Explorers, Part 2
Copyright © 1999 Sampast
& D. A. Landhill
The next few days followed
without interruption or problems. Robin was so sick of hearing the plans for
the sleepover; she almost wished she WAS going to be at Maggie's that night.
Friday, at school, Jennifer
asked Libby and the others if they were all set for that night.
"Yeah, we're
ready," said Cynthia, "what are we gonna
do?"
"Yeah, what?"
Molly asked.
Jenn smiled. "Don't worry, we'll have lots of fun. I promise."
That night, Jennifer was
running around making last minute preparations. She was driving everyone crazy
with her orders. Finally, Lisa had to sit her down to have a serious talk with
her.
"Jennifer, Daddy will
be home at 8:00. If I have to tell him anything bad, he will spank you, whether
your friends are here or not. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Mommy!"
Jennifer said. "Don't worry, you won't have to. I'm almost done."
"Thank god,"
Robin thought to herself.
The girls began arriving at
5:00. Lisa had ordered two cheese pizzas to be delivered at 6:00. Jenn gave the
girls a tour of the house. At 6:00, they wolfed down pizza and soda. They
watched a little bit of television, and hung out in the living room, eating
chips, and other junk food.
Finally, Lisa said,
"Jennifer, I think you and Robin should take the girls up to the playroom
and hang out up there. I'm going to be putting Stephen to bed soon, and you
would have to be quieter if you stayed down here."
"Okay, Mommy,"
Jenn agreed. "Come on, girls, let's go."
"I'm going to put my
pajamas on," Robin announced.
Jenn looked at her sister
like she was crazy. "Are you serious? It's only 7:30, Robin!"
"Yeah, but it IS a
sleepover party, so I think it's a neat idea!" Libby agreed.
Jenn was shocked that Libby
agreed with Robin's suggestion. Before she knew it, all the girls were
changing, as well. Jennifer decided to join them. She was only sorry that it
had been Robin who suggested it, and not her.
After putting on their
pajamas, all the girls arranged their sleeping bags in the twins' room, but
then went back to hang out in the playroom. There was a giant queen-size bed,
and several beanbag chairs to sit on. There was also a stereo, which Jennifer
turned on quietly to a local top 40 radio station.
Libby looked around the
room, taking it all in. She noticed a lot of toys and board games, and wondered
if they belonged to Robin or Jennifer or both.
"Well, now what?"
she demanded of Jennifer.
"Let's watch a scary
movie," Jennifer suggested, "Carrie is on tonight."
"That sounds like
fun," agreed Molly. Cynthia seemed in favor of the idea, too.
"You know I never like
those movies!" Robin protested. "Why don't we play a game instead?
How about Flinch(TM)? That's real good with lots of
people."
"Party pooper! You just don't want the rest of us to have
any fun. I wanna watch Carrie!" Jennifer said.
"I am not! Games are
more fun than a movie any old time!" Robin retorted, her voice rising.
Just then, Lisa came
upstairs and stuck her head in the door. "Keep it down, girls," she
said, "and I don't want any fighting. Work things out peacefully for
yourselves, or you will all be in trouble. Don't make me tell
you again, if you know what's good for you."
"Aww right, Mommy," Jennifer whined
"Jennifer! Is that how you speak to me?"
"No, I'm sorry, Mommy.
We'll be good. It's just we want to watch a movie, and Robin doesn't want
to."
"Which movie,
Jennifer?" Lisa asked
"Well, uh, Carrie,
Mommy."
Lisa frowned and said,
"I think not. I don't want you waking up in the middle of the night with
bad dreams. Try something a little less scary, okay? Now I have to get back to
Stephen, so behave yourselves." With that, Lisa
left again.
After a little more
discussion, they did play Flinch(TM). The game went on for quite a while. Over
it, the girls talked about all sorts of things -- other girls, what they did
the previous summer, boys, and school. Eventually the subject of the teacher's
room came up. This was kept locked, and none of the kids had ever been inside.
School rumor painted it as a fantastic place, on no more foundation than lack
of knowledge.
"I know how we could
see in," said Molly.
"How?"
"We could make up one
of those periscope things, you know, with mirrors, and look through the glass
over the door."
"That's a lot of work,
and we could only see a little bit of the room, anyhow. That's no good,"
said Libby in a belittling tone of voice.
"I could get the keys
to it, and we could sneak in and see for ourselves," Jennifer proclaimed.
"How could you get the
keys?" Cynthia asked in a tone of sneering disbelief.
"That's for me to
know, and you to guess. Shall I do it?"
"I dare you to!"
Libby chimed in. She could see possibilities here.
"Okay, but if I do,
you all have to come with me. I dare you back." Jennifer said.
"Okay, we will."
Libby said. And Molly and Cynthia agreed.
"I don't think this is
such a good idea," Robin said. "We could all get in a lot of trouble.
You know we aren't supposed to go in there."
"That's what makes it
an adventure. If you don't wanna come, you don't have
ta, but you better not tell. You have to *promise*
not to tell, right now," Jennifer said, fiercely. The other girls,
particularly Libby, seemed to back her.
"Okay, I promise not
to tell. But don't blame me if you get in trouble," Robin said.
A little later, Libby went
downstairs to get some more to drink. As she was in the kitchen, the telephone
rang. Charlie, who had just come home, answered it.
"Hello, Jack. How are
you and Joan?"
"Jennifer and Robin
are having a sleepover tonight, with three of their friends. Otherwise there's
not much going on. Yes, Lisa and Stephen are well."
"Is that so?"
"Okay, we'll be over a
week from Sunday. That'll be great. See you then."
Libby pricked up her ears
at this conversation, out of simple curiosity. She couldn't make out the words
on the other side of the conversation, but she thought she recognized the
voice. (It was, in fact, Jennifer and Robin's "Uncle" Jack Levine,
who was also the principal of the school that the girls attended. This
relationship was a secret, to avoid teasing and accusations of unfairness by
the other students.)
Libby wondered why the
principal, if that's who that was, would be calling to make plans with
Jennifer's parents. As Libby was walking out of the kitchen, she heard voices
in the hall, and decided to walk the other way back to the stairs. In doing so,
she passed through the living room. On top of an end table by the couch, were
some family photographs.
Curiosity getting the best
of her again, Libby leaned in close to see the pictures. Imagine her surprise,
when she saw, none other than her elementary school principal, appearing with
his wife, and three kids. She knew they were his kids, 'cause she had seen them
around at school.
And who was in the picture
with them? Jennifer and Robin and her parents and the baby.
What was his name again? Libby couldn't remember. But it didn't matter. What
did matter, was that Mr. Levine had his arms around
both of the twins. A little closer than your average
principal. They must be related, thought Libby.
But how could she be sure?
She had to know. She started looking for other pictures. Oh, and the Clementes did not disappoint her -- for on another table,
there was a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Levine, and Mr. and Mrs. Clemente. Attached
to the picture was a sticky note. It read, "To the best brother in law,
ever, Happy Birthday, Charlie!"
That's it! That's the proof
she needed. All right! Libby silently slapped herself on the back. I can use
this information. Haha, so that's why Jennifer said
she could get the keys. Libby finally went back upstairs. The other girls had
wondered what happened to her.
After the game, Robin said
she was tired. All the girls agreed. They went into the twins' room and got
settled in their sleeping bags. Charlie and Lisa came up to say goodnight to
the girls.
"Don't stay up too
late talking, now, you hear?" Charlie declared.
"We won't,
Daddy," Robin answered. She was so tired; Jennifer figured she'd be asleep
before they even turned out the light.
"You heard me,
Jennifer?" Charlie asked, going closer to her.
"Yes, Daddy, don't
worry!" Jennifer exclaimed.
After Charlie and Lisa left
the room, Libby said, "Boy, Jennifer, your parents sure are strict!"
"I know," Jenn
said, reluctantly. "I feel like I'm on a leash most of the time."
"Well," Libby
began, "that's why it'll be fun when you get those keys. Show us how tough
you can be!"
"Yeah, well, I don't
know," Jenn replied. "Maybe Robin was right, maybe it's not such a
good idea, after all."
Molly said, "You're
not backing out on it already, are you?"
"Yeah," said
Cynthia. "This could be the all-time greatest sixth-grade prank. We'd be
famous!"
"Yeah, we'd be the
only kids to ever walk into the teacher's room, EVER!" Libby responded.
"You're right, no
problem. I can still do it," Jennifer responded, even though her heart
wasn't in it.
The girls talked for a long
time. Robin had fallen asleep when Charlie and Lisa had left the room. Jennifer
did not heed her father's warning and stayed up way too late. In the morning,
after all the girls had cereal for breakfast, their parents came and picked
them up.
As she was leaving, Libby
whispered to Jennifer, "We'll meet at the flagpole after school on Monday.
Make up some reason to your mom why you have to stay after, okay?"
Jennifer gasped. "Um,
I don't know about that, Libby. Like you said, my parents are pretty
strict."
"Jennifer, let's put
it this way. If you're not at the flagpole at 3:00 on Monday, with those keys
in your hand, I'll tell everyone at school that Mr. Levine is your uncle!"
Jennifer's jaw dropped to
the floor. "H-h-how'd you know?" she asked.
"Doesn't
matter how, but that I do know. And I'm counting on you to get us into that teacher's
lounge. So, whatever you have to do, whatever you have to say to your parents,
you'd better do it. Especially if you want to be in the
"cool" group!" Libby sneered.
Then she ran off down the
driveway, toward her father's car, waving back to Jennifer and yelling,
"Thank you" to the Clemente's.
"Well, you were right,
honey, your friends are very nice," Charlie said.
"Polite,
too. Every one
of them thanked us," Lisa agreed.
"Yeah,
nice. And
polite," Jennifer said glumly.
Charlie looked at his
daughter. "What's the matter, baby? Everything all
right?"
"YEAH!" Jennifer snapped.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, Daddy, I'm
just tired, is all."
"Hmm," Charlie
said, "and just how late did you stay up last night, young lady?"
"I don't
remember," Jenn admitted.
"Well, I think
somebody better go take a nap, before somebody gets into big trouble!"
Charlie warned.
"Do I hafta?" Jenn asked.
"Yes, you do. Now
go!" Charlie said, smacking Jenn lightly on the rear to send her on her way.
to be continuted...