Dawn and the Older Boy

  This is the way Kristy and Karen set up the game. They found an old bedspread upstairs in the linen closet. It had belonged to Andrew and was bright yellow with racing cars all over it.

  “It doesn’t look like a real tent,” David Michael said doubtfully when Kristy and Karen brought it downstairs. “It should be dark green, or maybe brown.”

  “No, this is fine,” Kristy said hastily. She knew the kids were getting restless, and she wanted to start things moving as quickly as possible.

  “I’ll help!” Karen yelled when Kristy started to drape the bedspread over some lawn chairs.

  “Make it a big tent,” David Michael suggested. “Then we can move all our supplies inside.” He picked up a brown canvas canteen and a cast-iron frying pan.

  “Big ant?” Emily said, puzzled. Emily is learning English sort of slowly. The pediatrician says she’s language-delayed.

  Andrew laughed. “No, big tent,” he said, pointing to the bedspread. “C’mon inside.”

  “Wait! Don’t go in yet!” Karen said urgently.

  Kristy looked startled. “Why not?”

  Karen lowered her voice to a whisper. “Because you can’t just walk into a tent without looking. You have to check it first for bears. There could be one sleeping inside.”

  “Bears?” Emily started to look a little worried.

  “It’s just pretend,” Kristy said, taking her hand. Karen is very imaginative, and when you set up a pretend situation, she jumps right in. “What should we do?” Kristy asked very seriously. She was still holding on to Emily’s hand. She didn’t want to squelch Karen’s imagination, but she didn’t want Emily to be frightened, either.

  Karen thought for a moment. “I’ll go in first,” she said. She picked up a broken flashlight. “If I’m not back in a few minutes, you better call the mountain rangers.”

  “Good idea,” David Michael told her. “I think I can signal them. It’s a good thing I know Morse code.” He scrambled through a cigar box filled with toys and picked out a set of fake teeth. He clicked the teeth together a few times. “We’re lucky this is still working.”

  “I want to do Morse code! I want to do Morse code!” Andrew shouted.

  “Sssh,” Karen said. “You’ll wake up the bear if he’s sleeping inside. Do you know how mad they get if you wake them up when they’re hibernating? That’s all we need!”

  “Sorry,” Andrew said, clapping his hand over his mouth. “Please can I do Morse code?” he whispered.

  David Michael handed him the plastic teeth. “Just remember that SOS is three short, three long, and three short. You got it?” He clicked the teeth together to show him.

  “I got it.”

  “Places everyone,” Karen said. “I’m going in now. Andrew, are you ready?”

  “I’m ready with the teeth. I mean the Morse code!”

  “David Michael?”

  “I’m standing by with the —” He spotted a pile of branches nearby. “The bonfire!”

  “Why do we need a bonfire?” Kristy asked.

  David Michael rolled his eyes. “In case the Morse code doesn’t work. I can always light the bonfire and use smoke signals to get the mountain ranger.”

  “Oh, right. Good idea.” Kristy smiled to herself. The kids were really getting into it. She could hardly wait to tell the BSC members this at the next club meeting.

  “Me, too! Me, too! Me, too!” Emily said, tugging at Karen’s T-shirt.

  “She wants something to do,” Kristy said. “Let’s give her a job.”

  “I know. You can wish me luck. I have a very dangerous job ahead of me,” Karen said seriously. She walked over to Emily and shook hands. “Say ‘Good luck,’” she prompted.

  “Good luck,” Emily said, smiling. Kristy had no idea if she knew what ‘good luck’ meant, but she knew Emily was happy to be included.

  “Here goes,” Karen said dramatically. She took a deep breath and crawled inside the tent. Everyone else crouched down and waited outside, ready to run, if necessary. A few moments passed, and then Karen reappeared. “It’s all safe,” she said. “There are no bears inside. At least right this minute.”

  “What do you mean, right this minute?” David Michael asked.

  Karen looked over her shoulder as if she expected a bear to appear at any moment. “I don’t want to scare anyone,” she said slowly, “but I have to warn you that I found a pot of honey inside.”

  “Honey!” Andrew clapped his hands over his mouth.

  Karen nodded. “And you know what that means,” she said, looking around the group.

  “What does it mean?” David Michael looked blank.

  Karen nudged him. “It means there must have been a bear in there.”

  “Oh, right.” David Michael scuffed the dirt with his toe and looked a little embarrassed. “So what do we do now?”

  “Well, I think we should all go into the tent,” Karen said, holding the flap open. “But make sure you rig up a bear alert outside for us.”

  “A bear alert?” David Michael brightened. “That’s a great idea. You go in and I’ll fix one.”

  Kristy trooped inside with the younger kids, and for a minute everyone was quiet. It was pretty hot and uncomfortable in the tent, and she wondered what Karen was going to come up with next. Luckily she didn’t have to wait long.

  Emily was yawning when Karen grabbed Kristy’s arm. “Did you feel that?”

  “Feel what?” Kristy asked.

  “The ground just shook,” Karen said, looking at each of the kids. “I think we’re in for an earthquake.”

  “No!” Andrew screamed. “What should we do?”

  “Let’s all hold hands,” Karen said calmly. “That way nobody will be swept away when it happens again.”

  Emily glanced at Kristy, her eyes wide as saucers, and Kristy scooped her onto her lap. “Don’t worry, Emily,” she said, holding her very tightly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  “There it goes again,” Karen said. She fell against the side of the tent, and Andrew did the same thing. “Hold on tight, everybody!”

  “Wait a minute,” Andrew yelled. “What about David Michael? He’s outside making that dumb bear alert!”

  “We’ll have to help him,” Karen said firmly. “Andrew, rescue David Michael.”

  Andrew looked impressed. “Wow!”

  “Open the flap of the tent very carefully and peek outside. The minute you see him, tell him to get in here.”

  “Okay.” Andrew crawled to the edge of the tent and lifted the bedspread. “David Michael! David Michael!” he whispered. “Come inside. I’ve got to rescue you.” He crawled back inside. “He’s not there!”

  “Are you sure?” Karen asked.

  “I’m sure!”

  Karen sighed. “This is much worse than I thought.”

  “Do you think the earthquake got him?” Andrew asked.

  “No, I think … Morbidda Destiny got him!”

  Kristy tried not to laugh. Morbidda Destiny is the old lady who lives next door. Her real name is Mrs. Porter, but Karen is convinced that she’s a witch. She lives in an old Victorian house with gables and turrets, and she even keeps a broomstick on the front porch.

  “Now what will we do?” asked Andrew.

  Karen looked stumped. “I don’t know. Morbidda Destiny has special powers. She could turn David Michael into a witch if she wanted to, or she might make him drink a magic potion.”

  “No!”

  Karen nodded. “She might even make boy-stew out of him.”

  “Ew, gross,” Andrew muttered. “How can we save him?”

  “Let me think,” Karen said, just as the tent flap opened and David Michael crawled in.

  “The bear alert is in place,” he said, scooting over to Kristy. “You’ll all be safe.”

  “Are you okay?” Karen asked him. “We thought Morbidda Destiny got you.”

  David Michael laughed. “Of course I’m okay.”

  Karen looked a
t him suspiciously, as if he really might be a newt or a toad pretending to be David Michael. “I guess so. Where were you when Andrew called you?”

  “I was hiding,” he said teasingly. “I knew you’d figure that Morbidda Destiny had kidnapped me, and I wanted to see what you’d do about it.”

  “Well, it wasn’t funny,” Karen said sternly. Andrew started telling David Michael about the earthquake, and Karen sat down next to Kristy. “You know what I think?” she whispered in Kristy’s ear. “I think Morbidda Destiny really did get him and made him say that he was hiding!”

  “Do you really think so?” asked Kristy.

  Karen nodded. “Witches have their ways,” she said mysteriously.

  “You’ve got to give Chewy a doggie treat or he’s going to ruin the play!” Myriah cried.

  It was a Thursday afternoon, and I was baby-sitting for the three younger Hobart kids while Ben was at a dentist appointment. Mathew, James, and Johnny were in the backyard rehearsing their play with Myriah and Gabbie Perkins.

  “We can give him a yum-yum if you want,” I suggested, “but I don’t think it will help.” Chewbacca, the hero of the play, was tearing around and around the yard. I’ve never seen a dog with less acting ability. He was supposed to act sad and lonely (according to the script James wrote), but he was running in circles, yapping and wagging his tail. Every once in a while he’d snap at an imaginary fly.

  “Come here, Chewy,” I said wearily. “Let’s see if this calms you down.” I popped a doggie treat into his mouth. He immediately sat up on his hind legs and begged for more.

  “I told you it wouldn’t help,” James said. “That dog can’t act.”

  “He can so!” Myriah put her arms around Chewy’s furry neck. “He just doesn’t feel like it.”

  “Let’s take it from the top. Start the mall scene again,” James ordered. “Does everybody remember what they’re supposed to do?” He glanced at his notes. “Gabbie, you own a shoe store.”

  “Shoes, shoes,” she sang. I put my fingers to my lips to remind her to be quiet, and she grinned at me.

  “Mathew, you work in the pizza place, and Johnny, you work in a pet store.”

  “I want to work in a pet store!” said Gabbie. “Pets for sale! Pets for sale! We have rabbits, gerbils, and hamsters. Maybe even cats and dogs —”

  “No, Gabbie,” James said quietly. “You stay in your shoe store and sell shoes. You have a very important part in the play.” Gabbie beamed. That was the best thing that James could have said to her.

  “Now can we please begin?” James said.

  “Shoe sale! Shoe sale!” Gabbie chanted. “Come buy some shoes. We have specials today.”

  “Myriah, you can make your entrance now,” James said. “Quiet, everybody.” He sat down next to me at the picnic table. Nobody moved. “Myriah, what are you waiting for?” he yelled.

  She stared at him, her hand on Chewy’s neck. “We’re waiting for you to cue us,” she said. “That’s the way they do it in the movies. You’re supposed to say, ‘And … action!’”

  James rolled his eyes. “All right, all right,” he muttered. “And … action!”

  I smiled.

  The scene started smoothly. Myriah was talking softly to Chewy, asking if he was lost, when suddenly earsplitting rock music filled the air.

  “Who turned on that radio?” James demanded. He jumped up and raced over to Mathew, who was sitting in a red wagon. “Mathew, what do you think you’re doing?” He reached into the wagon and pulled out a small radio. “You’re ruining the scene. We can’t hear Myriah’s lines.”

  Mathew shrugged. “I’m playing music in my pizza parlor.”

  Myriah frowned. “Mathew, you can’t make noise when someone else is saying their lines. That’s the first thing you have to learn when you put on a play.”

  “But I don’t have anything to do. Nobody gave me any lines.”

  “You have lines in the next scene,” James told him. “Look, all you have to do right now is stay in your place and act like you’re making pizzas.”

  “I know what I could do,” Mathew said. “If you give me my radio back, I could listen to music through my headphones.”

  James hesitated. “I guess that would be okay. Just make sure you pay attention so you don’t miss your cue. Myriah is going to visit all the stores in the mall, and you’re the second place she goes.”

  Myriah shifted impatiently. “Can we start over now? Chewy’s getting restless.”

  “Okay,” James said. I could tell he was getting a little annoyed at all the interruptions. “Places everyone.”

  “You’re at it again? I don’t believe it!” exclaimed a voice.

  I turned to see Zach steer his bike toward the picnic table, where James and I were sitting. “I thought you had enough of this baby stuff the other day.”

  “It’s not baby stuff,” Myriah said, insulted. “We’re putting on a real play.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Zach plopped himself down next to James and punched him playfully in the arm. “So what do you say we play some football?”

  “He can’t leave rehearsal,” Myriah said. “We’re right in the middle of a very important scene.”

  “I bet!” Zach snorted. “What kind of a play has a dog in it? You must be doing Annie.”

  “No. I already told you. It’s a play I wrote myself,” James said shyly. Zach doubled up with laughter and nearly fell off the picnic bench.

  “I know, I know.” He socked James again, this time on the shoulder. “When are you going to grow up and do some guy stuff?”

  “Guy stuff?”

  Zach leaned close to him. “You know, football, skateboarding, things like that.”

  “I do a lot of sports,” James said stiffly. I could tell he was embarrassed because two little pinpoints of color had appeared on his cheeks.

  “You could have fooled me!” Zach hooted. “Every time I see you, you’re hanging around with a bunch of girls.” He paused. “You know, you’re never going to be popular at this rate. The kids at school still think you’re weird.”

  “Weird?”

  Zach nodded. “Can you blame them? You don’t talk right, you don’t go out with the guys, and worst of all, you hang around with girls.”

  James hung his head and looked sheepish. “I don’t want anybody to think I’m weird.”

  “Well, of course you don’t,” Zach said, slapping him on the back. “But you can change all that. Just start doing things differently. And you can start right now.”

  “I can?”

  “Sure.” Zach stood up and got on his bike. “Come on back to my house and we’ll toss a football around. Then we’ll watch a new horror movie I just rented. Oh, yeah, and we’ll work on talking like a real American.” He released the kickstand on his bike, ready to go. “Sound good?”

  James hesitated, and then tossed his script on the picnic table. “You’re on!” he said.

  “James,” Myriah wailed. “What about the play?”

  James shook his head and didn’t answer. He was already on the way to the garage for his bike.

  “Now what will we do?” Mathew asked. “We can’t put on the play without James.”

  “We’ll think of something else to do,” I promised him. I watched as Zach and James pedaled down the driveway. Why did James let Zach talk to him that way? And why did he want to change his whole personality to please Zach? James was a great kid, just the way he was. Zach had no business telling him how to talk or how to act. Why did James let him get away with it? None of it made any sense to me, and I was very disappointed in James.

  Kristy dropped a bomb and didn’t even know it. It all started at our Monday afternoon BSC meeting in Claudia’s room. Jessi mentioned Jackie Rodowsky, the “walking disaster,” and everyone started telling funny stories about him. In case you don’t know, Jackie is a really cute seven-year-old with flaming red hair and freckles. He is also accident-prone.

  “Do you remember the day I took Jac
kie to the pool?” Kristy said. “First he got stung by a bee, and then he got lost and almost gave me a heart attack. My brother Sam told one of the girls in his class about it, and she said she saw the whole thing. She was working as a lifeguard that day.”

  “Really? Who was it?” Mary Anne asked.

  “I don’t know her name, but she’s this fantastic-looking girl who’s captain of the swim team at Stoneybrook High School.” Kristy picked up her clipboard, ready to get back to business. “Sam says she’s the reason Travis tried out for swimming along with all his other sports. I hear he’s really crazy about her. They’ve been dating for weeks.”

  I looked up from the club notebook in total shock. Travis was dating someone? Travis was crazy about someone? How could that be possible? He was interested in me! I could feel my cheeks burning, and I wondered if anyone else noticed. I started thumbing through a Seventeen magazine, hoping Kristy wouldn’t get annoyed with me.

  The club meeting went on as usual and a few minutes later, I actually managed to take a phone call from Dr. Johanssen, who needed a sitter for Charlotte. My voice sounded a little shaky, but I wrote down all the details about the job and promised to call her back.

  “Now, who gets the job?” Kristy asked brightly, as Mary Anne checked the record book.

  I returned to the Seventeen magazine, dying for the meeting to be over. What was going on with Travis? Could Kristy be mistaken? I couldn’t wait to get home and figure everything out.

  Unfortunately, Mom asked me to make a salad the minute I walked in the door. It was the last thing in the world I felt like doing, but what could I say? Mary Anne made spaghetti, Mom made the sauce (meatless), Richard made garlic bread, and before I knew it, all four of us were eating dinner together.

  I was there, but I wasn’t there. Does that make sense? I was sitting at the dining room table, passing the salad and half listening to Mary Anne talk about school, but my mind was a million miles away. I could have been on another planet! My brain was churning, trying to come up with an explanation for what Kristy had said about Travis.

  I hated to admit it, but there just weren’t that many possibilities. I didn’t really think that Kristy had made a mistake, because she had seemed so definite about it. She had mentioned Travis by name (and how many Travises could there be at SHS?).