey, who was well aware of Mel’s thoughts about the city. “See? Look at those two pigeons on that windowsill. They’re kissing.”
Lacey looked in the direction Mel was pointing. Sure enough, two pigeons were kissing on a windowsill. Lacey sighed and shook her head. “I never notice things like that.”
“That’s because you’ve grown up here. You’re jaded.”
Lacey smiled. “Country mouse, city mouse,” she said.
Mel and Lacey kept passing newsstands as they walked toward Bloomingdale’s. Mel liked to look in them, since there were no newsstands in Bronxville—at least none like the ones on Lexington Avenue, which seemed to sell everything from jewelry to coffee and doughnuts—but she tried hard not to look too carefully. Almost every stand also carried a variety of newspapers and magazines on the entertainment business, and Mel saw Justin’s face on most of them. She felt that that was highly unfair, since she was in New York supposedly to forget about Justin and her boy problems in the first place. On the other hand, Mel felt drawn to the newsstands. She couldn’t keep her mind off Justin anyway—magazines or no magazines.