KK UNDERCOVER MYSTERY
The Haunted
Field Trip
Nicholas Sheridan Stanton
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Published
by:
Just Imagine It Ink
Copyright (c) 2011 by Nicholas Sheridan
Stanton
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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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In loving memory of KaSandra (Truc Han) Dang:
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Original Manuscript
June 7th,
2010
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Chapter One
Home sweet Home, San Diego, California
My name is Cassandra but with a K, and only one S. That’s big K, little a, big S, little a-n-d-r-a, get it? If you live in San Diego and you have a kid at Deer Canyon Elementary School you may have heard of me and my team, Winifred, Claire, and Daniel. We got a small write up in”Echoes” our school newspaper when we solved The Cookie Caper and unmasked the Lunchito Bandito last year. Actually, the cookie caper wasn’t that newsworthy as the bandito turned out to be Chester the hamster, our class mascot. But hey, it was fun and nobody got hurt. Well, except maybe for poor Daniel who has been teased non-stop for wigging out over a fat, furry, oversized rat.
We didn’t make the Union Tribune or get on TV or anything like that, but that’s okay, we’re supposed to be spies anyways. That’s right, I said spies! Me and the team work for S.A.M. which stands for Secret Agents for Moms. It’s a government agency that recruits brainy kids like us to sorta keep an eye on things. It’s kinda hard to be super secret spies if everyone already knows you’re spies, duh. Just because we are spies doesn’t mean we’re tattle-tales or rat-finks, or anything. It just means that we help keep little problems from becoming big ones. We help kids find their way to the right adult to help them fix whatever’s wrong. I guess you could say that we’re the eyes all moms claim to have in the back of their heads.
So, to recap, I’m a 5th grader at dear old Deer Canyon Elementary School in sunny San Diego, California. I live with my Mom, my big sister Kat (short for Katarina) and my little brother Lucas. My Daddy died when I was three, I miss him a lot. But he raised us to be strong and I know that I’ll see again in Heaven, Father Nick our parish priest says so! That’s all I have to say about that too.
Kat is 13 and goes to the Middle School just around the corner from Deer Canyon. She’ll be going to High School next year, lucky duck! She’s really pretty and way cool, but I still give her a hard time cause that’s what younger sisters are supposed to do, right? My brother Lucas is 6 going on 2, nuff said. I know he’s cute and I really do love him, but eavenhe’s such a little pill sometimes. All things considered we’re a pretty normal family I think, even with these yucky cancer cells running around my body right now. Don’t freak out though, I don’t. I’m not alone ya know, I’ve got people! I’ve got my family and friends down here, and God and Daddy up there, so I’m not worried, and you needn’t be either. That’s all I have to say about that.
Anyway that’s my bio so far, short and sweet like me. Uh oh, I need to scoot, I can hear Mommy calling me from downstairs. My mom believes in saving energy. Why should she run up and down the stairs and get all tuckered out when she has a perfectly good set of lungs and a voice that can break glass!
“KASANDRA,” Mommy hollered from the foot of the stairs!
“Coming Mommy,” I holler back (like mother, like daughter), stuffing my homework into my backpack.
“Let’s go smalls, you’re gonna miss the bus,” she added.
Kat appeared suddenly at my door and peeked in on me. She grabbed my heavy backpack and handed me my crutches.
“I’ll take this down for you slow-poke. Be careful coming down the stairs, okay?”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, smiling at her random act of kindness.
By the time I get downstairs Kat is already long gone and Lucas is sitting at the table whining about having to where shoes instead of flip-flops. That meant it was exactly 7:46am because Mommy and my brother had the same battle five days a week during the school year.
“ONE MINUTE LUCAS,” Mommy yells as she stuffs my brother’s lunch into his”Lightening McQueen” backpack and zips it shut!
I hobbled over to the table and picked up the handful of meds Mommy had set out for me. I put them all in my mouth at once and washed them down with a glass of orange juice. My mom watched me out of the corner of her eye like she always does (she thinks I don’t notice, but I do). She started to say something but thought better of it; thankfully, I didn’t feel like a lecture this morning. I slipped my backpack onto my shoulders I made my way out the front door.
“See ya later Mommy,” I said as I walked outside.
“Don’t forget I’m picking you up after school today for your appointment with Dr. S, okay,” she hollers after me.
“OKAY,” I holler back as I reached the end of the driveway.
I turned right to walk the block to the bus stop at the end of our street. I was running late as usual and waddled as fast as I was able. I couldn’t wait to get to school, it was my sanctuary.
***
Chapter Two
Deer Canyon Bus Stop
It wasn’t a long walk really, but when you have only two speeds, slow and slower, it can take a while. I was last to arrive as usual and just as usual, Mr. Beadle our crazy bus driver was waiting for me at the bottom step of the bus. He always waits an extra few minutes for me. He’s not supposed to but he does, it’s our little secret. Only Cullen Wainwright III ever notices. And unfortunately he never misses the opportunity to point it out to EVERYBODY! One day when I’m better I am gonna give that kid an atomic wedgie!
Mr. Beadle is so cool, wacky, but cool. He always has a funny comment or two to share. He’s never mean to us when he needs to get our attention, even when he probably should be! He’s pretty old I think, maybe forty or fort-five. And he’s not very tall at all. Winnie is taller than he is. Well, to be fair Winnie is tall for her age, but still, he seems pretty short for an adult. He also plays along with my changing wig colors by painting his very bald head or wearing a matching ball cap. I just love him!
“Hustle up Miss Britches, the clock’s ticking,” Mr. Beadle said as I reached the bus. He tipped his throw-back Denver Broncos ball cap, the Orange Crush version as he sort of smiled at me.
“Sorry, thanks for waiting, again,” I replied huffing and puffing.
“Not a problem child, now, hand me those sticks and climb on board,” he replied, taking my crutches.
“Hey, you remembered Mango Monday,” I said, tapping my orange-ish wig as I reached the top step and turned down the aisle to take my seat next to Claire.
Mr. Beadle hopped back into the driver seat and started the engine. The bus made funny spurting sound at first then roared to life and he checked on us in the mirror before pulling away from the curb.
“Hang on children, we’re on the road,” he said closing the door and shifting gears.
He waited until I sat down. Claire was already asleep as usual. She rested her head against the window using her balled up sweater for a pillow. Winfred was busy finishing her math homework, as usual as well, and barely looked up when I sat down.
“Hey KK,” she said in a monotone.
“Hey Winnie,” I replied.
“Word problem,” I asked?
“Yes. I hate em so much,” she muttered.
“Me too,” I said.
“Me three,” chimed in Claire without opening her eyes. Guess she wasn’t sleeping after all.
The bus lurched forward as Mr. Beadle drove away from the curb. My street was the last stop so we would get to school in about twenty or thirty minutes give or take twenty minutes depending on the crazy parent traffic, and how many cars were blocking the driveway dropping off kids when we arrived, sheesh!
“Did you bring your permission slip KK,” asked a familiar voice from the seat in front of me?
“What,” I answered, peering over the seat to see who was quizzing me?
“Your permission slip for the field trip silly,” Daniel said, popping up like a jack-in-the-box and startling me.
“Don’t do that! You scared the bejeezus outta me,” I hollered, scolding him and catching my breath.
“YEAH, knock it off Daniel,” Claire added stirring against the window.
“EVERYBODY zip it okay, trying to figure out who gets to St Louis first back here, train A or train B,” complained Winnie.
“Sorry,” Daniel muttered, popping back around as quickly as he had popped up. We might have hurt his feelings, poor kid, so touchy, boys, go figure!
“We’re going horse-back riding at the stables in Carmel Valley tomorrow, remember,” he added meekly.
“Duh, you know my mom. Do you think she would let me out of the house before checking off everything on her white board,” I answered annoyed.
“Good point,” he replied.
“I’ll say,” chimed in Winnie, slamming her math book shut!
“Oh yeah, just in case you’re wondering, train B got there first,” she added, sounding pretty pleased with herself.
“So, did Dr. S or Dr. L say you could ride with us KK,” Winnie asked?
“No, not this time,” I answered trying to sound like I didn’t care.
“Sorry,” she said sincerely.
“Don’t be, I’m okay with it. Maybe I’ll get to ride this summer, we’ll see,” I said cheerfully
“Okay, cool beans,” replied Daniel.
“Yeah, way cool,” added Claire as she stretched. She always woke up ten seconds before the bus arrived, weird!
Mr. Beadle pulled up to the curb and the bus made its usual squeaking sounds as it jerked to a stop. The doors whooshed open noisily and Mr. Beadle turned in his seat to shout at us.
“Alright munchkins grab your gear and exit here,” he bellowed.
“He always says that,” Claire said as she put her backpack over her shoulder.
“It’s his thing Claire,” Winfred answered doing likewise.
“I guess,” I added, turning sideways in the seat to let Claire pass.
She always went ahead of me to grab my crutches and wait for me at the curb while Winifred followed me to help me down the steps. Daniel even jumped up to help clear a path; that was nice of him.
“I had a dream about a ghost,” he said out of the blue.
“That’s weird, so did I,” Winnie said as we walked down the aisle.
“Hmmm, that’s really weird cause I did too,” I added.
“What if Claire did also,” Daniel mumbled?
“If she did, I don’t want to know about it,” Winnie said shuddering.
“Hmmmm,” I said under my breath.
“I wonder?”
Chapter Three
Dear ol’ Deer Canyon Elementary
“Alright kids, settle down,” Mrs. Ryan said yawning.
Technically we should have had a new teacher for fifth grade since we had Mrs. Ryan in the fourth grade last year. But I guess she must have taught us real good and got promoted right along with us. That was okay with me though, I like her and besides that means we don’t have to break in anybody new, hehehe…
Mondays are the worst, everybody knows that! No matter how good you sleep on Sunday night you still have to get up early and face Monday, ugh! Oh well, at least we had a field trip we could look forward to tomorrow, that’ll shorten up the week a little bit. There were posters all over school advertizing the Shetland Stables in Carmel Valley, which was where all the 5th grade classes were going to learn about horses and see some real cowboys on a real ranch. I suppose I would be more excited if I were going to get to ride too but that was gonna have to wait until next year, stupid cancer! Note to self, try not to pout at Dr. L’s appointment this afternoon, it’s not her fault.
“So, I’m sure everyone is real disappointed that we will have to reschedule the math test tomorrow due to our field trip,” Mrs. Ryan said sarcastically.
The class broke into wild cheers, celebrating for all of ten seconds while Mrs. Ryan walked over to the blackboard. Slowly she raised the map covering what was underneath, ending the celebration suddenly. The woman is ALL TEACHER, and we should have known she had something up her sleeve when she sly teacher grin on her face. The whole class groaned in unison when we saw what was hidden underneath.
“As you can see I’ve assigned a little extra reading for all of you. And, there’s a quiz in the morning that you can take on the bus ride to Shetland Stables,” she said, her sly grin turning into a big smile as she was clearly pleased with herself!
“OH MAN,” I mumbled as my neighbor Zoë tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a note.
“It’s from Winnie,” she whispered.
“Thanks,” I replied under my breath without turning in my seat.
I unfolded the note in my lap and glanced down off and on to read it while Mrs. Ryan took the roll. Winnie has perfect penmanship, I hate that! Not really, that was mean; I’m just a little jealous, hehe.
“KK,
Claire said she dreamed about ghosts too, weird huh? Want to know what’s weirder? So did Zoë and Ali?
Me”
Hmmm, that was weird? No, not just weird but freaky weird! Hahaha, we sure say weird a lot, I just noticed that! It’s one thing if my team is having the same dream, but Zoë and Ali too? I glanced over my shoulder at Zoë and she gave me a puzzled look. I’d have to think about why we all were dreaming about ghosts later cause attendance was almost over.
“Connie Zypher,” Mrs. Ryan called out finally as she checked off the last name on her list.
“Present,” replied Connie cheerfully.
“Alrighty then, let’s get to work people,” Mrs. Ryan said reaching for her teacher’s edition of our Social Studies textbook.
We all complied, groaning audibly. The sounds of our textbooks hitting our desktops with a thud echoed off the walls, and were quickly followed by the rustling of turning pages. I scribbled a quick reply to Winnie’s note and stealthily handed it back to Zoë.
I listened as it made its way to the last row where Winnie sat and waited for the signal that the message was received. Two seconds later Winifred coughed once and a couple seconds after that Claire sneezed. Perfect, a lunch meeting was now official. We could tell Daniel about it when we got outside, he still hasn’t grasped the playbook yet. We’ll learn him…
***
Chapter Four
LUNCH!
That was the longest 120 minutes ever! Two hours of mind numbing learning, ugh and double ugh! Don’t get me wrong, I love school and all, but why do we need to know anything about Ponce-de-Leon, Magellan, or Genghis Khan anyways? Those guys lived like a jillion years ago! What could they possibly mean to a bunch of 5th graders in 2009 from the US of A, I dunno, weird? Hehehe, there it is again. Weird must be on the top ten list of kid words!
Oh well, you can’t fight city hall according to Mr. Beadle. He says that whenever he’s going on about”the man!” Which man he’s talking about I have no idea, seriously, he never actually says? Oh well, it doesn’t matter, grown-ups are just wacky. Mommy thinks he was a hippie back in the day. Which day, again, I don’t know? She also said that when he’s on a rant I should just smile and be nice, smiles sooth the savage beast. By the way, I don’t know what a hippie is either, but I do hear a rant here and there, like whenever somebody gets on Mommy’s list! That’s all I better say about that, hahaha.
My stomach growled suddenly, loud enough for the whole class to hear. How embarrassing! Mrs. Ryan looked my way from over the top of her glasses.
“Ahem, alright class, sounds like KaSandra’s starving. Why don’t we break for lunch a little early today,” she announced.
A nanosecond later the room erupted with the sound of scooting desks and chairs as thirty-one students simultaneously raced for the coatroom and their lunches. Mrs. Ryan stopped the jailbreak with a whistle that she kept in her desk drawer. Like I said, a born teacher!
“Twweeeeeeeeet!”
“Freeze,” she hollered, as she stood up, sternly wagging a finger slowly at the room!
“That’s better. Now, let’s try this again like good little humans and not wild little beasties,” she said calmly.
We slowly filed into the coatroom, one by one, and grabbed what was ours then ever so quietly exited the classroom. Of course once outside the mad rush began all over again. As usual I was last out the door and I heard Mrs. Ryan sigh as she collapsed in her seat, grateful for a moment’s peace. Note to self; make something special for her on National Teacher’s Day next May, maybe a nice set of ear plugs, hehehe.
By the time I reached our lunch table Claire had already made a lopsided trade with Daniel for one of his desserts. That girl’s sweet tooth is legendary! She had managed to talk Daniel into giving up a Hostess Fruit Pie for a bag of veggies. I suspect she convinced him that boys needed more nutrition in order to be football stars, and he bought it, probably after asking to see his muscles. Boys are so easy! Winnie was grinning at them when I walked up and sat down.
“What’d I miss,” I asked nobody in particular, opening my lunch sack and taking out a tuna sandwich, a bag of veggie chips, and a Fuji apple?
“Nothing much, Claire was just being Claire,” Winifred answered.
“Claire thinks I could be a football star,” Daniel blurted with a mouthful of celery and carrots, gross! Claire smiled and winked as she noisily peeled the wrapper of the berry pie.
“Nice,” I replied, nibbling on my sandwich.
“So, what’s up with all this ghost stuff,” I asked?
“I dunno, looks like everybody had a ghost dream is all,” Claire mumbled, licking purple berry filling from her thumb.
“Well, that’s not too crazy, I mean Halloween is just a week away,” I replied.
“Maybe, but let me ask you this first. What was your ghost dream about,” Winifred asked sipping on a juice box.
“Just a regular ghost dream, you know,” I answered shrugging my shoulders?
“Was there a nice old lady in a big green house,” asked Daniel?
“Yes.”
“Was she wearing a blue and white checkered dress with white apron,” asked Claire?
“Yes.”
“Did she give you cold milk and gingerbread to snack on in her kitchen, and were there two scruffy guys eating bacon and eggs at a round table,” asked Winifred?
“Umm, yes.”
“Were they cowboys,” Daniel asked meekly?
“Wait a minute, are you telling me that ALL of you dreamed the exact same dream,” I asked puzzled?
“Yes, we all did, and Zoë and Ali too, all of us, and now you too,” Winnie added.
This was weird. I think I may have read a story like this once? Anyway, dreams are just dreams my mom always says, nothing to be scared of. Like the boogey man, no worries, he’s only a story. Vampires aren’t real either (even if Lucas thinks Kat is one because she reads all those books), and Santa is just a nice guy at the mall. But still, six kids, one dream, I don’t know, maybe we should call our boss at S.A.M. and see what he thinks? But, then again maybe not, he might think we’re nuts and demote us all back to regular kids! I looked up just then; Winnie must have been reading my mind.
“Maybe we should call the boss,” she whispered?
“Let’s not panic people,” I said.
“Okay, so what should we do then,” the three of them asked in unison?
“I dunno yet, but like I said, let’s not panic yet. Hey, maybe this was just a freak of nature thing, ya know?”
“Wait, I know, how about a cell phone slumber party tonight, after all our parents go to bed? We’ll stay up all night and make sure nobody dreams anything. Then tomorrow we can decide if this is anything worth worrying about, what do you think,” I asked the team?
“Really? That’s your plan KK,” Winifred asked sarcastically?
“That’s all I can think of right now. You know I can’t concentrate very well before my check-ups,” I replied.
“That’s right, sorry,” Winnie apologized.
“No worries Winifred, we’re friends. Okay, conference call at 11:30pm, remember; my mom’s a night owl so don’t call in before that,” I explained.
“Remember to turn off your ringers and put your headsets under your pillows, okay?”
“What about Ali and Zoë,” Daniel asked?
“Oh, that’s right? Well, Ali’s your buddy Daniel. You tell him about tonight, he has a cell right? I will touch base with Zoë, she sits right behind me,” I answered as I took the last bite of my tuna sandwich.
We ate the rest of our lunch in silence trying to save as much chatter as we could for the slumber party later tonight. I watched a bunch of kids playing kickball on field number one. Ali was pitching, well technically he was rolling. He liked to roll that rubber ball hard and deliver his famous bouncy ball pitch. I remember when I could play, last year before getting sick. I was one of the only kids who could kick the bouncy ball pitch. Ali’s lucky I’m not playing today…
***
Chapter Five
Wakie Wakie!
Memo to self, never schedule a conference call after 8pm, especially on a school night. Oh we were all ready and willing. It was the able part we had a little problem with. Translation, PARENTS! I blame myself; the plan was doomed from the start. Why you ask, well, have you ever heard of any kid who was eager for bedtime? Well, neither did any of our parents. They were on to us from the get go. I’m pretty sure it was Claire’s mom who unraveled the plan first based on what I overheard when she called my mom. They’re all connected you see, parents I mean.
“KASANDRA!”
In my mind I jumped out of bed, in reality I slowly swung my legs over the edge and reached for my crutches. Kat peeked into my room on her way downstairs.
“Why do you do that,” she asked in a frustrated tone?
“Do what?”
“You know what! Why do you always wait until Mommy yells before you move?”
“Oh that, I dunno, just lazy I guess,” I replied straining to stand up.
“Wait, let me help you,” Kat said walking over to steady me.
“Thanks,” I said.
“I’m still mad at you ya know. When you guys wind Mommy up, I get it too, that’s not fair,” she replied, helping me get to the bathroom.
“I’ll work on that sis, I promise,” I said, really meaning it. She sensed that I did and smiled that big smile of hers. That made me smile too. If we can make Mommy smile too we’ll be golden!
I rushed through my morning routine and got dressed quickly, well, quickly for me anyways. As I waddled down the stairs I heard Mommy laughing with Lucas in the kitchen; that was a good sign. I put on a big smile of my own and walked over to the table to take my meds. My mom waived to me from the kitchen where she was rinsing off a cereal bowl.
“Sit down and eat your scrambled eggs KK, I don’t want to catch you sneaking out of the house without eating, you got it,” my Mom said, pretending to be mad, and winking at me while she finished the dishes.
“Okay Mommy,” I said, taking a seat and starting on my breakfast.
“So, are you excited about the field trip today,” she asked?
“Yeah, I guess. I wish I could ride the horses with the other kids though,” I whined.
“Next year honey, next year. Doctor S was pretty impressed with your MRI results, so things are looking up,” she replied beaming.
It was nice to see my mom in such a good mood; it had been a while, what with all this medical stuff to deal with. She is such a great mom, and I love her so much. I don’t know what we would do without her. I watched her out of the corner of my eye while I ate. She was softly singing a song to herself, it sounded like”Amazing Grace,” one of her favorites.
“Okay, I can wait until then Mommy. All done, I have to scoot or I’ll miss the bus,” I said getting up to leave as she came to take my plate.
“Let me give you a ride this morning honey,” she said.
“No, I want to take the bus, I need the practice walking. Besides, everyone will wonder what happened to me if I don’t show up like usual,” I replied, pulling on my backpack. My mom sighed and opened the front door for me.
“Alright, be careful then. I love you,” she said, waiving.
“I love you more,” I replied as I walked out the door and across the driveway to the sidewalk.
***
All Aboard!
I made it to the bus stop in record time surprising everyone. Mr. Beadle was still in the driver’s seat when he saw me waddling up to the steps. He jumped up and trotted down the steps to help me.
“Well look who we have here. What happened sugar, did your bed catch fire this morning,” he teased.
“No, I just didn’t want to be late for the field trip today is all,” I answered smiling.
“Alright then, let’s get you on board and get on down the road,” he said as he took my crutches and helped me climb onto the bus.
When I reached my seat Claire, Winifred and Daniel were waiting for me, wide awake. Ali and Zoë were there as well. I wondered if we were going to have a repeat of yesterday, another dream co-winkie-dink?
“Okay I know what you’re thinking, KK dropped the ball, right,” I said. They shook their heads no.
“Alright, what’s with the silent treatment? So we missed the call, I think we all know why, right Claire,” I said shooting Claire the look.
“Hey, it wasn’t me, Daniel called my house and asked my mom what time I usually went to bed,” Claire replied defending herself!
“Are you serious? Daniel what were you thinking,” Winnie asked in disbelief?
“Well, I forgot what time to call, and Ali lost his cell phone privileges so he spent the night at my house, and I called Winifred first but her Grandpa answered and I don’t understand Chinese! He just kept saying ‘wei’ and I just kept saying ‘what’,” Daniel rambled!
“OMG Daniel, I don’t even know what to say to that,” I said scolding him, instantly sorry for sounding mean.
“Never mind Daniel, forget about it, no harm done, right? So, did anyone dream last night,” I asked, changing the subject?
Everyone shook their heads no, interesting? Really, nobody, I wondered? I debated with myself for a second whether or not I should share my dream. They all looked so relieved, no news was good news, right? Heck, I didn’t want to jinx the field trip. But my mom always says that honesty is the best policy. She’s usually right 99% of the time. IN FACT she finishes most sentences with”am I right!”
“That’s funny because I dreamed a lot last night,” I said finally. That opened the flood gates and they all started talking at once.
“So did I KK, I just didn’t want to be the first one to say so,” admitted Claire, sighing with relief.
“Yeah, me too,” Daniel said chiming in.
“Me three,” said Winifred joining in.
“I guess me and Ali make four and five then,” added Zoë, grinning. Ali didn’t say anything, which was unusual for him, he just nodded and blushed, I wonder why?
“The same little old Grandma,” I asked?
They all nodded yes.
“The same two cowboys too,” I continued?
They all nodded yes.
“Cookies and gingerbread, bacon and eggs,” I asked?
This time they all shook their heads no.
“Good, that was a test,” I explained.
“Lemonade,” I asked.
They all nodded yes. Weird…
Now we were more than just curious, we were a little bit scared, at least I was. Looks like the Boogeyman theory was being to be put to the test. The bus suddenly lurched as we turned off the highway and onto a long dirt road. We had been so busy wondering what was what that we didn’t notice that we had been driving all along. I looked out the window as we drove under a big wooden arch that read”SHETLAND STABLES,” we were there already.
Most of the kids had wandered over to our side of the bus and were chattering about the cows and horses they could see as we drove up to a huge barn and corral. The yellow school bus kicked up a lot of dust as we came to a stop beside the corral and we quickly slid the windows up, closing them before the dust cloud came into bus.
Daniel was the only kid still on the other side of the bus. I was about to call him when he turned, white as a sheet and pointed out the window he was looking through. Winnie and I stood up and looked his way to what frightened him. We gasped as we saw what he saw. There, about half a football field away from where we were parked was a big green old fashioned white house, with one of those porches that wrapped around the whole place.
On that porch, rocking in an old white chair was a little old lady in a gingham (checkered) blue dress with a white apron. And while I couldn’t swear to it because she was pretty far away, resting on the table beside her appeared to be a pitcher of ice cold something or other, lemonade maybe?
***
Chapter Six
We ain’t fraid of no ghosts!
Before I could say anything Mrs. Ryan blew her trusty whistle. All the kids started making their way down the aisle while I sat in my seat and waited for the crowd to thin. Winnie and Claire waited with me while the Daniel, Zoë, and Ali went along with the others.
“Meet you at the table,” Daniel said, still a little shaky from the shock of maybe seeing his dream come true.
“Take this for me,” I said, tossing him the FLIP that Mrs. Ryan gave me to film the event.
I think she felt sorry for me, and she wanted to make sure I had something to do beside stand around and watch everyone else having fun. Sometimes that sort of bothers me. I know that people mean well; and that they don’t pity, but love me, at least most of the time anyways. It’s just that I’m tired of being different and I can’t wait to be normal again! Mrs. Ryan was pretty cool when she told the class about me filming them, like it was no big deal.
“Okay people listen up,” she had said.
“KaSandra is going to be our official videographer today, so make sure you smile big and smile often for her,” she announced before we had got on the bus at school early this morning.
“Marvelous,” I mumbled.
“Alright,” Daniel replied, taking the FLIP and stuffing the camera into his back pocket.
“HEY, be careful with that, you think I’m a millionaire,” I hollered after him.
He waived without looking back and disappeared out the door. Claire and Winifred were chattering about the old lady on the porch. I waited for a lull in the conversation before chiming in. The kids were stalled in the aisle waiting for everyone to exit single file while an adult checked their name off on a list. We always travelled with parent volunteers, sometimes my mom is one of them, when she can get away from work that is.
Zoë’s Dad was one of the parents with us today. But he was sorta working, taking pictures for the school paper,”Echoes”; he’s a real photographer! You could tell that on account of the way he carries around ten different cameras in big chunky bags that hang from every limb of his body. It sorta made him look like a Christmas tree full of shiny ornaments! Anyway, I know Mrs. Ryan is just keeping me busy, I’m okay with that. I’ll have all kinds of have fun adding captions later when I edit the video on Mommy’s computer. Maybe Kat can help me; she’s a wiz on the computer!
“So what do you think KK? That old lady is exactly how I dreamed her both nights,” Winnie said, concerned.
“Me too KK, she’s the same, right down to her shoes,” Claire added, chiming in.
“I know. She’s what I saw too. We gotta figure out a way to get over to that house and check her out,” I said.
“No we don’t,” Claire said suddenly.
“What are you talking about Claire,” I asked annoyed.
“Look, she’s coming this way,” exclaimed Winnie.
We all stood and watched as the old woman in the blue gingham dress walked right up to the bus. She disappeared as she went around the front and reappeared on the other side next to Mrs. Ryan. The two of them chatted for a moment and then Mrs. Ryan turned to look our way and pointed at the bus. What was she doing? What were they saying? Claire walked down the aisle as it cleared, Winnie and me following. When we reached the steps Mrs. Ryan was waiting for us.
“Girls, this is Mrs. Dexter. She and her husband own this ranch,” Mrs. Ryan said, introducing us to our host.
“Hello young ladies,” said Mrs. Dexter sweetly.
“Hello ma’am,” we replied together.
“My, such polite children,” commented our host with a smile that didn’t match the look in her eyes?
Curious, something wasn’t right, but I’ll be darned if I know what? We stepped down off of the bus and walked over to join the others by the corral. Daniel walked up and handed me the FLIP, pointing at Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Dexter.
“Who is she KK?”
“That’s Mrs. Dexter,” Claire said, answering for me.
“She’s the lady in my dream,” Daniel said still pointing.
“Daniel! Don’t you know it’s not polite to point you Neanderthal,” I hollered, scolding him?
“Sorry,” he said meekly, retreating a few steps to stand behind Zoë.
“She’s the lady in all our dreams,” I whispered.
“Did you notice the way she looked at us,” Winnie asked?
“Like she already knew us,” I asked, speculating?
“I KNOW IT,” exclaimed Claire.
“Shhhhh! We’ve got a mystery to solve people. Why her I wonder? We need to figure out how were going to find out what’s what, without Mrs. Ryan catching on that is,” I whispered.
“Alright kids listen up. We’ll be getting a tour of a real working ranch today. You’re going to drive around on that hay wagon attached to the big green tractor over there,” Mrs. Ryan explained, pointed toward the big red barn.
“Hey, how come she gets to point,” Daniel asked pouting.
“Shhhhh,” said Winnie and I together, shushing him!
The tractor fired up and belched a small puff of black smoke from an exhaust pipe sticking up in the air from the engine. And, in the driver’s seat was none other than dream cowboy number one. He shifted the big machine into gear and it jerked and rolled forward, the two giant wheels in back pushing it forward on the two tiny wheels up front, weird! An old grandpa cowboy walked out of the barn and shouted at the tractor.
“Pull the rig up by the corral Hank and we’ll see if we can’t get these kids loaded on board and show em around the place,” hollered grandpa cowboy.
That must be Mr. Dexter I figured, and then, adding two and two figured that dream cowboy 1 and 2 were his grandsons. We’d made contact! Claire, Winnie and I started walking with the other kids toward the bale wagon when Mrs. Ryan stopped us.
“Hold on a minute girls, Mrs. Dexter asked if you three wouldn’t mind helping her to prepare lunch for us up at the house,” said our teacher.
We looked at one another and gulped. I don’t know what Winnie and Claire were thinking but as for me all I could think of was that old”Hansel and Gretel” story, and everyone knows how that turned out! Well, we’d been wondering how we were going to find out what was what anyways, I guess that now the wondering was over. The three of us stared at Mrs. Dexter, waiting for her to say something, and she did.
“I’d be tickled if you children could follow me yonder to the house. I’m not as spry as I used to be and a few extra hands would really be helpful,” she said even more sweetly than before, maybe too sweetly?
None of us could seem to find a voice and she had to settle for a three way head nod. Mrs. Dexter smiled but Mrs. Ryan gave us a stern look and fought the urge to wag a finger at us.
“Now girls, don’t be rude, and answer our guest properly,” she insisted. We did instantly.
“Ah, yes ma’am, we’d love to help,” I said, answering for all three of us.
“Hey wait a minute, I wanted t…,” Claire started to complain.
“Claire wanted to tell you how much she loves cooking,” Winnie said, jumping in quickly.
“That’s wonderful. Why don’t you girls follow me down this path then, alright,” Mrs. Dexter said. She paused before starting for the old ranch house.
“Sweetheart will you be able to make it on those things,” she asked me pointing at my crutches?
“You know I can get Clay-boy over there to put you in a quad and drive you on up to the house,” she offered, pointing at dream cowboy number two standing by the string of horses that all the kids were waiting to ride. The expression on her face seemed to change from strange to compassionate all of a sudden, but I wasn’t feeling it?
“Who’s Clay-boy? Oh never mind, that’s okay, my friends can help me. They’ve had lots of practice helping me get around from point A to point B,” I replied politely, making a mental note, dream cowboy number one’s name is Clay.
“Alright sweetie, suit yourself,” she replied turning to lead the way up to the big green house.
“Well then, I’m going to catch up with the rest of the class. You girls behave and mind what Mrs. Dexter says, okay,” Mrs. Ryan instructed as she turned toward the corral.
“We will,” we replied together.
Claire helped me adjust my crutches then took my backpack from me. She handed it to Winnie who slung it over her shoulder and the three of us followed Mrs. Dexter. The old lady was faster than she looked so we had to scoot. The house got bigger and older as we got closer and we could see that it could use a paint job pretty badly. The windows were odd like the mirrors at a carnival funhouse. I was starting to feel weird again and judging by the look on my friends faces, so were they. When we finally reached the front porch Mrs. Dexter was waiting at the top step. See gestured at a small table next to a white rocking chair.
“Would you like some lemonade before we start,” she asked with a suspiciously sweet smile?
“Did she say lemonade,” Claire whispered?
“Yep,” I answered.
“Oh brother,” sighed Winnie.
***
Chapter Seven
Beware sweet old ladies?
We passed on the lemonade offer and followed Mrs. Dexter into the old house. The floors inside creaked even more than the rickety old steps out front, spooky! The living room was huge and furnished with a bunch of really old stuff, like in a movie or something? There were two over-stuffed chairs with lace thingies draped over each arm, and a plump sofa and a high back with the same thingies on the arms. The wood floor was covered by odd shaped rugs that didn’t match and at the far end of the room was a long dining table set like it was Thanksgiving?
Claire’s face was a question mark and I gave her the hush up look before she blurted anything out. To be fair, we all had questions, and we would ask them soon enough. Question number one might go something like this: exactly how many ghosts are around here anyways? Well, that would be question number one if Claire asked it. Before I could think any more about that, we entered the kitchen. It was as old looking as the living room and was almost as big. In the center of the room was a large butcher block island like the one at my Auntie’s house. It was for prepping food, like cutting and chopping vegetables for soup and stuff. Mrs. Dexter stopped at the island and picked up an apron that was folded neatly on top. She put it on quickly and turned to face us.
“Well, have any of you ever cooked with your mothers at home,” she asked, her hands on her hips?
“I’ve made Christmas cookies with my Mom,” Claire offered with a big smile.
“Me too, cookies,” added Winifred, a little less enthusiastically.
“Um, my Mom doesn’t bake, I meekly replied.
“I see, well, come on over here and we’ll get started with lunch. First things first, go over to that sink yonder and wash up. Never touch food without washing up first,” she explained.
That made sense; my Mom always says that too. The three of us went over to the sink to wash but stopped short when we couldn’t find the faucet? We were about to ask when Mrs. Dexter suddenly appeared behind us. Winnie jumped, faintly shrieking! The old grandma smiled and excusing herself stepped past us. She reached for a big lever on what looked like a skinny fire hydrant. When she pulled down on the lever water rushed out of a spout and splashed into the sink. Claire giggled and walked up to wash her hands. Winnie and I looked at each other puzzled and then followed her lead.
“It’s an old house child, and we’ve kept some of the old ways as well. Don’t worry though, we have running water in the bathrooms, and as you can see we have electricity,” Mrs. Dexter explained, giggling as she walked back to the chopping table.
We finished washing and rejoined her. While we were washing up she had laid out several loaves of bread, some lunchmeat (ham, turkey, and roast beef), lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mustard and mayo. Looked like we were making sandwiches, a LOT of them! We didn’t need much instruction and in no time we had a little assembly line going.
Claire had bread detail, alternating mustard and mayo with each wave of the butter knife as she spread the condiments. Mrs. Dexter portioned out the meats on one slice of bread while Winnie stacked the veggies on another. I was at the end of the line putting the two slices together and stabbing them with a long toothpick to hold it all together, simple right? We were getting into a rhythm when the old grandma surprised us.
“You know, I dreamed of you girls the last two nights,” she said without stopping her work.
“You’re exactly how I pictured you too, except there was a boy as well,” she added nonchalantly.
The assembly line grinded to a stop as Claire gasped and tore through a piece of Wonder Bread with her butter knife. Winnie shrieked as a blob of yellow mustard from Claire’s knife landed in her hair. And I yelped, stabbing myself with a long toothpick! We passed from curious to scared in a single heartbeat.
“You have a classmate, blonde, clumsy, and a silly heart,” she asked?
“Yeah, that’s Daniel,” answered Claire immediately!
“What about Zoë and Ali,” whispered Winifred, too frightened to speak out loud.
“I’m afraid I don’t know who those people are dear,” replied Mrs. Dexter, wiping her hands clean with a dishcloth.
“Why not, they dreamed about you too. We all dreamed about you,” Claire insisted.
“I know you did sweetie,” the old grandma said, softly stroking Claire’s blond hair.
“How,” Winnie whispered, moving close enough to me to share the same shoes?
“Because we’re still dreaming,” I blurted.
“What are you talking about,” Claire exclaimed!
“Think about it, Zoë and Ali aren’t on the team and Daniel is too new. That’s why they aren’t in the house with us right now,” I explained, my brain struggling to sort out the rest.
“KK’s right! And here’s another clue. Aren’t those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday Claire,” Winnie asked?
“I know it is because this is the exact same outfit I wore yesterday! And what about KK’s wig,” Winnie said excitedly?
“What about it,” asked Claire?
“It’s her Mango Monday wig! If we were really on the field trip it would be Turquoise Tuesday, right,” observed Winnie?
“I thought Tuesday’s were purple,” Claire asked puzzled?
“That was so last year Claire! Don’t you remember when we all picked Turquoise at the”Cat-in-the-Hat” store in the North Hills Mall when our moms took us shopping for school clothes together,” Winnie replied, agitated.
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” said Claire.
“WAIT! OMG, we’re still asleep,” Claire shouted!
“Yes, I suppose you are at that child,” offered Mrs. Dexter.
“And I think I know why,” she added.
“I know why,” I whispered, suddenly recognizing Mrs. Dexter.
The old grandma had given me the willies from the very beginning but I couldn’t figure out why. She seemed sweet enough but there as something dark about her, like a shadow. Wait a minute! That was it! My mind raced backward, replaying every moment with Mrs. Dexter, from the time we first saw her rocking on the front porch to this very moment. It was obvious now; I didn’t understand why I didn’t see it from the first.
She cast no shadow, even now in this big kitchen with all this sunlight streaming in from the huge window across from us. She cast no shadow. I looked behind me; none of us had a shadow. Everything else in the room cast long shadows that ran along the floor and up the wall on the other side of the room. We didn’t because we were dreaming. She didn’t because she was dead!
“I saw you at the hospital, didn’t I Mrs. Dexter?”
“No child, not I.”
“Yes I did, you were getting chemo too, weren’t you?”
“No, I was not.”
“I’m sure it was you, I remember your husband. His name is Walter isn’t it?”
“No dear, I have no husband.”
“He was nice to me.”
“Who was sweetie?”
“Never mind then. You died that day didn’t you?”
“No child, it was not I.”
“Wait a second, am I the only one dreaming right now?”
“Yes dear, I’m afraid so.”
“Oh man! I don’t get any of this! Why are you in my head? What do you want from me?”
“That poor old man, he works much too hard to notice the grandsons plotting to take his ranch away from him,” she explained.
“Do you mean the two cowboys in this dream?”
“Yes of course silly. I never had kids of my own you see. These two boys, they aren’t very nice,” she said without really looking at me.
“Beware the grandsons, they’re a tricky pair. Heed them not lest your dreams disappear,” she said as if in a trance.
“What the heck does heed mean? What dreams, you mean the ranch? Are they going to steal it, how?”
“Come upstairs with me child, there’s something I want to show you,” Mrs. Dexter said, passing me on her way to the living room.
When I turned to follow her I noticed that Claire and Winnie weren’t in the kitchen anymore. They never had been. I hesitated for a couple of heartbeats before following the old grandma out of the room. I wasn’t exactly sure that I even wanted to see whatever it was she was going to show me. But I was sure that I wanted to wake up. I sensed myself straining to open my eyes as I followed her. But I had to know, I had to help Walter or whoever; that much I was sure of!
In the morning I was going to have to live this day all over again, and convince the team that I’m not bonkers! We were going to need to pull together to out smart those cruddy cowboys!
***
Chapter Eight
Alarm clocks are evil…
The clock screamed at me again, reminding everyone that it was 6:30am and time for school. This time it was really today, Turquoise Tuesday, and not a dream-peat Monday. I rolled over, untangled myself from the cocoon I’d made in my sleep of my blankets and swatted off the alarm. The house was quiet except for the sound of the heater coming on, and a warm breeze washed over me. I lay there a moment and stared at the dream catcher hanging the ceiling above my bed. Mommy would be up in couple of minutes, and I could hear Kat in the shower. Lucas would need the usual persuasion to get him up and ready for school.
My sister Kat is always first one out of bed on school days. She loves school. But on weekends she usually hibernates until noon, unless Mommy plans a shopping trip of course. If you ask me though I think she gets up early to beat Lucas to the bathroom. She knows better than to let him get there first to do his business, but we won’t go there! Mommy will be surprised to see me awake already.
Getting up out of my warm bed I wobbled over to my closet and picked out today’s outfit. First I grabbed my Turquoise Tuesday wig, then a pair of jeans, a red and black checkered shirt and my unmentionables and made my way to the bathroom to get ready for school. Kat opened the door as I was about to knock, and nearly ran me over. She gasped, startled to see me so early.
“What are you doing up already,” she teased?
“Today’s my field trip, remember, I told you about it,” I answered.
“That’s right I forgot. I went to that ranch when I was in 5th grade too. It was fun, you’ll like it,” she said, as she passed me and went into her room to finish dressing.
It was my turn so I went inside to shower and stuff. While I bathed I replayed my dream in my brain, then again as I brushed my teeth and gargled with yucky mouthwash. By the time I was finished I had pretty much figured out what we needed to do next. It won’t be easy convincing everyone that I’d had a conversation with a ghost, but I would, I had to!
“KaSandra, quit playing around and let your brother in there, he really has to go honey,” Mommy pleaded, rapping on the door!
“OKAY,” I hollered over the running water as I put the cap back on the tube of toothpaste and opened the door. Mommy was standing there with her hands on her hips waiting for me. I think she was curious what had got me out of bed so early.
“Is there something you want to tell me,” she asked? My Mom is always suspicious of everything and everyone. Finding me up so early was setting off alarms in her Mommy brain.
“Did you finish all your homework last night? Is there a note or something from school that you forgot to give me? Wait, is it Report Card time again?”
“No, no, and no Mommy,” I said, answering all three of her rapid fire questions.
“Today is the field trip, remember,” I said pretending to be hurt by her suspicious nature.
“Oh, that’s right. Well good for you honey, thanks for being so responsible,” she said ignoring my pouty face.
“LUCAS! Get out of that bed this instant; you’re going to be late! Honestly, why do we have to have this scene every blessed morning,” hollered my Mother, turning back to me and winking.
“Get your things and come downstairs, I’ll have breakfast ready in two shakes of a lamb’s tail,” she added, as she jogged down the stairs to the kitchen.
“Okay,” I replied as I went back into my room.
My brother was sitting up in his racecar bed and staring out the window. He ignored me as I went over to make my bed. Well I didn’t actually make the bed, just sort of re-spread the comforter over the rumpled sheets. It was as close as any of us got to making our beds. Bed making wasn’t one of Mommy’s top priorities. I heard Lucas get up and leave the room. A second later the bathroom door slammed. That was my cue to slip on my socks and scoot downstairs.
I made down in time to eat breakfast with Kat which was a treat as she’s usually gone by the time I make it downstairs. She’s getting older and doesn’t go to my school anymore. We don’t get as much sister time as we used to, I miss that. I guess that’s pretty normal. Still, I miss goofing off and being silly together.
“Well, I gotta get going,” Kat said picking up her plate and busing the table.
“Do you want me to walk you to the bus stop KK,” she asked?
“Sure, thanks! Hey, are you going to be ‘Hello Kitty’ for Halloween,” I asked?
“Yea, Mommy is making my costume this weekend. Alright, let’s get going speedy,” she said teasing me.
“Alright,” I replied, handing my dish over the counter to Mommy who was busy making Lucas some scrambled eggs.
“You girls be careful,” she said as Kat and I walked out the front door.
“WE WILL,” we replied together, giggling as we scurried down the drive.
***
Hatching a Plan
Claire and Winifred were about to climb on board the bus when they noticed me clippity-clopping down the sidewalk toward the stop. Daniel poked his head out of a window near the back and hollered.
“Hey, check it out, KK is like fifteen minutes early,” he bellowed, loud enough to wake up the whole darn neighborhood!
Mr. Beadle appeared at the door holding the sports page in his hand and shaking his head. He could hardly believe his eyes.
“Well look who we have here. What happened sugar, did your bed catch fire this morning,” he teased.
I stopped in my tracks and gasped slightly. That was exactly what he said in my dream? I noticed that Claire and Winnie had already got on the bus and were in our usual seats. I looked hard at the bus and sure enough, they were all bunched together waiting for me, just like my dream? This was a little freaky?
“Come on now Miss Britches, hand me those sticks and get on board,” Mr. Beadle said cheerfully, pointing at his sort of turquoise baseball cap.
Actually it was a teal colored Florida Marlin’s cap but it was close and it was the effort that counted. I smiled at him as I handed him my crutches and got on the bus. A moment later I was in my seat facing the team, showtime!
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