I stopped short when I saw the sign. In our front yard. This was a mistake. Or maybe a joke. My dad is a practical joker.
"Dad!" I slammed the front door, which practically guaranteed he would come out of his office to scold me.
"Jenny, what have I told you about slamming the--"
"Why is there a for sale sign in our front yard?" I demanded, dropping my book bag on the front hall floor. Another no-no.
"Well, I was going to tell you--"
"When? When the moving truck showed up?"
This was terrible. I'd just made the girls soccer team. And I had a date this weekend with Christopher Quinn.
"I was waiting for the right time." Dad looked guilty, like he felt bad. "But you've been so busy with soccer and your friends and--I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner. I've been transferred."
My stomach dropped. "Where?"
He handed me a travel book and I flipped through the pages. I look up at him.
I was shocked to see the for sale sign on their lawn. Frick! Why the heck hadn’t I said hi to him last Friday? After months of stalking I was going to loose my chance forever of talking to Carter.
What a looser I am. First, I pick the cutest guy on the Robotics Squad to crush on and then I totally choke when it comes to getting his attention. It’s not all my fault though. Carter’s grown nearly a foot since we last were face-to-face at Camp for Techies. Factor in that he doesn’t even realize his own skyrocketing cuteness potential and you have one smart stud-muffin. Frick! I am so going to kill my Aunt Lola for even putting that phrase in my head. “So, just ask the stud-muffin out. Isn‘t that what you girls do these days?” Don’t get me wrong, I love my Aunt Lola. She’s a ton of fun and makes me laugh. But she’s not exactly clued in to this century.
Bad advice or not, though, I’d have been better off doing something…even making an ass of myself…the thought of not being able to see him strolling the halls of Montevedo High each day? Maybe he’s not moving far. That’s it! I could keep tabs on him through the Tech Alumni Club. Crap! Is that his dad? No--Carter! Shoot! The sign is too small to hide behind. Now what am I going to say? Double crap!!!
I yanked the For Sale sign out of the grass, bringing up clumps of wet dirt in the process. Then I tossed the whole mess on the front porch.
"Really mom, do we have to go through this again?" I pleaded, as the front door closed behind me. "I mean, how many times is this now?"
"Six." My sister Cassie called out in a tone much too droll for a nine year old.
My mom ignored us both and proceded to apply another coat of pink lipstick to her newly plumped mouth.
"I thought you weren't supposed to wear that so soon after your 'tune-up'." Cassie was cranking them out today.
Mom shot her an evil look. "The realtor will be here any minute girls. Why don't you both take Teddy for a walk?"
Teddy had heard 'walk' and was flying down the hall before I could grab his leash.
"Fine." I mumbled.
I grabbed Cassie by the sleeve of her ratty sweatshirt and pulled her out the door, Teddy leading the way.
"Look, she can't keep doing this forever you know," Cassie said, trying to console me. We had momentarily made a pit stop at the Wilson's oak tree.
"Yea, I guess," I brightened up. "Like, that Todd Andrews is going to get it sooner or later that mom isn't REALLY interested in selling the house, right?" I was still skeptical.
We were on the move again, being dragged along Lake View Terrace.
"Oh, I'd bet my allowance that Todd is going to 'get it' sooner or later." Cassie said slyly.
"Cassandra!" I gasped.
"What?" she said innocently, "I am a woman you know."
“So, the old Marsden Place is finally up for sale, huh?” Josh straddled the crossbar of his bike as he stared at the ‘For Sale by Owner’ sign. It was jammed into the overgrown, weed-choked front lawn of a large, dilapidated, carpenter gothic home which was set back about 50 yards from the road.
“Wow!” said Tim. He pulled up next to Josh on his bike. “My folks will sure be surprised when I tell them about this. They said that with probate – whatever that is – along with the rest of what happened here, this place would probably never sell – not even in a million years.”
“Guess they were wrong.” Josh swung his legs over the bar and walked the bike to the oak tree by the curb. Tim followed him and leaned his bike against the tree, too.
“Wonder why they didn’t use a realtor. Maybe they couldn’t get one.” Tim pointed to the sign.
“I guess so,” Josh replied, adding, “But it’s probably on account of the murder-suicide thing here, you know? I wonder who the owner is now. The one selling the place, I mean.”
Tim shrugged. “Maybe some relative?”
“Maybe. So, do you think Albert Marsden really killed his wife here? Like everyone says?” Josh glanced up at the cupola of the house.
Tim followed the direction of Josh’s gaze and looked towards the roof line of the house. “Uh huh. And her boyfriend, too. I mean, who else could have done it? She was cheating on Ol’ Marsden, right? That’s what the story was.”
“I guess,” said Josh.
Tim turned around to look at Josh again. “But no one’s ever found the boyfriend, at least as I heard it. Just the wife. And Albert Marsden, of course. I think I remember that they said she was found lying in the upstairs hallway where she was shot. Albert was in the bedroom - shot too – but he was holding the gun.”
“Or a gun. That’s what the rumors were, anyway. Too bad their ghosts aren’t hanging around here, because if they were, they could tell what really happened here four years ago.” Josh shook his head. “’Cause maybe the wife’s boyfriend did it and escaped. Who knows? Except their ghosts, of course.”
“So, maybe there are ghosts in there,” Tim looked hopeful.
“Guess we’ll never know, will we?” Josh started walking towards his bike.
“Maybe we will,” said Tim.
Josh stopped and turned around to face Tim. “How?”
“By sneaking in there.” Tim looked pleased with himself.
“You’re crazy!”
“I know,” said Tim, “but what’s being a little crazy when there’s a house with a couple of murders that happened – and it’s sitting right here in front of us, huh?”
“Guess you got a point,” said Josh.
The two boys crossed the lawn. When they were almost at the front steps, they heard a loud bang which sounded like it came from inside the house.
“Oh my God! That sounded like a gunshot!” Tim’s eyes were wide.
“Let’s get out of here!” yelled Josh.
Without stopping to look back, Tim and Josh dashed back across the front lawn to the oak tree by the curb. They jumped on their bikes and pedaled furiously to get away from that old tragic, terrible place.
From a second story window, a pair of eyes had been carefully watching the boys. As he saw Josh and Tim leave the property, he smiled.
I stopped short when I saw the sign. In our front yard. This was a mistake. Or maybe a joke. My dad is a practical joker.
ReplyDelete"Dad!" I slammed the front door, which practically guaranteed he would come out of his office to scold me.
"Jenny, what have I told you about slamming the--"
"Why is there a for sale sign in our front yard?" I demanded, dropping my book bag on the front hall floor. Another no-no.
"Well, I was going to tell you--"
"When? When the moving truck showed up?"
This was terrible. I'd just made the girls soccer team. And I had a date this weekend with Christopher Quinn.
"I was waiting for the right time." Dad looked guilty, like he felt bad. "But you've been so busy with soccer and your friends and--I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner. I've been transferred."
My stomach dropped. "Where?"
He handed me a travel book and I flipped through the pages. I look up at him.
Hawaii, huh? When do we leave?"
rotflmao! So typical! (And so good!) =D
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to see the for sale sign on their lawn. Frick! Why the heck hadn’t I said hi to him last Friday? After months of stalking I was going to loose my chance forever of talking to Carter.
ReplyDeleteWhat a looser I am. First, I pick the cutest guy on the Robotics Squad to crush on and then I totally choke when it comes to getting his attention. It’s not all my fault though. Carter’s grown nearly a foot since we last were face-to-face at Camp for Techies. Factor in that he doesn’t even realize his own skyrocketing cuteness potential and you have one smart stud-muffin. Frick! I am so going to kill my Aunt Lola for even putting that phrase in my head. “So, just ask the stud-muffin out. Isn‘t that what you girls do these days?” Don’t get me wrong, I love my Aunt Lola. She’s a ton of fun and makes me laugh. But she’s not exactly clued in to this century.
Bad advice or not, though, I’d have been better off doing something…even making an ass of myself…the thought of not being able to see him strolling the halls of Montevedo High each day? Maybe he’s not moving far. That’s it! I could keep tabs on him through the Tech Alumni Club. Crap! Is that his dad? No--Carter! Shoot! The sign is too small to hide behind. Now what am I going to say? Double crap!!!
Loved them both! Great images at the end too!
ReplyDeleteI yanked the For Sale sign out of the grass, bringing up clumps of wet dirt in the process. Then I tossed the whole mess on the front porch.
ReplyDelete"Really mom, do we have to go through this again?" I pleaded, as the front door closed behind me. "I mean, how many times is this now?"
"Six." My sister Cassie called out in a tone much too droll for a nine year old.
My mom ignored us both and proceded to apply another coat of pink lipstick to her newly plumped mouth.
"I thought you weren't supposed to wear that so soon after your 'tune-up'." Cassie was cranking them out today.
Mom shot her an evil look. "The realtor will be here any minute girls. Why don't you both take Teddy for a walk?"
Teddy had heard 'walk' and was flying down the hall before I could grab his leash.
"Fine." I mumbled.
I grabbed Cassie by the sleeve of her ratty sweatshirt and pulled her out the door, Teddy leading the way.
"Look, she can't keep doing this forever you know," Cassie said, trying to console me. We had momentarily made a pit stop at the Wilson's oak tree.
"Yea, I guess," I brightened up. "Like, that Todd Andrews is going to get it sooner or later that mom isn't REALLY interested in selling the house, right?" I was still skeptical.
We were on the move again, being dragged along Lake View Terrace.
"Oh, I'd bet my allowance that Todd is going to 'get it' sooner or later." Cassie said slyly.
"Cassandra!" I gasped.
"What?" she said innocently, "I am a woman you know."
“So, the old Marsden Place is finally up for sale, huh?” Josh straddled the crossbar of his bike as he stared at the ‘For Sale by Owner’ sign. It was jammed into the overgrown, weed-choked front lawn of a large, dilapidated, carpenter gothic home which was set back about 50 yards from the road.
ReplyDelete“Wow!” said Tim. He pulled up next to Josh on his bike. “My folks will sure be surprised when I tell them about this. They said that with probate – whatever that is – along with the rest of what happened here, this place would probably never sell – not even in a million years.”
“Guess they were wrong.” Josh swung his legs over the bar and walked the bike to the oak tree by the curb. Tim followed him and leaned his bike against the tree, too.
“Wonder why they didn’t use a realtor. Maybe they couldn’t get one.” Tim pointed to the sign.
“I guess so,” Josh replied, adding, “But it’s probably on account of the murder-suicide thing here, you know? I wonder who the owner is now. The one selling the place, I mean.”
Tim shrugged. “Maybe some relative?”
“Maybe. So, do you think Albert Marsden really killed his wife here? Like everyone says?” Josh glanced up at the cupola of the house.
Tim followed the direction of Josh’s gaze and looked towards the roof line of the house. “Uh huh. And her boyfriend, too. I mean, who else could have done it? She was cheating on Ol’ Marsden, right? That’s what the story was.”
“I guess,” said Josh.
Tim turned around to look at Josh again. “But no one’s ever found the boyfriend, at least as I heard it. Just the wife. And Albert Marsden, of course. I think I remember that they said she was found lying in the upstairs hallway where she was shot. Albert was in the bedroom - shot too – but he was holding the gun.”
“Or a gun. That’s what the rumors were, anyway. Too bad their ghosts aren’t hanging around here, because if they were, they could tell what really happened here four years ago.” Josh shook his head. “’Cause maybe the wife’s boyfriend did it and escaped. Who knows? Except their ghosts, of course.”
“So, maybe there are ghosts in there,” Tim looked hopeful.
“Guess we’ll never know, will we?” Josh started walking towards his bike.
“Maybe we will,” said Tim.
Josh stopped and turned around to face Tim. “How?”
“By sneaking in there.” Tim looked pleased with himself.
“You’re crazy!”
“I know,” said Tim, “but what’s being a little crazy when there’s a house with a couple of murders that happened – and it’s sitting right here in front of us, huh?”
“Guess you got a point,” said Josh.
The two boys crossed the lawn. When they were almost at the front steps, they heard a loud bang which sounded like it came from inside the house.
“Oh my God! That sounded like a gunshot!” Tim’s eyes were wide.
“Let’s get out of here!” yelled Josh.
Without stopping to look back, Tim and Josh dashed back across the front lawn to the oak tree by the curb. They jumped on their bikes and pedaled furiously to get away from that old tragic, terrible place.
From a second story window, a pair of eyes had been carefully watching the boys. As he saw Josh and Tim leave the property, he smiled.
To DebM and Jenna - Brava! Squared! =D
ReplyDelete-RJ