Tyson and Tom Davis know they should be doing something with their time other than playing video games, but their two older brothers aren’t home, and they have to take advantage of the easy access. Their mother wishes they would put more effort into studying, but she has accepted that her twins will never be brain surgeons. They have other gifts, like their gentle, good natures and the way they get joy out of life’s simpler pleasures.
When the doorbell rings they call their mom, but she’s on the phone and tells them to answer it. Tom reluctantly puts down his joystick and picks up the half-eaten ice pop he had set aside. He opens the door without looking outside first, which he knows he’s not supposed to do, but he wants to get back to the game. He is surprised to see Josie Taylor, a girl from school, standing on his front step like it’s the most natural thing in the world for her to be doing. She starts talking, but Tom can’t seem to focus on her words. He sees Zoey and Megan by the minivan. They scare him a little. They’re always telling secrets and giggling.
Tyson wonders what is keeping Tom and bets it’s a Girl Scout selling cookies. Last year Tom completely forgot to order the Thin Mints, and there is no way Tyson’s going to let that happen again. He hurries to the door. To his surprise, there is no Girl Scout. He eagerly agrees to Josie’s proposal. Hanging out with four girls for the afternoon beats playing video games with his brother hands down. Plus it’s a nice, warm day and it will be good to be outside.
5:10 P.M.– 6:45 P.M.
Chapter 9A: Josie
“Where are we headed?” Tyson asks as we pull away from their house.
“To Celebration,” Zoey replies. Then she leans forward and tells Katy and me, “The deli on Celebration Avenue has free papers by the door. I’ll run in when we get there. Fifty minutes left!”
I drive a bit too fast into Celebration, which luckily is only two exits off the 417 from the boys’ house. As soon as I pass the sign welcoming us to Celebration, I feel like I’ve left Orlando and entered small-town America. The Disney Company built it to feel that way. The houses are done in a Victorian-meets-the-Old-South style with big wraparound porches and white picket fences. The whole town is really clean and uncluttered. I feel instantly calmer whenever I come here. I pull up in front of the deli so I don’t have to find a parking space, and Zoey jumps out. A minute later she’s back, empty-handed.
I lean out my window. “What happened?”
“They’re all out,” she says dejectedly. “The guy said a group of girls came in and took the whole pile.”
“Oh, that’s just not playing fair,” Megan says, hopping out of the car. “C’mon, we’ll check the other stores.”
Celebration only has four other places to check, so it doesn’t take the two of them very long. “All we could find was this.” Zoey hands Katy a flyer advertising a town picnic.
“I don’t think that’s going to cut it.”
“Wait a second,” I say, turning around to face everyone. “Remember we went to Mr. Simon’s house on our Last-Hurrah Hal- loween? He lives here in town. He must get the paper, right?” I’m already pulling away from the curb as Megan says, “Maybe next Halloween should be the Last Hurrah instead. As I recall, Mr. Simon gave out full-size Snickers.”
“Face it, Megan,” Zoey says with a sigh. “We’re just too old. Last year was embarrassing enough.”
A few more turns and we are in front of his house. I turn off the car. “There’s no way I’m going in there alone this time.”
Katy quickly undoes her seatbelt. “We’ll all go.”
Everyone piles out of the minivan, including the boys.
“Uh, sorry,” Katy says, holding up her hand. “You guys have to wait in the car.”
“Can we sit on the curb?” Tyson asks.
“I don’t see why not,” Katy says. They plop down on the clean white curb and somehow manage to give the impression that they are comfortable. Tyson gently rests Fang’s tin on his lap. For teenage boys, they are very well behaved.
We hurry up to the front door and this time Megan rings the bell.
He opens the door and it takes a second for him to recognize us as his students. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asks, smiling. “Did you run out of gas?”
“Not exactly,” I say. “We sort of need to ask you a favor.” He is wearing shorts and a t-shirt and looks even hotter than he does at school.
He steps aside for us to come in. Before he closes the door he says, “Are those the Davis twins?”
I nod.
“Are they coming in too?” he asks.
I shake my head.
He gives them one last look and then closes the door the rest of the way. “So what can I do for you?”
Megan steps forward and blurts out, “We need a copy of the Celebration paper, but we can’t tell you why or else that would mean you were helping us and that’s against the rules and one of us” — she glances hard at Katy — “is very particular about the rules.”
“I think I have it somewhere,” he says. “And don’t worry, I won’t ask any questions.” He winks and heads off into another room.
“He’s so cute,” Megan whispers. “Maybe I’ll take photography next year! Should I ask him if he has any Snickers left?”
We all strongly shake our heads.
“Oh my god!” Zoey says loudly, then swiftly lowers her voice. “We could get another item on the list right here!”
“Which one?” Katy asks, confused.
“The underwear from a teacher!”
Megan squeals. “We’d definitely win, then!”
I grab Zoey’s arm. “No, we can’t do that! What if he catches us? He’ll fail me!”
“Don’t be such a worrier,” Megan says. “I’ll run upstairs. It’ll only take a second. You can tell him I went to find a bathroom.”
Before I can say anything she turns and runs up the stairs.
I lean my head against Katy’s shoulder and squeeze my eyes shut. In my head I make a silent plea for Mr. Simon not to come back before Megan returns.
A few seconds later Katy twitches her shoulder and I open my eyes. He’s back with the newspaper in his hand. He hands me the paper and looks around. “Where’s your other friend?”
My mouth appears unable to function, so Katy gives the excuse. We stand around for another few seconds and then hear a toilet flush upstairs. Good thinking, Megan. She comes down the stairs, her eyes shining. There’s a new bulge in the front pocket of her shorts.
“Any problem finding it?” he asks.
Megan grins. “Nope. Second door on the right.”
I force myself to speak. “Thanks, Mr. Simon, we’ve really gotta go.”
“See you in class tomorrow, Ms. Taylor,” he says as we file past him out the door. “Hi, boys,” he calls out to the twins.
“Hi, Mr. Simon,” they say together, and stand up when they see us coming.
I clutch the paper so tightly I feel like my hand is going to bleed. We jump in the car and I fumble with the keys. Finally we pull away and around the corner. I put the car in park and turn around to Megan.
“So what did you get? Boxers? Tighty-whities?”
She shakes her head and pulls something black and yellow out of her pocket. “Tada! A leopard-print thong!”
“No way!” Zoey says, grabbing it from her. “This must be Ms. Robinson’s, I mean Mrs. Simon’s!”
Katy and I just gape. The boys whistle. I guess she isn’t as frigid as we all thought!
“Yup. It was either this or the French maid outfit! I figured she’d miss this one less.”
“Oh, we are so going to win!” Zoey says, bouncing in her seat. “I can’t believe she wears that stuff. I’ll never look at her in class the same way again!”
“Time check,” Katy says.
Zoey checks her watch. “Uh-oh, only twenty minutes left and we still need so many things.”
I throw the car into drive and head out of town. Katy takes out her list and crosses off the newspaper a
nd the underwear. “What about the model of a spaceship?”
“Uh, we have one of those,” a male voice pops up from the back row.
Katy shakes her head. “Against the rules.”
Rob used to have a plastic Star Trek Enterprise hanging from his ceiling in his pre-cool days, but my mother sold it for a dollar at a garage sale last summer. But come to think of it, I saw a spaceship in my house just this morning. “Hey, do you think a piñata shaped like a spaceship counts?”
“I don’t see why not,” Katy says.
“Do we have time to swing by my house?”
“Just barely,” Zoey replies. “Don’t you think we have enough stuff to win?”
“We can’t be sure,” Megan says. “I mean, if someone stole all the newspapers in Celebration, they’re playing to win too.”
I go as fast as I can without speeding. As we approach my house, Katy points to a Jeep parked in front. “Who’s that?”
I pull up next to it, trying to get close enough to see in without scraping the side. Of all people, Grant Brawner is sitting in the passenger seat. His friend Stu is next to him. I pull past them into the empty driveway. No one else is home yet.
“What are they doing here?” Megan asks.
Katy turns to me with wide eyes. “Maybe Grant is going to ask you to the prom!”
“Really? Do you think so?” I glance in the rearview mirror to check how I look. A bit ragged. More than a bit, actually.
“Doubtful,” Zoey says.
“Hey, it’s possible!” I say indignantly.
“No offense, Josie,” she says, “but it’s more likely he’s here staking out your brother. Waiting for him to show up so they can ambush him with darts. I’ve seen it before.”
“We’ll just find out for ourselves,” Katy says, getting out of the car. She marches right over there, totally not heeding my begging her not to. I have no choice but to catch up with her. The boys get out of their car when they see us coming. We’re like two rival gangs heading toward each other. The two of them, and the six of us, because I forgot for a minute the Davis twins were with us.
“Hey,” Grant says to me when we meet on the front lawn. “Hey,” I reply.
“You live here, right?”
“Uh, huh.”
“Would it be okay if we used your bathroom?”
Okay, so it wasn’t an invite to the prom. “Both of you?”
Stu steps forward. “We drank a lot of Coke running around town this afternoon.” He holds up his dart gun. “Gotta have the caffeine to stay on our toes, you know.”
Zoey puts her hands on her hips. “Are you going to leave your guns in the car?”
“Sure,” Grant says, holding up both hands to show they’re empty. “No problem.”
“It’s okay,” I tell them. “Rob isn’t home anyway.”
Grant looks surprised. “Oh, Rob Taylor is your brother? I hadn’t put that together.”
Zoey looks doubtful, but I ignore her. Megan is busy checking out Stu.
“You can come in,” I tell them. “But we only have two minutes, so you better be fast.”
“That’s fine,” Grant says.
“We really appreciate it,” Stu echoes. “It was your house or the woods.”
I open the front door and hear that Mom left the television on in the den. She does that sometimes to ward off burglars, since our alarm broke last month. I point out the guest bathroom, and Stu takes off around the corner.
“Wow,” Tyson Davis says, taking in all the streamers and signs. “Your parents really do it up for your birthday.”
Grant turns to me. “It’s your birthday today? Happy birthday.” I can’t help but feel a little weak in the knees. “Thanks.” “Fourteen minutes, Josie!” Zoey warns.
I run into the kitchen to get the scissors and hand them to Katy. She reaches up and is about to cut down the piñata when we hear Stu yell, “Gotcha! You’re out!”
Rob comes running into the hallway from the den, rubbing his right arm. Stu gives Grant a high five and then takes off again, this time presumably to use the bathroom for real.
“What the hell, Josie?” Rob says angrily. “Why did you let them in the house?”
My mouth falls open. Zoey mumbles, “Told you so.”
“But...but...your car...it’s not here, and Mom said you were gone.” I stumble over my words. “I’m really sorry. If I had known you were home I would never have let them in.”
He grabs a juice box from the fridge and slams the door shut. He must really have wanted to win. I haven’t seen him this angry in a long time. The Davis twins edge closer to the wall.
“I left the car at Danny’s,” he says through gritted teeth. “As a decoy.”
Just then we hear, in a British accent, “Sod off!” and Danny comes running into the hall, naked except for a pair of graying tighty-whities. Stu follows, his dart gun useless at his side. “Ha!” Danny says triumphantly. “I have foiled your dastardly plot.”
Megan starts laughing this big gulping laugh and I cover my eyes. If anyone would take advantage of the underwear clause it would have to be Danny. He doesn’t seem to care that we’re in the room. The four boys start yelling at each other.
“Seven minutes!” Zoey yells over the din.
Katy hurries and snips the rope, careful not to let the piñata fall. I figure this isn’t the best time to ask Rob for a picture of him and Anne kissing. We’ll just have to do without that item.
“Put on some clothes, man,” Stu says as Danny pushes him and Grant out the door.
“I’m really sorry, Rob,” I repeat. I grab the piñata and we run out also.
“It’s been that kind of day,” he says sadly, shutting the door behind us.
By the time we arrive at Jenny Waxner’s house — with two minutes to spare — it’s nearly dark out. Her father points us word-lessly to the backyard. Megan holds the duffle, Katy has the piñata securely under her arm, and the boys trail behind with Zoey and me. There must be eighty kids sprawled around the yard, which is lit by big floodlights. We find the poster with our names on it and practically fall to the ground we’re so exhausted. The first person I see is Missy Hiver, who looks at the Davis twins and sneers. She actually sneers. Clearly she’s jealous that we thought of them first.
Everyone else has their stuff laid out in front of them, so we do the same. I’m amazed at how many things on the list we actually managed to find. I wish it wasn’t so crowded so I could see what the other teams got. I’m sure ours is the only spaceship piñata.
Jenny walks through the yard holding a clipboard and conferring with her fellow class officials. When she gets over to us, the first things she sees are the Davis twins. I can tell she’s about to ask why they’re with our group, when it dawns on her.
“Very good,” she says, nodding. “Extra points for creativity.” Zoey nudges Megan and whispers, “Make sure she sees the panties!”
Megan displays them proudly in her outstretched hands. Jenny leans in for a closer look and asks, “Whose are they?”
“Mrs. Simon’s!” Megan announces with a flourish.
“Who?”
“You know, Ms. Robinson, the biology teacher?”
“No way!” Jenny says, laughing. Her friends take a closer look too. “How’d you get them?”
“Ah, now that’s a secret I’ll take to the grave,” Megan says. “So, do we win?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” She takes inventory of the rest of our stuff and moves on to the next team.
“Look,” Katy says, pointing a few teams down. “Amelia is here. I bet her team broke every rule.”
We all turn to see Amelia twirling a bra around her finger. She’s sitting right under one of the lights, so I can tell it’s red. And lacy.
“Whose do you think that is?” I ask.
“It’s probably hers,” Zoey says. “I’ll go find out.”
“Ask her if she has any ice cream left,” Megan calls out as Zoey weaves her way thr
ough the crowd. We watch as Amelia stops twirling when Zoey approaches. The Davis twins have moved a little closer and are watching too. A minute later Zoey returns, clearly disappointed.
“It’s real,” she says, plopping down. “They got it from the clothesline behind Ms. Connors’s apartment.”
“People still have clotheslines?” Megan asks.
Katy looks stunned. She must’ve really hoped Amelia would get caught in a lie. “But if it was a clothesline,” Katy reasons, “then how did they know for sure it was hers?”
“They watched her hang it up,” Zoey says.
“It’s definitely Ms. Connors’s,” Tom says quietly.
We all turn to stare at him, including his brother.
Tom reddens. “It’s no big deal. I was standing at her desk once and she was wearing a really low cut dress and I saw it. Well, the top of it anyway.”
Tyson looks impressed. Katy just looks pissed.
“If it makes you feel any better, Katy,” Zoey says, “I think they spent so much time getting the bra they didn’t get many other things.”
“Shh,” Megan says. “They’re announcing the winners!”
Jenny holds up a battery-operated microphone and says, “You guys did an amazing job. Almost all of you found a copy of the Kama Sutra, and may I remind you now to put them back in your parents’ nightstands!”
Everyone laughs. She continues. “And many of you realized there are no paper menus at Donald’s Hot Dog Hut and found interesting ways to compensate for it, including writing the menu on your stomachs.” The guys next to us stand up and pull up their shirts. Megan whistles. “We’ve tallied up the points and I will distribute the prizes to the winning teams, so stay seated.” The four of us grab each other’s hands as she makes her way around the yard distributing Sizzler gift certificates to the seven third place winners. She hands the last one to Missy Hiver, who immediately tosses it to her friend Tara like it burns her.
“We have a tie for second place,” Jenny announces. Katy grips my hand tighter. I think we’d all be very happy with second place.