without giving anything away.
As soon as the movie was over, Mary Anne dove for the rewind button. "Time for Sixteen Candles/' she said.
"Why don't we watch it later?" I suggested casually. "Wouldn't it be fun to watch it at, like, one or two this morning?"
"Yeah!" said Kristy enthusiastically. (I knew I could count on her. She loves to stay up late.)
Mary Anne looked disappointed, but she didn't want to argue with the rest of us.
"Let's go up to my room for awhile," I said. "You know Cam Geary's girlfriend, Mary Anne?"
"Come Lalique?" she replied immediately.
"Yeah. I bet with a little more make-up I could make you look just like her."
"Really? Oh, hey, great!"
Mary Anne was the first one upstairs. The
rest of us followed. After we'd worked on her for awhile, I said, "Boy, am I thirsty."
"Oh, me, too," chimed in Stacey.
"So am I," said the others at once. (It figured, after all that sugar.)
"I'll go get some sodas," I said. "Come with me, Stace. Okay?"
"You have soda?" asked Claudia skeptically. "Or do you mean Perrier or sparkling, saltless mineral water from an artesian well or something?"
I tried not to sound sarcastic. "Yes, we have soda. Real soda. Mom bought it for the party. One hundred percent sugar."
"Good," said Claudia, not cracking a smile.
"Come on, Stace."
We ran downstairs. It was time to put our plan into action.
"What's your mom going to say?" asked Stacey nervously.
"Nothing," I replied. "I warned her when we went upstairs before. And Jeff's already in bed, so we don't have to worry about him. Unless the screaming gets too loud."
Stacey laughed. She and I stopped in the kitchen for flashlights. We turned them on, aimed the beams out the back door, and crept outside as quietly as possible. I led Stacey into
the barn, shoved aside the bale of hay, and showed her the trapdoor. We lowered ourselves down the ladder.
"I don't believe it," whispered Stacey slowly. "This is awesome."
"Are you scared?" I asked. I hadn't told her about Jared Mullray.
"Not really. I'm not wild about the dark, but . . . let's go!"
When we'd climbed the flight of stairs and turned the corner, we paused to listen. Very faintly we could hear the voices of Mary Anne, Claudia, and Kristy.
"Now?" whispered Stacey.
"Now," I replied. "And when they've had enough, just follow me."
"Okay."
Stacey rapped lightly on a wall of the passage. I scratched on another.
We paused. The girls were still talking.
"Louder," I whispered.
We rapped and scratched more loudly. The talking stopped, then started again.
"Closer," I suggested.
We crept down the passage. Our friends' voices grew louder.
Rap, rap. Rap, rap, rap.
Scritch, scratch.
Then I distinctly heard Claudia say, "Did you guys hear something?"
Stacey and I tried not to laugh.
"Try wailing/' said Stacey.
"Oooooo-eeeeee. Heeeeeelp meeeeee!" I wailed.
"Whoooooo-oooooo-eeeeee. I caaaaaannot reeeeeest!" cried Stacey. It was a brilliant choice of words.
"Aughh!" cried one of the girls in my room, but I couldn't tell which one.
"Oh, no! If s Jared! Ifs the ghost of the secret passage!" yelped Mary Anne.
"What?" asked Kristy. "What ghost?" (She was probably thinking of old Ben Brewer.)
"What secret passage?" added Claudia.
Rap, rap, rap. Bang, bang, bang.
I noticed a pipe, and tapped my flashlight on it. Clink, dink.
"Aughh!" The shrieking in the bedroom sounded more frightened. We heard a crash.
"I think thaf s enough," I said. "Come on."
I dashed to the end of the passage and released the catch. The wall of my bedroom slowly opened inward.
Stacey and I were looking in on a disaster area. A chair had been knocked over. A container of eye shadow was on the rug. The
sleeping bags were rumpled, as if they'd been run over by galloping horses. And Kristy, Claudia, and Mary Anne were huddled on my bed.
"I told you it was the ghost," Mary Anne was moaning.
Then Stacey and I stuck our heads in the room. When Kristy saw us, she fell off the bed.
There was a
As soon as the movie was over, Mary Anne dove for the rewind button. "Time for Sixteen Candles/' she said.
"Why don't we watch it later?" I suggested casually. "Wouldn't it be fun to watch it at, like, one or two this morning?"
"Yeah!" said Kristy enthusiastically. (I knew I could count on her. She loves to stay up late.)
Mary Anne looked disappointed, but she didn't want to argue with the rest of us.
"Let's go up to my room for awhile," I said. "You know Cam Geary's girlfriend, Mary Anne?"
"Come Lalique?" she replied immediately.
"Yeah. I bet with a little more make-up I could make you look just like her."
"Really? Oh, hey, great!"
Mary Anne was the first one upstairs. The
rest of us followed. After we'd worked on her for awhile, I said, "Boy, am I thirsty."
"Oh, me, too," chimed in Stacey.
"So am I," said the others at once. (It figured, after all that sugar.)
"I'll go get some sodas," I said. "Come with me, Stace. Okay?"
"You have soda?" asked Claudia skeptically. "Or do you mean Perrier or sparkling, saltless mineral water from an artesian well or something?"
I tried not to sound sarcastic. "Yes, we have soda. Real soda. Mom bought it for the party. One hundred percent sugar."
"Good," said Claudia, not cracking a smile.
"Come on, Stace."
We ran downstairs. It was time to put our plan into action.
"What's your mom going to say?" asked Stacey nervously.
"Nothing," I replied. "I warned her when we went upstairs before. And Jeff's already in bed, so we don't have to worry about him. Unless the screaming gets too loud."
Stacey laughed. She and I stopped in the kitchen for flashlights. We turned them on, aimed the beams out the back door, and crept outside as quietly as possible. I led Stacey into
the barn, shoved aside the bale of hay, and showed her the trapdoor. We lowered ourselves down the ladder.
"I don't believe it," whispered Stacey slowly. "This is awesome."
"Are you scared?" I asked. I hadn't told her about Jared Mullray.
"Not really. I'm not wild about the dark, but . . . let's go!"
When we'd climbed the flight of stairs and turned the corner, we paused to listen. Very faintly we could hear the voices of Mary Anne, Claudia, and Kristy.
"Now?" whispered Stacey.
"Now," I replied. "And when they've had enough, just follow me."
"Okay."
Stacey rapped lightly on a wall of the passage. I scratched on another.
We paused. The girls were still talking.
"Louder," I whispered.
We rapped and scratched more loudly. The talking stopped, then started again.
"Closer," I suggested.
We crept down the passage. Our friends' voices grew louder.
Rap, rap. Rap, rap, rap.
Scritch, scratch.
Then I distinctly heard Claudia say, "Did you guys hear something?"
Stacey and I tried not to laugh.
"Try wailing/' said Stacey.
"Oooooo-eeeeee. Heeeeeelp meeeeee!" I wailed.
"Whoooooo-oooooo-eeeeee. I caaaaaannot reeeeeest!" cried Stacey. It was a brilliant choice of words.
"Aughh!" cried one of the girls in my room, but I couldn't tell which one.
"Oh, no! If s Jared! Ifs the ghost of the secret passage!" yelped Mary Anne.
"What?" asked Kristy. "What ghost?" (She was probably thinking of old Ben Brewer.)
"What secret passage?" added Claudia.
Rap, rap, rap. Bang, bang, bang.
I noticed a pipe, and tapped my flashlight on it. Clink, dink.
"Aughh!" The shrieking in the bedroom sounded more frightened. We heard a crash.
"I think thaf s enough," I said. "Come on."
I dashed to the end of the passage and released the catch. The wall of my bedroom slowly opened inward.
Stacey and I were looking in on a disaster area. A chair had been knocked over. A container of eye shadow was on the rug. The
sleeping bags were rumpled, as if they'd been run over by galloping horses. And Kristy, Claudia, and Mary Anne were huddled on my bed.
"I told you it was the ghost," Mary Anne was moaning.
Then Stacey and I stuck our heads in the room. When Kristy saw us, she fell off the bed.
There was a
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