Rebekah, Mouse & RJ: Special Edition
Prank Gone Wrong
By
PJ Ryan
~~~
Copyright © 2013 PJ Ryan
Cover Illustration by Carolina Storni
All rights reserved.
PJRyanBooks.com
Rebekah, Mouse and RJ each have their own fun short story series and sometimes they come together, bringing you these special editions.
They all love hanging out, solving mysteries and playing pranks together and we hope you will enjoy these special times as well.
Like the other series, each is a short story for children ages 9-12 with the remaining titles to be published on a regular basis. Each title can be read on its own.
I’d really love to hear from you!
I very much appreciate your reviews and comments so thank you in advance for taking a moment to leave one for “Prank Gone Wrong.”
Sincerely,
PJ Ryan
Join Rebekah and RJ’s fun Facebook pages for young detectives here:
https://www.facebook.com/RebekahGirlDetective
https://www.facebook.com/pages/RJ-Boy-Detective/1382228825343751
Table of Contents
Title
Introduction page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Next Steps
Now Available in Audio!
Preview: Rebekah - Girl Detective #1
Other Titles
Legal Notices
Chapter 1
“No problem, you two have a great time,” Rebekah's mother said in to the phone just before she hung it up. Rebekah had been standing casually beside her mother while she talked on the phone. She knew that she was talking to Aunt Janene, her cousin RJ's mother. RJ was her older cousin, and he was a fantastic detective. Rebekah learned all kinds of tips and ideas from him.
“Okay, you can stop eavesdropping now,” Rebekah's mother said with a patient smile. “Do you want to hear the news?”
“Yes, yes,” Rebekah nodded her head quickly, making her crimson hair bounce up and down. Her green eyes were huge with curiosity.
“RJ is coming to spend the weekend with us!” her mother announced happily. “Your aunt and uncle won tickets for a weekend trip, and you know they never get away from that apartment building,” she laughed a little. “So I guess I'll be hosting the detective duo this weekend.”
“Yes!” Rebekah jumped up and down happily. “I can't wait! We have to get old detective movies, lots of popcorn, and we're going to need to clear a space in the closet for his hats!”
“Oh yes, RJ's hats,” Rebekah's mother laughed. RJ had a wide assortment of detective hats and he always wore a different one. “Well I'll add popcorn and movies to my errands list and you make room in your closet, okay?”
“Okay!” Rebekah ran straight for her room.
Chapter 2
Rebekah was standing on a chair cleaning out the top of her closet when she heard her bedroom door open.
“Rebekah?” Mouse called out as she was half-hidden by a pile of clothes. “What are you doing up there?”
“Sorry, can't talk now Mouse,” Rebekah said sternly. “I have to make room for some of RJ's hats, since he's going to stay with us this weekend!”
“RJ's coming?” he said happily. “That's fantastic!”
“I know,” Rebekah grinned as she glanced over her shoulder.
“You know,” Mouse said as he watched Rebekah sort through her old detective books and shove them over in the closet. “I've been thinking. You and RJ are always working together on the mysteries that you solve. It doesn't seem right that he's not part of the secret club.”
“I know,” Rebekah agreed. “Whenever I talk to him it's hard for me not to tell him about the latest prank we pulled. But he lives so far away in the city, how could he be part of the club?”
“Well maybe he could just be part of it when he visits you,” Mouse suggested with a shrug. “With all the things he sees and the people he knows in the city, I bet he'd have some great ideas for pranks.”
“That's a good idea,” Rebekah nodded. She had made a nice clear spot for RJ's hats. As she wiped her hand across the shelf she knocked down an old notebook.
“Watch out,” she cringed, hoping it wouldn't hit Mouse in the head.
“I'll get it, don't worry,” Mouse said and bent down to pick up the notebook. As Mouse leaned over to snatch up the notebook, a little white mouse slid right out of the pocket of his shirt. As soon as it hit the ground it began to run.
“Oh no!” Rebekah squeaked. “Mouse on the loose! Get it before my Mom sees!” she jumped down from the chair as Mouse lunged for his pet. Mouse had a collection of pet mice that just kept growing. He always had at least one of his friends with him, which is why everyone called him Mouse.
“Get back here Ferguson!” Mouse growled and cornered his pet in the closet.
“Aw, he's just a little scared,” Rebekah said gently. “Is it his first time out and about?”
“Yes,” Mouse nodded as he scooped up Ferguson. “He's one of the baby mice.”
“So cute,” Rebekah cooed as she peered at the tiny mouse.
“So do you really think RJ would want to be part of the club?” Mouse asked hesitantly.
“Sure, of course he would,” Rebekah nodded and then thought for a moment. “But we can't just invite him in. He's older than us, and he might think it's just some silly kid club. We have to do something to make him want to join.”
Mouse's eyes shone with mischief. “We could always play a prank on him,” he grinned.
“Oh that's a great idea!” Rebekah cheered. “But it has to be a really good one!”
“Okay,” Mouse said. “We'll have an emergency meeting of the secret club to figure out what to do! I'll call everyone and meet you at the tree house in an hour!”
“Okay!” Rebekah called after him.
Chapter 3
Mouse called all the members of his secret club.
“I'll be there!” Jaden said when he answered.
“I'm right in the middle of an art project,” Amanda said. “I'll get there as soon as I can.”
“Sure, I'm on my way,” Max replied.
Mouse waited for everyone at the tree house which had been transformed into Mouse's Secret Club. He was flipping through the book he had found in the tree house when he first discovered it. It was filled with different ideas for pranks. When Rebekah arrived she glanced at her watch.
“We have to do this fast because RJ will be here by dinner time tonight,” she said with a frown. “Where is everyone?”
“I'm here, I'm here,” Max called out as he climbed up the rope later.
“And I'm here too,” Jaden called out as he started up the ladder. A few minutes later, Amanda climbed into the tree house. The first thing everyone saw were her hands, streaked with several different colors.
“Uh, Amanda, what happened?” Rebekah asked as she stifled a giggle.
“Oh I was hurrying to finish my project and I forgot to put on my gloves,” she frowned.
“What kind of project turns your hands that many colors?” Jaden asked with surprise.
“I was dying rocks,” Amanda explained. “I found these white rocks and I wanted to see if I could dye them like Easter eggs.”
“Did it work?” Max asked curious
ly.
“Yes it did,” Amanda nodded. “But of course I got the dye all over my hands.”
“That gives me an idea,” Mouse said with a sly smile.
“Oh no,” Rebekah grinned. “I bet it's a good one.”
“Well we've all done those experiments where we turn water different colors with food dye, right?” Mouse asked his friends.
“Sure,” Max nodded.
“It's always a mess,” Jaden laughed.
“I like the one where the flower stem sucks up the colored water and the petals change color,” Rebekah said with a smile.
“Well, what if all of the sudden the water you were drinking was the wrong color?” Mouse grinned. “That would be strange, wouldn't it?”
“Sure,” Rebekah nodded. “But RJ is too smart to drink different colored water and I don't think he would fall for it being in a solid bottle. He'd be suspicious.”
“Okay, so where do we drink water from that it wouldn't be suspicious?” Mouse asked, his brows raised. It was obvious he already had the answer.
“The sink,” Amanda suggested.
“The refrigerator spout,” Jaden said with a nod.
“The toilet,” Max called out.
“The toilet?” Rebekah gasped as they all stared at him.
“Uh, I mean, if I were a dog,” he cleared his throat. “Never mind,” he sighed.
“What about when you're playing at the park and get really thirsty?” Mouse pointed out.
“Water fountains!” Rebekah and Amanda shouted at the same time.
“Exactly,” Mouse nodded. “So what if we put food dye pellets inside each of the spigots at the park, and then we'll get RJ to the park, get him thirsty, and voila, he'll be shocked!”
“That's a great idea,” Rebekah grinned. “He'll never expect that.”
“Sounds like a plan!” they all agreed. Everyone was excited to have a new member in their club.
Chapter 4
Late the next morning, the plan went into action. All the members of Mouse's Secret Club scattered throughout the park. They pressed a food coloring pellet inside of each of the spigots on each of the water fountains in the park. This way, no matter what water fountain RJ chose to drink out of, he would be greeted with an amazing surprise.
Rebekah was the only one who wasn't there because she was keeping RJ distracted. He had arrived at dinner and they had both gone to bed early, RJ because he was tired from his trip and Rebekah because she couldn't wait to play the prank on him. That morning they were hanging out in Rebekah's room.
"What's that you're playing with?" RJ asked as he sat down in Rebekah's computer chair.
"Oh just my basketball," Rebekah shrugged as if it was no big deal. But she was spinning the ball on her finger as if it was the coolest thing in the world.
"Oh I didn't know you play basketball," RJ said as he scratched the red hair poking out from under his detective's hat. "You never told me about that."
"Well, I just recently discovered that I am great at it," Rebekah smiled proudly. "There are always new talents that can be discovered."
"Hm," RJ narrowed his eyes slightly. "Well I've been known to play a mean game of basketball too, you know."
Rebekah smirked as this was exactly how she had expected him to react. "Is that a challenge RJ?" she asked with an arched brow.
"I'd say it is," RJ replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Any time."
"How about now?" Rebekah suggested and spun the ball faster on her fingertip.
"Sounds good," RJ shrugged.
"Let's go down to the park. There's a basketball court there," she said as she grabbed the ball with both hands.
"Prepare to lose," RJ warned her with a stern scowl. As mean as he looked, Rebekah knew that he was just teasing.
“We'll just see about that,” she grinned as she walked out of her bedroom with RJ following right behind.
Chapter 5
As they walked toward the park, Rebekah was careful to make their progress slow. She kept pointing out different things to RJ as she moved.
“There’s Mouse's house,” she said cheerfully as they walked past it.
“Don't you want to stop and see if he wants to come with us?” RJ asked with surprise. He knew that Mouse and Rebekah were practically inseparable.
“Oh, I think this game should just be between us,” Rebekah said quickly.
“Okay then,” RJ shrugged. “In the city I play with Joey a lot. He's just a kid, but he's got a pretty good shot.”
“Well you haven't seen me play yet!” Rebekah announced with a wide grin. As they reached the park, she quickly looked around to make sure none of the members of the secret club were scampering about. It all looked clear so she headed for the basketball court.
As soon as Rebekah set foot on the basketball court, she began moving. She ran from one side of the court to the other, forcing RJ to chase after her. She dribbled continuously instead of taking a shot, making RJ lunge and reach for the ball. Within minutes he had to take off his detective hat because he was sweating so badly.
"Rebekah, either shoot the ball or pass it to me!" RJ said with frustration when she spun easily away from him once more.
"Okay, okay," Rebekah laughed at his red cheeks. "Take a shot," she bounced the ball toward him. He caught the ball, spun on his heel and shot for the hoop. The ball sailed right through the basketball hoop and plunked down through the net. RJ ran to grab it as it rolled unto the grass.
"Okay I let you have that one," Rebekah warned him. "But no more! Let's go again," she said gleefully.
RJ was panting for breath as he shook his head. "I have to get something to drink first," he announced. All around the park, Mouse's Secret Club members gave a silent cheer. Amanda was hidden behind the slide. Jaden was ducked down beside the bathrooms. Max was with Mouse behind two large trees closest to the water fountains. They were all waiting for the big moment. As RJ began walking toward the water fountain, he paused a moment and glanced all around.
"Strange," he murmured.
"What's strange?" Rebekah asked as she walked up behind him.
"Do you ever feel like someone's watching you?" RJ asked hesitantly. Maybe it was all the monster novels he'd been reading lately, but he could swear that someone was spying on him.
"Sure," Rebekah shrugged. "But it's probably just you being a little woozy from the workout I just gave you. Just drink some water," she encouraged him, and tried to hide her devilish smile.
Chapter 6
"You're probably right." RJ nodded and walked over to the water fountain. Rebekah stood a few feet behind him, her hands covering her grin of anticipation. RJ leaned forward, pushed the button on the water fountain and began to drink with his eyes closed.
Rebekah's eyes widened, as she hadn't thought of that. But now that she looked back on it, she often drank from a water fountain with her eyes closed too. The stream of green water wasn't even noticed until RJ opened his eyes and took a breath. Then he saw the green water coming out of the spigot and the green water swirling down the drain.
“What's this?” he gasped out and stepped backwards. His widely parted lips were stained green with a little of the food coloring.
“Oh no!” Rebekah frowned. “Maybe it's contaminated! You should rinse your mouth!”
RJ nodded and ran to the next water fountain. Rebekah followed after him. RJ pushed down the button on the water fountain and bright purple water sprayed up at him.
“Ah!” he shrieked and wiped at his mouth. “What is going on here?” he demanded. “Is this place connected to a rainbow river?”
“No rainbow river,” Rebekah began giggling. She just couldn't resist laughing. RJ turned slowly to face her. His bottom lip was tinted green and his top lip was tinted purple.
“Rebekah,” he glowered at her. “What have you done?”
“It wasn't me,” Rebekah said as innocently as she could. “Well, it wasn't just me,” she explained. Just then Mouse, Jaden, Max an
d Amanda stepped out of their hiding places. RJ stepped back as they all began to surround him.
“We just wanted to welcome you with a good prank!” Mouse announced with a loud laugh.
“I should have known,” RJ groaned and slapped his own forehead lightly.
“You're not mad are you?” Rebekah asked nervously.
“No,” RJ sighed and slowly shook his head. “I'm not mad, it was a great prank. Were all of you in on it?” he asked curiously.
Rebekah and Mouse exchanged a long look. This was the weekend when they would invite RJ to come to his very first meeting of Mouse's Secret Club.
Chapter 7
“RJ we wanted to introduce you to something very special, something that only a few people know about,” Mouse said in a very serious tone as the others gathered closer.
“What?” RJ asked, He was very curious now.
“Follow us,” Mouse said. Mouse and his friends fell into a single file line as they walked across the field of grass toward the woods. Rebekah and RJ walked right behind them.
“What's this about?” RJ whispered. “I'm usually pretty good at solving mysteries in my apartment building, but this one has me confused.”
“Just be patient,” Rebekah urged him and tried not to giggle at his purplish greenish lips. Once they reached the edge of the woods, Mouse looked around the park to make sure that no one was watching. Then he nodded to his friends and waved his hand to let them know it was safe for them to follow.
Not far into the woods they came upon an old tree house with a ladder dangling down the trunk of the tree. It looked like it had been there for many years. Around the tree and the tree house were signs, warning others to keep out.
Mouse climbed up the rope ladder, followed by Jaden, Amanda and Max.
“Wow this is great!” RJ said with amazement as he looked up at the tree house. “You guys should make a secret club or something,” he said as he climbed up the rope ladder. Rebekah laughed a little and followed behind him. When they were all in the tree house together, Mouse smiled at RJ.
“RJ welcome to my secret club,” he said with a smile. “This is where we plan all of our pranks and tricks,” he grinned at each of his friends. “Amanda, Jaden, and Max were the first members, and then Rebekah. Now you're a member too, if you want to be.”