Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2008 8:29:23 GMT -5
CHAPTER 14
Sam and I came into the front hall as the doorbell rang. I went to answer it. There stood Jason, Bebe, Abby, Anna, and Shannon. "Hi," I said. "Come on in."
As each of them came into the house, I gave them a hug. I was so glad to see them, after what I'd just been through.
"What's this for?" Jason asked when I hugged him. I just smiled. I didn't plan to say anything until after they had all arrived.
Sam led my guests into the living room as the doorbell rang again. When I opened the door again, there stood Mal, Jessi, Becca, Charlotte, Vanessa, and Haley. I waved to their parents' cars as they pulled away from the curb.
The next people to arrive were Mary Anne, Logan, and Dawn. I gave Dawn an extra-tight hug, especially since I hadn't seen her since last summer.
The last people to arrive were Claudia and Stacey. After I hugged them, I ushered them into the living room.
"What's up?" Bebe asked as Claud, Stacey, and I settled ourselves on the floor.
"You guys are not going to believe this, but I just had the worst nightmare," I began. "I dreamed that my guardian angel came and showed me what the town would be like if I'd never formed the BSC, and believe me, it wasn't a pretty sight."
"Really?" Mary Anne asked. "Tell us more."
"Well, aren't you interested in knowing what started it?"
"Yes, of course," Shannon said.
"Well, it all started last night when I was sitting for the Rodowskys," I told them. "Archie and Jackie were playing human wheelbarrow in the backyard. I turned my back just long enough to let Bo out, and the next thing I knew, Jackie had hurt his arm."
"Oh, no, that's awful," Jessi moaned. "Is he all right?"
"He broke his left forearm, I'm afraid," I answered.
"It wasn't your fault, Kristy," Claud said. "Even the most responsible baby-sitter can't prevent accidents."
"You should talk, Claud!" Mal exclaimed. "Remember when you and I had that sitting job at the Perkins' so you could observe me in action, and I was a total klutz? You blamed everything on me!"
"I know, I'm sorry," Claud said.
"That's all right, I've long since forgiven you," Mal said.
"Go on, Kristy," Jason said. That's when Emily and David Michael wandered in. David Michael took an empty seat next to Mary Anne, and Emily settled herself on Charlotte's lap.
"Hi, you guys," I said to my little siblings. "Did you want to hear the story, too?"
"Sure," Emily said.
"Yeah, go on," David Michael added.
"Aaanywaaay..." we all said together, then erupted into giggles.
When we calmed down, I continued, "Everyone kept telling me that what happened to Jackie wasn't my fault, but I still felt horrible. In fact, this morning when I went to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, I ran into Cokie and Alan, and they started giving me a hard time about it. When I got home, I counted what money I had left, and discovered that I was missing a dollar. Call me presumptuous, but I just knew Cokie had stolen it."
"How can you be so sure?" Dawn asked. "You don't know that's what happened."
"That's true," I admitted. "But anyway, when I took a nap earlier this afternoon, like I said, I dreamed my guardian angel came and showed me what would've happened if I'd never formed the BSC."
That's when Mom and Watson came in. I had a feeling that they were interested in hearing this.
"What was it like?" Mary Anne wanted to know.
"Well," I said, "it was pretty awful. For starters, there was total chaos and paranoid parents. In fact, I was almost shot at by Mr. Marshall."
"What about us?" Becca asked.
"Well, Mary Anne lived by herself in this deathtrap of a house on Rosedale Road. Not only was she a heroin addict, but she actually swore at me, which is something I thought I'd never live to see."
"Are you serious?" Mary Anne asked in surprise. I think she was also a little offended to hear that. "You know I'd never touch the stuff!"
"Whoa," Haley murmured. "All this for never starting the BSC, huh?"
"Exactly," I agreed. "And Jason was in juvie for killing a man, or almost doing it."
"Wow, really?" Jason asked. And you should've seen the look on his face when he heard that. It was almost as if I'd just told him that there was, in fact, a lost city called Atlantis. "I may have a bit of a temper, but you know I'd never go that far."
"I know that, too, Jason," I told him, putting my hand on his. "But it was just so hard to believe when I heard that."
"Kristy, if there's one thing I can promise you, it's that I'd never in a million years do something that stupid," Jason reassured me, looking at me with those beautiful emerald green eyes of his. And in that moment, I started to get a hint as to how Claud must have felt at intermission on opening night of SMS' production of "Carnival."
"What happened next?" Vanessa asked.
"Abby and Claud were runaways, Jessi had joined that dance troupe, Sam couldn't hold his liquor, and Becca, Charlotte, the Pikes, and David Michael were juvenile delinquents."
"Wow," Mom commented. "That's quite a surprise."
"You'll love this part, Mom," I said. "You were a widow living above Hurley's Garage."
"Really? What about Karen, Andrew, and Emily?" Watson asked.
"Oh, it gets better," I answered. "Watson, you were dead; Emily was never adopted; and Karen and Andrew had moved to Nebraska with their mother and stepfather."
"Whoa," Stacey said. "Is that all?"
"Yeah," I answered. I had to take some deep breaths to keep myself from falling apart.
"Are you all right now, Kristy?" Logan asked. I nodded and quickly wiped away any tears that were coming. The last thing I wanted to do was break down in front of everyone.
"Hey," Watson said gently, putting his arm around me. "Kristy, it's all right, hon. It was just a dream, and it's all over now. You're here, your family and friends are all here, and I promise you, we're all doing fine. Okay?"
"Okay, Watson," I whispered, and threw my arms around him. The next thing I knew, Mom, my brothers, Emily, and everybody else all joined our big family hug. If that doesn't look good on a Hallmark card, I don't know what does.
Just then, the front door flew open. "We're here!" Karen's voice shouted. All my emotions went into overdrive. I'd never heard such a beautiful sound in all my life.
Mom, Watson, and I went into the front hall. I hugged Karen and Andrew as tightly as I'd hugged Dawn. And yes, I was still trying to keep myself from crying.
"Is everything okay, Kristy?" Andrew asked.
"Oh, yeah," I grinned. "Everything's great." I was really glad to see them. Not only that, but I was even more glad that everything was finally back the way it should be.
Sam and I came into the front hall as the doorbell rang. I went to answer it. There stood Jason, Bebe, Abby, Anna, and Shannon. "Hi," I said. "Come on in."
As each of them came into the house, I gave them a hug. I was so glad to see them, after what I'd just been through.
"What's this for?" Jason asked when I hugged him. I just smiled. I didn't plan to say anything until after they had all arrived.
Sam led my guests into the living room as the doorbell rang again. When I opened the door again, there stood Mal, Jessi, Becca, Charlotte, Vanessa, and Haley. I waved to their parents' cars as they pulled away from the curb.
The next people to arrive were Mary Anne, Logan, and Dawn. I gave Dawn an extra-tight hug, especially since I hadn't seen her since last summer.
The last people to arrive were Claudia and Stacey. After I hugged them, I ushered them into the living room.
"What's up?" Bebe asked as Claud, Stacey, and I settled ourselves on the floor.
"You guys are not going to believe this, but I just had the worst nightmare," I began. "I dreamed that my guardian angel came and showed me what the town would be like if I'd never formed the BSC, and believe me, it wasn't a pretty sight."
"Really?" Mary Anne asked. "Tell us more."
"Well, aren't you interested in knowing what started it?"
"Yes, of course," Shannon said.
"Well, it all started last night when I was sitting for the Rodowskys," I told them. "Archie and Jackie were playing human wheelbarrow in the backyard. I turned my back just long enough to let Bo out, and the next thing I knew, Jackie had hurt his arm."
"Oh, no, that's awful," Jessi moaned. "Is he all right?"
"He broke his left forearm, I'm afraid," I answered.
"It wasn't your fault, Kristy," Claud said. "Even the most responsible baby-sitter can't prevent accidents."
"You should talk, Claud!" Mal exclaimed. "Remember when you and I had that sitting job at the Perkins' so you could observe me in action, and I was a total klutz? You blamed everything on me!"
"I know, I'm sorry," Claud said.
"That's all right, I've long since forgiven you," Mal said.
"Go on, Kristy," Jason said. That's when Emily and David Michael wandered in. David Michael took an empty seat next to Mary Anne, and Emily settled herself on Charlotte's lap.
"Hi, you guys," I said to my little siblings. "Did you want to hear the story, too?"
"Sure," Emily said.
"Yeah, go on," David Michael added.
"Aaanywaaay..." we all said together, then erupted into giggles.
When we calmed down, I continued, "Everyone kept telling me that what happened to Jackie wasn't my fault, but I still felt horrible. In fact, this morning when I went to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, I ran into Cokie and Alan, and they started giving me a hard time about it. When I got home, I counted what money I had left, and discovered that I was missing a dollar. Call me presumptuous, but I just knew Cokie had stolen it."
"How can you be so sure?" Dawn asked. "You don't know that's what happened."
"That's true," I admitted. "But anyway, when I took a nap earlier this afternoon, like I said, I dreamed my guardian angel came and showed me what would've happened if I'd never formed the BSC."
That's when Mom and Watson came in. I had a feeling that they were interested in hearing this.
"What was it like?" Mary Anne wanted to know.
"Well," I said, "it was pretty awful. For starters, there was total chaos and paranoid parents. In fact, I was almost shot at by Mr. Marshall."
"What about us?" Becca asked.
"Well, Mary Anne lived by herself in this deathtrap of a house on Rosedale Road. Not only was she a heroin addict, but she actually swore at me, which is something I thought I'd never live to see."
"Are you serious?" Mary Anne asked in surprise. I think she was also a little offended to hear that. "You know I'd never touch the stuff!"
"Whoa," Haley murmured. "All this for never starting the BSC, huh?"
"Exactly," I agreed. "And Jason was in juvie for killing a man, or almost doing it."
"Wow, really?" Jason asked. And you should've seen the look on his face when he heard that. It was almost as if I'd just told him that there was, in fact, a lost city called Atlantis. "I may have a bit of a temper, but you know I'd never go that far."
"I know that, too, Jason," I told him, putting my hand on his. "But it was just so hard to believe when I heard that."
"Kristy, if there's one thing I can promise you, it's that I'd never in a million years do something that stupid," Jason reassured me, looking at me with those beautiful emerald green eyes of his. And in that moment, I started to get a hint as to how Claud must have felt at intermission on opening night of SMS' production of "Carnival."
"What happened next?" Vanessa asked.
"Abby and Claud were runaways, Jessi had joined that dance troupe, Sam couldn't hold his liquor, and Becca, Charlotte, the Pikes, and David Michael were juvenile delinquents."
"Wow," Mom commented. "That's quite a surprise."
"You'll love this part, Mom," I said. "You were a widow living above Hurley's Garage."
"Really? What about Karen, Andrew, and Emily?" Watson asked.
"Oh, it gets better," I answered. "Watson, you were dead; Emily was never adopted; and Karen and Andrew had moved to Nebraska with their mother and stepfather."
"Whoa," Stacey said. "Is that all?"
"Yeah," I answered. I had to take some deep breaths to keep myself from falling apart.
"Are you all right now, Kristy?" Logan asked. I nodded and quickly wiped away any tears that were coming. The last thing I wanted to do was break down in front of everyone.
"Hey," Watson said gently, putting his arm around me. "Kristy, it's all right, hon. It was just a dream, and it's all over now. You're here, your family and friends are all here, and I promise you, we're all doing fine. Okay?"
"Okay, Watson," I whispered, and threw my arms around him. The next thing I knew, Mom, my brothers, Emily, and everybody else all joined our big family hug. If that doesn't look good on a Hallmark card, I don't know what does.
Just then, the front door flew open. "We're here!" Karen's voice shouted. All my emotions went into overdrive. I'd never heard such a beautiful sound in all my life.
Mom, Watson, and I went into the front hall. I hugged Karen and Andrew as tightly as I'd hugged Dawn. And yes, I was still trying to keep myself from crying.
"Is everything okay, Kristy?" Andrew asked.
"Oh, yeah," I grinned. "Everything's great." I was really glad to see them. Not only that, but I was even more glad that everything was finally back the way it should be.
