Explorers. . . A twin story
By SamPast and Don A.
Landhill
Copyright © 1999, All
rights reserved.
Part 1
Jennifer very much wanted
to be in the "Cool Group" at school, now that she was in sixth grade.
One day on the playground at recess, not long after the start of the school
year, she started talking to Libby, who seemed to be the "most Cool"
girl in the school.
"Libby, would you like
to come to a sleepover at my house? I'll ask Molly and Cynthia, too. It'll be
really cool."
"Sure, why not? I've
got nothin' else to do. What day?"
"Well,"
temporized Jennifer, who knew that she should have cleared this with her
parents before asking Libby, "I'll have to check at home about what day.
Tell you tomorrow, Okay?"
Jennifer brought up the
sleepover almost as soon as she got home. "Mommy," she asked,
"can I invite some kids over for a sleep-over?"
"What kids,
Jennifer?"
"Libby, and Molly and
Cynthia. They're really cool. They're my new friends. Can I have them over,
please?"
"I don't know. I'll
talk about it with your father, and we'll see what he says." Lisa replied,
a bit wary since these were new names to her, and she didn't know either the
children or their parents.
"But, Mommy, they're
really cool, and I really wanna get to be better friends with them, an'--"
"Jennifer! Stop
whining! I told you that I'd talk to your father about it. Now, the subject is
*closed* until later. Is that clear, Young Lady?"
"Yes, Mommy."
Jennifer could see that pushing any further was not a good idea at the moment.
Later that evening, Charlie
was a bit dubious, too. "Just who are these friends of yours,
Jennifer?" he asked. "I don't think we've met them, or their parents,
before."
"They're nice, Daddy.
Anyway, I just want to have my friends over. What's wrong with that? We won't
get into any trouble!"
After a good deal of
further discussion, Charlie called Libby's parents. They seemed nice enough,
and had no objections. The same was true of the parents of Molly, and Cynthia.
Charlie and Lisa were still a little dubious, but Jennifer really wanted this,
and there was no real reason to refuse.
So Jennifer was given
permission to issue the invitations, for Friday night. Not being a school
night, the girls could stay up a bit later than usual with no major problems.
Libby, Molly, and Cynthia
were duly invited and accepted. They weren't as enthusiastic as Jennifer had
hoped, but then they never got very excited about anything. Jennifer guessed
that was part of being cool.
That evening, Jennifer
began making plans for snacks, and games for four people. She was not including
Robin in on any of her plans. When this became clear, Charlie spoke up.
"Just a minute,
Jennifer. Your sister sleeps in this house, too. And she goes to the same
school as you and your friends. She will be a part of this sleepover, so you
had better include her in your plans."
"But Daddy! Libby and
the rest are *my* friends, not Robin's. She doesn't even like them very much.
This is supposed to be *my* sleepover, not Robin's. Can't she visit Uncle Jack,
or Cousin Maggie, or something, that night?"
"Jennifer! That is way
out of line. You are not going to even suggest kicking your sister out of her
own house, and you *are* going to include her in your plans, or there will be
no sleepover."
"Oh *all* right. I
suppose you want me to include Baby Stephen, too? He'd be about as much fun,
anyway." (Steven was not quite two years old.)
"Jennifer! How could
you say such a thing about your sister? You will apologize at once!"
Charlie was furious, and his tone made that perfectly clear.
Jennifer realized that she
had gone too far. "I'm sorry, Robin. I didn't mean to insult you, it's
just that…"
Charlie had had enough.
"That is not the proper attitude at all, Jennifer. Be quiet. Go up to your
bedroom and wait for me. You can apologize properly later."
Jennifer knew that she was
in trouble. She went slowly, but she went. She knew better than to do anything
else at this point.
After she had been waiting
in her room for a quarter hour or a bit more, Charlie came in. He sat down on
the bed and made Jennifer stand in front of him. "Your sister is an
important member of this family, just as you are. You are not to reject her, or
try to exclude her from events here at the house. And you are not to insult
her. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Daddy, I'm
sorry."
"For your rudeness to
your sister, I am going to spank you. Perhaps this will help you to remember to
treat her properly from now on."
Charlie pulled Jennifer
over his lap, bared her bottom, and gave her a good sound spanking. He spanked
repeatedly until her bottom was all pink, and then red all over. Finally he was
done.
"Now I want you to stay
here for one half hour. After that, I want you to come down and apologize
properly to your sister. Then you will come back up here and stay in your room
for the rest of the evening. And you will behave yourself if you want this
sleepover to go ahead."
"Yes, sir,"
Jennifer said, looking down.
Charlie started to leave
the room, but after looking back at his daughter, he decided to stay for
another minute. He took a deep breath and sat down again on the edge of Jenn's
bed.
"Baby?" Charlie
prodded.
"Yes, Daddy?" she
sniffled.
"Are you okay?"
Charlie asked, sympathetically.
Jenn nodded. "I'm
okay. It's just that. It's just that, well..."
"What is it, honey?
Please tell me," Charlie said.
"It's just that Libby
and Molly and Cynthia are cool. And I have to make a good impression on them.
And, well, Robin, . . . she isn't cool, not that I don't think she's cool. But
others don't. She doesn't want to be. Do you understand, Daddy?"
Charlie nodded. "I do,
baby, but you have to remember that these girls are not as important to you as
your sister. They may come and go, but Robin will always be here. Do you
understand?"
Charlie waited to make sure
Jennifer nodded. She did. "I understand, Daddy. And I'll try to include
her. Okay?"
"Yes, try hard, please.
Okay, I'm going to help your mom put Stephen to bed. I want you in pajamas and
reading on your bed. We'll come to tuck you girls in at 9:00."
Charlie started for the
door. This time he was stopped by Jennifer. "Daddy, you're not gonna make
us go to bed at 9:00 the night of the sleepover, are you?"
Charlie frowned. "No,
of course not, Jenn, but let's not forget the lesson you just learned, about
having a good attitude?"
"Yes, sir,
sorry," Jenn mumbled.
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to be continued...