open …
An empty room. Not even a note!
I stood there, panting. Caroline peered over my shoulder, just as confused.
“Why would he lock an empty room?” I asked eventually.
“Another mystery.”
“More like a dead end.” We were both quiet for a long time.
“Maybe I should go,” Caroline said gently.
“No, stay. You haven’t picked out any books yet. Are you hungry? We’re having sloppy joes tonight. Come on.”
Caroline followed me outside. “You have so many leaves! I used to love to go to Amanda’s and make a big leaf pile. We’d jump in it for hours. She doesn’t like to do that anymore.”
“Don’t you have your own trees?”
Caroline shook her head. “We don’t even have a yard. We live above the deli in town.”
“We could play in the leaves.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Hang on.” I slipped back into the barn and got two rakes.
“Here.” Caroline ran and stood under a tree near the driveway with branches that hung low around our shoulders. “We can make the pile here and then jump out of the tree.”
We scrambled around trying to make the leaf pile as quickly as possible. Caroline made neat sweeps with the rake, but every time I looked over at her, she swung her rake fast and threw the leaves up high in the air with a goofy smile. It made me think of a clown doing something in a hurry. I couldn’t help laughing.
It took a long time, maybe an hour, to get the pile deep enough for us. We were both sweating even though it was getting kind of cold out. The sun had almost set.
“You first,” I said. “It was your idea.”
“Okay.” Caroline climbed onto the lowest branch and flopped backward into the pile. “Ah! That was great! But, ouch …”—she stood up and rubbed her bum—“my tailbone.”
I had never before seen anyone play in leaves in tights and a skirt. She didn’t seem to mind, though.
I climbed onto the low branch. I wouldn’t hurt my tailbone.
“Belly flop!” I yelled, spreading my arms and heading front-first into the leaves.
“Ha, ha! Good idea!” Caroline scooted back into the tree and echoed my battle cry, not giving me even a second to get out of the way. She landed on top of me and we both howled, laughing so hard.
“Get up!” I threw a fistful of leaves at her.
“Oh yeah?” She scooped up a handful of leaves and rubbed them against my head. We gave each other noogies until Caroline tumbled back and spread her arms to make leaf angels.
Car lights bounced down the driveway.
“Who’s that?” Caroline sat up.
“Uncle Hugh.”
“Come on, let’s hide and surprise him.”
We scrambled under the leaves, completely hidden.
“Wait, wait,” I whispered. The car stopped. Uncle Hugh’s feet crunched the gravel, his door slammed. “Now.”
“
Boooo!
” We both jumped up and threw as many leaves as we could.
Uncle Hugh wasn’t scared. He started laughing! Then he wiped the tears out of his eyes. “Cricket, who’s this crazy kid?”
“Caroline,” I said.
“Wonderful. Welcome, Caroline.” He turned to go in. “Come on. You’ll have some cleaning up to do. Aunt Bessie won’t let two hoodlums come to her dinner table.” I looked at Caroline: her usually smooth hair was all fuzzy and full ofbroken bits of leaves. Her skirt was pulled up and twisted and there were leaves stuck all over her clothes, too. I probably looked just as bad.
We picked up our backpacks and ran to the porch. We tried to get off all the leaves; the ones on our clothes were easy. But there were also leaves
in
our shirts. We had another fit of laughing when Caroline found some clumped inside her tights.
“Girls!” Uncle Hugh called from inside.
“Coming!”
When we paraded into the kitchen, Aunt Bessie said, “There’s a hairbrush in the bathroom.”
We giggled some more on our way there. I handed Caroline my hairbrush and she easily brushed her hair out. Mine would be a lot harder: my hair tie had disappeared while we were having noogie
An empty room. Not even a note!
I stood there, panting. Caroline peered over my shoulder, just as confused.
“Why would he lock an empty room?” I asked eventually.
“Another mystery.”
“More like a dead end.” We were both quiet for a long time.
“Maybe I should go,” Caroline said gently.
“No, stay. You haven’t picked out any books yet. Are you hungry? We’re having sloppy joes tonight. Come on.”
Caroline followed me outside. “You have so many leaves! I used to love to go to Amanda’s and make a big leaf pile. We’d jump in it for hours. She doesn’t like to do that anymore.”
“Don’t you have your own trees?”
Caroline shook her head. “We don’t even have a yard. We live above the deli in town.”
“We could play in the leaves.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Hang on.” I slipped back into the barn and got two rakes.
“Here.” Caroline ran and stood under a tree near the driveway with branches that hung low around our shoulders. “We can make the pile here and then jump out of the tree.”
We scrambled around trying to make the leaf pile as quickly as possible. Caroline made neat sweeps with the rake, but every time I looked over at her, she swung her rake fast and threw the leaves up high in the air with a goofy smile. It made me think of a clown doing something in a hurry. I couldn’t help laughing.
It took a long time, maybe an hour, to get the pile deep enough for us. We were both sweating even though it was getting kind of cold out. The sun had almost set.
“You first,” I said. “It was your idea.”
“Okay.” Caroline climbed onto the lowest branch and flopped backward into the pile. “Ah! That was great! But, ouch …”—she stood up and rubbed her bum—“my tailbone.”
I had never before seen anyone play in leaves in tights and a skirt. She didn’t seem to mind, though.
I climbed onto the low branch. I wouldn’t hurt my tailbone.
“Belly flop!” I yelled, spreading my arms and heading front-first into the leaves.
“Ha, ha! Good idea!” Caroline scooted back into the tree and echoed my battle cry, not giving me even a second to get out of the way. She landed on top of me and we both howled, laughing so hard.
“Get up!” I threw a fistful of leaves at her.
“Oh yeah?” She scooped up a handful of leaves and rubbed them against my head. We gave each other noogies until Caroline tumbled back and spread her arms to make leaf angels.
Car lights bounced down the driveway.
“Who’s that?” Caroline sat up.
“Uncle Hugh.”
“Come on, let’s hide and surprise him.”
We scrambled under the leaves, completely hidden.
“Wait, wait,” I whispered. The car stopped. Uncle Hugh’s feet crunched the gravel, his door slammed. “Now.”
“
Boooo!
” We both jumped up and threw as many leaves as we could.
Uncle Hugh wasn’t scared. He started laughing! Then he wiped the tears out of his eyes. “Cricket, who’s this crazy kid?”
“Caroline,” I said.
“Wonderful. Welcome, Caroline.” He turned to go in. “Come on. You’ll have some cleaning up to do. Aunt Bessie won’t let two hoodlums come to her dinner table.” I looked at Caroline: her usually smooth hair was all fuzzy and full ofbroken bits of leaves. Her skirt was pulled up and twisted and there were leaves stuck all over her clothes, too. I probably looked just as bad.
We picked up our backpacks and ran to the porch. We tried to get off all the leaves; the ones on our clothes were easy. But there were also leaves
in
our shirts. We had another fit of laughing when Caroline found some clumped inside her tights.
“Girls!” Uncle Hugh called from inside.
“Coming!”
When we paraded into the kitchen, Aunt Bessie said, “There’s a hairbrush in the bathroom.”
We giggled some more on our way there. I handed Caroline my hairbrush and she easily brushed her hair out. Mine would be a lot harder: my hair tie had disappeared while we were having noogie
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