Page 1 of The Secrets of Parkerville Series - Book 2 - Golden Shackles

 Golden Shackles

  The Secrets of Parkerville Series

  Book 2

  Written by

  Harriet Trevathan and Nancy C. Wilson

  Copyright © 2010 by Harriet Trevathan and Nancy C. Wilson

   

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

   

  TXu 1-822-126

   

   

   

  A New Day Begins

  No, stop! Please stop! Cassie Evans was dreaming, it was the middle of the night and her heart was racing. When she suddenly woke up and sat up in bed. She tried to look around her room, but her room was pitch black. The only sound in the room was her heart beating.

  She felt for her reading lamp next to her bed, but it wasn’t there. She kept waving her hand to find the lamp, but it was gone. She finally took a deep breath and got out of bed. She knew her room and traced her steps walking toward the light switch on the wall next to her door, but after a few steps, she ran into a wall.

  She screamed as loud as she could, but no one seemed to hear her.

  “Cassie”! A strange voice echoed throughout her room.

  “Who are you and where am I?” Cassie demanded.

  “You are a very special girl! I’ll be waiting for you and your friend. It’s time!”

  All of a sudden, shafts of light broke through her window, and she opened her eyes.

  Oh, thank God, I’m in my bed. It was just a dream; but something is going on.

  She looked around tentatively and saw her little reading lamp, right where it always was.

  “Wow, what a dream, I’ve got to tell Skye.”

  She hurried to get dressed and rushed downstairs to the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Cassie, did you sleep well?” Marion Keaton asked, as she placed her breakfast on the table.

  “No, I had a nightmare. My dreams seem to be trying to tell me something . . . something really bad. I dreamt of a little man, at least I think it was a dream.”

  “Okay, I think you need some tea, sweetie, and don’t eat sweets before you go to bed. On second thought, you do look a little tired, do you want to stay home today?” Marion asked.

  “No, I need to go. Somehow, my dream was connected to Skye, and I was afraid she wasn’t coming back, and then almost getting caught yesterday, heck, that was enough to give anyone a nightmare.

  “I’m sure that’s it, but for now, you need to eat some breakfast. Yesterday was a very nerve-wracking day, but it’s over and now we need to get back to normal.”

  “Yes and I’m so glad Skye came home last night. I don’t know what I would do without her.” Cassie lamented.

  “I’m glad Sara brought her home, too. Mac Brenner had no right to lie about Skye’s sister being sick, that’s a despicable thing to do, but if you had been caught, we would have taken it up with the Keepers. It wouldn’t have been a legal catch, under those circumstances. Mac is well aware of the rules here, even though he doesn’t live here. But don’t worry; he won’t be coming back. I don’t know how he got in to begin with.”

  “So, there can be circumstances. I thought a catch was a catch.”

  “Well, of course there are.” Mrs. Keaton smiled, raising her eyebrow. “We don’t live in the dark ages.”

  “Well, you could have fooled me. Having to wear this stupid shackle on my wrist is a violation to me, and they did shackle people in the dark ages. I guess there’s a lot I still don’t understand about this place.”

  “You’re late, sleepy head,” Geri Keaton said as she hurried through the kitchen, “and I can’t wait for you this morning. You’re not going to make it to school in time, if you don’t hurry.”

  ***

  In the town square, in front of the fountain, Carol Jean Myers was pacing.

  “I’m sorry, Skye, but we have to get to school. We don’t want to get into any more trouble.”

  “There she is,” Skye Mackenna called out. “Cassie, hurry, we’re going to be late.”

  Hearing Skye shout at her brought back memories of the dream she kept having. A shiver went through her as she yelled back, “I’m running as fast as I can.”

  “Whew . . . I’m out of breath,” Cassie said, catching up to the girls at the fountain. “I’m so glad you called me last night or I wouldn’t have slept.

  “Wait a minute, you called Cassie and didn’t call me?” Carol Jean asked, surprised. “Wow, that really hurts.”

  “Aunt Sara called your mom and told her everything, asking her to tell you. Didn’t she say anything to you?” Skye asked.

  “No, of course not, I’m not that important; she knows you’re my best friend, so why would she?” Carol Jean said, kicking a stone as they all walked to school.

  “Oh, I’m sure she meant to . . . Cassie started.

  “Who are we kidding; my mom is in her own little world most of the time. I’m just glad you’re back, Skye, and that creep of a Mac is out of your life,” Carol Jean fumed.

  “Me too,” Cassie agreed.

  “I know it’s going to take a long time for me to get over this. Mac Brennan is never coming back here. But it was so nice to see my sister and the girls, and most of all . . . Julie’s okay.”

  Then remembering something, Cassie stopped them. “Hey, you’re not going to believe this, but when Joshua and I walked to the fountain later on, the Baker sisters showed up. They were strolling into the courtyard in disguise. I guess that’s what they meant, when they said no one would recognize them. It was so funny. Bernadette had a scarf over her head and Rose had a big, oriental fan, covering her face. Good grief, everyone knew who they were, so Joshua and I took them to H’our Burgers and the sisters were hilarious. We have to get them out again. Maybe take them shopping. Can you imagine what that would be like?”

  “Yeah well, you two can go without me.” Carol Jean said and hurried on.

  “Awe . . . I’m jealous. I can’t wait to go shopping with them, that would be a real trip, but come on, we need to hurry.”

  Cassie and Skye were walking together, as Carol Jean walked ahead of them.

  “Skye,” Cassie whispered, “we need to talk about last night.”

  “I know, we just need to find someplace private,” Skye whispered back.

  They rushed up the school steps and took separate hallways to their lockers. The girls went to their homerooms, knowing full well they would be the ridicule of the whole school.

  Cassie leaned against the wall, trying to get the courage to enter her homeroom, as Carston Forrester walked up behind her.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve been trained in the art of self-defense. I’ll be right beside you.”

  Cassie smiled and began to laugh, “Thanks, Carston, you’re a really cool guy.”

  The two entered the room as some of the girls ran over to pat Cassie on the back, congratulating her for not getting caught. She thanked them and started toward her desk.

  “You’re a disgrace to this town and womanhood in general,” Marabelle Fludge yelled out from the back of the room. “You a
nd your dimwitted friend should be run out of here on a rail.”

  Miss Sweet, the homeroom teacher, stood up and tried to stop Marabelle’s outburst.

  “Marabelle, please, that’s no way to speak to one of your classmates. I believe you owe Cassie an apology.”

  The room became quiet, as everyone stared back at Marabelle. She stood up and started toward Cassie.

  “Your friend broke my brother’s heart yesterday. He had every right to take her.” She stopped abruptly, as a couple of boys stood in front of her. “Oh, don’t make me laugh, you’re going to try and stop me?”

  The boys looked back at Cassie, shrugged their shoulders and sat back down.

  “But no,” Marabelle continued in a baby voice, “the little idiot started crying and begging him to leave her alone. Oh, boo hoo! No one here feels sorry for either of you. You came to Parkerville, now you need to obey the rules!”

  The sound of Marabelle’s voice seemed to echo throughout the silent classroom, and as the intercom came on, everyone flinched.

  “Miss Sweet, please send Cassie Evans to the principal’s office.”

  “Yes.” Marabelle shouted. “Now you’re gonna get what you deserve.”

  “That will be quite enough,” Miss Sweet said, in as much of an authoritative voice as she could muster. “Cassie, you must gather your things and report to the principal’s office… I’m so sorry.”

  ***

  Skye and Carol Jean walked into Miss Jones’ homeroom and slid into their seats, hoping no one would notice. The snickers could be heard throughout the room, but only from the girls. The boys were perfectly happy with their exciting afternoon, chasing after Skye, Cassie, and Carol Jean. They gave them all a good run.

  “Hey Skye let me know anytime you want to take off running again,” a boy’s voice came from the back of the class.

  “That will be all,” Miss Jones reprimanded. Just as she was about to take roll, the intercom came on. She was also directed to send Skye to the principal’s office.

  Soft chiding and whispering could be heard throughout the classroom. Miss Jones gave Skye a sad smile as she gathered her books and purse, and quietly left.

  Carol Jean could not believe her luck. After all, she had been running with them, too.

  “Oh well, I guess nobody even noticed.” She said under her breath.

  ***

  The girls sat next to one another, waiting for the principal to come out of his office. He seemed to be arguing with someone on the phone, which gave the girls a little time to talk about the night before.

  “So, who was that little man standing in our doorway last night?” Skye asked.

  “Oh, thank you! I thought I dreamed up that little man.” Cassie sighed.

  “I don’t know, but since we both saw him at the same time, I don’t think he was a ghost. I told my aunt about him this morning at breakfast and she said it sounded strange, and we'd have to talk more about it when I get home from school today. Did he say anything to you?”

  “No, I don’t remember him saying anything, how about you?”

  “Nope, not a word,” Skye answered. “Except…wait a minute he said one word, much.”

  “That’s right, he said the same thing to me. I wonder what he meant by it?” Cassie pondered.

  “Nothing surprises me anymore in this town, but I wonder if Marion and your Aunt Sara really know what we both saw last night.”

  “I don’t know, she didn’t make a fuss about it, but I have a feeling she’ll say more today when I get home. She probably wanted to think about it some more.”

  The phone rang on one of the secretary’s desk, and as she hung up, she told the girls to go on in.

  The girls took seats in front of the principal’s desk. He had his back to them, as he spoke quietly on the phone. After a few minutes, he spun around and hung up.

  “Well, well, well, what an exciting day we had yesterday. We haven’t had anything happen like that in a very long time, or should I say . . . Never!”

  Mr. Scott got up and walked around the room, trying to get his thoughts together.

  “The funny thing is . . . I’m not supposed to do anything about this. I’m supposed to smile and say, ‘Now, now girls, you should know better than to leave the school before the alarm goes off. You’re new here and we’ll just make an exception. You didn’t know any better.’ But that just doesn’t cut it with me. I don’t care who you are and how important you are to this town. There are rules and you both better follow them from now on.” Mr. Scott walked back to his chair and dismissed the girls.

  The bell was going off for first period, as the girls walked together to class. Not many of their friends said much about the incident. It seemed odd, like they weren’t allowed to talk about it.

  ***

  “Hey Aunt Sara, I’m home.” Skye yelled as she came in the back door.

  “Well, I certainly heard that.” Sara said coming from the hallway.

  “So, did you think about the little man today?” Skye asked putting her books down on the kitchen table.

  “Yes, I certainly did and since you and Cassie both saw him, I gave Marion a call. I’ll tell you sweetie, neither one of us have a clue who he is or where he came from. Maybe you’ll see him again, maybe you won’t, however; we both think he came for a reason. I wouldn’t worry about it; he obviously wasn’t here to hurt either of you or to cause any trouble.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. He certainly wasn’t scary.

  Skye headed for the stairs and said she was going to change.

  “Oh, by the way Aunt Sara, I have something I want to ask you and its kind of important so don’t go anywhere okay?”

  “Oh heck, I was thinking of taking a trip to the moon and back, but, I guess I’ll just wait here for you.” Sara laughed.

  “Aunt Sara you are truly a trip. Okay, I’ll ask you now. Could I have a slumber party and invite all of my friends. Well, at least the ones I’ve met so far?”

  “Ah, well, we’ll talk about it when you come back down sweetie, okay?”

  “Okay.” Skye smiled and ran back up to her room.

  ***

  Planning a Party

  It was a new day and Skye was ready for school early. Her aunt had just given her the okay for a slumber party and it was going to be a blast!

  “This is going to be like so much fun Aunt Sara, but I’m afraid all the cheerleaders will want to come. Well, maybe not all of them. Gees, who should I invite? Cassie, of course, and Carol Jean, but what about Luanne? Do you think she’d like to come?” Skye took out her tablet and pen, and started writing names down.

  “Well, I’m not sure about Luanne. She’s kind of a rebel, but you never know what she’ll say or do. You might as well ask her, honey, she might be hurt if you don’t.”

  “Okay, now, what should we have, this is my first party and I want it to be so much fun, with ice cream, pizza, hot dogs, cookies, and punch?”

  “Yep, that sounds just about right. I’m afraid you’ll all be sick before the party even gets started,” Sara laughed.

  “Oh, well, I was just thinking of getting things everyone would like, but I’ll leave that all up to you. I’m sure you know just what to get.”

  “Me? Why on earth would I know what girls like to eat at a slumber party?”

  “Well, you’ve been to them, right? I mean, back in your day.”

  “Believe it or not, we did have slumber parties back in the old days, when I was a teenager. I’ll see what I can come up with, but it’s a week away. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. We’ve got plenty of time.”

  Carol Jean came by to pick up Skye. She knocked at the back door and proceeded into th
e kitchen.

  “Got time for a cup of coffee, Carol Jean?” Skye innocently asked. “Oh, and guess what?”

  “Coffee? I’ve never had a cup of coffee . . . cocoa maybe. Do you really drink coffee, Skye? Oh, and what’s up?”

  “Yep, I really drink coffee, but you know, I think I’ll switch to decaf. Our health teacher said caffeine could stunt your growth. Anyway, Aunt Sara is going to let me have a slumber party, isn’t that great?”

  “Yeah, great,” Carol Jean said, with no enthusiasm.”

  “So, what’s with you, don’t you want to come?” Skye got up from the table and gathered her books and tablet.

  Sara was getting up from the table also and said she’d put a jar of decaf coffee on her list.

  “Thanks, I really appreciate it.” Skye gave her aunt a quick kiss, as she picked up her books and headed out the door with Carol Jean.

  The girls started up the sidewalk, with Skye chattering away about the slumber party and who to ask. She looked over at the Kane house as they passed by. No Todd leaning against the porch again today. She kind of missed that, but she figured she’d see him later.

  “Why are you asking me about a slumber party? I’ve never been invited to one.”

  Skye stopped and turned toward her friend.

  “Well, you’re going to my slumber party and we’re going to have a lot of fun. So don’t even try to get out of it.”

  The girls met up with Cassie at the fountain and started chatting away, as they walked to school.

  My aunt said I could have a slumber party on Saturday night and . . .”

  “Oh, that’s so cool,” Cassie broke in. “A slumber party! So, who are you going to invite, besides me that is?”

  “Hey, you’re first on the list. I couldn’t pull this off without you.”

  “Okay, we have to get this organized at lunch. We should all make a list of who we want to come and we’ll go from there,” Cassie took over. “We have lots of time to get this all together. That means you, too, Carol Jean.”

  “Okay, I can already think of a couple of friends I’d like to invite. This just might be fun after all.”

  ***

  The Secret Room

  The rest of the week went by quickly, as the girls began preparing for their party. Cassie had mixed feelings about going, since she heard the Royals were coming. She didn’t like sharing her best friend with all the other girls from school. She was sitting on the love seat in the living room, when Geri came running in.

  “There you are! I was looking everywhere for you,” Geri said, sitting down next to Cassie. “Aren’t you excited? I would be . . . if I were invited.”

  “I guess I should be, but I don’t really want to be around all those girls. You know . . . the snobby ones.”

  “I understand. Those Royals think they’re God’s gift, but you shouldn’t worry. You’re much nicer and prettier than they are.”

  “You’re really sweet, Geri, but I dread having to make small talk with them. I don’t know why Mrs. Davis invited everyone.”

  “It’s a small town and we can’t exclude people. The Keepers wouldn’t like it.”

  “Oh, yeah, the Keepers; they should just keep out of our business?”

  Geri giggled, “Shhh, Cassie, you can’t talk like that. They’re here to help us. You know that?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I hear, but I still don’t like them watching us all the time.”

  “What do you mean by that? No one’s watching us . . . are they?” Geri looked little worried.

  Cassie realized Geri wasn’t aware of the cameras she was beginning to see all around town, so she changed the subject.

  “I just mean some people have nothing else to do but stand at their windows and watch people walk by . . . that sort of thing. By the way, do you want to help me pack for the party? I’ve never been to a slumber party.”

  “You’ve never been to a slumber party? That’s hard to believe.”

  “Well, believe it. I didn’t have a lot of girlfriends. Most of my friends were boys, so slumber parties would have been frowned upon.

  Geri laughed. “I see your point, but you’re going to one now and I know exactly what you need. I’ve been to lots of slumber parties. First, we need to get you an overnight bag.”

  The girls walked up the stairs and Geri started down the hallway to the master bedroom.

  “Where are you going, that’s your mom and dad’s room?”

  “It’s okay, there’s a big closet in there with lots of suitcases and overnight bags. Mom won’t care if we get one. Come on.”

  The girls walked through the master bedroom to a closet in the back of the room. There were rows of clothes hanging on both sides, with shelves for shoes, purses, hats, and other accessories.

  “This closet is huge,” Cassie said, as they entered, “and I thought my mom had too many shoes and hats. Where are the overnight bags? I don’t see any.”

  “Oh, they’re in a special little room in the back.”

  Geri moved some coats out of the way, which revealed another door. She reached into one of the coat’s pocket and pulled out a key, opening the door.

  “Geri, are you sure we can be in here? It looks like a secret room.”

  “Secret room, why would my mom have a secret room; its just another closet, silly.”

  Cassie had to bow her head to get through the door, as Geri turned on the light. There were suitcases and bags to the right, and a little desk, with a thin white and silver box on top to the left. Geri started looking for the bag, as Cassie walked over to the desk. When she was closer to the box, she saw a little red light flickering on the top. The lid was opened a little, so she lifted it up. To her surprise, it was hinged. There were keys on the inside, like a typewriter, but flat, with a big screen on the inside of the lid. The screen lit up and she could see a woman sitting in a chair. The woman turned her head and came running toward the screen, as Cassie quickly closed the lid. She looked over at Geri, who hadn’t noticed. She was shaken, and when she finally caught her breath, she started looking at some of the papers and pictures on the desk. She thought she heard a voice come from the strange box, but she tried to ignore it.

  She saw a picture frame on the desk and picked it up. The photo was of three young children.

  “Geri, who are these kids in the photo? The girl in the middle looks a lot like your mom.”

  Geri continued to search for the right bag, as she said over her shoulder, “Oh, you’re right, that’s mom in the middle with her sister, Gina and Joey, her brother.”

  “Do they live in Parkerville?”

  “No, they live in the city. I’ve never met them, but mom does hear from Uncle Joey sometimes.”

  Cassie started to put the frame back where she found it, but when she put the frame down, she thought she saw movement in the photo. As she looked closer, she noticed the clothing were different.

  “Geri, come over here. This photo just changed.”

  “Oh, silly, when you tap the top of the frame, the photos change.”

  “Wow, that’s unbelievable,” Cassie, said, as she hit the top of the frame. “Oh, and they’re getting older in the photos.”

  Cassie kept watching the photos change, when she noticed Gina’s photos stayed the same.

  “Gina’s photos are staying the same now? Did I break it?” Cassie asked a little worried.

  “No, you didn’t break it. For some reason Gina isn’t getting older, but my Mom and Uncle Joey’s photos kept changing, up until they were around 25 years old. Don’t you think its fun to see what they looked like years ago?”

  “Yeah, this is amazing!” Cassie said, and then thought, but she’s not getting older? Gosh, I hope she’s not dead, but why wouldn’t she just disappear from the photo?

  Cassie shook her head and picked up a folder containing some old, yellowed newspaper articles.
She was intrigued and started looking through them.

  “Whatcha looking at?” Geri said over Cassie’s shoulder, as she dropped an overnight bag at her feet.

  Cassie nearly jumped out of her skin, dropping the folder on the floor.

  “Oh, Geri, I was just trying to straighten up your mom’s desk a little, but now I’ve made a big mess. I need to get those papers back in this folder. Gosh, I’m so clumsy.”

  “That’s okay, let me help. And you’re not as clumsy as I am . . . believe me.”

  The girls picked up all the papers and left the room. Geri locked the door and replaced the key in the coat pocket. Cassie was sweating a little and her legs felt weak. She was worried Mrs. Keaton would catch them.

  The girls left the master bedroom and went into Cassie’s room.

  “Are you going to let me pick out your PJ’s? At least I can feel like I’m the one going, even if I’m not.”

  “Sure, honey,” Cassie sighed, as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her legs were still shaking as she reached down to pick up the overnight bag. When she lifted it up, she saw a piece of paper in the bottom of the bag. It was one of the newspaper articles from the room. She quickly took the paper out and slid it under her pillow.

  Geri was having fun going through Cassie’s things and finally made her decisions. The girls packed the overnight bag together and joked around what Cassie should say to the Royals. Suddenly, the telephone rang downstairs and Geri flew out the door to answer it.

  Cassie walked over to her desk and picked up her Polaroid camera, taking it to her bed. She pulled out the newspaper article and took a picture of it. It seemed to take an eternity, waiting for the picture to develop, but it finally came out clear. The article was hard to read, so she took a few more photos, closer to the paper. After she was satisfied she could read it, she put the newspaper back under her pillow.

  “Cassie,” Geri called up from the bottom of the stairs, “I have to meet mom over at Amy’s house. She said it’s a surprise. Sorry, but I’ve got to go right away.”

  “Okay, Geri, that’s fine.” Cassie shouted back, as she heard the door slam. “Thanks for your help.”

  Cassie made sure the house was quiet, before she retrieved the newspaper article. She walked into the hallway and stood listening to the silence. Confident she was alone in the house, she ran down the hall and back to the secret room, replacing the article. When she got back to her room, she closed her door and sat down on her bed. After she caught her breath, she began reading the article.

  _______________________________________________________________________

  Cagney’s Corner

  Dialogue and Gangster Stories

  By Joey Cheats – New City News

  I was standing on the corner of Main Street, taking pictures of the denizens of Bell, when it hit me. I’m not just providing mindless entertainment with my fictional tales of murder and mayhem; I’m living it. I live in a part of New City most people would like to forget. Here in Bell, live the homeless, the hopeless, and the unemployed. I’m Joey Cheats, junior reporter for the New City News, and taking pictures of misery is what I live for. That is, up until today.

  You see, today’s my birthday and I’m leaving this deadbeat town. I’ve stayed alive for 22 years, but I’ve seen a hundred years of suffering along the way; and I’m getting out, as the getting’s good. But before I go, I thought I’d leave a little tribute to this wonderfully disgusting place I call home.

  You’d think that after more than 3,000 years, the human spirit would have found a way to crawl out the sewers and find a better way of life. It seems our favorite pastime is pumping metal into as many poor schmucks as we’ve got bullets to go around, and that’s just for sport. The human being is becoming more expendable, and the AI’s are getting all the jobs. Was that store clerk or bartender you saw today human? What about that dame you made out with in the Hologram Cafe last night? Was she real or not, or don’t you really care?

  Do we miss those days long gone when we carried a fin or a sawbuck in our pocket, or paid two bits for a haircut? Too much trouble, you’d say. Why carry money when you can scan your prints or get the eye treatment. We like it easy, but those coins had something on them that we could really use today. Do you even know what I’m talking about? How about In God We Trust?

  And who needs an education? We’ve got machines to think for us. You get sick and you go to the corner drug store and get a body scan, then pick up your meds on your way out; or get a reservation at the nearest chop shop to replace an organ or two, or one of your favorite limbs. And if you’ve got something fatal, well, they might take care of that, too, if you know the right people.

  And when’s the last time you spent any time with your kiddos? Or should I ask, what kids? There was a time when those cute little rug rats would run around the house and get into their parent’s hair. But nowadays the few dozen or so, who are lucky to be born, are raised in the Child Care Monitoring System. Gee, but you’re all good parents, you go to visit them every other Thursday and a couple of weekends a month, but only when you’re not out drinking your face off in some casino downtown. Yeah, we put chips in them as infants, since we don’t want them stolen by the drifters, to sell to the perverts outside. So, I guess that makes us caring moms and dads, but why was birth control a part of that chip? Fewer women are making the decision to have those chips removed when they get married, so it looks like people are on the way out, folks. No one wants the burden of raising the next generation. We need a wake-up call right about now, or there won’t be a next generation.

  And last but not least, what happened to morality. Do you remember that word? Do you even remember yesterday? Drugs are easier to come by than a piece of bubble gum. Someone dies and you’re angry you have to lift your leg to walk over them in the street.

  Okay, enough said about this place. I’m going to disappear . . . go find me a corner to crawl into and read my gangster novels; and watch Cagney, Bogart, and Robinson on my astro viewer. Sure, I’ll miss sharing my adventures with you, of the days of Sam Spade and Mike Hammer . . . where Elliott Ness and Al Capone shot it out, but I’ve made up my mind . . . I’m signing off for good, but not without one more quote from my hero, Philip Marlowe.

  I’m a romantic, you see; I hear voices crying in the night and I go to see what’s the matter. You don’t make a dime that way . . . no percentage in it at all.

  Well, I see a couple of thugs heading my way, so I’d better jump on my ride and aero skip out of here, before they start shooting in my direction.

  This has been your old friend and confidant, Joey Cheats, signing off.

  P/S - I’ll see you in the square, Mare, and we’ll all be alive in sixty-five.

  Copyright 3065 The New City Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

  Posted 5/29/3065 9:31 PM

  Cassie sat on the edge of her bed, mystified. What in the world is this? It doesn’t make any sense, she thought. Then Cassie could feel a cold ripple go through her body. I need to show this to Skye.

  The Slumber Party

  Skye had a somewhat positive approach to her slumber party. She envisioned herself as the Pollyanna of friendship, getting people together and making them have fun, or at least enjoy themselves in some way.

  It was Saturday evening and the party was set, the food was prepared, and the pajamas ready. All that was left were the guests, who were about to arrive.

  Some were coming out of genuine friendship, as others were just coming out of curiosity. Then there were some who were coming to be mean and conniving, as some weren’t invited at all.

  Cassie, Skye, and Carol Jean spread blankets and pillows throughout Sara Davis’ large living room, giving each group of girls a private area to occupy. Food tables were set up for snacks and the punchbowl was filled.

  Skye was wearing flannel pajama
s, with tiny blue flowers, along with furry blue slippers. Her long hair was in braids.

  Carol Jean was wearing a long flannel nightgown, which had seen better days. It had faded pink and yellow flowers, and a rather worn flounce gathered at the hem. Skye wanted to loan her more appropriate attire, being this was in fact a party, but Carol Jean was comfortable. She had no desire to impress anyone, especially the Royals. Wearing that nightgown was her way of spiting them, even though Skye could not figure out why.

  Cassie was wearing a pink fleece pajama top over a pair of gray, long-john pants with feet. There were tiny pink flowers sprinkled throughout the pants, with a pink satin ribbon as a drawstring. She had it tied in a long bow in the front. She wore her long blond locks in pigtails, with matching pink satin ribbons.

  “Oh, Cassie, your PJ’s are so cute, but I thought you’d wear something a little more exotic,” Skye mused, “especially with the Royals coming.”

  “I left it up to Geri and this was her favorite. To tell the truth, I love wearing these. I could care less what the Royals think. If I wore satin, they would be wearing expensive silk from Paris or something. I’m just not going to compete with them. I don’t really need to.

  “Good for you, Cassie, I’m not competing either,” Carol Jean added.

  Cassie and Skye shared a private giggle.

  “So, did Chris say anything about the party?” Skye asked anxiously.

  “Oh, yes, he was practically begging to see what was in my bag. He decided it would be a good time to visit Todd, so he walked me here. I’m wondering if those guys have something up their sleeves.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past them,” Skye said, with a smirk, “but they better not ruin my party.”

  “Can I see your list of guests? I’m dying to see whose coming,” Cassie said, trying to read the list in her hand.

  “Okay, here’s you, Carol Jean, and me,” Skye said with a giggle, unfolding her list: “Sylvia Miles and Mindy Lunch; Carol Jean’s friend, Debbie; the Royals, of course, Linda Williams, Paula Simpson, Vicki Campbell, Cindy Parker, and Mayla Johnson. Oh, and the Peach sister’s, Hope and Faith, are coming. They are little shy, but really nice girls. They play the piano at church. I also invited . . .”

  The doorbell rang, as the first guests began to arrive, as Skye put the list in her pocket and walked to the front door.

  Linda, the Royal’s captain, showed up in a long blue silk and lace nightgown, with matching robe and slippers. Her entourage, of so-called best friends, was similarly dressed.

  “I knew it,” Cassie snickered to Skye. “You see? They think they’re better than us, but like who really cares?”

  “Didn’t we already know that?” Skye whispered, rolling her eyes.

  Sara’s living room had a warm feel to it with an over-stuffed sofa, in the most beautiful colors of turquoise, yellow, and white flowers. There were plaid, over-stuffed chairs in matching colors, which added to the warmth and coziness of the room. There were ample plump pillows on the sofas, and a couple of beautiful Afghans thrown around, to keep everyone snug on the brisk autumn evening.

  Even the Royals grudgingly had to admit the atmosphere was perfect, with the fire going in the large brownstone fireplace. They sat in a circle gossiping and giggling, as each new girl entered the room.

  Sara and Marion were off to the movies in Marshall City for a double feature. They would not be back for hours, so the girls had the house to themselves.

  “Well,” Skye began, “first of all, I want to thank you all for coming and please help yourselves to the food. We’ve got pizza, chips, sodas, and cupcakes. And well, lots of stuff in the kitchen.” Just as Skye was about to continue, the doorbell rang.

  Skye went to answer it, hoping beyond hope it wasn’t Homer Fludge. Standing on the porch, with an overnight bag, was Luanne Root. She was wearing a heavy knit pink sweater, a pair of old jeans, and saddle shoes. Her hair was hanging down around her shoulders.

  “Uh, hi, Luanne, glad you could come,” Skye said, surprised to see her.

  “Oh, well, there wasn’t anything else going on tonight,” Luanne said in her usual bored attitude.

  “Okay, come on in, put your pj’s on and grab some rug,” Skye said, welcoming her.

  Luanne dragged herself passed Skye, as she was directed to the powder room in the hallway where she could change.

  “Oh, great, Luanne decided to come,” Cassie commented, when she went to join Skye at the front door.

  “Yeah, maybe she came to make our lives miserable. She seems to get a kick out of that.”

  Carol Jean stood in the hallway, as Luanne walked past her. Cassie and Skye were coming back in as she walked toward them.

  “You know, there’s just one more person who could just make this whole night complete.”

  “No! Don’t even think that, Carol Jean. Don’t even put it out there . . . please,” Skye begged her.

  Too late, the doorbell rang, again.

  When Skye answered the front door, she was totally surprised by the sight before her. Carol Jean, standing behind Skye, lost it and rushed back to let the other girls to get a peek at the strange sight, waiting for them at the front door.

  “Well, here I am. Where do you want the bed?” Marabelle inquired quite casually. “It appears my invitation got lost in the mail!”

  Behind Marabelle stood Homer, carrying a full size bed, and behind him was Marabelle’s father, with the mattress. Behind Marabelle’s father was her mother, with a suitcase and a picnic basket full of food.

  But that wasn’t the worst sight Skye had ever seen. No, what Marabelle was wearing totally caught her off guard, in a way that left her speechless. She was wearing a gigantic nightgown with bright yellow tweedy-birds all over and a nightcap to match. On her feet were huge tweedy-bird slippers and she was carrying a matching blanket to top it all off.

  “So, Miss Slumber girl, show Homer where to put the bed and we’ll get this party started!” Marabelle pushed past an open-mouthed Skye, as she rammed her way through the girls and into the living room.

  “Uh, wait! No, no you don’t bring a bed to a slumber party, Marabelle . . . stop!” Skye put her hand up to Homer, who was completely mortified.

  Skye hadn’t really spoken to him, since the big misunderstanding after school the day he tried to catch her, but she was able to halt the rest of the Fludge’s before they set up housekeeping for Marabelle.

  “Please, this is a slumber party. All you really need is a sleeping bag and a pillow.”

  Marabelle entered the living room and noticed no one else had their bed.

  “What kind of slumber party is this? No beds?” She turned back to Skye, who was standing helplessly in the doorway.

  “What’s going on here? Are you all a bunch of idiots? Whose idea was it to have no place to sleep?” Marabelle demanded with her hands on her hips.

  “You’re the idiot,” Linda Williams broke in. “No one brings a bed to a slumber party. Everyone knows that, you big buffoon!” Linda laughed, as the other girls joined in.

  “Oh,” was all Marabelle could mumble.

  Mrs. Fludge pushed through the girls, giving Linda a warning look.

  “Sweetie, I told you all of this wasn’t necessary. You just wouldn’t listen.” She then turned to Homer and her husband and told them to take everything back to the house. The men shrugged and walked back out the front door, lugging the bed and mattress.

  Skye could hear snickering and low voices coming from the bushes outside, as she closed the door. She knew something was going on outside the house. She walked into the kitchen and found Carol Jean and Cassie both with their heads down on the kitchen table, trying to muffle their laughter.

  “Well, thanks a lot! My two best friends left me with that mess out there.” The rest of the girls came into the kitchen and joined in the laughter.

  “Does this mean I can’t stay?” A meek Marabelle appeared in the kitchen doorway.

  The rest of the girls
continued to snicker, but Skye had never seen Marabelle look or sound so mortified.

  “Well, of course you can stay. Even if we sleep on sleeping bags, you can sleep on one of the couches,” Skye assured her.

  “I want to use your phone.” Marabelle marched over to the phone on the wall. After a moment or two, she screamed, “Homer, bring me your sleeping bag . . . now!”

  She hung up and smiled as sweetly as she could, as she stared at the girls who were listening to every word she said.

  “Thanks, but I’ll be sleeping on the floor with all you guys.” Then she marched back into the living room and waited for the doorbell to ring.

  Marabelle answered the door, took the sleeping bag from Homer, and started to walk away, but Homer asked if he could speak to Skye. Marabelle yelled to Skye to come to the front door and then dragged the sleeping bad into the living room.

  “I just thought you should know; well, you’ve got company outside, too.” Homer nodded toward some bushes, then turned and left.

  Skye closed the door and went back into the kitchen, where the girls were piling up their plates with some of the goodies Skye had promised. She stood at the kitchen table, with her arms folded, contemplating what to do next.

  Cassie looked at Skye, as she put a piece of pizza on a plate. “Are you okay?”

  “That was Homer. He brought Marabelle’s sleeping bag over. He also told me we might have some other company outside in the bushes.”

  “Oh, really?” Cassie asked curiously.

  Now the rest of the girls were gathered around listening to every word.

  “I had a feeling something like this would happen,” Linda said, smiling at her friends. “And I bet I know who’s out there.” Linda started for the back door.

  “No way.” Skye said narrowing her eyes; I’m responsible for all of us and I’ve had enough of the Royals crap.” Skye said looking straight at Linda.

  “So, like what are you going to do about it?” Linda laughed as she walked out the door.

  Skye started toward Linda and the rest of the Royals when Cassie stopped her.

  “Let them go, Skye. If they want to run around out there in their scanty baby dolls like a bunch of sluts, it’s their choice. Come on, let’s start the games.”

  Marabelle stood at the window, watching to see who might be outside. Forgetting who she was talking to, she spoke up in an excited voice, “I hope my Todd is out there. If he could just get one look at me in my jammies, he’d be mine forever.”

  Skye and Cassie exchanged looks of mock horror.

  Marabelle walked over to the door, turned the doorknob, and looked back at the girls. “It’s really stuffy in here. I think I’ll go out on the porch.”

  Everyone ran into the living room howling and laughing, as all the tension was now gone from the party.

  ***

  Chris and Todd were outside on Todd’s porch, looking down at the Davis’ house, as they listened to the laughing and squealing, echoing up the street toward them.

  “What do you think is going on down there?” Todd asked, stepping off the porch.

  “Doesn’t sound good to me, what do you think?” Chris replied, jumping over the steps and heading for the sidewalk.

  “I think we need to investigate this party,” Todd said, walking down the sidewalk next to Chris.

  As they slowed down to approach the Davis’ house, they could see some of the Royals sitting on the picnic table in the back yard. Peter Parker and a couple of his friends were there also. As they were about to walk past a big oak tree at the edge of the property, they could see Marabelle leaning over the banister of the back porch. She reached out her hand in Todd’s direction and shouted his name. Todd jumped back behind the tree, pulling Chris with him. A loud scream rang out, along with the sound of breaking wood. Peals of laughter followed.

  “Damn it, she saw me,” Todd whispered.

  ***

  It was Cassie’s turn at Charades. She had ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ to act out. She had her arms up over her head, swaying back and forth, when Luanne sashayed into the living room, bumping into her.

  “Oops, sorry, I thought you should know, I just called an ambulance for Marabelle.”

  “What did you do?” Skye shouted. “Are you kidding me? Why would you call an ambulance?”

  “Well, it seemed Marabelle was trying to get Todd’s attention, as she was leaning over your banister. It then seemed to crack a little and then she went with it. She wasn’t moving, I don’t think, so I wasn’t going to go see if she was still alive, so I called the ambulance.”

  Just then, they could all hear the sirens coming closer to the house.

  “Good grief,” Cassie started, “how many ambulances does it take?”

  “Well, it is Marabelle,” Carol Jean said, as she nodded to the other girls.

  The doorbell rang and Skye ran to answer it, but she forgot she was only wearing her PJ's. She swung the door open to a wide-eyed Chris and Todd.

  “Todd,” Skye shouted, “what are you doing here?” Then she looked down at herself and ran to find her robe...

  Cassie slipped on her sweater and walked over to them.

  “You know you guys weren’t invited, don’t you? Besides, half of Parkerville will be here soon and we haven’t even started the party.” She leaned up against the door jam and smiled at Chris.

  An ambulance pulled into the driveway and parked at the back of the house. A fire engine and a rescue truck pulled in behind.

  “What’s going on?” Cassie asked, as she stepped out onto the front porch.

  “Marabelle was leaning over the banister out back and it collapsed. I don’t know if she’s hurt or not,” Chris said, as he and Cassie walked down the porch steps, passing the emergency vehicles.

  Skye and Todd came running after them.

  “Oh dear Lord, I hope she’s not hurt,” Skye cried. “What is my aunt going to think and why is everything going wrong?”

  “Calm down, Skye, it’s not your fault. Things just seem to happen to Marabelle,” Todd spoke up. “No one ever plans these things.”

  Marabelle’s mother and father came running down the driveway.

  “Is my baby hurt badly? Is she going to be alright?” her mother was calling out, tears streaming down her face.

  One of the men from the rescue truck pulled the Fludge’s aside to give them the news. Marabelle would have to go with them, but she would be fine.

  The girls watched, as four men lifted Marabelle into the ambulance. More damage was done to Sara Davis’ porch railing than to Marabelle’s swelling knee. The medics wanted to make sure there were no broken bones, as her mom and dad decided to ride with her.

  The ambulance backed out of the driveway, as Mrs. Fludge yelled out the back window of the ambulance, that her husband would fix the railing and to tell her aunt not to worry.

  “What a sight!” Todd said, shaking his head, as he watched the ambulance drive away. “It looked like a huge flock of tweedy birds attacked her.”

  “Stop it, Todd,” Chris laughed. “We don’t want to look too unsympathetic?”

  “Well, there’s never a dull moment here, that’s for sure,” Skye said, “but why does it always seem to happen to me?”

  “Hey,” Cassie said, pulling away from Chris. “You guys get going! This is a private party and it’s just for girls. So, get outta here . . . now!” She demanded with a little grin on her face.

  Chris nudged Todd and said, “Oh, yeah, right; we need to get going. We’ll see you girls later. Have fun!”

  The two guys slowly and grudgingly started to walk away from the girls, turning and twisting to get another look at them in their PJ’s.

  Luanne came out onto the porch, calling to Skye. “Hey, is the party over?”

  “No way.” Skye yelled and they hurried back into the house. She looked back at the
Royals and their boyfriends, as she closed the door. Once inside she stopped Cassie.

  “Did you notice what’s going on out there?”

  “Well, Linda is making out with Pete on the picnic table. The other Royals are having a make out party on your picnic table with their boyfriends.”

  “Oh I’m so sick of them, why did I ever invite them?” Skye moaned.

  Cassie walked over and stood beside her.

  “They’re just making out, nothing to get upset about. If they don’t want to join in, that’s fine with me.”

  “Okay, it's time to get back to our party." Skye shrugged her shoulders and grabbed a bowl of popcorn, as they headed for the living room.

  Soon, all the remaining girls were doing the cha cha to Monday, Monday, laughing and really having a good time.

  Cassie pulled Skye away, as the party was a success, and everyone was having fun. She needed to talk to her best friend about the article she found in Marion’s secret room.

  “Skye, we need to go up to your room for a minute. I have something to show you.”

  The girls slipped away unnoticed and sat on Skye’s bed.

  “Geri showed me a secret room inside Mrs. Keaton’s closet. She took me in there to find an overnight bag for the party. There were some really strange things in that room, but I was mostly interested in some newspaper articles I found in a folder. Geri walked up behind me, so I couldn’t really take any of them, but one fell into my overnight bag by accident.” Cassie felt her bracelet start to buzz. “Now, I wonder if it really was an accident.”

  Cassie pulled the photos out of her sweater pocket.

  “I know it’s a little hard to read, but I had to get the original back as soon as I could. I was really scared someone would catch me. Can you see how old and crumpled up it looks? She’s had this a long time, and by the look of it, she’s read it over and over.”

  Skye took the first photo and started to read the article.

  “Where’s New City? Do you think he meant New York?”

  “No, it’s New City, look it says, ‘By Joey Cheats, New City News,’ that’s got to be the name of the newspaper, but can you see the date . . . 5/29/3065? I know it’s really small, but I compared it to the original and it’s not a mistake.”

  “This is just a joke Cassie, it can’t be real,” Skye said, as she kept reading. “Look here it says, ‘after more than 3,000 years, we should have found a better way of life.’ How can that be real?”

  “Look, here's another photo. Keep reading, it gets better,” Cassie said, as she watched the expression change on Skye’s face.

  “What in the world is this? What’s an AI or astro viewer?” Skye mumbled as she read the last photo. “Oh, I get it, it’s just a story. You see, it’s written like it happened in the 1930’s. He even sounds like a gangster.”

  “But, Skye, he mentions things that sound futuristic, and what about the post script? ‘I’ll see you in the square, Mare, and we’ll all be alive in sixty-five.’ This is 1965, and Mare could be Marion, don’t you think?” Cassie paused, “Wait a minute; Geri said Marion had a brother named Joey, who lived in the city.”

  “I think you have a wild imagination. Come on, it’s just a guy writing a silly column. He’s pretending to be in the future. Don’t you get it?”

  “I guess so, but why would Mrs. Keaton be holding on to this?”

  “Who knows, most people have their own secrets and private stuff. Trust me, I think my aunt has a bunch of secrets, too, but I wouldn’t want anyone looking through her personal stuff. You should just forget it.”

  Cassie shrugged and put the photos back into her pocket. “We’d better get back downstairs.”

  They were on the bottom step, when the Royals came into the living room, laughing and falling onto the floor in front of the fireplace. Skye gave Cassie a look of disgust, but smiled sweetly at the girls shivering in front of the fire.

  “Hey, Skye, some of us need to use the bathroom. Do you just have the one upstairs?”

  Skye had to grit her teeth. “No, there’s a powder room near the front door and two bathrooms upstairs. We left those two rooms open, so you could find them easily.”

  “Great,” Linda smiled to her friends. “Come on, Cindy, go with me.”

  Cassie pulled Skye aside, once the girls walked up the steps. “Come on, I need to talk to you in the kitchen,” she whispered.

  “Okay,” Skye whispered back, as they hid behind the kitchen door.

  “I think they’re up to something. Does Sara have any secrets up there? You know, like Mrs. Keaton?”

  Skye pointed at the hallway, between the kitchen and the living room.

  “It’s somewhere on that wall, but I can’t find the opening to save my life. I’ve tried to find it, whenever Aunt Sara isn’t home, but I haven’t had much luck. I don’t know if there’s anything upstairs. I haven’t seen anything unusual up there, but then, the hallway looks perfectly normal.”

  “Well, that’s good, but they may know more than we do. I just can’t imagine why they even came to our party, unless they have an ulterior motive,” Cassie added. “We need to keep an eye on them.”

  “Um, are we interrupting anything in here?” Paula asked, with Vicki and Mayla in tow.

  “No, of course not,” Skye lied, with her face turning pink. “We were just getting some more snacks.”

  “Sure you were,” Vicki laughed.

  “Okay, what is it you want?” Cassie asked, “We know you don’t want to be here, so why are you?”

  “My, my, someone isn’t having a very good time,” Mayla answered with a sneer, looking back down the hallway. She smiled and turned back toward Cassie, “You were stupid to tell Chris and Todd to leave, and now you’re being rude to us. Do you really want to commit complete social suicide?”

  Skye had to put herself in front of Cassie.

  “That’s enough. I think you girls should leave.”

  “I think we should, too.” Mayla turned and told Vicki to get Linda. “Our job is done here.”

  “What does that mean?” Skye asked confronting Mayla.

  “Don’t worry about it, sweetie, just get back to your silly slumber party.”

  Now it was Cassie’s turn to hold back Skye, but before she could say anything, Linda and Cindy walked through the kitchen with the other Royals and bounded out the back door.

  No one had heard the car drive up into Sara’s driveway. Connie Williams had her own car, as any prestigious woman of Parkerville would. She had turned off her lights, so she wouldn’t be seen. She sat patiently in her car, waiting for her daughter.

  Linda and her friends walked up to the open window on the driver’s side.

  “So,” Connie began, “were you successful?”

  Linda leaned down and smiled at her mother. “Oh, I think we know where it is.”

  “Good job. Now, Paula, you need to stay behind, since we just don’t have enough room in the car,” Connie said mockingly. “Gosh, I should have driven the station wagon. What was I thinking?”

  All the girls laughed and climbed into the car, as Paula walked back to the house.

  What’s In a Kiss?

  Skye was on her way into the kitchen with a tray full of empty plates, when Paula came in the back door.

  “Did you forget something, Paula?”

  “No, they just didn’t have room for me in the car.”

  “Excuse me . . . what car?”

  “Oh,” Paula started carefully, “Mrs. Williams came by to drive us home. Linda wasn’t feeling well. Gosh, I hope you don’t mind she used your phone, without telling you.”

  “No, of course not,” Skye replied, a little confused.

  “Great, well, I guess I’ll go join the other girls then.”

  Just as Skye was putting the plates down, Carol Jean cornered her.

  “Skye, could I please talk to you privately?” Carol Jean whispered.

>   “Well, I have guests, but okay . . . what’s up?”

  “I couldn’t help but look out the window, when the Royals were making out with their boyfriends.”

  “Uh, okay.”

  “Well, I kind of felt a little stirring in my stomach, watching them. Is that normal?” Carol Jean seemed vulnerable and even a little embarrassed.

  “I’m not sure what you mean by normal?”

  “Look, I know you’ve been kissed by Mac and even Todd. Did either one of them give you that feeling? I mean the stirring in your stomach?”

  “Yeah, well, the first time Mac kissed me, I mean really kissed me, it kind of took me by surprise. I was yelling at him for following me to a high school dance and he was mad that my friend, Chad, asked me to dance. Good grief, I’m at a dance, so I should be able to dance with who ever I want . . . right? Anyway, he came in and pushed Chad out of the way and started dancing with me. I started to walk away from him, when he took my arm and swung me around and kissed me . . . really hard. Yeah, I felt that! But I didn’t want him to think I felt it. I was so furious with him, but I wasn’t going to let him see I enjoyed it. Do you know what I mean? ”

  “I don’t think that’s exactly what she means,” Luanne cut in, putting in her two cents worth. “She means . . . did she feel passion?”

  “Passion?” Carol Jean asked. “Well maybe, just a little, but I don’t care about those boys out there, I still felt something, heck, maybe it was just jealousy.”

  “That’s just a little preview. When you really get kissed, you’ll feel the difference,” Luanne cut back in. “Look, this is a slumber party. Let’s really talk about boys. There aren’t any around, so we can say whatever we want, right?”

  “Okay,” Skye shot back, “what’s your take on it, Luanne? Who’s been kissing you lately?”

  “No one I’d tell you about, but I’ve been kissed and I know what she’s talking about.”

  “Oh, are we talking about kissing? I want in on this,” Cassie said, as she brought some dishes in from the living room.

  “Oh, yeah, I’ll bet you want in on this,” Luanne smirked.

  “Well, are we talking about someone in love,” Cassie asked, “or just a friendly little kiss?”

  “Carol Jean wants to know if every kiss gives you a flutter inside. That’s all.” Skye took a seat at the kitchen table.

  “Well, I can tell you . . .” Cassie started.

  “Yeah, I’m sure you could, Miss Boy Magnet,” Luanne smirked. “You’re a boy-kissing pro.

  “Wow, you talk like you actually know me or something, but you really don’t know anything about me. Yeah, I’ve had my share of boyfriends and kisses, but not as many as you may think.” Cassie stopped and started to giggle, “If you really knew me, you’d know I’m inclined to exaggerate . . . just a little bit.”

  “Alright, I confess. I’ve been kissed,” Faith blurted out.

  “You have never been kissed, Faith, or I would know,” Hope corrected her, a little put back that her sister might have a secret she didn’t know about.

  “I have been kissed.” Faith looked defiantly at her sister.

  Hope put her hands on her hips and glared at her sister.

  “Oh, great!” Carol Jean asked. “Am I the only one here who hasn’t been kissed?”

  “No, Carol Jean, I’m sure you’re not the only one. Look, this is getting out of hand. Why don’t we all go back into the living room, get comfortable, and we’ll each take a turn confessing our wild love stories.” Cassie laughed, leading the way.

  “Well, I certainly want to hear about your first kiss,” Hope whispered loudly to her sister.

  Mindy was talking to Sylvia when the girls hurried back into the living room. Some of the other girls were sitting by the fire or just looking out the windows.

  “Okay, it’s confession time,” Luanne announced. “Here are the rules . . . no secrets, no lies . . . no scarves!”

  All the girls in the living room perked up with excitement. Everyone grabbed their sleeping bags and pillows, and made a big circle in front of the fireplace. Each girl tentatively removed her wrist scarf.

  Skye sat down and looked at Luanne. “I guess you'll be the first to confess who you’ve been kissing . . . right?”

  “Sure, I don’t mind telling you about one of them, but I should also tell you he wasn’t from around here. I met him in Marshall City. We were both visiting relatives there, and his aunt knew my aunt.”

  “Well,” Mindy asked, “who was he?”

  “His name was Chad Cavanaugh.”

  Skye leaned toward Luanne wide-eyed. “How can you say that? You just heard me say his name in the kitchen!”

  “No, not really, you said Chad, but you never mentioned his last name. Did you?” Luanne smiled.

  Skye thought for a moment.

  “No, you didn’t mention his last name,” Carol Jean spoke up.

  Skye threw Carol Jean a killing look and stared toward Luanne.

  “Okay, so you know Chad . . . big deal. I don’t believe for a moment you know him well enough to kiss him!” Skye sneered.

  “Oh, but I do know Chad . . . very well, actually. And he really did kiss me,” Luanne continued to gloat. She raised her right arm and showed the light blue glow from her bracelet.

  “Okay, what’s that supposed to mean?” Skye sighed.

  “Oh, I forgot you’re newbie’s and you haven’t memorized the color scheme of feelings yet. Okay everyone, we need to educate her.”

  Skye narrowed her eyes at Luanne.

  “Alright, alright, that’s enough of Luanne’s little confession. Let’s hear from someone else,” Cassie burst in between Skye and Luanne.

  Luanne moved over to one of the sofas. “I would hardly call one of Chad’s kisses little. He has a way of holding a girl when he kisses her.”

  A hush fell over the party and a couple of odd sounds resonated through one of the windows.

  “Okay, that’s a really great beginning, Luanne,” Cassie broke in, glancing at the window. “Wow, Chad sounds like a guy I knew in the city. His name was Clarence, but he went by Clancy. I had the biggest crush on him in the 7th grade, but I was too shy to even talk to him.”

  “Oh, come on, Cassie, no one’s going to believe that,” Debbie chimed in.

  “Well, it’s true. My family moved a lot when I was young and I was always the new girl in school. I got a lot of attention, which made it even harder to make friends, let alone have a boyfriend. Good grief, I was only thirteen-years old.” 

  “Gosh, I would have never imagined you as shy,” Mindy added.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Luanne cut back in. “So what happened between you and Clancy? It must have been the talk of the whole school, so just tell us your little confession.”

  Cassie let out a sigh and shook her head. “Clancy was very sweet. We went to a football game at school and when I turned to ask him a question, he kissed me. I was totally surprised. I was so embarrassed I moved over and put my jacket in between us. That was the only date we ever had. I guess he thought I didn’t like him, but I did. I felt that kiss all the way down to my toes and the feeling stayed with me for days. I just didn’t know what to do about it, especially when he never spoke to me again.”

  “Oh, Cassie, that’s so sad,” Mindy said. “He was crazy not to give you a second chance, and by the look at your bracelet, you did kind of like him . . . a lot!”

  Cassie blushed and instinctively covered her bracelet with her hand.

  “Yeah, I know exactly how you feel,” Faith added sadly. “My guy dumped me, too.”

  “What guy?” Hope yelled. “Who are you talking about?”

  “Shhh, Hope, Cassie’s confessing, go on, Cassie, who else did you kiss.” Faith snuggled down into her pillow, ignoring her sister.

  “Well, let’s see. After Clancy there was Jimmy. He was really cute and I had just turned fifteen. We went to see a movie and we were having fun, but when he tried to f
rench kiss me, I got up and left the movie theater. I guess he thought he was being sexy or something, but it just grossed me out.”

  All the girls gave out a little scream and started to laugh in agreement.

  “Why do guys do that?” Sylvia added. “I really liked Glen Johnson for while, but he did the same thing. I guess that’s why Mayla’s so wild. It must run in their family.” Sylvia looked over at Paula, who just laughed.

  “What’s wrong with french kissing?” Luanne asked, standing up and moving back to the circle. “I’ve dated Glen a couple of times and I didn’t mind; actually, I kind of liked it. I wouldn’t mind Michael kissing me like that.” Luanne smiled and stared at Skye.

  “Oh, my,” Debbie Abrams broke in, “don’t you think we’re getting a little too . . . graphic? After all, some of us have morals.”

  Everyone turned to stare at Debbie. It was a rare occasion for her to ever speak up in public, let alone join in a conversation. The fact that she actually came to the party was a big surprise to everyone there. She was in Cassie’s homeroom, and a lot of her classes, but she seemed almost invisible in school.

  “Kissing isn’t immoral, Debbie, its fun. Actually, it’s necessary. How else are you going to know if you like a guy or not,” Sylvia interjected. “Gosh, without kissing, how would you know you liked him?”

  “Oh my gosh yes, I went to the movies with a guy named Terry. When he kissed me I felt like I needed a box of kleenix to wipe my mouth afterwards. He was a really sloppy kisser. I didn’t want to make him feel bad by wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, so I just gently pulled a hanky out of my purse and discreetly blotted my mouth. But when I turned back, he kissed me again, gees, it felt like I was kissing a waterfall.” Skye said. “That’s why kissing is so important, it’s a major part of getting to know a guy.”

  The girls all laughed and nodded.

  “I don’t have to know,” Debbie answered. “When it’s my time to marry, it will just happen. Someone will fall in love with me and catch me. I don’t have to worry about it.”

  “Well, I went to the movies once with Toby Moran. It took a long time for him to get up the nerve to kiss me, but towards the end of the movie, he kissed me, then, he pinched my cheek!” Sylvia said.

  “Which cheek?” Luanne asked.

  “What does that matter, I don’t remember? He just pinched my cheek every time he kissed me, I mean, what the heck was that all about? My face was so sore and my cheeks so red, my mom asked me what we’d been doing all night. When I told her, she couldn’t stop laughing.”

  “Um, yeah. He did that to me too. I didn’t want to say anything, but I thought it was strange too.” Paula said shyly. She was finally getting into the conversation with the rest of the girls. “But, I think I know now why he did it.”

  “Oh please, tell us.” The girls all asked.

  “Well, I was walking past the Moran’s house one morning heading to school when I saw Mr. Moran saying goodbye to his wife. He kissed her then he pinched her cheek and said goodbye.” Paula sat back and looked at the group. “It’s true.”

  There was a suspended time of silence in the room, which soon burst into peals of laughter.

  “Wow, he learned to kiss from watching his dad? I think that’s kind of sweet and I still don’t want to kiss a guy until we’re married.” Debbie said.

  “Oh, yeah, good luck with that kind of thinking. Maybe you’ll get lucky and Will or Freddie will catch you,” Carol Jean said, laughing.

  “What’s wrong with Will or Freddie? I’d be proud to be anyone’s wife and I’d certainly be faithful to him,” Debbie replied. “You girls set your values way too high. You will only get hurt with that type of thinking. My mother was caught and never dated, so was my sister and they are perfectly happy.”

  “I’m sure they are,” Luanne quipped, “but I want more than that. I want hot, passionate love!”

  “Oh, really, Luanne, that’s what you want?” Debbie continued. “Is that why you act like you’re hot to trot at the H’ours, but you don’t do anything about it. You’re really no different from me.”

  “You! How dare you compare me to you? I have my fun, believe me. You couldn’t even imagine my love life.”

  “So, you have a love life, but I didn’t hear you mention respect,” Skye said narrowing her eyes again at Luanne.

  “Respect? Who wants respect when you’re snuggled in the arms of someone as handsome as Troy Donahue?”

  “I do,” Mindy spoke up, “I want love and respect. My mother says they go hand in hand.”

  “I do, too,” Carol Jean said next, “truth be known, you will too, someday, Luanne . . . at least self-respect.”

  “Oh, good grief, you’re all a bunch a pathetic hopefuls. I mean, outside of the kissing expert here, does anyone have any really juicy stories to tell?” Luanne glanced at Cassie, smugly raising her eyebrow.

  “Well, Faith, who did you make out with? It must have been someone I’d never kiss, since you kept it from me,” Hope said bluntly.

  “It was Todd Kane,” Faith smugly yelled at her sister.

  There was a drawing in of breath around the room, after that revelation, and Skye just stared at Faith in awe.

  “Oh, give me a break,” Luanne laughed.

  “No, really, he kissed me. Honest. He kissed me.”

  Faith assured everyone in the circle, averting her eyes from Skye and keeping her bracelet out of sight.

  “Okay, if this is true, then when . . . and for Pete’s sakes, why?” Luanne snickered.

  “Hey, why shouldn’t Todd kiss my sister?” Hope glared at Luanne.

  Faith kept her eyes on Hope, as she unraveled the passionate details. “It was when we accidentally broke the bench in the church that last time. I felt really bad, especially for Todd’s dad. I was there when Todd helped his dad bring in their own bench for us to use until they got a new one. Anyway, after his dad left and Todd was getting ready to leave, I went up to him and told him how sorry we were that we broke the bench and to please thank his mom for us. He smiled this beautiful smile at me, then he took my face in both his hands, and he kissed me. There, I said it. That’s my secret.” Faith sat back, glowing.

  Hope leaned toward her sister and hugged her. Everyone could see the bright blue emanating from Faith’s wrist.

  “Oh, I wish I hadn’t left so early,” Hope sighed, “maybe he would have kissed me, too.”

  “You’re not mad at me, are you, Skye? Please don’t hate me?” Faith whispered.

  But before Skye could answer, Luanne leaned into Faith, narrowing her doubt-filled eyes. “Where did he kiss you, Faith?”

  “What do you mean by where? I told you, in the church right after him and his dad . . .”

  “No you big ninny, where on your face did he kiss you?”

  Faith’s face turned bright red.

  “Don’t you talk to my sister like that? Where on earth do you suppose he kissed her, and you’re the ninny, not Faith, you’re just jealous and you’re trying to ruin this wonderful, passionate moment.” Hope glared back at Luanne.

  Once again there was a sound outside the window near the fireplace, and once again everyone stopped and listened.

  Skye leaned forward and looked at Faith.

  “Todd doesn’t belong to me, Faith. I think he’s really cute and a really nice guy . . . one of the nicest.”

  “Oh, come on, you all know Todd didn’t give Faith a passionate kiss! What he did was probably kiss her on the cheek, or the forehead, and she’s blowing it all out of proportion. That’s what really happened . . . right, Faith?” Luanne challenged.

  “I’m really getting sick of you putting my sister down, you creep!” Hope shouted.

  “He kissed me, Luanne, and no, it wasn’t a passionate kiss, but all the same, it was sweet and tender. I’ll never forget it.”

  “Yeah, he’s been doing a lot of charity work these days.” Luanne laughed.

  “Go sit down
, Luanne, or I’ll knock you down!” Hope bellowed.

  The whole room was hushed by this last remark. Cassie knew things were getting too tense, so she tried to lighten up the conversation.

  “Okay, girls, I have another confession. His name was Philip. He was tall and blond, just my type,” she giggled. “I never really noticed him that much at first, but he sat next to me at lunch one day and asked me to meet him in the library, then he just walked away. We were in the 9th grade and I was intrigued, so I went to the library. He asked me what type of books I like to read, and I told him I like a good mystery. I loved Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt. Well, we went to look for a book to read and he asked me out. He was so silly and sweet; I just couldn’t resist him. We went to the park and played on the swings and seesaw. It was a lot of fun, and when he kissed me at the end of the day, it was really nice. I was getting such a crush on this guy, but then he finally ruined it. He called me over the weekend and said he and his brother put a kitten on a piece of wood and pushed it out into the middle of the pond behind his house. He was laughing and telling me how that poor little kitty was crying. I hung up on him and never spoke to him again.”

  Paula, couldn’t help but jump in again.

  “Well, those were sweet little stories you told there, Cassie, but let’s get right to the meat of this conversation. To start with, Tony’s the best kisser in town, then next would be Glen, but Sid really seems to know his way around the girls, too.” She looked over at Sylvia and smiled. “Your brother better watch out or he’ll be getting an old fashioned, shot gun wedding, instead of catching a bride.”

  “How dare you say that about my brother? You’re the one with the bad reputation. You should hear what he says about you.”

  “Hey, I’m not trying to start a fight here, I’m just saying it the way it is. He’s cute, but he thinks he’s as cute as Chris or Todd.” Paula started laughing out loud. “But he’s not! The poor boy needs to understand that. Good grief, he’s not even as cute as Pete.”

  Sylvia got up to challenge Paula, but Mindy stopped her.

  “Come on, girls, let’s not fight. We’re supposed to be telling love stories, not hurting anyone’s feelings. Can we call it a truce . . . please?” Skye broke in.

  “Okay with me,” Paula said, leaning back on her elbows. “We won’t talk about anyone here or anyone they’re related to . . . agree?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “So, Paula, is there anyone else you’d like to share?” Mindy asked.

  “Gee, I thought I already did, but I guess I can come up with a good one,” Paula said, sitting back up and looking over at the noisy window. “Let’s see, oh yeah, there was the time I went to the park with Chris.” She glanced over at Cassie. “You know the bench I’m referring to. Well, we went a little farther than the two of you.”

  Everyone looked at Cassie, waiting for her reaction, but all she did was smile and laugh a little. “Oh, am I supposed to respond to that?” Cassie said, shrugging her shoulders. “Gosh that must have been before I came to Parkerville, but then again, Chris has a lot of girlfriends. We do have our separate lives, you know. Just because we live in the same house, doesn’t mean anything. It’s funny though, I don’t remember him ever mentioning you to me.”

  “Why would he? He’s just playing with you, like a kitten plays with a ball of string. He’ll never marry an outsider. Your only hope would be to marry someone like Tony or Carston. All the outsiders around here need to marry off and leave our town alone.”

  Cassie was a little shocked that a couple of girls seemed to agree with Paula. “What do you mean by that? Wasn’t Tony born here?”

  “Yeah, he was born here, but he’s not related to anyone . . . same difference. His family is only here to run a restaurant. They aren’t really part of our town.” Paula then looked over toward Skye. “Oh, and I’ve also had my share of Todd moments, too.”

  “Who hasn’t,” Luanne cut in laughing. “He can really make a girl purr. But I doubt that ever happened with Faith.”

  “Luanne . . . Paula, if you two continue to berate everyone here with your lack of, shall we say . . . delicacy. Why don’t you just leave,” Skye broke in.

  “Are you kicking me out?” Luanne asked.

  “No, but if you can’t keep your mouth shut for a moment and just listen in good fun, you might want to leave. We’re all getting a little sick of your comments, insults, and lies.”

  There was a lot of nodding of heads at this point and Luanne decided to give up the floor to Skye. She flounced over to the nearest sofa, folded her arms, and pretended to zip her mouth closed.

  “Come on, Skye; tell us about your love life. I want to know what you started to tell me in the kitchen, before we were so rudely interrupted.” Carol Jean glared at Luanne, who stuck her tongue out.

  “Well, okay, I was telling you I had been dancing with Chad and Mac broke in, shoving Chad away so he could dance with me. I was furious, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good to argue with Mac.”

  Luanne let out a huge sigh.

  Ignoring her, Skye continued, “That Sunday, I was out in the barn helping Stan, my brother-in-law, cleaning out one of the stables. Stan went into the house for lunch but I kept sweeping. All of a sudden, Chad was there, leaning up against the barn door watching me. I was startled, but glad to see him. Chad and I had been friends for a long time, but at the dance when he was holding me, that friendship turned into something else . . . something warm and sweet.”

  The other girls sighed as well. Luanne just rolled her eyes.

  “Anyway, he walked over to me and took the broom out of my hand. He’d brought a small transistor radio with him and put it on one of the bales of hay. He turned it on and the song, somewhere, started playing. He took me in his arms and we started dancing. He whispered in my ear, ‘I just wanted to finish what I started last night.’

  Then, he held me closer and I felt his warm breath on my neck. We continued to dance around the barn floor, and as the song ended, he pulled slightly away from me. He looked into my eyes for a moment, before his warm lips touched mine. I closed my eyes and just put all of my pent up feelings for him into that one kiss. I wanted it to last forever. He put his hand at the back of my neck and his kiss became even deeper. Then we broke away. My heart was beating so fast it scared me.” Skye was staring off into space, as she remembered the last time she saw Chad, then, her bracelet turned a brilliant blue.

  “What happened then?” Carol Jean asked breathlessly.

  “Well, he took my hand and led me over to one of the bails and we sat down. He said his dad was promoted and they were leaving for Marshall City in a few days. He also said he didn’t want to tell me like this, but had planned on telling me at the dance the night before, but Kong came between us.”

  Luanne really had no doubts that what Skye said was true between Chad and her, not many girls in the town could compare their looks against Skye and Cassie. But her jealousy got the better of her.

  Then, there was the sound of a brick hitting the wall outside the house.

  “I should go see what that was,” Skye said, starting to get up.

  “Oh, gee, you’re breaking our hearts . . . sob sob. Come on Skye; tell us another story. A true one this time, because that last one was pure fiction. You said you were sweeping up manure in the barn. Well, you’ve been spreading it around here all night. I know Chad, too, and he wouldn’t fall for a farm girl like you. Chad has more sense than that.” Luanne snickered.

  “Not like it’s any of your business, but I met Chad when we were in grade school in Bright Springs, when I lived with my father. I didn’t live on my sister’s farm until I was in high school, but why am I explaining this to you?” Her face was hot with anger.

  “Yeah, well, everything you say is a lie. You just want to fit in here that’s all, and you never will.” Luanne fought back.

  “You know,” Skye, said agitated, “I really need to call Debra Cavanaugh and ask how her nephew
is doing. She used to baby-sit me when I was little, and I know her and his grandmother very well. She really needs to catch me up on everything Chad’s been doing lately, especially all of his new friends.” Skye glared at Luanne.

  “Alright, you little snitch, so you know Chad. So you know his whole family . . . big deal. He knows me now, and I’ve even shown him around Marshall City. We’ve been places he’d never take you! You’re yesterday’s news, Skye. He’s outgrown you!” She looked at Skye, with an evil smile on her face.

  “I’m sure he hasn’t changed so much that he’d get down in the dirt with someone like you, Luanne!” Skye said casually, and turned to walk away.

  “That’s it! I hate you, you rotten little know-it-all!” Luanne lunged off the sofa grabbing Skye’s arm and swung her around. Skye fought her off and the two of them fell down on the sofa yelling, screaming, and tearing at each other’s hair.

  “I’ll blacken those creepy blue eyes of yours!” Luanne screamed.

  “Yeah, well, I’m getting grease all over my hands just from touching your hair, you throwback from the Stone Age!”

  Luanne’s pajama top was getting ripped, as Skye continued to throttle her screaming, “You’re such a lying jerk! Just one big lying, trashy, party-killing jerk!”

  Finally Luanne got her knee up into Skye’s stomach and pushed her away, but not without Skye’s pajama bottoms falling down for a brief moment, exposing a cute pair of bikini panties. Skye quickly pulled them up and grabbed a handful of Luanne’s hair.

  Luanne screamed, “Someone get this maniac off of me!”

  Paula was lying on her stomach with her elbows on the floor, cupping her face and enjoying every moment. “Boy, are Linda and the others missing a great slumber party!” she said out loud.

  Cassie finally walked over and forcibly pulled Skye off Luanne. The other girls just sat on their sleeping bags and watched.

  “You know,” Sylvia started. “This is the best slumber party I’ve ever been to.”

  “Yeah, and the food is great, too! Hope declared. “Come on, Faith, let’s go out to the kitchen and get some more.”

  With that the girls got up from their bags and walked into the kitchen, ignoring Luanne and Skye.

  Carol Jean and Cassie had their hands full just keeping Skye from killing Luanne.

  “I’ve had enough of this,” Luanne said tearfully. “I’m leaving, but you haven’t heard the last of this, Skye. I’ll get you back and everyone will know what a big liar you are. Everything you said about Chad is one big lie, and I’ll prove it!” Luanne grabbed her stuff and stomped out of the room and out of the house.

  “Okay, you can both let me go now. I’m all right,” Skye sighed.

  “That was great!” Carol Jean said, as she also left the room.

  “Yeah, we did have a good time,” Skye added.

  “I’m sure the boys really enjoyed it, too. And, they didn’t even have to pay to watch it!” Cassie said matter-of-factly, pointing to the window.

  Skye just stared at her, “What boys?” as they all headed toward the kitchen.

  ***

  Outside the Davis house, sitting on the cold ground beneath the window, Todd and Chris were silent.

  “Chad?” Todd practically yelled breaking the silence.

  Chris put his hand over Todd’s mouth. “Shut up! Do you want to get caught? So she knows Chad. He’s in Marshall City, as you’re here in Parkerville. You don’t want to blow it again, do you? Skye’s a beautiful girl. Of course she had other guys in her life.”

  Todd looked at Chris, amazed. “Oh, and it didn’t bother you that Cassie kissed some other guys? I’m thinking you just got your ego kicked around a little, too.”

  Chris laughed a little. “My ego is just fine. Good grief, she was 14 or 15 when those guys kissed her. How passionate could they have been? I’m waiting to hear about the next couple of years. If you give us away, we’ll never know.”

  “Yeah, but that kiss I gave Faith, I was just trying to be nice. That’s all!” Todd said.

  Chris gave Todd a punch in the shoulder and chuckled. “But I wouldn’t have missed that little cat fight for anything in the world. I would have paid to see that!”

  “Yeah, that was pretty good. Skye’s a little hellcat, isn’t she! Man, I’d like to see that bikini bottom again! We could have sold tickets.”

  “And just who would you sell the tickets to?”

  Todd and Chris looked at each other, trying to figure out where the voice came from.

  “Over here boys!” Cassie shouted, as she turned the water hose on both of them.

  They yelped and jumped to their feet, as she continued to soak them.

  “You are both in big trouble!” Skye yelled, as she came around the opposite side of the house with another hose.

  The girls inside gathered at the windows on either side of the fireplace, yelling and screaming, all but Hope and Faith.

  “He must have heard,” Faith whispered to her sister.

  “Well, even if he did, Todd is a gentleman. We’ve known him all of our lives. So don’t worry,” Hope assured her sister.

  “Todd Kane, how could you spy on us?” Skye continued to spray him as he came toward her reaching for the hose.

  Chris was headed the opposite direction, with his hands out pushing back at the water. What bothered him most was the gleeful smile on Cassie’s face, as she twisted the water resister for more pressure.

  “Good grief, Cassie! Put that damn thing down. Haven’t I had enough? Come on, I’m freezing!”

  Skye twisted the resister off on her hose and dropped it on the ground.

  “Go home, Todd.” Then she turned to march back into the house, leaving a soaking and embarrassed Todd watching her walk away.

  As Skye walked around to the front of the house, she thought she heard something up in the tree; it was a whirring sound. She looked up and all around the tree, but couldn’t see anything, so she heaved a huge sigh and walked up the front porch steps. She stood for a moment on the porch, and watched dripping and shivering Todd and Chris squishing their way down the sidewalk, heading for the Kane house.

  The party was winding down and everyone was tired. Some of the girls had already curled up in their sleeping bags, quietly talking. Others were just lying on their stomachs, watching the glowing embers slowly die in the fireplace. There was a sweet smell of burnt wood filling the air and it was starting to make everyone drowsy.