The Cliff Trail
Great. Just great. Hiking. Great. I can totally be positive about this stupid hike . . . NOT! I stared up at Mount Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont. Daddy had just told me that we were going to hike up the cliff trail to get to the summit of the mountain. There is no way I’ll get to the top! This mountain is just too big for me! I felt like how you feel when you have a project due in three weeks. It’s going to take forever to accomplish, or the teacher wouldn’t give it. Unfortunately, what I couldn’t see was the other side of the mountain; the feeling I’d have when I conquered it.
“Daddy, do we really have to climb up this stupid mountain?” I asked, rolling my eyes. I’m off of school for the weekend, no projects! I really don’t want to have to work so hard.
“Don’t be such a Grinch,” my little sister Ava mumbled under her breath. I wanted to retaliate, but I had to prioritize my Grinchiness.
I hate hiking, if you didn’t already pick up on that! I have never really understood the whole point of the climb. The worst part is, my parents want me to be so gung-ho about the whole thing, which I’m not! Just the thought of the exasperating, prolonged trudge up a mountain makes me feel winded. And this mountain is huge! Such a big project for such a little person just doesn’t add up. It’s also just a plain waste of time, right now I could be swimming in the pool!
“Yes, Gracie!” I cringed at the name (I hate being called Gracie). “Of course we are going to hike up this...” he paused, Daddy hates the word stupid, he’s probably not gonna say stupid. No, he would never say stupid. I bet a million dollars that he won’t say stupid. “... nice mountain,” he finished. Where’s my million?
Although I really didn’t want to hike, because it would take forever, I couldn’t help but think of the beautiful scenery that must be at the summit. Good thing I brought my iPod to take pictures. Stowe during October is so gorgeous that I can’t wait for this time of year, Columbus Day weekend, when we come up here for three days! Fiery reds, melting oranges, and vibrant yellows were screaming at me from here, I can just imagine what they’re like at the top. So I didn’t complain any more than I already had.
“Fine, I’ll go,” I started. “But I deserve a soda when we get back to the hotel and an A plus on this project!” My parents looked so puzzled, but I didn’t feel like explaining.
***
I carefully placed my Hydro Flask into my inside coat pocket. This is such a nuisance, I don’t need a stupid water bottle! BANG!!! My water bottle fell to the ground, leaving a small dent on the bottom rim, which was already dented. Daddy’s gonna be happy with this! That will definitely take some points off my final grade if he finds out. But luckily, I picked it up and wiped the soil off before Daddy could turn the corner to find it on the ground.
“Momma,” I asked sweetly, hoping that she had forgotten the fact that I had complained about hiking earlier. She looked up at me from down the trail.
“Yes honey?” She asked. She forgot. I smiled, but not too mischievously, trying not to give away my plan.
“Can you pleeeeeease carry my water bottle?” I dragged out please like a baby would, because that normally worked with Momma. If this doesn’t work, my backup is to start whimpering and sucking my thumb. She also was carrying Ava’s water, so another wouldn’t make any difference, would it?
She smiled. “Sure.” My mouth got bigger than ever before, and I wanted to shout, “Hallelujah!” but Daddy wouldn’t like that. I marched down to where she was hiking on the trail to hand it to her. Daddy rolled his eyes as I passed him. He never likes when we don’t carry our own things. Just be happy you’re not the one carrying my water bottle.
“Grace, are you having fun yet?” Momma asked me, hoping my attitude had changed.
“Eh,” I replied (which is a huge breakthrough for me, considering I had been totally negative on the situation).
***
“Oh boy!” I shouted out, my voice ringing through the mountain, carried by the wind. We were pretty high up! And now, in front of me were two huge boulders, with a small gap in between them, just big enough so that a human could squeeze through on all fours. Ava’s face could have said what my mouth had said, but she kept it inside.
“How are we supposed to get up there?” Momma shivered with fright.
I’m not even sure what got into me, I even surprised myself. Maybe it was because I wanted to achieve a goal, or complete an adventure. Maybe I wanted an A plus. Whatever it was, I had something wild inside me driving this force. And this force had driven me home! I’m not even sure if Isaac Newton could’ve had a theory for what force was driving me!
“Like this,” and without a warning, I grabbed onto an edge of the rock, hoisted myself up and through the gap, and I got up on the other side. Whoah! What just happened? I thought to myself (like I said, I blew myself away).
For a moment, I felt like I was on top of the world. Standing on that rock, I got a whole new glimpse of the world, that I had never seen before! If only everyone could see this. A calm body of water sat highly elevated atop Spruce Peak, and the housing developments didn’t distract me from Vermont’s beauty, surprisingly. The whole world seemed to be gorgeous from up there. So there is something to learn from tedious tasks.
Just then, another crazy thought came upon me. I want to keep hiking! I think I was poisoned with some pro-hiking substance that my mother secretly put in our lunch. I glanced down at her with a suspicious look on my face. I have no clue what ulterior motive was driving me, but its force was strong like a bull.
“Come on guys, it’s really easy. Momma, hand me the watter bottles so you can go next.” I tried to help her out, so that we could keep going. Momma nodded, too timid to argue. I clasped the bottles tightly in my sweaty palms, and placed them down on the ground, leaning up against the side of the rock. I put my hand out for her to grab onto, but Daddy shook his head, no. I was in no mood to argue with “The Boss,” so I pulled my arm back.
Momma hoisted herself up, and so did Ava and Daddy. Soon we were all on the landing. I almost fainted, for ahead lay sharp rocks so steep they needed handles! I glanced cowardly up at the shining, slippery handles, that no one else in my family even noticed. Daddy glanced up at what was ahead, and the look on his face changed from tired to scared. Please say we can keep going, please say we can keep going. I crossed my fingers. I know that sounds crazy, because never in my wildest dreams have I ever wanted to go hiking, or continue hiking for that matter, but that’s what was happening. I wanted to get to the top, although I don’t think Momma did.
One quick glance up ahead and Momma was having a panic attack. “Just...breathe...breathe…” Her voice faded in and out and trailed off through the mountain, and into the valley below. Momma can’t do this, I thought worriedly. If only there was something that I could do to convince her that she would be fine, and that at the top would be the most spectacular thing that she had ever witnessed! As soon as Ava saw Momma freaking out, she couldn’t help but start shaking herself. Two down, two left, I thought silently.
“Can the girls and I stay here, while you go to the top, Daryl?” Momma asked, her voice quivering.
I objected, wanting to keep up the adventure. “Daddy, I want to keep going with you.” Daddy looked really surprised.
“Sure, I’m surprised to see that you want to continue,” Daddy laughed, but I just nodded.
Meanwhile, lots of people were trickling down in small groups, gasping for air. That’s not a good sign! One lady looked so full of energy, much different than the rest of the crowd.
“How is it?” Daddy asked her, probably thinking along my wavelength. The lady smiled, like the most amazing thing had happened up there. Almost like we had to race up their to see it, before it vanishes.
“Breathtaking,” she breathed, like she was floating on a cloud of air. “It was worth the steep hike! Prettiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” I breathed a sigh of relief. So this is the only really steep part!
“So it gets better from here?” Daddy asked, thinking like I was again. The lady looked at him like he was insane.
“Oh my, no! It gets slippery, and if you think this is steep, wait until you get up further, it’s crazy. But believe me, the view is worth it.” Adventure ruined. Daddy’s face grew grim.
“Well, have a good afternoon.” Daddy told her. He sighed. I’m doomed.
“Thank you, and to you too!” The lady continued climbing down the mountain, humming as she went. As soon as she was out of hearing range, Daddy grunted.
“I’m sorry Grace, but I can’t take this risk with you. Let’s all go back down. I’ll go up by myself one day.” I shook my head. This wasn’t over! I’ve never forfeited a project!
Daddy gave me a scary look that said, don’t argue, we’re not going to the top today! I sighed.
I guess sometimes you never know when a bad thing can make a good thing happen! “When can we go hiking again?” I asked Momma and Daddy. Momma was still recovering from her scare on the rock, so she wasn’t in any mood to discuss more “rock climbing.” Ava immediately rolled her eyes.
“There is no way I’m ever going to risk my life climbing up some stupid mountain AGAIN!” Ava grumbled. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh, come on Ava! Don’t be such a Grinch!” I probably looked like a clown imitating her. Daddy even laughed at this one.
“Sure Grace! We can go hiking tomorrow!” He sounded so gung-ho, and just that wore me out.
“Well, no! I didn’t mean like right away, but maybe, I don’t know, like sometime in the near future?” I know I sounded really stupid and I didn’t make sense at all! Daddy laughed, as if he knew my phase wouldn’t last. “No, seriously. Does next week when we get home work for you?” I was sincere. At that moment, I realized that there would always be a mountain that I would want to climb, and that sometimes I will go to the top, but sometimes I might not. This is my first incomplete mountain. I never got to see “the other side.” I wanted another.
Daddy finally nodded. “Sure.” And who knows? Maybe next time I’ll have a bad situation to turn into a good one as well! Maybe I’ll get to the top.
“Daddy, do we really have to climb up this stupid mountain?” I asked, rolling my eyes. I’m off of school for the weekend, no projects! I really don’t want to have to work so hard.
“Don’t be such a Grinch,” my little sister Ava mumbled under her breath. I wanted to retaliate, but I had to prioritize my Grinchiness.
I hate hiking, if you didn’t already pick up on that! I have never really understood the whole point of the climb. The worst part is, my parents want me to be so gung-ho about the whole thing, which I’m not! Just the thought of the exasperating, prolonged trudge up a mountain makes me feel winded. And this mountain is huge! Such a big project for such a little person just doesn’t add up. It’s also just a plain waste of time, right now I could be swimming in the pool!
“Yes, Gracie!” I cringed at the name (I hate being called Gracie). “Of course we are going to hike up this...” he paused, Daddy hates the word stupid, he’s probably not gonna say stupid. No, he would never say stupid. I bet a million dollars that he won’t say stupid. “... nice mountain,” he finished. Where’s my million?
Although I really didn’t want to hike, because it would take forever, I couldn’t help but think of the beautiful scenery that must be at the summit. Good thing I brought my iPod to take pictures. Stowe during October is so gorgeous that I can’t wait for this time of year, Columbus Day weekend, when we come up here for three days! Fiery reds, melting oranges, and vibrant yellows were screaming at me from here, I can just imagine what they’re like at the top. So I didn’t complain any more than I already had.
“Fine, I’ll go,” I started. “But I deserve a soda when we get back to the hotel and an A plus on this project!” My parents looked so puzzled, but I didn’t feel like explaining.
***
I carefully placed my Hydro Flask into my inside coat pocket. This is such a nuisance, I don’t need a stupid water bottle! BANG!!! My water bottle fell to the ground, leaving a small dent on the bottom rim, which was already dented. Daddy’s gonna be happy with this! That will definitely take some points off my final grade if he finds out. But luckily, I picked it up and wiped the soil off before Daddy could turn the corner to find it on the ground.
“Momma,” I asked sweetly, hoping that she had forgotten the fact that I had complained about hiking earlier. She looked up at me from down the trail.
“Yes honey?” She asked. She forgot. I smiled, but not too mischievously, trying not to give away my plan.
“Can you pleeeeeease carry my water bottle?” I dragged out please like a baby would, because that normally worked with Momma. If this doesn’t work, my backup is to start whimpering and sucking my thumb. She also was carrying Ava’s water, so another wouldn’t make any difference, would it?
She smiled. “Sure.” My mouth got bigger than ever before, and I wanted to shout, “Hallelujah!” but Daddy wouldn’t like that. I marched down to where she was hiking on the trail to hand it to her. Daddy rolled his eyes as I passed him. He never likes when we don’t carry our own things. Just be happy you’re not the one carrying my water bottle.
“Grace, are you having fun yet?” Momma asked me, hoping my attitude had changed.
“Eh,” I replied (which is a huge breakthrough for me, considering I had been totally negative on the situation).
***
“Oh boy!” I shouted out, my voice ringing through the mountain, carried by the wind. We were pretty high up! And now, in front of me were two huge boulders, with a small gap in between them, just big enough so that a human could squeeze through on all fours. Ava’s face could have said what my mouth had said, but she kept it inside.
“How are we supposed to get up there?” Momma shivered with fright.
I’m not even sure what got into me, I even surprised myself. Maybe it was because I wanted to achieve a goal, or complete an adventure. Maybe I wanted an A plus. Whatever it was, I had something wild inside me driving this force. And this force had driven me home! I’m not even sure if Isaac Newton could’ve had a theory for what force was driving me!
“Like this,” and without a warning, I grabbed onto an edge of the rock, hoisted myself up and through the gap, and I got up on the other side. Whoah! What just happened? I thought to myself (like I said, I blew myself away).
For a moment, I felt like I was on top of the world. Standing on that rock, I got a whole new glimpse of the world, that I had never seen before! If only everyone could see this. A calm body of water sat highly elevated atop Spruce Peak, and the housing developments didn’t distract me from Vermont’s beauty, surprisingly. The whole world seemed to be gorgeous from up there. So there is something to learn from tedious tasks.
Just then, another crazy thought came upon me. I want to keep hiking! I think I was poisoned with some pro-hiking substance that my mother secretly put in our lunch. I glanced down at her with a suspicious look on my face. I have no clue what ulterior motive was driving me, but its force was strong like a bull.
“Come on guys, it’s really easy. Momma, hand me the watter bottles so you can go next.” I tried to help her out, so that we could keep going. Momma nodded, too timid to argue. I clasped the bottles tightly in my sweaty palms, and placed them down on the ground, leaning up against the side of the rock. I put my hand out for her to grab onto, but Daddy shook his head, no. I was in no mood to argue with “The Boss,” so I pulled my arm back.
Momma hoisted herself up, and so did Ava and Daddy. Soon we were all on the landing. I almost fainted, for ahead lay sharp rocks so steep they needed handles! I glanced cowardly up at the shining, slippery handles, that no one else in my family even noticed. Daddy glanced up at what was ahead, and the look on his face changed from tired to scared. Please say we can keep going, please say we can keep going. I crossed my fingers. I know that sounds crazy, because never in my wildest dreams have I ever wanted to go hiking, or continue hiking for that matter, but that’s what was happening. I wanted to get to the top, although I don’t think Momma did.
One quick glance up ahead and Momma was having a panic attack. “Just...breathe...breathe…” Her voice faded in and out and trailed off through the mountain, and into the valley below. Momma can’t do this, I thought worriedly. If only there was something that I could do to convince her that she would be fine, and that at the top would be the most spectacular thing that she had ever witnessed! As soon as Ava saw Momma freaking out, she couldn’t help but start shaking herself. Two down, two left, I thought silently.
“Can the girls and I stay here, while you go to the top, Daryl?” Momma asked, her voice quivering.
I objected, wanting to keep up the adventure. “Daddy, I want to keep going with you.” Daddy looked really surprised.
“Sure, I’m surprised to see that you want to continue,” Daddy laughed, but I just nodded.
Meanwhile, lots of people were trickling down in small groups, gasping for air. That’s not a good sign! One lady looked so full of energy, much different than the rest of the crowd.
“How is it?” Daddy asked her, probably thinking along my wavelength. The lady smiled, like the most amazing thing had happened up there. Almost like we had to race up their to see it, before it vanishes.
“Breathtaking,” she breathed, like she was floating on a cloud of air. “It was worth the steep hike! Prettiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” I breathed a sigh of relief. So this is the only really steep part!
“So it gets better from here?” Daddy asked, thinking like I was again. The lady looked at him like he was insane.
“Oh my, no! It gets slippery, and if you think this is steep, wait until you get up further, it’s crazy. But believe me, the view is worth it.” Adventure ruined. Daddy’s face grew grim.
“Well, have a good afternoon.” Daddy told her. He sighed. I’m doomed.
“Thank you, and to you too!” The lady continued climbing down the mountain, humming as she went. As soon as she was out of hearing range, Daddy grunted.
“I’m sorry Grace, but I can’t take this risk with you. Let’s all go back down. I’ll go up by myself one day.” I shook my head. This wasn’t over! I’ve never forfeited a project!
Daddy gave me a scary look that said, don’t argue, we’re not going to the top today! I sighed.
I guess sometimes you never know when a bad thing can make a good thing happen! “When can we go hiking again?” I asked Momma and Daddy. Momma was still recovering from her scare on the rock, so she wasn’t in any mood to discuss more “rock climbing.” Ava immediately rolled her eyes.
“There is no way I’m ever going to risk my life climbing up some stupid mountain AGAIN!” Ava grumbled. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh, come on Ava! Don’t be such a Grinch!” I probably looked like a clown imitating her. Daddy even laughed at this one.
“Sure Grace! We can go hiking tomorrow!” He sounded so gung-ho, and just that wore me out.
“Well, no! I didn’t mean like right away, but maybe, I don’t know, like sometime in the near future?” I know I sounded really stupid and I didn’t make sense at all! Daddy laughed, as if he knew my phase wouldn’t last. “No, seriously. Does next week when we get home work for you?” I was sincere. At that moment, I realized that there would always be a mountain that I would want to climb, and that sometimes I will go to the top, but sometimes I might not. This is my first incomplete mountain. I never got to see “the other side.” I wanted another.
Daddy finally nodded. “Sure.” And who knows? Maybe next time I’ll have a bad situation to turn into a good one as well! Maybe I’ll get to the top.
The Marshmallow War
“All right soldiers, listen up,” Mr. Hobro said sternly as he paced back and forth on Gavin’s old porch. The porch creaked while he walked. Mr. Hobro kept tapping his blue marshmallow gun into the palms of his hands. I don’t really have to listen to the plot, I’ll just go along with whatever Mr. Hobro does, I thought to myself. Winning is everything! Little did I know that I did have to listen.
“Those men right there, they’re gonna try to win. They’re gonna have no mercy. They’re gonna pop ya with a marshmallow before you can even reload your ammunition. But y’all listen to me here. We’re gonna be fierce just like those soldiers. We’re gonna be warriors. Now I know you fellas might not know the woods very well, but I do. I gonna show you the best routes, ya hear?” Kate and I could not refrain from laughing our heads off, because Mr. Hobro was talking with a southern accent and squinting!
“Yes, Sir!” We both announced, more laughing than anything.
“How was that?” He asked, jokingly. Kate and I nodded as if to say amazing!
I wiped gallons of sweat off my brow as Kate mimicked Mr. Hobro’s show. Boy! July is hot, even in New England! Keith, Kate, and myself were over Gavin’s house for his birthday party. All of my clothes were dripping wet and clinging to my body, and now Gavin decided that we were going to run around in his woods shooting marshmallows at each other. I was itchy and scratchy, and the heat wasn’t helping. Gavin, Keith, and Erica (Gavin’s sister) were on their own team, so Kate and I figured that we had the better pick because we had Mr. Hobro. He is the mastermind for evil schemes, or any schemes for that matter. Mr. Hobro was a born leader.
“Mr. Hobro, what are we going to do? They have a battle plan ready and all we have is General Friedrich von Steuben! This isn’t Valley Forge, this is the greatest marshmallow battle of the century!” Kate started snickering like a dying cat as I spoke. Mr. Hobro chuckled under his breath.
“You guys really think that I wasn’t prepared?” Mr. Hobro then took a rolled up paper off the porch chair and unraveled it on the steps. Whoah! He does have a plan! On the chart was a map of the Hobro’s backyard. I saw some familiar landmarks that Keith and Gavin had shown me before. The Mountain, The Campsite, etc. “So this is our plan, I know Gavin, and he loves The Campsite, so we know that that is the first place that they’ll go to. So we’ll-”
“Storm The Campsite and steal their ammunition!” Kate interrupted him. I rolled my eyes. Let Mr. Hobro do this his way, it’s the only way we’ll win!
“No, no, no! That’s what Keith and Gavin will be expecting. I know a separate path that loops around through The Mountain. It’s longer, but we can attack them using the element of surprise instead of direct charge. It’s the best plan I’ve ever thought of, and I planned the Battle of Gettysburg!” I started applauding Mr. Hobro , because without him, this attack would be useless. I can’t lose this battle, especially not to Keith!
“But I still think that we should storm The Campsite! Your idea may work, but there’s a chance that it might not,” Kate argued. Okay Kate, now you’re just arguing for the sake of arguing. Don’t all plans have a slight chance of failure? I think Kate realized that Mr. Hobro and I thought that she was crazy, because she tried to explain herself. “What I mean is, the path that you know about takes a long time, and Keith and Gavin may leave The Campsite and come searching for us. It’s too much of a risk to take. I honestly think it’s the safest way to go by just directly charging them,” Kate pleaded. This time Mr. Hobro rolled his eyes. 3-2-1-EXPLODE!
“Too much of a risk! This is war! Do you want to win this battle or what? I’m the general, you listen to me, Sergeant!” Mr. Hobro screamed at the top of his lungs. He blew up! I know he likes being in charge, so I didn’t question his leadership.
“Kate, I can see where you’re going, but we have to attack soon! Are you coming with us or not?” We might be better without her arguing with everything we do. I hate working in groups to begin with, the smaller amount of people, the easier the job is to get done. I looked at her, and for a moment, everything stopped. Her answer depended on whether or not she got captured.
“No. I’m going to take the ammunition in a camp raid like I said I would. I’ll meet you guys back here with the ammo.” And with that, Kate saluted us and started walking on the trail to The Campsite, walking into the biggest trap any war has ever witnessed.
***
“SNAP! CRUNCH, CRUNCH! SNAP! SNAP! FALL!” The secret path to The Campsite was not as nice as the regular path that Kate was walking on. There were so many twigs and roots, and I had to keep my head down so I didn’t tumble to the Earth’s floor and alert the enemies that we were nearby! “Shhh! Keep quiet!” Mr. Hobro instructed me. I nodded, although I couldn’t help it and the noises kept coming.
I almost shrieked when I saw Keith and Erica hiding right behind a bush, but I didn’t. If they turned around, they would see us. They must’ve found Kate this way! There is no way that she got past them!
We hiked for what felt like a century, but ever since I had seen Keith and Erica hiding, I couldn’t help feeling jumpy. Abruptly, Mr. Hobro came to a halt. He crouched down low to the ground like you would see in a spy movie. Mr. Hobro did a motion with his hand, signaling me to copy him. I did so, but as slowly as I could, trying not to make my knees crack, for Gavin was no more than five feet away from us. Yes, he had his back turned, and yes there was a somewhat protective bush in between, but still, we couldn’t take any chances, especially considering he was guarding a prisoner in the tree. KATE! I yelped silently. I wanted to wave to her, to rub it in her face that her method had failed, but I knew she couldn’t see me. Okay fine, that wasn’t my motive. I just wanted to break her out from The Campsite.
I quietly crept over to a tree close by, but not too close. Far away enough so that Mr. Hobro and I could talk about how we would save Kate and attack the others.
My first intention was to ask Mr. Hobro if he had any ideas. No, of course he has ideas, he always does. Maybe I can come up with something. I’ll need everyone’s help, but if Kate could and Mr. Hobro could, why can’t I?
“Okay, here is what we do,” Mr. Hobro whispered to me. He already had a plan set.
“No! I’ve got my own plan. I want to see if we can win this battle by all pitching in. But first we need Kate, and I know just how we are going to get her.” I interrupted him. Mr. Hobro nodded at me. I was so glad that he understood what I meant. I didn’t feel like arguing again, sitting on some tree roots, drenched with water, and itching like my body was covered in poison ivy! “Here’s what I’m thinking,” and I told him my plan.
***
There we sat, just waiting for the perfect moment to charge. I stared down at the dirty brown earth floor. No roots or twigs. Perfect! My plan was set. Everything was perfect! I looked over to Mr. Hobro and gave him my signal, a single rub of my nose followed by a thumbs up. He nodded.
Mr. Hobro picked up a rock the size of my ears and chucked it over by the entrance of The Campsite path. The perfect distraction for our invasion. Gavin immediately flinched, but did not hesitate to walk over to the entryway, turning his back to us. He fell for the bait. I rubbed my hands together like an evil mastermind. A mischievous grin spread across my face. My plan was going so well! Then, without a warning cry or any marshmallow popping, Mr. Hobro and I leaped silently out of the bushes and grabbed Kate’s arm from inside the tree (okay, I landed silently. Mr. Hobro did not). Kate’s eyes lit up as she saw me approach her. I put my fingers to my lips and signaled for her to be silent. We couldn’t take any chances!
Gavin must’ve either given up his search or heard Mr. Hobro’s boisterous thud because he turned around back to find his father hovering above him. “Drop your gun and put your hands where I can see ‘em,” Mr. Hobro said in a western cowboy accent. I couldn’t help but laugh. Even when everything has been laid out on the table, Mr. Hobro can still be a comedian. Gavin was trapped, because Kate (without being told) snuck up behind him so he couldn’t run. My stomach was jumping with delectation! For once we’re working as a team!
Gavin did as he was told and dropped the marshmallow popper on the ground. The look on his face was identical to Grumpy Cat’s face. He then marched into the tree with Mr. Hobro right behind him. I smiled as wide as the state of Alaska! With Mr. Hobro guarding Gavin, he was trapped. Success!
“Oh Erica and Keith!” I called out, my hand cupped to my mouth. “We’ve taken over The Campsite!” I smiled. I knew what I was doing.
“What are you doing? They’ll try to fight us.”Mr. Hobro exclaimed with a disappointed look on his face. I shook my head but didn’t answer him. I know Keith. If you tell him that his camp has been taken over, then he’ll believe that he has to surrender.
Sure enough, within 15 seconds of me calling out, Keith and Erica showed up on the path. Kate and I were hiding in the bushes, waiting for them so we could surround them. “Guys! Watch out! Behind yo-” Gavin called out to them. His face dropped as Kate and I hopped out of the bushes, surrounding Keith and Erica.
“Put your hands where I can see them! And no quick movements or I’ll be forced to shoot ya with these here marshmallows!” I tried to imitate Mr. Hobro, but it didn’t work out that well. Keith laughed though, but did as he was told. “Right, General? Hands where I can see ‘em?” I turned to Mr. Hobro with a concerned look on my face.
“As long as Kate’s okay with it, it’s fine by me!” Kate grinned as if to say, yes. I’m glad he said that. After all, we are a team. And only when we were a team did we succeed.
***
Inside Gavin’s house, right before we were about to eat the cake, Kate walked up to me. “Hey, I just wanna say that I’m sorry about not listening to you guys. I got caught right away! I had no idea that his plan would work, but it sure did!” I nodded.
“Hey, no hurt feelings! It only clicked when we all worked together.” I grinned. But inside, I felt really weird. I wanted to correct her and tell Kate that it was my plan to cause the distracted noise and then silently charge, capturing Gavin. To call out, tricking Keith and Erica into being caught. But for some reason, at the same time I didn’t want to correct her, because it doesn’t really matter that I came up with the plan. All that matters is that we had fun playing the game. At that moment I realized that being a part of the team, is even bigger than winning the game. “Happy birthday Gavin!” I yelled across the table. Gavin smiled.
“Yeah, happy birthday Gavin!” Everyone chimed in.
“Those men right there, they’re gonna try to win. They’re gonna have no mercy. They’re gonna pop ya with a marshmallow before you can even reload your ammunition. But y’all listen to me here. We’re gonna be fierce just like those soldiers. We’re gonna be warriors. Now I know you fellas might not know the woods very well, but I do. I gonna show you the best routes, ya hear?” Kate and I could not refrain from laughing our heads off, because Mr. Hobro was talking with a southern accent and squinting!
“Yes, Sir!” We both announced, more laughing than anything.
“How was that?” He asked, jokingly. Kate and I nodded as if to say amazing!
I wiped gallons of sweat off my brow as Kate mimicked Mr. Hobro’s show. Boy! July is hot, even in New England! Keith, Kate, and myself were over Gavin’s house for his birthday party. All of my clothes were dripping wet and clinging to my body, and now Gavin decided that we were going to run around in his woods shooting marshmallows at each other. I was itchy and scratchy, and the heat wasn’t helping. Gavin, Keith, and Erica (Gavin’s sister) were on their own team, so Kate and I figured that we had the better pick because we had Mr. Hobro. He is the mastermind for evil schemes, or any schemes for that matter. Mr. Hobro was a born leader.
“Mr. Hobro, what are we going to do? They have a battle plan ready and all we have is General Friedrich von Steuben! This isn’t Valley Forge, this is the greatest marshmallow battle of the century!” Kate started snickering like a dying cat as I spoke. Mr. Hobro chuckled under his breath.
“You guys really think that I wasn’t prepared?” Mr. Hobro then took a rolled up paper off the porch chair and unraveled it on the steps. Whoah! He does have a plan! On the chart was a map of the Hobro’s backyard. I saw some familiar landmarks that Keith and Gavin had shown me before. The Mountain, The Campsite, etc. “So this is our plan, I know Gavin, and he loves The Campsite, so we know that that is the first place that they’ll go to. So we’ll-”
“Storm The Campsite and steal their ammunition!” Kate interrupted him. I rolled my eyes. Let Mr. Hobro do this his way, it’s the only way we’ll win!
“No, no, no! That’s what Keith and Gavin will be expecting. I know a separate path that loops around through The Mountain. It’s longer, but we can attack them using the element of surprise instead of direct charge. It’s the best plan I’ve ever thought of, and I planned the Battle of Gettysburg!” I started applauding Mr. Hobro , because without him, this attack would be useless. I can’t lose this battle, especially not to Keith!
“But I still think that we should storm The Campsite! Your idea may work, but there’s a chance that it might not,” Kate argued. Okay Kate, now you’re just arguing for the sake of arguing. Don’t all plans have a slight chance of failure? I think Kate realized that Mr. Hobro and I thought that she was crazy, because she tried to explain herself. “What I mean is, the path that you know about takes a long time, and Keith and Gavin may leave The Campsite and come searching for us. It’s too much of a risk to take. I honestly think it’s the safest way to go by just directly charging them,” Kate pleaded. This time Mr. Hobro rolled his eyes. 3-2-1-EXPLODE!
“Too much of a risk! This is war! Do you want to win this battle or what? I’m the general, you listen to me, Sergeant!” Mr. Hobro screamed at the top of his lungs. He blew up! I know he likes being in charge, so I didn’t question his leadership.
“Kate, I can see where you’re going, but we have to attack soon! Are you coming with us or not?” We might be better without her arguing with everything we do. I hate working in groups to begin with, the smaller amount of people, the easier the job is to get done. I looked at her, and for a moment, everything stopped. Her answer depended on whether or not she got captured.
“No. I’m going to take the ammunition in a camp raid like I said I would. I’ll meet you guys back here with the ammo.” And with that, Kate saluted us and started walking on the trail to The Campsite, walking into the biggest trap any war has ever witnessed.
***
“SNAP! CRUNCH, CRUNCH! SNAP! SNAP! FALL!” The secret path to The Campsite was not as nice as the regular path that Kate was walking on. There were so many twigs and roots, and I had to keep my head down so I didn’t tumble to the Earth’s floor and alert the enemies that we were nearby! “Shhh! Keep quiet!” Mr. Hobro instructed me. I nodded, although I couldn’t help it and the noises kept coming.
I almost shrieked when I saw Keith and Erica hiding right behind a bush, but I didn’t. If they turned around, they would see us. They must’ve found Kate this way! There is no way that she got past them!
We hiked for what felt like a century, but ever since I had seen Keith and Erica hiding, I couldn’t help feeling jumpy. Abruptly, Mr. Hobro came to a halt. He crouched down low to the ground like you would see in a spy movie. Mr. Hobro did a motion with his hand, signaling me to copy him. I did so, but as slowly as I could, trying not to make my knees crack, for Gavin was no more than five feet away from us. Yes, he had his back turned, and yes there was a somewhat protective bush in between, but still, we couldn’t take any chances, especially considering he was guarding a prisoner in the tree. KATE! I yelped silently. I wanted to wave to her, to rub it in her face that her method had failed, but I knew she couldn’t see me. Okay fine, that wasn’t my motive. I just wanted to break her out from The Campsite.
I quietly crept over to a tree close by, but not too close. Far away enough so that Mr. Hobro and I could talk about how we would save Kate and attack the others.
My first intention was to ask Mr. Hobro if he had any ideas. No, of course he has ideas, he always does. Maybe I can come up with something. I’ll need everyone’s help, but if Kate could and Mr. Hobro could, why can’t I?
“Okay, here is what we do,” Mr. Hobro whispered to me. He already had a plan set.
“No! I’ve got my own plan. I want to see if we can win this battle by all pitching in. But first we need Kate, and I know just how we are going to get her.” I interrupted him. Mr. Hobro nodded at me. I was so glad that he understood what I meant. I didn’t feel like arguing again, sitting on some tree roots, drenched with water, and itching like my body was covered in poison ivy! “Here’s what I’m thinking,” and I told him my plan.
***
There we sat, just waiting for the perfect moment to charge. I stared down at the dirty brown earth floor. No roots or twigs. Perfect! My plan was set. Everything was perfect! I looked over to Mr. Hobro and gave him my signal, a single rub of my nose followed by a thumbs up. He nodded.
Mr. Hobro picked up a rock the size of my ears and chucked it over by the entrance of The Campsite path. The perfect distraction for our invasion. Gavin immediately flinched, but did not hesitate to walk over to the entryway, turning his back to us. He fell for the bait. I rubbed my hands together like an evil mastermind. A mischievous grin spread across my face. My plan was going so well! Then, without a warning cry or any marshmallow popping, Mr. Hobro and I leaped silently out of the bushes and grabbed Kate’s arm from inside the tree (okay, I landed silently. Mr. Hobro did not). Kate’s eyes lit up as she saw me approach her. I put my fingers to my lips and signaled for her to be silent. We couldn’t take any chances!
Gavin must’ve either given up his search or heard Mr. Hobro’s boisterous thud because he turned around back to find his father hovering above him. “Drop your gun and put your hands where I can see ‘em,” Mr. Hobro said in a western cowboy accent. I couldn’t help but laugh. Even when everything has been laid out on the table, Mr. Hobro can still be a comedian. Gavin was trapped, because Kate (without being told) snuck up behind him so he couldn’t run. My stomach was jumping with delectation! For once we’re working as a team!
Gavin did as he was told and dropped the marshmallow popper on the ground. The look on his face was identical to Grumpy Cat’s face. He then marched into the tree with Mr. Hobro right behind him. I smiled as wide as the state of Alaska! With Mr. Hobro guarding Gavin, he was trapped. Success!
“Oh Erica and Keith!” I called out, my hand cupped to my mouth. “We’ve taken over The Campsite!” I smiled. I knew what I was doing.
“What are you doing? They’ll try to fight us.”Mr. Hobro exclaimed with a disappointed look on his face. I shook my head but didn’t answer him. I know Keith. If you tell him that his camp has been taken over, then he’ll believe that he has to surrender.
Sure enough, within 15 seconds of me calling out, Keith and Erica showed up on the path. Kate and I were hiding in the bushes, waiting for them so we could surround them. “Guys! Watch out! Behind yo-” Gavin called out to them. His face dropped as Kate and I hopped out of the bushes, surrounding Keith and Erica.
“Put your hands where I can see them! And no quick movements or I’ll be forced to shoot ya with these here marshmallows!” I tried to imitate Mr. Hobro, but it didn’t work out that well. Keith laughed though, but did as he was told. “Right, General? Hands where I can see ‘em?” I turned to Mr. Hobro with a concerned look on my face.
“As long as Kate’s okay with it, it’s fine by me!” Kate grinned as if to say, yes. I’m glad he said that. After all, we are a team. And only when we were a team did we succeed.
***
Inside Gavin’s house, right before we were about to eat the cake, Kate walked up to me. “Hey, I just wanna say that I’m sorry about not listening to you guys. I got caught right away! I had no idea that his plan would work, but it sure did!” I nodded.
“Hey, no hurt feelings! It only clicked when we all worked together.” I grinned. But inside, I felt really weird. I wanted to correct her and tell Kate that it was my plan to cause the distracted noise and then silently charge, capturing Gavin. To call out, tricking Keith and Erica into being caught. But for some reason, at the same time I didn’t want to correct her, because it doesn’t really matter that I came up with the plan. All that matters is that we had fun playing the game. At that moment I realized that being a part of the team, is even bigger than winning the game. “Happy birthday Gavin!” I yelled across the table. Gavin smiled.
“Yeah, happy birthday Gavin!” Everyone chimed in.
Olive's Performance
“I can’t believe it!” Olive exclaimed to her friends Jamie and Ella. “Why would they do this to me, and on the first day of school?” Jamie’s face looked blank, as it always did, while Ella’s face was perplexed at the question given by Olive.
“Just to be clear, Ms. Holly didn’t do anything to YOU specifically, she just said that we had to perform at the Layla Performing Arts Academy open house.” Ella was always the first one to correct you. She also was very punctual when it came to understanding the scenario properly.
“I know that, silly! All I was trying to say was that Ms. Holly is making ME sing in front of all of the parents in the 6th grade! Do you know how many kids are in the sixth grade? And with my stage fright, I have no idea how I’m going to do it without turning around and crouching down into a ball to protect myself from humiliation!”
Olive was correct though, she did have a big fear of performing in front of people, any people, even her family members. “The average amount of children that are in our grade is about 80 students,” Olive turned pale. “But, don’t forget to multiply that number times two because almost every student in our grade has two parents that are coming. So about 80 x 2= roughly 160 people, and if you wanted the amount of eyes on you then you’d have to multiply that number times two, oh! But don’t forget the amount of siblings that are coming and-,” Ella stopped and looked at Olive’s fearful face.
“Nice goin’ El, now Olive won’t even be in school tomorrow,” Jamie said. “Don’t worry Olive, you’ll be great! You do have the voice of an angel.” Olive smiled, that was true. How else would she have gotten into the Layla Performing Arts Academy in Issaquah, Washington? It was probably the most prestigious performing arts school on the west coast!
“Thanks Jamie! That means a lot,” but what Jamie, and even Ella, seemed to not pick up on was that Olive had heard that a million times before and it didn’t help her one bit.
“I’m home!” Olive shouted at the top of her lungs. Sofia came rushing out of her bedroom at the speed of light while James just shouted “Who cares?”
“Oh my! Do I have some questions for you? I want you to tell me everything and I mean EVERYTHING that happened today at school, and don’t forget anything!” Sofia was always eager to know everything about Olive’s life, even her deepest secrets.
“Whoah whoah whoah! I literally just walked in the door, like 25 seconds ago.” Sofia just gave her a little hand wave and then moved on.
“SO, how is Layla?” Olive walked up the stairs, trying her best to ignore Sofia’s loud voice, which was almost impossible.
“Layla is nice,” she finally said. Sofia’s expression of thrilled turned to dumbfounded. “You better tell her more than that Olive,” James shouted from his room. “She’s been pacing back and forth since we got out of school.”
Sofia didn’t care what James said. She pushed by that and everything else to hear what she wanted! “Are you kidding me? You get accepted to the best performing arts academy in the state, the west coast, and probably the whole country and all it is is okay?” She looked furious, and Olive jumped at the sight of her little sister.
Olive sighed. “Well okay, it’s better than okay. It’s great. No. It’s awesome!” Sofia’s expression only changed from furious to a seriously? But she decided that it wasn’t worth it to keep pestering her about it.
“Everything was nice, my teachers, my classmates, Jamie and Ella and I are in the same homeroom. But, our homeroom teacher told us that we all have to perform our talent at the open house next week!”
Sofia suddenly felt sympathetic for Olive. If anyone knew Olive’s stage fright better than their neighbor, Mrs. Lindstrom, it was Sofia. “So that’s why you’re not thrilled about Layla,” Sofia felt stupid. Olive just nodded.
“Well, you know, they say that if you imagine the audience in their underwear, you it can make you feel better. But that won’t do, you need to imagine everyone bald with those glasses that have eyebrows and a fake nose on them on, AND everyone in their underwear. That should work.”
Olive started laughing which made Sofia know that she had done the trick. “Thank’s Sof,” Olive smiled. “I will remember that when I get nervous, you’re the best!” Olive then rapped Sofia up into a big, sisterly bear hug. Sofia grinned, “I know!”
“Now let us see here,” Ms. Holly said confused. Olive, Jamie, and Ella were sitting in Layla’s auditorium, all waiting for the rehearsal of their open house show. “Ahh yes, Olive Grant. We’ll have Olive go first.” Olive’s stomach all of a sudden became a butterfly habitat.
“Wrong move,” whispered Ella, but Jamie just scoffed and said, “You got this Olive, show em’ what ya got!” Ella rolled her eyes at Jamie’s grammar, but kept her mouth shut.
Olive slowly approached the stage where Ms. Holly was standing. “Have you selected your song for the performance?” Ms. Holly asked her. Olive looked down, avoiding eye contact and mumbled, “yes.” Ms. Holly huffed. “Well? What song is it, we don’t have all day?” Olive looked up, embarrassed.
“This Is Me by Demi Lovato,” Olive whispered. Ms. Holly nodded and handed Olive the microphone. Olive shuffled her feet to center stage and started warming up her voice. But as the music started, Olive went pale again and squeaked into the mic. Everyone laughed, except Jamie and Ella. That did it though, before everyone’s eyes, Olive fell into Ms. Holly’s arms, forcing her to lose her balance and fall, with Olive on top of her! This made the class break out into hysterical laughter. That was the last Olive remembered.
Olive awoke in Mrs. Lindstrom’s house. She was lying down on the couch, with Mrs. Lindstrom looking down at her. “What time is it?” She asked groggily. Mrs. Lindstrom smiled her toothy yellow smile. The old lady checked her wristwatch.
“It is 12:23 exactly.” 12:23! How? Olive wondered silently. School was still in session. “Oh don’t worry my darling, the nurse says you’re fine. Just a little tired. They sent you home because there is a bug going around the school and the nurse’s office is packed. Your mother took a half day and she should be here around one. But you are always welcome here Olive,” Mrs. Lindstrom was very fond of Olive, and because she was a widow, and she never had any children, she was often lonely. Sometimes, when Olive was lonely, she would go and visit Mrs. Lindstrom so that they could both be lonely together.
“Thanks Mrs. Lindstrom! My family is very grateful to you,” Olive softly spoke. That was true, for Olive’s mother was an art teacher, so she couldn’t get out of work until 3:15, and Olive’s dad was lawyer, and he worked out in Seattle, so it took him a long time to get home. Mrs. Lindstrom was always taking care of Olive, Sofia, and James, and she treated them as if they were her grandchildren. Mrs. Lindstrom had an extra special relationship with Olive, she always said that she had seen something special in Olive. Something that Olive didn’t even see in herself.
“So, I guess you know why I fainted,” Olive said, turning pink. Mrs. Lindstrom nodded.
“The nurse told me.” Olive sighed. “I guess I just don’t have what it takes to go to Layla Performing Arts Academy, Issaquah Middle School would have been fine.” Mrs. Lindstrom looked bewildered.
“Absolutely not! Olive, you are the most talented, creative, and smartest person that I know. Layla only accepts the best children in the state. Your stage fright is only one of the obstacles that you will have to face, but don’t face it with fear. Face it will confidence Olive. Your mother invited me to your open house, and I have accepted! I can’t wait to see you perform,” Mrs. Lindstrom touched Olive’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. Olive’s heart felt ten times bigger just knowing that Mrs. Lindstrom had faith in her. Olive smiled and looked up to make eye contact with her neighbor. Mrs. Lindstrom smiled back.
Olive did feel different then she had felt before her talk with Mrs. Lindstrom, and this time, she wouldn’t need Sofia’s method, she would face the stage with confidence, not with fear!
The auditorium was buzzing with excitement, and backstage, Olive was warming up her vocal cords. She hadn’t performed since her dramatic faint, so Olive didn’t even practice singing her song in the auditorium once. Olive had spent the past week in her room, getting her homework done quickly. But every other second that she spent in there, she was singing. Olive worked on warm ups for her vocals, she worked on hitting the pitches perfectly. She picked out her outfit according to what would go best with the stage, with the help of Ella.
Now was the time! Olive spotted her mom, her dad, Sofia, James, and Mrs. Lindstrom in the audience, about two rows away from the stage. She also saw Jamie’s brother and parents, but no sign of any of Ella’s family members.
“How ya feelin Olive?” Jamie came over and asked, french horn in hand. Ella came trotting over behind her. “So I’ve estimated the turnout, but I haven’t gotten a chance to peek into the crowd yet,” Ella said. She stuck her eyes around the curtain and gasped, “It’s a full house! Standing room only, but I don’t think my mom came to watch me.” Ella’s proud shoulders slumped. She was in the Layla Performing Arts Academy because she was a ballerina. She wore a light pink leotard with a white shawl and a light pink tutu. Her pointe shoes were tied, and she kept going up on them to warm up. Her bright blonde hair was up in a perfect bun. Ella and Jamie had gone to Olive’s old school, so the three of them had been friends since kindergarten.
Olive rubbed Ella’s shoulder. “Hey, you’re gonna do great,” she said. Ella looked uncomfortable, so Olive knew what was coming. “It is actually going to, not ‘gonna’,” she corrected. Olive sighed, classic Ella. Jamie just rolled her eyes.
Ms. Holly approached the stage with the mic, doing her boring introduction. The first act of the night was Will and Jasmine, acting out one of the scenes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. They both did great, and they got a few people standing. Ella’s Lilac Variation came after them, but most children looked bored. When she was done, she curtsied 11 times! Jamie scoffed. “Show off!”
“Go get em’,” Olive said to Jamie as she walked on to the stage. Jamie’s french horn solo was long, and that just gave Olive a longer time to be nervous. Olive’s mind kept telling her that she couldn’t do it, that she would faint like she had done the week before. But deep down inside Olive’s heart, she knew that she could do it. Olive was confident and proud. Even though she couldn’t tell, she knew that Mrs. Lindstrom’s claps were the loudest when Ms. Holly announced her name.
Olive took a deep breath and remembered everything that she had been told. Lots of “good luck” whispers were said, and Ella and Jamie gave her a thumbs up. With her finger’s crossed and her heart beating like a drum, Olive walked on stage under the spotlight.
Olive’s voice sang angelically through the speakers and her smile spread across her face. “This is real, this is me, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, now, gonna let the light, shine on me!” She sang beautifully. The lyrics were so true, she was right where she needed to be, and she made it very clear.
The whole auditorium erupted into cheers. Everyone stood. The crowd kept cheering, “Encore! Encore! Encore!” Olive’s heart was soaring! Her stage fright was gone, she had faced the stage with confidence, not with fear. The music started up again and she sang the encore, belting out the high notes, hitting every pitch perfectly, and shining as brightly as a star! There was no doubt that the Olive was talented, she was more than talented, she was truly gifted. Her voice was strong and loud, but beautiful at the same time. Her bright blonde hair and pretty blue eyes made her look even more beautiful than her voice sounded. And her outfit matched the scenery perfectly, thanks to Ella. Everything was perfect!
“Wow! I never knew that you sounded that amazing, because you never showed us,” Jamie said. “I haven’t calculated the level of noise that you received from the crowd, but that’s okay, I guess. All that matters is that you didn’t faint like last time!” Ella said warmly. Olive laughed. She hugged Jamie and Ella. But not just any hug, she squeezed them so tight that they thought Olive was going to suffocate them! “Woah there girl! Not only can ya sing, but you got one heck of a hug,” Jamie said jokingly. All the girls laughed. This was truly the best night of Olive’s life.
After the performance, Olive was greeted by her family and Mrs. Lindstrom with some loving cheers. “And here she is folks, the one, the only, Olive Grant! She performed perfectly tonight at the Layla Academy of Performing Arts, and no one even got close to being as good as her!” Olive’s dad said in a newscaster voice. This made everybody chuckle. “Aww Dad! Thanks so much,” Olive hugged him. She then turned to Sofia who had been tugging on in dress ever since they showed up.
“What’s up, Sof?” Olive exclaimed jokingly. She knew what kind of response she’d get from that, but she just wanted it to come out of her sister’s mouth. “What’s up? What’s up? Is that all you have to say? What’s up? I’ll tell you what’s up! You just totally rocked back there and everyone loved it. You looked amazing, you sang amazing, you were amazing. You overcame your biggest fear, and all you have to say is WHAT’S UP?!?!” Everyone started cracking up, everyone except Sofia who had just exploded all over poor Olive. But Olive didn’t care. She knew that Sofia was very proud of her. Sometimes she felt that Sofia was more of a big sister to her, then she was to Sofia, but that was okay.
“Hey dude, you weren’t as bad as I thought you were gonna be. You’re cool,” James said. From James, that was the biggest compliment she’d ever gotten, and probably the nicest thing that he’ll ever say to her. But Sofia, of course, was not satisfied!
“Listen up Mr.! Olive was the best performer and she’s the most gifted student that Layla is gonna ever see! She was not cool, she was fantastic, astounding, brilliant! Not cool. Ella was cool. Olive is more than COOL!!! I have no idea how we are even twins, you are so dumb!” Olive’s mom pulled the twins to the side and talked to them.
Olive was hysterical after the argument between James and Sofia! But Mrs. Lindstrom’s kind eyes settled her down immediately. “Dear Olive, you are so talented and I knew you could do it! Always have faith in yourself darling, because you never know when your faith will be put to the test. Layla is the best place for you to be,” and with that, Olive hugged Mrs. Lindstrom gently, for without her, Olive’s performance would never have truly been successful.
“Just to be clear, Ms. Holly didn’t do anything to YOU specifically, she just said that we had to perform at the Layla Performing Arts Academy open house.” Ella was always the first one to correct you. She also was very punctual when it came to understanding the scenario properly.
“I know that, silly! All I was trying to say was that Ms. Holly is making ME sing in front of all of the parents in the 6th grade! Do you know how many kids are in the sixth grade? And with my stage fright, I have no idea how I’m going to do it without turning around and crouching down into a ball to protect myself from humiliation!”
Olive was correct though, she did have a big fear of performing in front of people, any people, even her family members. “The average amount of children that are in our grade is about 80 students,” Olive turned pale. “But, don’t forget to multiply that number times two because almost every student in our grade has two parents that are coming. So about 80 x 2= roughly 160 people, and if you wanted the amount of eyes on you then you’d have to multiply that number times two, oh! But don’t forget the amount of siblings that are coming and-,” Ella stopped and looked at Olive’s fearful face.
“Nice goin’ El, now Olive won’t even be in school tomorrow,” Jamie said. “Don’t worry Olive, you’ll be great! You do have the voice of an angel.” Olive smiled, that was true. How else would she have gotten into the Layla Performing Arts Academy in Issaquah, Washington? It was probably the most prestigious performing arts school on the west coast!
“Thanks Jamie! That means a lot,” but what Jamie, and even Ella, seemed to not pick up on was that Olive had heard that a million times before and it didn’t help her one bit.
“I’m home!” Olive shouted at the top of her lungs. Sofia came rushing out of her bedroom at the speed of light while James just shouted “Who cares?”
“Oh my! Do I have some questions for you? I want you to tell me everything and I mean EVERYTHING that happened today at school, and don’t forget anything!” Sofia was always eager to know everything about Olive’s life, even her deepest secrets.
“Whoah whoah whoah! I literally just walked in the door, like 25 seconds ago.” Sofia just gave her a little hand wave and then moved on.
“SO, how is Layla?” Olive walked up the stairs, trying her best to ignore Sofia’s loud voice, which was almost impossible.
“Layla is nice,” she finally said. Sofia’s expression of thrilled turned to dumbfounded. “You better tell her more than that Olive,” James shouted from his room. “She’s been pacing back and forth since we got out of school.”
Sofia didn’t care what James said. She pushed by that and everything else to hear what she wanted! “Are you kidding me? You get accepted to the best performing arts academy in the state, the west coast, and probably the whole country and all it is is okay?” She looked furious, and Olive jumped at the sight of her little sister.
Olive sighed. “Well okay, it’s better than okay. It’s great. No. It’s awesome!” Sofia’s expression only changed from furious to a seriously? But she decided that it wasn’t worth it to keep pestering her about it.
“Everything was nice, my teachers, my classmates, Jamie and Ella and I are in the same homeroom. But, our homeroom teacher told us that we all have to perform our talent at the open house next week!”
Sofia suddenly felt sympathetic for Olive. If anyone knew Olive’s stage fright better than their neighbor, Mrs. Lindstrom, it was Sofia. “So that’s why you’re not thrilled about Layla,” Sofia felt stupid. Olive just nodded.
“Well, you know, they say that if you imagine the audience in their underwear, you it can make you feel better. But that won’t do, you need to imagine everyone bald with those glasses that have eyebrows and a fake nose on them on, AND everyone in their underwear. That should work.”
Olive started laughing which made Sofia know that she had done the trick. “Thank’s Sof,” Olive smiled. “I will remember that when I get nervous, you’re the best!” Olive then rapped Sofia up into a big, sisterly bear hug. Sofia grinned, “I know!”
“Now let us see here,” Ms. Holly said confused. Olive, Jamie, and Ella were sitting in Layla’s auditorium, all waiting for the rehearsal of their open house show. “Ahh yes, Olive Grant. We’ll have Olive go first.” Olive’s stomach all of a sudden became a butterfly habitat.
“Wrong move,” whispered Ella, but Jamie just scoffed and said, “You got this Olive, show em’ what ya got!” Ella rolled her eyes at Jamie’s grammar, but kept her mouth shut.
Olive slowly approached the stage where Ms. Holly was standing. “Have you selected your song for the performance?” Ms. Holly asked her. Olive looked down, avoiding eye contact and mumbled, “yes.” Ms. Holly huffed. “Well? What song is it, we don’t have all day?” Olive looked up, embarrassed.
“This Is Me by Demi Lovato,” Olive whispered. Ms. Holly nodded and handed Olive the microphone. Olive shuffled her feet to center stage and started warming up her voice. But as the music started, Olive went pale again and squeaked into the mic. Everyone laughed, except Jamie and Ella. That did it though, before everyone’s eyes, Olive fell into Ms. Holly’s arms, forcing her to lose her balance and fall, with Olive on top of her! This made the class break out into hysterical laughter. That was the last Olive remembered.
Olive awoke in Mrs. Lindstrom’s house. She was lying down on the couch, with Mrs. Lindstrom looking down at her. “What time is it?” She asked groggily. Mrs. Lindstrom smiled her toothy yellow smile. The old lady checked her wristwatch.
“It is 12:23 exactly.” 12:23! How? Olive wondered silently. School was still in session. “Oh don’t worry my darling, the nurse says you’re fine. Just a little tired. They sent you home because there is a bug going around the school and the nurse’s office is packed. Your mother took a half day and she should be here around one. But you are always welcome here Olive,” Mrs. Lindstrom was very fond of Olive, and because she was a widow, and she never had any children, she was often lonely. Sometimes, when Olive was lonely, she would go and visit Mrs. Lindstrom so that they could both be lonely together.
“Thanks Mrs. Lindstrom! My family is very grateful to you,” Olive softly spoke. That was true, for Olive’s mother was an art teacher, so she couldn’t get out of work until 3:15, and Olive’s dad was lawyer, and he worked out in Seattle, so it took him a long time to get home. Mrs. Lindstrom was always taking care of Olive, Sofia, and James, and she treated them as if they were her grandchildren. Mrs. Lindstrom had an extra special relationship with Olive, she always said that she had seen something special in Olive. Something that Olive didn’t even see in herself.
“So, I guess you know why I fainted,” Olive said, turning pink. Mrs. Lindstrom nodded.
“The nurse told me.” Olive sighed. “I guess I just don’t have what it takes to go to Layla Performing Arts Academy, Issaquah Middle School would have been fine.” Mrs. Lindstrom looked bewildered.
“Absolutely not! Olive, you are the most talented, creative, and smartest person that I know. Layla only accepts the best children in the state. Your stage fright is only one of the obstacles that you will have to face, but don’t face it with fear. Face it will confidence Olive. Your mother invited me to your open house, and I have accepted! I can’t wait to see you perform,” Mrs. Lindstrom touched Olive’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. Olive’s heart felt ten times bigger just knowing that Mrs. Lindstrom had faith in her. Olive smiled and looked up to make eye contact with her neighbor. Mrs. Lindstrom smiled back.
Olive did feel different then she had felt before her talk with Mrs. Lindstrom, and this time, she wouldn’t need Sofia’s method, she would face the stage with confidence, not with fear!
The auditorium was buzzing with excitement, and backstage, Olive was warming up her vocal cords. She hadn’t performed since her dramatic faint, so Olive didn’t even practice singing her song in the auditorium once. Olive had spent the past week in her room, getting her homework done quickly. But every other second that she spent in there, she was singing. Olive worked on warm ups for her vocals, she worked on hitting the pitches perfectly. She picked out her outfit according to what would go best with the stage, with the help of Ella.
Now was the time! Olive spotted her mom, her dad, Sofia, James, and Mrs. Lindstrom in the audience, about two rows away from the stage. She also saw Jamie’s brother and parents, but no sign of any of Ella’s family members.
“How ya feelin Olive?” Jamie came over and asked, french horn in hand. Ella came trotting over behind her. “So I’ve estimated the turnout, but I haven’t gotten a chance to peek into the crowd yet,” Ella said. She stuck her eyes around the curtain and gasped, “It’s a full house! Standing room only, but I don’t think my mom came to watch me.” Ella’s proud shoulders slumped. She was in the Layla Performing Arts Academy because she was a ballerina. She wore a light pink leotard with a white shawl and a light pink tutu. Her pointe shoes were tied, and she kept going up on them to warm up. Her bright blonde hair was up in a perfect bun. Ella and Jamie had gone to Olive’s old school, so the three of them had been friends since kindergarten.
Olive rubbed Ella’s shoulder. “Hey, you’re gonna do great,” she said. Ella looked uncomfortable, so Olive knew what was coming. “It is actually going to, not ‘gonna’,” she corrected. Olive sighed, classic Ella. Jamie just rolled her eyes.
Ms. Holly approached the stage with the mic, doing her boring introduction. The first act of the night was Will and Jasmine, acting out one of the scenes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. They both did great, and they got a few people standing. Ella’s Lilac Variation came after them, but most children looked bored. When she was done, she curtsied 11 times! Jamie scoffed. “Show off!”
“Go get em’,” Olive said to Jamie as she walked on to the stage. Jamie’s french horn solo was long, and that just gave Olive a longer time to be nervous. Olive’s mind kept telling her that she couldn’t do it, that she would faint like she had done the week before. But deep down inside Olive’s heart, she knew that she could do it. Olive was confident and proud. Even though she couldn’t tell, she knew that Mrs. Lindstrom’s claps were the loudest when Ms. Holly announced her name.
Olive took a deep breath and remembered everything that she had been told. Lots of “good luck” whispers were said, and Ella and Jamie gave her a thumbs up. With her finger’s crossed and her heart beating like a drum, Olive walked on stage under the spotlight.
Olive’s voice sang angelically through the speakers and her smile spread across her face. “This is real, this is me, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, now, gonna let the light, shine on me!” She sang beautifully. The lyrics were so true, she was right where she needed to be, and she made it very clear.
The whole auditorium erupted into cheers. Everyone stood. The crowd kept cheering, “Encore! Encore! Encore!” Olive’s heart was soaring! Her stage fright was gone, she had faced the stage with confidence, not with fear. The music started up again and she sang the encore, belting out the high notes, hitting every pitch perfectly, and shining as brightly as a star! There was no doubt that the Olive was talented, she was more than talented, she was truly gifted. Her voice was strong and loud, but beautiful at the same time. Her bright blonde hair and pretty blue eyes made her look even more beautiful than her voice sounded. And her outfit matched the scenery perfectly, thanks to Ella. Everything was perfect!
“Wow! I never knew that you sounded that amazing, because you never showed us,” Jamie said. “I haven’t calculated the level of noise that you received from the crowd, but that’s okay, I guess. All that matters is that you didn’t faint like last time!” Ella said warmly. Olive laughed. She hugged Jamie and Ella. But not just any hug, she squeezed them so tight that they thought Olive was going to suffocate them! “Woah there girl! Not only can ya sing, but you got one heck of a hug,” Jamie said jokingly. All the girls laughed. This was truly the best night of Olive’s life.
After the performance, Olive was greeted by her family and Mrs. Lindstrom with some loving cheers. “And here she is folks, the one, the only, Olive Grant! She performed perfectly tonight at the Layla Academy of Performing Arts, and no one even got close to being as good as her!” Olive’s dad said in a newscaster voice. This made everybody chuckle. “Aww Dad! Thanks so much,” Olive hugged him. She then turned to Sofia who had been tugging on in dress ever since they showed up.
“What’s up, Sof?” Olive exclaimed jokingly. She knew what kind of response she’d get from that, but she just wanted it to come out of her sister’s mouth. “What’s up? What’s up? Is that all you have to say? What’s up? I’ll tell you what’s up! You just totally rocked back there and everyone loved it. You looked amazing, you sang amazing, you were amazing. You overcame your biggest fear, and all you have to say is WHAT’S UP?!?!” Everyone started cracking up, everyone except Sofia who had just exploded all over poor Olive. But Olive didn’t care. She knew that Sofia was very proud of her. Sometimes she felt that Sofia was more of a big sister to her, then she was to Sofia, but that was okay.
“Hey dude, you weren’t as bad as I thought you were gonna be. You’re cool,” James said. From James, that was the biggest compliment she’d ever gotten, and probably the nicest thing that he’ll ever say to her. But Sofia, of course, was not satisfied!
“Listen up Mr.! Olive was the best performer and she’s the most gifted student that Layla is gonna ever see! She was not cool, she was fantastic, astounding, brilliant! Not cool. Ella was cool. Olive is more than COOL!!! I have no idea how we are even twins, you are so dumb!” Olive’s mom pulled the twins to the side and talked to them.
Olive was hysterical after the argument between James and Sofia! But Mrs. Lindstrom’s kind eyes settled her down immediately. “Dear Olive, you are so talented and I knew you could do it! Always have faith in yourself darling, because you never know when your faith will be put to the test. Layla is the best place for you to be,” and with that, Olive hugged Mrs. Lindstrom gently, for without her, Olive’s performance would never have truly been successful.
The Climb
Evel Knievel
Name: Pia Lindberg
“This is the coolest view of Vermont that I’ve ever seen!” I exclaimed when the gondola reached the top of Mt. Mansfield. I peered out in the vast valley full of multicolored trees. The bright yellows, the gleaming oranges, and the fiery reds. It was peak time in Stowe, and all the colors were at their fullest. “Picture perfect,” Popps said with a smile as he snapped a picture of the foliage, his white mustache moving as he chuckled. Popps is like 63, so he is really old! But I like having him around, now that Dad is gone. He says he’s here to help Mom manage my two brothers, Kieran and Luke, but I know he’s living with us to help Mom manage ME.
“This is a bit scary! Look down, I can see your house Pia,” my friend Joey said to me. He’s a bit of a scaredy cat. No wait, he’s a lot of a scaredy cat!
“I know right?” Katie replied. I have the most uptight friends in the school, but they fit in well we with me. If I didn’t have Joey and Katie, I probably would have broken my neck attempting to land a double flip on my skateboard. They’re like the voices in your head that tell you, don’t do that!
“That’s not scary! If anything, I like to jump out of an airplane into that lake up at Spruce Peak!” I bragged. Katie shuddered, but Kieran smiled his dumb, deceitful smile.
“Does that mean that you’d jump without a parachute?” He asked, probably hoping that I would do it. Mom heard this and got really flustered, as usual.
“Kieran! Don’t give the little daredevil any ideas! She’s not Evel Knievel!”
“Who?” Luke asked, addled. Popps laughed. It’s obviously some old thing from the dark ages when mom was a little girl.
Then Popps explained that it was this old guy who was stupid and did all of these scary stunts and that mom had had his action figure doll as a kid, boring (though I was right).
“But the poor man died in 2007, and I’ll never forget him,” Mom exclaimed dolefully. She sounded like he was her childhood crush or something, which is gross when you think about it. He’s like, dead. And Mom isn’t.
“Mom, I’m not a nincompoop!” I said jokingly. “I wouldn’t do such a stupid thing! Kieran is a blockhead, though he regrets to admit it. But ask any of his teachers, they’ll tell ya!” Kieran didn’t hear because he was leaning out into the forest over the ziplining cables just like the people in harnesses did. Monkey see, monkey do. Mom started protesting on Kieran’s sake but I jumped in, “And poor me! Anytime I get a teacher that Kieran has had, they scowl and say ‘a Lindberg’. Even if one of them didn’t have Kieran, another teacher will whisper ‘watch out, don’t sit down on your chair without checking for tacs!” Mom covered her ears. Okay, maybe not all of the teachers say or do those things, but I’ve gotten those “I had your brother” glances, and they’re not something you’d like to see on Mona Lisa!
“This is in some high elevation,” I announced, trying to sound brainy. I guess I said it wrong because Joey corrected me. Big whup. Little did I know that it was about to get higher.
Kieran’s Dare
Katie, Joey, Luke, Kieran, and I were exploring one side of the mountain when Kieran fired one of his stupidity rockets at me. “Betcha can’t climb all the way up to the ridge of this here hill!” he said. The fool!
“It’s a mountain doofus! And anyways, I bet I can.” Katie gasped and Joey froze. I swear, my heart skipped a beat. I don’t really know why I did this, because normally dares are a cinch for me. Maybe it was because the only trail to get to the top is called The Cliff Trail and they only recommend experts doing it. The description clearly states,
The Mt. Mansfield Cliff Trail is an expert hiking trail designed for those who are ready for the challenge. In some parts of the trail it is very steep and slippery when wet-
We just had a rainstorm two days ago;
There are no patrols that climb this trail so children, the elderly, and pregnant women should not go. Adults should make sure they wear proper clothing and footwear, and they should be in good health-
I couldn’t read the rest. Never had something so scientific scared me so much. They’re basically saying “Enter if you DARE and make sure you’re not wearing heels!”
“Okay fine, Pia.” he spat. “You climb that mountain and take a selfie and I’ll do your chores for a year. Oh and don’t forget that if you fail to complete this dare, you’ll be living up to the name chicken for the rest of your pathetic life!” My spine became cold with chitters. My teeth started to grind the plaque on them. I pulled on my gloves because my hands started to shake, but that didn’t help.
Luckily Mom and Popps said that they wanted to buy some souvenirs at the shop, and there was a really long line. Everyone wanted to buy something, so buy the time they actually could get into the store, shop, and buy some things, we’d be back down to the bottom, safe and alive. Yeah, I hope!
Tanning My Hide
“Ok, chicken, are you gonna climb this thing or not?” Kieran asked in his bothersome way. I rolled my eyes trying to look annoyed but I was really just trying to hide my revulsion.
“Duh, dummy, gimme a minute to actually start. I’ve got to get my team assembled,” I responded, sneeringly. Kieran chuckled under his breath like I was actually going to chicken out. Maybe I could just get a background of the top of the mountain and have Katie photoshop it. She’s really good with techy stuff and Kieran is an idiot so he wouldn’t know the difference.
“Listen Pia, I understand that you’re the daredevil in the family, but stop pretending like Mom isn’t going to tan your hide when she finds out what you’ve done!” Luke exclaimed, sounding more chicken than me. Joey nodded in agreement. I could tell that Luke cared about my safety because he kept quickly glancing up to the perpendicular alp.
“Dude, this is a piece of cake,” I lied. “And there will be no hide tanning because Mom is never gonna find out about this, you hear?” I said, almost threatening him. I mean Luke is my little brother and he ten million times better than Kieran (anyone is), but he a huge tattletail, even when he doesn’t want to get people in trouble! That’s probably why he’s Mom’s favorite. Kieran calls him a snitch. “And my team consists of me, Katie, Joey, and Luke. Kieran you are welcome to come but I think it’s a little inappropriate for the darer to join the daree on the dare.” Kieran nodded, almost like he was too scared to go, and he said nothing because he knows that when he is hiding something, his voice goes up like 3 octaves!
“Whoah, whoah, whoah! There is no way I’m climbing up Mt. Deathsfield! I kind of want to see my parents again!” Joey squawked, pure chicken. Then again I’m really scared to be climbing up this mountain too, so whatever.
I shoved everyone up the trail and saluted Kieran. And at that moment, I didn’t want that to be the last time I ever saw him.
My Side of the Mountain
As we started ascending the highest elevation point in all of Vermont, I kept looking back to the ground, hoping to spot Mom and Popps. I don’t really know why I wanted to see Mom’s beautiful and proper face, or Popps’ smiling face. Maybe because I wanted them to spot ME and realize what I was doing and ground me for the rest of my life. This way I could never do another one of Kieran’s stupid dares. But, no, Mom or Popps weren’t anywhere in sight. But what I did see was magnificent. The colors were as vibrant as a melted crayon box and my whole body just took in the beautiful scenery. “This is a picture perfect view,” I said as I took a photo with my phone. Dad would’ve loved this.
Dad was the kind of person that could never be inside. And before died, he spent a lot of his time in our backyard. Luke had put a rocker out in the back so that he could sit out there and soak up the view. We live on top the top of Ridge Rd where all the big houses are. Are’s isn’t too big but it’s fitting for my family. Dad loved it!
Dad died from colon cancer three months ago, and it hasn’t been the same in my house ever since. The reason why we’re on this mountain is because Mom wanted to do some outdoors activities as a tribute to Dad’s memory. I guess she neglected to admit that due to her grieving.
As I looked out over the horizon, I knew why ancient humans had thought that our planet was flat. Although you couldn’t really see a horizon, the where mountains surrounding us from all sides, like protecting us from the outside world. Stowe was the safest place in the world. I would ride my bike on the path to wherever I needed to go, and downtown everyone walked around on the sidewalk. Luke would play soccer with the other boys in his grade and Kieran and his doofus gang would hang out on the edge of town, over by Shaw’s Market. They would pretend to be hanging out in dark alleys, because Stowe didn’t have any.
As we climbed farther and farther up Mt. Mansfield, my body stopped shaking so much.
“This is not as bad as I thought it would be,”Joey admitted as we climbed. “A few steep parts but nothing an 8 year old couldn’t handle.” This was true, because Luke was only 8, even though sometimes he acted like he was 16, and sometimes like he was 5.
“I know, right? I guess you’re dumb brother was a real blockhead to send you on a sissy dare. I can do this, therefore anyone can. And to think HE was scared to do it!” Katie added. I laughed. When she wasn’t being a total scaredy cat, Katie was a real fun person to be around!
“Dudes and dudettes, you guys were all scared, but I was never scared! That sign is to scare off the chickens. I am the conquer of this mountain! I am the master of this provocation! No one can stop me for this is my side of the mountain!” Everyone laughed as my voice boomed through the trail. The mountain is only supposed to psych you out, but then those who have the courage to face it end up winning. It’s like when they have you try out for a really hard sports position, but you’re really good at it, you have the courage to try, so you succeed. I’m going to chew this mountain up and spit it out. This is my side of the mountain!
My Intake on Pia
Name: Luke Lindberg
Pia Lindberg is my older sister. She is kind, smart, pretty, talented, and daring. Definitely daring! When she was in kindergarten she jumped off the top of the play structure, which was like 20 feet up in the air! She came home with a scraped knee, but nothing too serious. The next day she did it again. When Pia was in second grade, she climbed to the top of the tallest maple tree in our backyard. When she was in fourth grade she pet a porcupine. In fifth grade she went parasailing on our family vacation to the bahamas. And last year she attempted a back handspring on the pavement (and surprisingly didn’t crack her head open)!
The only time I’ve ever seen Pia cry was when Dad got diagnosed with colon cancer. I was only 5 years old, and Pia was 9, but she bawled that night. Mom had to rub her back and hug her like she does with me when I get a paper cut. Even at Dad’s funeral, she didn’t cry, mostly because we all knew that stage four cancer meant no cure and only little time left to live before your body can’t fight anymore.
And the only time I’ve ever seen Pia scared was when Dad went through his first trial of chemotherapy. That is, until now. I know Pia better than anyone. Better than Kieran, better than her teachers, better than Joey and Katie, better than Mom, and even better than Popps. This is mostly because Pia trusts me, I think. I know that when Kieran dared Pia to climb this mountain, she didn’t accept it with bravery, she accepted it with fear. She looked shocked when she answered so surely. It didn’t look right. Her deep, blue eyes must’ve blinked 10,000 times! And her whole body started to shake. I guess I’ve always noticed a tiny bit of that in all of the other times Pia has done one of her daft dares. But this was her biggest reaction. And I know she didn’t want anyone to notice, but I did. I notice a lot about Pia, maybe even more than she notices.
Not Such a Cinch
After Pia had announced that this was “her side of the mountain,” she totally jinxed herself. Not only did the mountain get ten times steeper, but it got rocky. It was like the mountain was playing tricks on us, setting us up for failure. I couldn’t believe how we fell for that.
The huge rocks (more like boulders) were towering over us and I couldn’t believe that Pia let another emotion slip. I’m the only one who picks up on my “daring” sister’s actions. She’s not invincible, even though she pretends to be.
Pia asked me to climb the rock and go under the boulder first! I mean, normal tough Pia would just have said she’d do it because I’m her little bro, but I can’t believe she wanted to shove me up and over the first rock and underneath the second one. “C’mon dude. You’re not a sissy are ya?” she had asked me. I was astonished. But that’s the real Pia that I know, but no one else knows.
…
I ended up going first. I think Pia was more surprised that I had the courage to do more than I was surprised. Joey and Pia held my feet while Katie spotted me from behind. Katie said it was the safest way up, and she had experience with that since she’d been a forced cheerleader when she was little. Her parents wanted her to try everything, and then pick a couple things that she liked to stick with. What’s funny is that she doesn’t do anything except hang with her microscope now.
When I managed to shimmy myself up through the two sizeable rocks, I found out that that was the easiest climb of the whole trail. After I pulled everyone up to the landing spot, Katie almost passed out. Joey caught her and Pia rolled her eyes. But underneath her eye roll, I saw fear and concern.
Wait, Pia!
Name: Katie Wintersmith
Pia Lindberg is my best friend. And I love her so much. But she honestly, is a kook when it comes to doing what people want her to do, and what’s right. Without me, Pia would probably be the most well- known person at the Central Vermont Medical Hospital.
I think that Pia is so dumb because she’s never felt accepted. She feels like she has to prove things to people, for them to think that she’s worthy to talk to. Pia thinks that everyone else in the world, thinks she’s inferior. Kieran might. Then again, he’s a jerk. But I don’t. And I know Joey doesn’t. Joey Wallford is my other best friend. He and I are much more alike than me and Pia. So when Pia said she’d climb Mt. Mansfield, I knew there was no way of stopping her. But I guess I tried anyway.
We were climbing up one of the steepest parts of the trail. It was so steep, handles were built to help hikers climb. The trail is only .5 miles long so we were almost to the summit, which meant that Pia could have another dare built onto her reputation. We turned the bend of the mountain and I made a mistake. I looked down. Autumn in Stowe is the prettiest time of the year, but I’d rather look at it from Pia’s backyard than dangling from the side of the mountain.
“I’m not going up any further, Pia. I made it up this far and I just can’t do it,” I blurted out. I’m not really one to quit things, but I never really do anything dumb enough that I need to quit. This excepts my policy.
“C’mon Kate! You can do this! I’m- we’re in this together and I- we can do this. Just because I’m- you’re scared doesn’t mean we have to quit. Kieran is going to kill me, I mean us, if WE don’t do this and-” I didn’t catch the last part. But at that moment I realized that Pia Lindberg, the dauntless girl, my best friend, was scared. Pia was as scared as I was. She doesn’t want to be in this anymore than I do. But she kept going. Just to prove a stupid rep.
“Okay, fine. But please Pia, if we get to the top, promise me that you’ll never do another dare again!” I shouted as the wind picked up. We were now tightrope walking alongside the cliff. One slip and that’s the end of us. Pia started to say something but then she slipped and caught herself on the edge of the cliff.
“PIA!” I screamed, my voice blaring through the mountain.
“Help me,” she replied. I tried to bend down, but I realized that I’d fall too.
“Wait Pia,” was all I could manage to say.
Cut It Out Tom Petty
Name: Pia Lindberg
When I let my emotions slip, when Katie interrogated me like the Gestapo, I lost track of everything. My mind was in a blur, and I wasn’t all there. Maybe I was up in the clouds, since we’re so high up. Well, now I’m not up in the clouds, and this is how it happened-
Katie wanted to stop hiking because it go super steep. And when I say steep, I mean erect! I just couldn’t let one of my team members, stop here, especially since I wanted to stop more than she did.
The whole way up, all I wanted to do was to stop. But if I stop, Kieran will never let this drop, my rep will be ruined, and even though I might be still in one piece, my life will be over. So I just kept thinking positive thoughts, kinda like what Mom did when Dad went through chemotherapy, but not quite. Instead of thinking it’s gonna be okay I thought, I’m going to live. I’m going to live. That’s why when Katie started thinking about quitting, I said aloud everything that was going through my head. I stuttered a lot! I was like, “Kieran is going to kill me,” oops, “I mean us.” Really dumb, huh? Yeah well that’s what I thought.
And the worst part is, everyone picked up on it! Luke didn’t seem too surprised, but the geniuses did. They were astonished that they’re idiotic friend was trembling along with them. I know it, even though they didn’t say it. I bet if I was in Katie’s head, that’s exactly what she’d be saying.
After I had finished my sentences, I was just so flabbergasted, that I just lost my footing. We were on this steep cliff, and I really couldn’t hold on anymore. I stopped thinking for two seconds. My feet slipped and my knee got scraped. I think my palms got scratched up pretty badly too, but I didn’t care. As I fell, I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout. I wanted to wail, yelp, holler, howl, cry- anything to save me. My arms flung out and my poor hands landed on the rough, scratchy rock. At first, it felt like I was on the ground, but as soon as I looked down, I lost it.
Katie cried my name, and it hung over the valley like fog on a misty day. I shouted, “HELP ME!” But I knew she couldn’t. If she tried to, we’d both be at the bottom of the mountain, waiting for not Kieran to mock us, but the crows.
“Hang on Pia, we’ve got ya,” Luke said, trying to help me. But I couldn’t let Luke do it.
“No Luke! If one of us has to die, it’s going to be me.” I told him profoundly. “You guys were so brave to follow me to this point. I wish I never did this. Here’s the truth,” and I told them. Luke started to cry.
“Tell Dad I love him and miss him every minute of the day,” Luke whimpered softly, trying to look tough. I nodded.
“I will.” My hands were turning yellow and I couldn’t hold on much longer. This was it. What are my last words going to be?
“Well Pia, all I can say is, I love you. You’re the greatest friend ever. Put in a good word for me. And just remember what Tom Petty said in his hit song, Free Fallin, he said ‘What goes up, must come down’.” At that moment, I hated Tom Petty. I despised him. I loathed him. I shouted, “Cut it out, Tom Petty!” But eventually my feelings went away. It wasn’t his fault.
At that point, I let go. I let go and I fell. Down, down, down. But then I landed. And I didn’t know if I was alive or dead.
The Branch
I opened my eyes, wondering what I might find. I looked over the valley of beautiful, extraordinary colors. I inhaled deeply and smelled the scent of sappy pine needles. I sniffed deeper, and realized that I felt sappy pine needles poking into my body. As I looked up to the amber sky, I saw a sharp cliff with three kids hanging over it. They were crying and they looked as if they were searching for someone.
Hey! Wait a minute. I know those kids who are depressed, scared and searching for someone. Those are my friends. That’s Katie and Joey and my little brother Luke! They’re looking for me. Why can I still see them?
But as I looked down, I realized that I was still alive, and a lovely, lovely, poky branch had caught me. I guess I didn’t see it as I fell.
My palms still really hurt from my treacherous fall, and my legs were scraped up pretty badly. The branch started tipping towards the ground, as if gravity were pulling it. I knew that I only had so much time left until the thing snaps, so I might as well try to get myself back up on that mountain.
I spied sturdy looking branched gapped away from each other, but they did lead up to the platform in which I needed to go to. The gang obviously didn’t see me, so they couldn’t help me. I guess this is my way to set things straight. This is my fight. And I’m not backing down ‘til the last straw!
I yanked onto the branch, hoisting myself up onto the next branch. I continued this process all the way up. My legs grabbed and my hands pulled. My palms were burning and my legs were sore. My whole body ached and moaned as if it were telling me to stop. But I didn’t let it.
I finally reached the last step of the branches. Luke noticed me right away.
“Pia! You’re, you’re you’re-”
“Alive,” I answered. He smiled and nodded.
“Hey you guys, Pia’s alive. Come help me pull her up.” Katie and Joey sprinted over to us and grabbed onto my arms, as my legs climbed up the side of the mountain. When I reached solid land, I layed down on my stomach.
“Oh, Pia,” Katie exclaimed cheerfully. “You’re here. That’s so wonderful, but how? How are you here? You fell.” I laughed at her questions. But I did explain everything that happened to her. Joey grinned, but stayed silent, almost as if he thought that I was just a dream and if he spoke, I’d wake up and disappear.
My attention immediately went to Kieran. I was so, so furious with him. His imbecilic dare almost killed me. And what would he have to say for this? I just knew I couldn’t keep living my life on the cliff of a mountain. I had to stop taking these dares. And I knew how.
The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Pia
Name: Kieran Lindberg
I stared out over the hill, looking for the dummy who decided to climb it. But sadly, nothing came into my view. I did hear a few shouts. They mostly sounded like people were yelling my sister’s name. Almost like she was falling off the mountain. Yeah right. Well that’s when Mom and Popps came back from the gift shop, finding me alone, and no sight of the children. I could tell they were mad, mostly because Popps was giving me the stink eye.
“Kieran! Where on earth are my children? You do know I promised Mrs. Wintersmith and Mr. Wallford that their children would be home safe, sound, and at 6:30 pm?” I smiled glumly, hoping she wouldn’t hear the dangerous sounds of people skidding off cliffs.
“If you want to know where on earth they are I will tell you. I don’t have the exact point, but I do know that it’s some place with high altitude,” I tried to say, matter-of-factly. The thing is, everyone thinks that I’m an idiot, when I’m really actually pretty intelligent. I just lower everyone’s standards so they don’t think I’m responsible enough to do all that hard work. It’s a genius plan, I know.
Well Mom’s reaction to my statement is hard to describe but all I can say is she screamed like a nut. Popps tried to calm her down and he asked me for the proper explanation. So I told him. Guess I made their expectations higher because I’m spending the next four months in the basement cleaning all the mold. Yuck.
The snoozy adults insisted we go up and look for the kids, but I had them read the sign before I agreed. Popps looked a little worried, but Mom was determined.
We hiked, and hiked, and hiked and hiked until we came to this really steep cliff. I almost felt like stopping, but we Lindbergs are known for two things- 1) Perseverance, and 2) Craziness.
I couldn’t believe what I saw. There, on the ground, was the people we were searching for. Pia’s team!
“Children!” Mom shouted. She wrapped them all up into a huge bear hug. Pia looked pretty beaten up. Her hands were bleeding and her leg was cut. Luckily, Mom had a first aid kit. She bandaged up Pia’s leg and put neosporin and bandaids on her wounded hands. I didn’t need to know what had happened to her, whatever it was, I had done it to her.
Even though I felt pretty bad about everything, I’d ruin my reputation if I showed it. I must admit though, Pia’s probably never gonna do another dare again, all because of me.
I decided that I wouldn’t dare Pia ever again. But that wouldn’t keep others from daring her. I have to go a step further to make sure Pia doesn’t get hurt. But that’s a secret, so no one can know about it.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
(A.K.A My Popps, My Mom and My Brother)
Name: Pia Lindberg
When I was finally up on a safe cliff, I almost felt like singing, but I don’t sing. Kieran must’ve gotten caught without us when Mom and Popps came out of the gift shop. There’s no explanation to have lost four kids. “Um, we ran into a magician and he turned them invisible?” But Mom got to us, despite the fact that it was super steep.
Mom was the most perfect person that I knew. She graduated Valedictorian from The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Connecticut, and then went on with a full scholarship to Princeton University. She’s now an astrophysicist and flies down to NASA headquarters every Tuesday. Her hair is bright blonde, and besides cutting it, she’s never had anything done to it. Completely natural. Her bright blue eyes light up when she laughs, and even her mistakes are nihility compared to my problems! That’s why she’d never forget to bring a first aid kit when she hikes. She fixed me up faster than you can say, “Bob’s your uncle!” But after she used her immediate care skills, she started asking the questions that I dreaded to hear. Why are you climbing up this mountain?
“Mom, I can understand why you’re not so satisfied with my choice, but in my defense-”
“In your defense, hogwash, you are all banged up because of something really dumb! How could you let your common sense escape you like this? Pia, I love you dearly, but sometimes I’m embarrassed to call you my child. At the Women’s Guild meetings, we chat about the worst things our children have done. I don’t dare speak about Kieran, and Luke is too young to do any wrong, therefore I’m left with you. When it’s my turn to talk, I change the subject. How do you think they’d feel if I told them my daughter almost fell off a cliff?” Her words shot an arrow into my heart. Mom is embarrassed to admit that I’m a daredevil. Like I said, she’s so smart, I didn’t have to explain myself. Kieran looked kinda offended by what Mom had said about him, but that’s nothing compared to her alarming statements about me! Popps must’ve felt the same way that I did.
“Charlene! Don’t you go saying such awful things about your children! Luke has made many errors that I’ve neglected to tell you, Kieran is a good kid once you get to know him, and Pia is an amazing person! She’s very courageous and she knows how to handle problems. But you wouldn’t know that because of your busy schedule. You’re too busy being the worker, it’s time you started being the mother that Pia needs.” Popps hugged me and rubbed my back. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t have the tears to do it. Mom turned red. Kieran looked like he felt better, but Luke looked more hurt than before, though he can admit the truth to what was said also. That’s when I decided that I’d keep on hiking.
“Okay everyone! Drop the cruelty and listen up. I’m hiking to the top of Mt. Mansfield, because I promised Kieran that I’d have a selfie at the top, and I don’t intend to break it. Now no one is required to join me on my last dare, but I don’t like hiking alone,” I said loudly. Katie looked happy to see that I was done with dares. Although her smile slowly faded as she stared up to the top of the mountain. I tried not to check how steep it was, so I looked over the valley. There, a soft blue lake sat calmly on top of Spruce Peak. My house sat over all the foliage on the trees, and the view was phenomenal! My mind immediately went to Dad. He was obsessed with the view, and I miss him so much.
“Listen Pia,” Mom said to me slowly, as if Popps would scold her again. “I love you dearly and that will always be true. I didn’t mean what I said and-”
“Mom, right now I don’t care. Who’s with me?” I looked at each and every one of my friends and family. The, next to Luke appeared a face that I knew so well, a face that I missed more than ever. Dad! I smiled at him, and he waved. I wanted to go and give him a huge hug, but I knew he’d just disappear, so I stared at his ghost for a while, until Katie stepped forward.
“I’m in!” She announced, proudly. That was a weird gesture from Katie, the most fearful person I know. “Believe me, Pia. I know you were scared. But you almost fell to your death, and I can’t believe that you want to keep going, but you do have a promise to keep, and I don’t want you to go alone.” Katie came over and hugged me. Dad saluted me like I was a strong soldier and then vanished. Katie didn’t realize that the promise I had made wasn’t to Kieran, but instead to my father.
Before Dad passed, he made me promise him that no matter what I did, or what happened, I would always have a piece of adventure in me, that reminded him of himself. He said that if I kept this promise, he wouldn’t be completely gone with my life.
Now that I realize it, that branch wasn’t there before when I was dangling and looking down. It couldn’t have just appeared, or maybe it did. Maybe Dad put it there, so that I could keep my adventure going. I looked up to the sky, made a peace sign, kissed it, then held it up in the air. Then miraculously, the clouds broke and a fluorescent sun burst through and shined right on my face.
Luke stepped forward. “I’m coming too,” he announced. I went over to him and playfully messed up his hair. He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a tight squeeze. Joey sighed and added, “Me too.” Popps nodded, “Oh Pia! You’re your father’s child. But I have to look out for ya, so I’m going too.” I nodded at him. Warm tears of joy started building in my eyelids.
“You know I’m nothing like you, Pia. But I want to be. So I’ll go also.” Mom smiled at me but didn’t hug me or pat me on the back like the others. She just stood there, almost as if she were afraid that I wasn’t going to let her hug me. I love Mom, no matter what she says.
The only person that was left was Kieran, and he looked like he was thinking real hard. That must be a lot for the half-wit.
“Okay, runt. I’ll go. But only because this is gonna look impressive!” His teasing look wasn’t there anymore, and Kieran looked like, through his rotten teeth, that he really, truly, didn’t mean that. Like he really wanted to go to protect me. Yeah right.
“Thanks, dummy. Let’s go everyone.” And we started hiking up the rest of the trail.
Pia Lindberg Is My Daughter
Name: Charlene Lindberg
When Kieran was born, I was the happiest mother in the world. For the first two years, that is. When he turned three, he became a little monster, running away from me. Screaming in public, pulling people’s hair. And he wouldn’t stop. Right before Kieran turned five, I found out I was pregnant with another baby, which most mothers would find stressing, but I was thrilled. Now Martin (my late husband) had all the responsibilities of Kieran while I got to sit on the couch and eat Italian subs and Ring- Dings, trying to ignore my dizziness!
Pia was a beautiful child, and she was very smart. She knew how to put all of the little shapes into the holes right away, and she knew what and what not to put into her mouth. Cheerios and bananas are edible, rocks and sand are not. Kieran had a little trouble with that, but I love him anyways.
As Pia grew older, I knew that there was something special in her, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until now. I now know that Pia resembles her father more than anyone I know. They have the same heart- warming smile, the same jolly laugh, the same sense of humor, and the same daring and active personality. Though Luke looks the most like him, Pia has the spunk that I know so well.
I volunteered to climb with Pia because I wanted to be a big part of her life. She and my father are closer than she and I are. Dad taught me that I need to spend more time with my children. They’re all growing up so fast.
I didn’t want Katie and Joey going up the mountain because I couldn’t bring them back to their parents in two or more pieces. But they’re Pia’s two closest friends and they support her, therefore I’m grateful to them both.
My Granddaughter, The Hiker
Name: Will Geer
Pia is an extraordinary hiker. She’s swift, keen, and wise, and not to mention has great motivation skills. The only thing I wonder about her is what keeps her going.
Pia’s father died a couple months ago, so I moved in to help Charlene take care of children when she worked. Her schedule was very tight, so she needed immediate help. I packed up my condo in Cocoa, Florida and moved up to the chilly yet beautiful Vermont. When I lived down there, I used to visit Charlene every once and awhile.
I know Pia thinks I moved in to help manage her. But the truth is, she’s wrong. I moved into their humble home to make sure that Kieran didn’t drive the family insane.
As we were hiking up to the ridge of Mt. Mansfield, I spotted a dreary face on Pia. Up until now she a had a gung-ho spirit, the kind that makes you say, “Okay, let’s do this thing!” But now that doesn’t seem like the case.
“Hey Peppiga Pia!” I called out to her. That’s what Peppermint Patty from Peanuts is called in Sweden.
“Yeah Popps?” She asked, her voice full of sorrow.
“How are you doing, Pi? I noticed your spirit has sunk. What’s up with that?” she gazed off into outer space, and I had no clue what she was thinking. Then she finally came to.
“I don’t know, Popps. I’m thinking about how I almost lost my life, but then a small branch that I swear wasn’t there before caught me. It’s crazy. But then my mind was drawn back to the time when Dad was alive. He made me promise him I’d keep his daring spirit alive. Do you think-” she stopped mid-sentence. I stood there for a moment, leaning a boulder, soaking up what she had just said. Martin Lindberg’s spirit is alive?
“Ya know, Pia. They say that when loved ones pass on, only their body leaves, but their spirit will always be with the ones they loved. You and your father had a special relationship, and I saw it a long time ago. Now his spirit is always going to be with you and protect you, you hear?” Pia smiled and nodded. I took her hand in mine and gave it a hearty squeeze.
“I hear ya, Popps.”
“Good. Guess what?” I asked her enthusiastically. “Every minute of my day I always feel like Grans is still alive. She is somehow, always with me. Sometimes I actually see her knitting in my rocker, as pale as a ghost. I don’t dare blink, though. I’m too scared she’ll vanish when my eyelids open.” I wrapped Pia into a tight hug. Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
“Shh, baby,” I soothed her. “It’s gonna be alright.”
“Popps, I miss Dad and Grans so much! I miss them so much that I can almost see them at the top of the mountain. It’s like they’re waiting for me.” She sobbed even more. By now I could see Luke and the others catching up to us. I knew Pia hadn’t wanted them to see her cry, so I motioned Luke to stop. He obeyed and told the others. That’s my boy.
“Well then Pia, let’s get up to the top of that mountain and see them!” And with that, we started eagerly hiking. I helped her up, she helped me up. It was the greatest bonding experience in my life.
The Possibilities To Your Success Are Endless
Name: Pia Lindberg
As Popps and I hiked to the top, the air got thinner and thinner. I held his hand as we reached that last part of the trail. I stood at the top of Mt. Mansfield, feeling as proud as the mother of 3 Olympic gold medalists. The view was breathtakingly gorgeous! Mountains stretched over the horizon, but they looked like they were millions of miles away. Colors popped out at me. Then, almost like an illusion, I felt someone place their hand on my shoulders. I looked from the left to the right and found none other than Dad and Grans! Dad was on my left and Grans on the right. They both looked at me with proud eyes.
“Dad! Grans!” I said aloud. “How… What… Where?” I mumbled, not realizing what Dad was doing. He whispered in my ear, “The possibilities to your success are endless.” Abruptly, with a blink of an eye, both spirits disappeared. I hugged Popps, giving him a tight squeeze and shouted, “I’M PIA LINDBERG, CONQUER OF MT. MANSFIELD!” Popps chuckled.
Name: Pia Lindberg
“This is the coolest view of Vermont that I’ve ever seen!” I exclaimed when the gondola reached the top of Mt. Mansfield. I peered out in the vast valley full of multicolored trees. The bright yellows, the gleaming oranges, and the fiery reds. It was peak time in Stowe, and all the colors were at their fullest. “Picture perfect,” Popps said with a smile as he snapped a picture of the foliage, his white mustache moving as he chuckled. Popps is like 63, so he is really old! But I like having him around, now that Dad is gone. He says he’s here to help Mom manage my two brothers, Kieran and Luke, but I know he’s living with us to help Mom manage ME.
“This is a bit scary! Look down, I can see your house Pia,” my friend Joey said to me. He’s a bit of a scaredy cat. No wait, he’s a lot of a scaredy cat!
“I know right?” Katie replied. I have the most uptight friends in the school, but they fit in well we with me. If I didn’t have Joey and Katie, I probably would have broken my neck attempting to land a double flip on my skateboard. They’re like the voices in your head that tell you, don’t do that!
“That’s not scary! If anything, I like to jump out of an airplane into that lake up at Spruce Peak!” I bragged. Katie shuddered, but Kieran smiled his dumb, deceitful smile.
“Does that mean that you’d jump without a parachute?” He asked, probably hoping that I would do it. Mom heard this and got really flustered, as usual.
“Kieran! Don’t give the little daredevil any ideas! She’s not Evel Knievel!”
“Who?” Luke asked, addled. Popps laughed. It’s obviously some old thing from the dark ages when mom was a little girl.
Then Popps explained that it was this old guy who was stupid and did all of these scary stunts and that mom had had his action figure doll as a kid, boring (though I was right).
“But the poor man died in 2007, and I’ll never forget him,” Mom exclaimed dolefully. She sounded like he was her childhood crush or something, which is gross when you think about it. He’s like, dead. And Mom isn’t.
“Mom, I’m not a nincompoop!” I said jokingly. “I wouldn’t do such a stupid thing! Kieran is a blockhead, though he regrets to admit it. But ask any of his teachers, they’ll tell ya!” Kieran didn’t hear because he was leaning out into the forest over the ziplining cables just like the people in harnesses did. Monkey see, monkey do. Mom started protesting on Kieran’s sake but I jumped in, “And poor me! Anytime I get a teacher that Kieran has had, they scowl and say ‘a Lindberg’. Even if one of them didn’t have Kieran, another teacher will whisper ‘watch out, don’t sit down on your chair without checking for tacs!” Mom covered her ears. Okay, maybe not all of the teachers say or do those things, but I’ve gotten those “I had your brother” glances, and they’re not something you’d like to see on Mona Lisa!
“This is in some high elevation,” I announced, trying to sound brainy. I guess I said it wrong because Joey corrected me. Big whup. Little did I know that it was about to get higher.
Kieran’s Dare
Katie, Joey, Luke, Kieran, and I were exploring one side of the mountain when Kieran fired one of his stupidity rockets at me. “Betcha can’t climb all the way up to the ridge of this here hill!” he said. The fool!
“It’s a mountain doofus! And anyways, I bet I can.” Katie gasped and Joey froze. I swear, my heart skipped a beat. I don’t really know why I did this, because normally dares are a cinch for me. Maybe it was because the only trail to get to the top is called The Cliff Trail and they only recommend experts doing it. The description clearly states,
The Mt. Mansfield Cliff Trail is an expert hiking trail designed for those who are ready for the challenge. In some parts of the trail it is very steep and slippery when wet-
We just had a rainstorm two days ago;
There are no patrols that climb this trail so children, the elderly, and pregnant women should not go. Adults should make sure they wear proper clothing and footwear, and they should be in good health-
I couldn’t read the rest. Never had something so scientific scared me so much. They’re basically saying “Enter if you DARE and make sure you’re not wearing heels!”
“Okay fine, Pia.” he spat. “You climb that mountain and take a selfie and I’ll do your chores for a year. Oh and don’t forget that if you fail to complete this dare, you’ll be living up to the name chicken for the rest of your pathetic life!” My spine became cold with chitters. My teeth started to grind the plaque on them. I pulled on my gloves because my hands started to shake, but that didn’t help.
Luckily Mom and Popps said that they wanted to buy some souvenirs at the shop, and there was a really long line. Everyone wanted to buy something, so buy the time they actually could get into the store, shop, and buy some things, we’d be back down to the bottom, safe and alive. Yeah, I hope!
Tanning My Hide
“Ok, chicken, are you gonna climb this thing or not?” Kieran asked in his bothersome way. I rolled my eyes trying to look annoyed but I was really just trying to hide my revulsion.
“Duh, dummy, gimme a minute to actually start. I’ve got to get my team assembled,” I responded, sneeringly. Kieran chuckled under his breath like I was actually going to chicken out. Maybe I could just get a background of the top of the mountain and have Katie photoshop it. She’s really good with techy stuff and Kieran is an idiot so he wouldn’t know the difference.
“Listen Pia, I understand that you’re the daredevil in the family, but stop pretending like Mom isn’t going to tan your hide when she finds out what you’ve done!” Luke exclaimed, sounding more chicken than me. Joey nodded in agreement. I could tell that Luke cared about my safety because he kept quickly glancing up to the perpendicular alp.
“Dude, this is a piece of cake,” I lied. “And there will be no hide tanning because Mom is never gonna find out about this, you hear?” I said, almost threatening him. I mean Luke is my little brother and he ten million times better than Kieran (anyone is), but he a huge tattletail, even when he doesn’t want to get people in trouble! That’s probably why he’s Mom’s favorite. Kieran calls him a snitch. “And my team consists of me, Katie, Joey, and Luke. Kieran you are welcome to come but I think it’s a little inappropriate for the darer to join the daree on the dare.” Kieran nodded, almost like he was too scared to go, and he said nothing because he knows that when he is hiding something, his voice goes up like 3 octaves!
“Whoah, whoah, whoah! There is no way I’m climbing up Mt. Deathsfield! I kind of want to see my parents again!” Joey squawked, pure chicken. Then again I’m really scared to be climbing up this mountain too, so whatever.
I shoved everyone up the trail and saluted Kieran. And at that moment, I didn’t want that to be the last time I ever saw him.
My Side of the Mountain
As we started ascending the highest elevation point in all of Vermont, I kept looking back to the ground, hoping to spot Mom and Popps. I don’t really know why I wanted to see Mom’s beautiful and proper face, or Popps’ smiling face. Maybe because I wanted them to spot ME and realize what I was doing and ground me for the rest of my life. This way I could never do another one of Kieran’s stupid dares. But, no, Mom or Popps weren’t anywhere in sight. But what I did see was magnificent. The colors were as vibrant as a melted crayon box and my whole body just took in the beautiful scenery. “This is a picture perfect view,” I said as I took a photo with my phone. Dad would’ve loved this.
Dad was the kind of person that could never be inside. And before died, he spent a lot of his time in our backyard. Luke had put a rocker out in the back so that he could sit out there and soak up the view. We live on top the top of Ridge Rd where all the big houses are. Are’s isn’t too big but it’s fitting for my family. Dad loved it!
Dad died from colon cancer three months ago, and it hasn’t been the same in my house ever since. The reason why we’re on this mountain is because Mom wanted to do some outdoors activities as a tribute to Dad’s memory. I guess she neglected to admit that due to her grieving.
As I looked out over the horizon, I knew why ancient humans had thought that our planet was flat. Although you couldn’t really see a horizon, the where mountains surrounding us from all sides, like protecting us from the outside world. Stowe was the safest place in the world. I would ride my bike on the path to wherever I needed to go, and downtown everyone walked around on the sidewalk. Luke would play soccer with the other boys in his grade and Kieran and his doofus gang would hang out on the edge of town, over by Shaw’s Market. They would pretend to be hanging out in dark alleys, because Stowe didn’t have any.
As we climbed farther and farther up Mt. Mansfield, my body stopped shaking so much.
“This is not as bad as I thought it would be,”Joey admitted as we climbed. “A few steep parts but nothing an 8 year old couldn’t handle.” This was true, because Luke was only 8, even though sometimes he acted like he was 16, and sometimes like he was 5.
“I know, right? I guess you’re dumb brother was a real blockhead to send you on a sissy dare. I can do this, therefore anyone can. And to think HE was scared to do it!” Katie added. I laughed. When she wasn’t being a total scaredy cat, Katie was a real fun person to be around!
“Dudes and dudettes, you guys were all scared, but I was never scared! That sign is to scare off the chickens. I am the conquer of this mountain! I am the master of this provocation! No one can stop me for this is my side of the mountain!” Everyone laughed as my voice boomed through the trail. The mountain is only supposed to psych you out, but then those who have the courage to face it end up winning. It’s like when they have you try out for a really hard sports position, but you’re really good at it, you have the courage to try, so you succeed. I’m going to chew this mountain up and spit it out. This is my side of the mountain!
My Intake on Pia
Name: Luke Lindberg
Pia Lindberg is my older sister. She is kind, smart, pretty, talented, and daring. Definitely daring! When she was in kindergarten she jumped off the top of the play structure, which was like 20 feet up in the air! She came home with a scraped knee, but nothing too serious. The next day she did it again. When Pia was in second grade, she climbed to the top of the tallest maple tree in our backyard. When she was in fourth grade she pet a porcupine. In fifth grade she went parasailing on our family vacation to the bahamas. And last year she attempted a back handspring on the pavement (and surprisingly didn’t crack her head open)!
The only time I’ve ever seen Pia cry was when Dad got diagnosed with colon cancer. I was only 5 years old, and Pia was 9, but she bawled that night. Mom had to rub her back and hug her like she does with me when I get a paper cut. Even at Dad’s funeral, she didn’t cry, mostly because we all knew that stage four cancer meant no cure and only little time left to live before your body can’t fight anymore.
And the only time I’ve ever seen Pia scared was when Dad went through his first trial of chemotherapy. That is, until now. I know Pia better than anyone. Better than Kieran, better than her teachers, better than Joey and Katie, better than Mom, and even better than Popps. This is mostly because Pia trusts me, I think. I know that when Kieran dared Pia to climb this mountain, she didn’t accept it with bravery, she accepted it with fear. She looked shocked when she answered so surely. It didn’t look right. Her deep, blue eyes must’ve blinked 10,000 times! And her whole body started to shake. I guess I’ve always noticed a tiny bit of that in all of the other times Pia has done one of her daft dares. But this was her biggest reaction. And I know she didn’t want anyone to notice, but I did. I notice a lot about Pia, maybe even more than she notices.
Not Such a Cinch
After Pia had announced that this was “her side of the mountain,” she totally jinxed herself. Not only did the mountain get ten times steeper, but it got rocky. It was like the mountain was playing tricks on us, setting us up for failure. I couldn’t believe how we fell for that.
The huge rocks (more like boulders) were towering over us and I couldn’t believe that Pia let another emotion slip. I’m the only one who picks up on my “daring” sister’s actions. She’s not invincible, even though she pretends to be.
Pia asked me to climb the rock and go under the boulder first! I mean, normal tough Pia would just have said she’d do it because I’m her little bro, but I can’t believe she wanted to shove me up and over the first rock and underneath the second one. “C’mon dude. You’re not a sissy are ya?” she had asked me. I was astonished. But that’s the real Pia that I know, but no one else knows.
…
I ended up going first. I think Pia was more surprised that I had the courage to do more than I was surprised. Joey and Pia held my feet while Katie spotted me from behind. Katie said it was the safest way up, and she had experience with that since she’d been a forced cheerleader when she was little. Her parents wanted her to try everything, and then pick a couple things that she liked to stick with. What’s funny is that she doesn’t do anything except hang with her microscope now.
When I managed to shimmy myself up through the two sizeable rocks, I found out that that was the easiest climb of the whole trail. After I pulled everyone up to the landing spot, Katie almost passed out. Joey caught her and Pia rolled her eyes. But underneath her eye roll, I saw fear and concern.
Wait, Pia!
Name: Katie Wintersmith
Pia Lindberg is my best friend. And I love her so much. But she honestly, is a kook when it comes to doing what people want her to do, and what’s right. Without me, Pia would probably be the most well- known person at the Central Vermont Medical Hospital.
I think that Pia is so dumb because she’s never felt accepted. She feels like she has to prove things to people, for them to think that she’s worthy to talk to. Pia thinks that everyone else in the world, thinks she’s inferior. Kieran might. Then again, he’s a jerk. But I don’t. And I know Joey doesn’t. Joey Wallford is my other best friend. He and I are much more alike than me and Pia. So when Pia said she’d climb Mt. Mansfield, I knew there was no way of stopping her. But I guess I tried anyway.
We were climbing up one of the steepest parts of the trail. It was so steep, handles were built to help hikers climb. The trail is only .5 miles long so we were almost to the summit, which meant that Pia could have another dare built onto her reputation. We turned the bend of the mountain and I made a mistake. I looked down. Autumn in Stowe is the prettiest time of the year, but I’d rather look at it from Pia’s backyard than dangling from the side of the mountain.
“I’m not going up any further, Pia. I made it up this far and I just can’t do it,” I blurted out. I’m not really one to quit things, but I never really do anything dumb enough that I need to quit. This excepts my policy.
“C’mon Kate! You can do this! I’m- we’re in this together and I- we can do this. Just because I’m- you’re scared doesn’t mean we have to quit. Kieran is going to kill me, I mean us, if WE don’t do this and-” I didn’t catch the last part. But at that moment I realized that Pia Lindberg, the dauntless girl, my best friend, was scared. Pia was as scared as I was. She doesn’t want to be in this anymore than I do. But she kept going. Just to prove a stupid rep.
“Okay, fine. But please Pia, if we get to the top, promise me that you’ll never do another dare again!” I shouted as the wind picked up. We were now tightrope walking alongside the cliff. One slip and that’s the end of us. Pia started to say something but then she slipped and caught herself on the edge of the cliff.
“PIA!” I screamed, my voice blaring through the mountain.
“Help me,” she replied. I tried to bend down, but I realized that I’d fall too.
“Wait Pia,” was all I could manage to say.
Cut It Out Tom Petty
Name: Pia Lindberg
When I let my emotions slip, when Katie interrogated me like the Gestapo, I lost track of everything. My mind was in a blur, and I wasn’t all there. Maybe I was up in the clouds, since we’re so high up. Well, now I’m not up in the clouds, and this is how it happened-
Katie wanted to stop hiking because it go super steep. And when I say steep, I mean erect! I just couldn’t let one of my team members, stop here, especially since I wanted to stop more than she did.
The whole way up, all I wanted to do was to stop. But if I stop, Kieran will never let this drop, my rep will be ruined, and even though I might be still in one piece, my life will be over. So I just kept thinking positive thoughts, kinda like what Mom did when Dad went through chemotherapy, but not quite. Instead of thinking it’s gonna be okay I thought, I’m going to live. I’m going to live. That’s why when Katie started thinking about quitting, I said aloud everything that was going through my head. I stuttered a lot! I was like, “Kieran is going to kill me,” oops, “I mean us.” Really dumb, huh? Yeah well that’s what I thought.
And the worst part is, everyone picked up on it! Luke didn’t seem too surprised, but the geniuses did. They were astonished that they’re idiotic friend was trembling along with them. I know it, even though they didn’t say it. I bet if I was in Katie’s head, that’s exactly what she’d be saying.
After I had finished my sentences, I was just so flabbergasted, that I just lost my footing. We were on this steep cliff, and I really couldn’t hold on anymore. I stopped thinking for two seconds. My feet slipped and my knee got scraped. I think my palms got scratched up pretty badly too, but I didn’t care. As I fell, I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout. I wanted to wail, yelp, holler, howl, cry- anything to save me. My arms flung out and my poor hands landed on the rough, scratchy rock. At first, it felt like I was on the ground, but as soon as I looked down, I lost it.
Katie cried my name, and it hung over the valley like fog on a misty day. I shouted, “HELP ME!” But I knew she couldn’t. If she tried to, we’d both be at the bottom of the mountain, waiting for not Kieran to mock us, but the crows.
“Hang on Pia, we’ve got ya,” Luke said, trying to help me. But I couldn’t let Luke do it.
“No Luke! If one of us has to die, it’s going to be me.” I told him profoundly. “You guys were so brave to follow me to this point. I wish I never did this. Here’s the truth,” and I told them. Luke started to cry.
“Tell Dad I love him and miss him every minute of the day,” Luke whimpered softly, trying to look tough. I nodded.
“I will.” My hands were turning yellow and I couldn’t hold on much longer. This was it. What are my last words going to be?
“Well Pia, all I can say is, I love you. You’re the greatest friend ever. Put in a good word for me. And just remember what Tom Petty said in his hit song, Free Fallin, he said ‘What goes up, must come down’.” At that moment, I hated Tom Petty. I despised him. I loathed him. I shouted, “Cut it out, Tom Petty!” But eventually my feelings went away. It wasn’t his fault.
At that point, I let go. I let go and I fell. Down, down, down. But then I landed. And I didn’t know if I was alive or dead.
The Branch
I opened my eyes, wondering what I might find. I looked over the valley of beautiful, extraordinary colors. I inhaled deeply and smelled the scent of sappy pine needles. I sniffed deeper, and realized that I felt sappy pine needles poking into my body. As I looked up to the amber sky, I saw a sharp cliff with three kids hanging over it. They were crying and they looked as if they were searching for someone.
Hey! Wait a minute. I know those kids who are depressed, scared and searching for someone. Those are my friends. That’s Katie and Joey and my little brother Luke! They’re looking for me. Why can I still see them?
But as I looked down, I realized that I was still alive, and a lovely, lovely, poky branch had caught me. I guess I didn’t see it as I fell.
My palms still really hurt from my treacherous fall, and my legs were scraped up pretty badly. The branch started tipping towards the ground, as if gravity were pulling it. I knew that I only had so much time left until the thing snaps, so I might as well try to get myself back up on that mountain.
I spied sturdy looking branched gapped away from each other, but they did lead up to the platform in which I needed to go to. The gang obviously didn’t see me, so they couldn’t help me. I guess this is my way to set things straight. This is my fight. And I’m not backing down ‘til the last straw!
I yanked onto the branch, hoisting myself up onto the next branch. I continued this process all the way up. My legs grabbed and my hands pulled. My palms were burning and my legs were sore. My whole body ached and moaned as if it were telling me to stop. But I didn’t let it.
I finally reached the last step of the branches. Luke noticed me right away.
“Pia! You’re, you’re you’re-”
“Alive,” I answered. He smiled and nodded.
“Hey you guys, Pia’s alive. Come help me pull her up.” Katie and Joey sprinted over to us and grabbed onto my arms, as my legs climbed up the side of the mountain. When I reached solid land, I layed down on my stomach.
“Oh, Pia,” Katie exclaimed cheerfully. “You’re here. That’s so wonderful, but how? How are you here? You fell.” I laughed at her questions. But I did explain everything that happened to her. Joey grinned, but stayed silent, almost as if he thought that I was just a dream and if he spoke, I’d wake up and disappear.
My attention immediately went to Kieran. I was so, so furious with him. His imbecilic dare almost killed me. And what would he have to say for this? I just knew I couldn’t keep living my life on the cliff of a mountain. I had to stop taking these dares. And I knew how.
The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Pia
Name: Kieran Lindberg
I stared out over the hill, looking for the dummy who decided to climb it. But sadly, nothing came into my view. I did hear a few shouts. They mostly sounded like people were yelling my sister’s name. Almost like she was falling off the mountain. Yeah right. Well that’s when Mom and Popps came back from the gift shop, finding me alone, and no sight of the children. I could tell they were mad, mostly because Popps was giving me the stink eye.
“Kieran! Where on earth are my children? You do know I promised Mrs. Wintersmith and Mr. Wallford that their children would be home safe, sound, and at 6:30 pm?” I smiled glumly, hoping she wouldn’t hear the dangerous sounds of people skidding off cliffs.
“If you want to know where on earth they are I will tell you. I don’t have the exact point, but I do know that it’s some place with high altitude,” I tried to say, matter-of-factly. The thing is, everyone thinks that I’m an idiot, when I’m really actually pretty intelligent. I just lower everyone’s standards so they don’t think I’m responsible enough to do all that hard work. It’s a genius plan, I know.
Well Mom’s reaction to my statement is hard to describe but all I can say is she screamed like a nut. Popps tried to calm her down and he asked me for the proper explanation. So I told him. Guess I made their expectations higher because I’m spending the next four months in the basement cleaning all the mold. Yuck.
The snoozy adults insisted we go up and look for the kids, but I had them read the sign before I agreed. Popps looked a little worried, but Mom was determined.
We hiked, and hiked, and hiked and hiked until we came to this really steep cliff. I almost felt like stopping, but we Lindbergs are known for two things- 1) Perseverance, and 2) Craziness.
I couldn’t believe what I saw. There, on the ground, was the people we were searching for. Pia’s team!
“Children!” Mom shouted. She wrapped them all up into a huge bear hug. Pia looked pretty beaten up. Her hands were bleeding and her leg was cut. Luckily, Mom had a first aid kit. She bandaged up Pia’s leg and put neosporin and bandaids on her wounded hands. I didn’t need to know what had happened to her, whatever it was, I had done it to her.
Even though I felt pretty bad about everything, I’d ruin my reputation if I showed it. I must admit though, Pia’s probably never gonna do another dare again, all because of me.
I decided that I wouldn’t dare Pia ever again. But that wouldn’t keep others from daring her. I have to go a step further to make sure Pia doesn’t get hurt. But that’s a secret, so no one can know about it.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
(A.K.A My Popps, My Mom and My Brother)
Name: Pia Lindberg
When I was finally up on a safe cliff, I almost felt like singing, but I don’t sing. Kieran must’ve gotten caught without us when Mom and Popps came out of the gift shop. There’s no explanation to have lost four kids. “Um, we ran into a magician and he turned them invisible?” But Mom got to us, despite the fact that it was super steep.
Mom was the most perfect person that I knew. She graduated Valedictorian from The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Connecticut, and then went on with a full scholarship to Princeton University. She’s now an astrophysicist and flies down to NASA headquarters every Tuesday. Her hair is bright blonde, and besides cutting it, she’s never had anything done to it. Completely natural. Her bright blue eyes light up when she laughs, and even her mistakes are nihility compared to my problems! That’s why she’d never forget to bring a first aid kit when she hikes. She fixed me up faster than you can say, “Bob’s your uncle!” But after she used her immediate care skills, she started asking the questions that I dreaded to hear. Why are you climbing up this mountain?
“Mom, I can understand why you’re not so satisfied with my choice, but in my defense-”
“In your defense, hogwash, you are all banged up because of something really dumb! How could you let your common sense escape you like this? Pia, I love you dearly, but sometimes I’m embarrassed to call you my child. At the Women’s Guild meetings, we chat about the worst things our children have done. I don’t dare speak about Kieran, and Luke is too young to do any wrong, therefore I’m left with you. When it’s my turn to talk, I change the subject. How do you think they’d feel if I told them my daughter almost fell off a cliff?” Her words shot an arrow into my heart. Mom is embarrassed to admit that I’m a daredevil. Like I said, she’s so smart, I didn’t have to explain myself. Kieran looked kinda offended by what Mom had said about him, but that’s nothing compared to her alarming statements about me! Popps must’ve felt the same way that I did.
“Charlene! Don’t you go saying such awful things about your children! Luke has made many errors that I’ve neglected to tell you, Kieran is a good kid once you get to know him, and Pia is an amazing person! She’s very courageous and she knows how to handle problems. But you wouldn’t know that because of your busy schedule. You’re too busy being the worker, it’s time you started being the mother that Pia needs.” Popps hugged me and rubbed my back. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t have the tears to do it. Mom turned red. Kieran looked like he felt better, but Luke looked more hurt than before, though he can admit the truth to what was said also. That’s when I decided that I’d keep on hiking.
“Okay everyone! Drop the cruelty and listen up. I’m hiking to the top of Mt. Mansfield, because I promised Kieran that I’d have a selfie at the top, and I don’t intend to break it. Now no one is required to join me on my last dare, but I don’t like hiking alone,” I said loudly. Katie looked happy to see that I was done with dares. Although her smile slowly faded as she stared up to the top of the mountain. I tried not to check how steep it was, so I looked over the valley. There, a soft blue lake sat calmly on top of Spruce Peak. My house sat over all the foliage on the trees, and the view was phenomenal! My mind immediately went to Dad. He was obsessed with the view, and I miss him so much.
“Listen Pia,” Mom said to me slowly, as if Popps would scold her again. “I love you dearly and that will always be true. I didn’t mean what I said and-”
“Mom, right now I don’t care. Who’s with me?” I looked at each and every one of my friends and family. The, next to Luke appeared a face that I knew so well, a face that I missed more than ever. Dad! I smiled at him, and he waved. I wanted to go and give him a huge hug, but I knew he’d just disappear, so I stared at his ghost for a while, until Katie stepped forward.
“I’m in!” She announced, proudly. That was a weird gesture from Katie, the most fearful person I know. “Believe me, Pia. I know you were scared. But you almost fell to your death, and I can’t believe that you want to keep going, but you do have a promise to keep, and I don’t want you to go alone.” Katie came over and hugged me. Dad saluted me like I was a strong soldier and then vanished. Katie didn’t realize that the promise I had made wasn’t to Kieran, but instead to my father.
Before Dad passed, he made me promise him that no matter what I did, or what happened, I would always have a piece of adventure in me, that reminded him of himself. He said that if I kept this promise, he wouldn’t be completely gone with my life.
Now that I realize it, that branch wasn’t there before when I was dangling and looking down. It couldn’t have just appeared, or maybe it did. Maybe Dad put it there, so that I could keep my adventure going. I looked up to the sky, made a peace sign, kissed it, then held it up in the air. Then miraculously, the clouds broke and a fluorescent sun burst through and shined right on my face.
Luke stepped forward. “I’m coming too,” he announced. I went over to him and playfully messed up his hair. He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a tight squeeze. Joey sighed and added, “Me too.” Popps nodded, “Oh Pia! You’re your father’s child. But I have to look out for ya, so I’m going too.” I nodded at him. Warm tears of joy started building in my eyelids.
“You know I’m nothing like you, Pia. But I want to be. So I’ll go also.” Mom smiled at me but didn’t hug me or pat me on the back like the others. She just stood there, almost as if she were afraid that I wasn’t going to let her hug me. I love Mom, no matter what she says.
The only person that was left was Kieran, and he looked like he was thinking real hard. That must be a lot for the half-wit.
“Okay, runt. I’ll go. But only because this is gonna look impressive!” His teasing look wasn’t there anymore, and Kieran looked like, through his rotten teeth, that he really, truly, didn’t mean that. Like he really wanted to go to protect me. Yeah right.
“Thanks, dummy. Let’s go everyone.” And we started hiking up the rest of the trail.
Pia Lindberg Is My Daughter
Name: Charlene Lindberg
When Kieran was born, I was the happiest mother in the world. For the first two years, that is. When he turned three, he became a little monster, running away from me. Screaming in public, pulling people’s hair. And he wouldn’t stop. Right before Kieran turned five, I found out I was pregnant with another baby, which most mothers would find stressing, but I was thrilled. Now Martin (my late husband) had all the responsibilities of Kieran while I got to sit on the couch and eat Italian subs and Ring- Dings, trying to ignore my dizziness!
Pia was a beautiful child, and she was very smart. She knew how to put all of the little shapes into the holes right away, and she knew what and what not to put into her mouth. Cheerios and bananas are edible, rocks and sand are not. Kieran had a little trouble with that, but I love him anyways.
As Pia grew older, I knew that there was something special in her, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until now. I now know that Pia resembles her father more than anyone I know. They have the same heart- warming smile, the same jolly laugh, the same sense of humor, and the same daring and active personality. Though Luke looks the most like him, Pia has the spunk that I know so well.
I volunteered to climb with Pia because I wanted to be a big part of her life. She and my father are closer than she and I are. Dad taught me that I need to spend more time with my children. They’re all growing up so fast.
I didn’t want Katie and Joey going up the mountain because I couldn’t bring them back to their parents in two or more pieces. But they’re Pia’s two closest friends and they support her, therefore I’m grateful to them both.
My Granddaughter, The Hiker
Name: Will Geer
Pia is an extraordinary hiker. She’s swift, keen, and wise, and not to mention has great motivation skills. The only thing I wonder about her is what keeps her going.
Pia’s father died a couple months ago, so I moved in to help Charlene take care of children when she worked. Her schedule was very tight, so she needed immediate help. I packed up my condo in Cocoa, Florida and moved up to the chilly yet beautiful Vermont. When I lived down there, I used to visit Charlene every once and awhile.
I know Pia thinks I moved in to help manage her. But the truth is, she’s wrong. I moved into their humble home to make sure that Kieran didn’t drive the family insane.
As we were hiking up to the ridge of Mt. Mansfield, I spotted a dreary face on Pia. Up until now she a had a gung-ho spirit, the kind that makes you say, “Okay, let’s do this thing!” But now that doesn’t seem like the case.
“Hey Peppiga Pia!” I called out to her. That’s what Peppermint Patty from Peanuts is called in Sweden.
“Yeah Popps?” She asked, her voice full of sorrow.
“How are you doing, Pi? I noticed your spirit has sunk. What’s up with that?” she gazed off into outer space, and I had no clue what she was thinking. Then she finally came to.
“I don’t know, Popps. I’m thinking about how I almost lost my life, but then a small branch that I swear wasn’t there before caught me. It’s crazy. But then my mind was drawn back to the time when Dad was alive. He made me promise him I’d keep his daring spirit alive. Do you think-” she stopped mid-sentence. I stood there for a moment, leaning a boulder, soaking up what she had just said. Martin Lindberg’s spirit is alive?
“Ya know, Pia. They say that when loved ones pass on, only their body leaves, but their spirit will always be with the ones they loved. You and your father had a special relationship, and I saw it a long time ago. Now his spirit is always going to be with you and protect you, you hear?” Pia smiled and nodded. I took her hand in mine and gave it a hearty squeeze.
“I hear ya, Popps.”
“Good. Guess what?” I asked her enthusiastically. “Every minute of my day I always feel like Grans is still alive. She is somehow, always with me. Sometimes I actually see her knitting in my rocker, as pale as a ghost. I don’t dare blink, though. I’m too scared she’ll vanish when my eyelids open.” I wrapped Pia into a tight hug. Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
“Shh, baby,” I soothed her. “It’s gonna be alright.”
“Popps, I miss Dad and Grans so much! I miss them so much that I can almost see them at the top of the mountain. It’s like they’re waiting for me.” She sobbed even more. By now I could see Luke and the others catching up to us. I knew Pia hadn’t wanted them to see her cry, so I motioned Luke to stop. He obeyed and told the others. That’s my boy.
“Well then Pia, let’s get up to the top of that mountain and see them!” And with that, we started eagerly hiking. I helped her up, she helped me up. It was the greatest bonding experience in my life.
The Possibilities To Your Success Are Endless
Name: Pia Lindberg
As Popps and I hiked to the top, the air got thinner and thinner. I held his hand as we reached that last part of the trail. I stood at the top of Mt. Mansfield, feeling as proud as the mother of 3 Olympic gold medalists. The view was breathtakingly gorgeous! Mountains stretched over the horizon, but they looked like they were millions of miles away. Colors popped out at me. Then, almost like an illusion, I felt someone place their hand on my shoulders. I looked from the left to the right and found none other than Dad and Grans! Dad was on my left and Grans on the right. They both looked at me with proud eyes.
“Dad! Grans!” I said aloud. “How… What… Where?” I mumbled, not realizing what Dad was doing. He whispered in my ear, “The possibilities to your success are endless.” Abruptly, with a blink of an eye, both spirits disappeared. I hugged Popps, giving him a tight squeeze and shouted, “I’M PIA LINDBERG, CONQUER OF MT. MANSFIELD!” Popps chuckled.
It Takes Two
The News
Mia and Abby listened behind the corner where the kitchen and the hallway meet while Mr. and Mrs. Fowler argued. “Your stench is attaching to my cashmere sweater!” Mia exclaimed. She took a step away from her sister, looked down at Abby’s muddy shoes, and stepped further away.
But Abby wasn’t listening. She didn’t even know that Mia had stepped away from her, nor did she care. Abby was more concerned to what Mom and Dad were saying.
“How could you do that?” Mom was screaming in the kitchen at the top of her lungs. Abby cringed at the ear piercing yelps. Abby turned her head to look at her sister. Mia was picking dirt out from underneath her freshly painted parlour nails.
“Something’s wrong. Really wrong,” Abby whispered, teeth clenched. She stuck her head around the corner so that she could see into the kitchen. Dad was sitting down but Mom was up. Maybe Dad had told Mom something that he did and she got upset. Maybe both of them were both sitting but as soon as Mom heard something disturbing, she stood up, pushing the chair behind her.
“Why’d you say so?” Mia asked. She obviously didn’t hear Mrs. Fowler. Just then Mom’s ear piercing shrieks rang through both girl's ears. Mia covered her ears, and Abby noticed her scratch on the outer side of her hand. Abby grunted.
“What happened here?” Abby was hoping to hear that Sarah had scratched her, but Mia never replied. Mia was too concerned with her ears.
Mrs. Fowler was a sophisticated, mature, and quiet adult. She believed that everything could be said quietly. These were some of the reasons why Abby never saw eye-to-eye with her. When Mom yelled, there was trouble. Mr. Fowler, on the other hand, yelled even when he had a calm emotion. Nothing stopped him from sharing his thoughts (except his wife).
Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were two completely different people. They were nothing alike. Now why exactly were they married in the first place? They don’t know. That’s probably why they had two wonderful twin girls, who were opposites.
Mia was her mother’s daughter. She was prim, proper, and neat. Nothing met her standards, not even the Marines! And having Abby as a sister was torture for her.
Abby was the boy in the family, even though she wasn’t a boy. Abby loved playing soccer, running, and anything that had to do with sweating. Her dog, Brady, was a giant Golden Retriever. He was the same way as Abby. They both lived up in their own filth. Mia liked to call it, “the hole,” and solemnly swore to never enter.
“So what did Dad do this time?” Mia asked Abby. Abby shrugged.
“If I knew I would tell you.” Two seconds after she finished her sentence, Mrs. Fowler called the girls into the kitchen.
Mom had tears dripping down her cheeks and Dad looked forlorn. The warm, green kitchen tiles didn’t seem the same anymore. Abby pulled out a chair and plopped into it. Mia motioned for her father. He pulled out the chair for her and she sat down like a sophisticated first class lady on the Titanic.
“Girls, we have some unfortunate news. Don’t you remember our vacation we just took?” Abby thought back to when she was walking into Foxborough stadium. She imagined the announcer yelling “Please welcome, THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS!”
“Of course!” Abby exclaimed. “We stopped to watch a Patriots preseason game on the way home.” Abby could never forget anything about sports.
“Well yes, we did. And it was a lovely two weeks. But your father seemed to have forgotten some things. Our tooth brushes, sunscreen, the fact that he never told his boss about taking those two weeks off.” Both girls stopped breathing.
“You’re kidding, right? Dad’s been stupid, but not this stupid,” Abby said. Mr. Fowler looked offended by his daughter’s words. But then he shrugged in agreement.
“No, he’s been this stupid. He left without a care in the world and returned unemployed. Mr. Minske was not too thrilled by your father’s actions.” Mia felt like crying.
“Diane, how come you can’t just come out and say that I’m an idiot? That I had a major goof. I’m a complete failure. Why not?” Mia started sobbing.
“He did not!” Mia shrieked, tears rolling down her face. She made Abby jump. Mom wrapped Mia up in her arms. She stroked Mia’s silky blonde hair.
“Oh baby!” Dad cried. “It’s gonna be okay. I’ve already picked out the perfect apartment for the ‘Fowler Bunch’”. He kissed Mia on the head.
The stupid baby is just doing this for attention, Abby thought. She didn’t dare say it out loud, for Mom would just send her to her room.
“Daddy, this is not the Brady Bunch,” Mia sobbed. Mom pulled her in tighter.
Mr. Fowler had a huge obsessions over the 1970’s sitcom, The Brady Bunch. He started calling his family The Fowler Bunch, even though there were only four people in the family.
“I don’t want an apartment!” Mia and Abby both hollered simultaneously. We’d have to live in the same area, share the same closet space, the same air. I can’t do that! This is awful, Mia thought to herself. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler sighed and shrugged their shoulders.
“But Daddy,” Mia said, stroking her hands through her hair. “Abby and I can’t live together, we are two totally different types of species, even though we’re twins, and we just can’t live together, it’s just not right!” Mr. Fowler laughed under his breath, but then he went serious again.
“My hands are tied,” he frowned.
The Apartment
A few days after Mr. and Mrs. Fowler’s news, The Fowler Bunch went to look at the new apartment that Mr. Fowler had picked out.
As Mia and Abby entered their room-to-be, they both gasped at the sight of it.
“This is the size of my closet,” Abby said, scared. Mia shivered.
“Don’t you mean ‘the hole’?” she asked sarcastically. Abby huffed, blew up her bangs, and rolled her eyes. “And what’s worse, it’s br- br- br- br-”
“Just say it.”
“Brown!” Mia felt chills roll up her spine. Colors were very important in Mia’s life, and they set off her mood. She liked red in lipstick and on Valentine’s Day. She liked yellow in flip-flops and floppy hats. She liked blue in hair ties and balloons. And she liked pink in sunglasses, purses, crop-tops, and sneakers.
Mia liked orange in clips and socks. She liked green in shorts and pants. She liked purple fuzzy rugs, and she liked white in blouses, sandals, and jewelry.
But Mia hated, loathed, avoided, cursed, shunned, abhorred, detested brown! And having that color in her room was a dreadful thought. Her parents couldn’t afford a new paint job, they could barely afford the apartment!
In the room, there were two twin beds, bunk beds, with a brown duvet cover. There was one small closet in the corner, and a dresser on one side of the beds. That was it.
“Even the carpet is brown,” Abby exclaimed. “Well, I want the bottom bunk, who knows what’s going on up there on the ceiling,” Abby smirked. She then jumped on the bottom bunk. Mia scoffed. “Oh no you don’t,” and she pulled Abby off, brushed her skirt, and sat down politely. “This is my bunk!”
Both girls stared at each other. “WAR!” they exclaimed. Then both Mia and Abby started an intense Rock, Paper, and Scissors game. Mia played paper, although she preferred to call it stationary, and Abby chose rock. Mia smiled. “Mine,” she said teasingly.
Mia and Abby knew that they needed territory, a side of the room that they could do whatever they wanted with. “Pick a side,” Mia muttered.
“But we’ll make a neutral zone for the door, the closet, and our beds,” Abby agreed.
“Well I’ll get the closet, you can use the linen closet down the hall, I mean there is no way my angels can share a space with your rags!”
Mia was not only particular about colors, but she was meticulous when it came to clothing. Her sweaters, cardigans, dresses, blouses, crop-tops, and polos were hung on hangers in her closet, along with her dress pants. In her drawers, she neatly and efficiently folded her shorts, skirts, nightwear, socks, and underwear. Her shoes were given a whole section of her closet, for they were coded depending on their style. She set flats, sandals, and flip-flops along with slippers. She placed her sneakers, boots, and her orthopedic shoes aside separately. Mia also had special places for her dress shoes, her heels, and her wedges.
“Fine, as long as my jerseys get put on hangers.” Lucky for Mia, Abby didn’t care about the specific details that she cared so much about, so if she wanted something nice for herself, and bad for her sister, Abby wouldn’t mind. Mia nodded.
“Of course!” Mia exclaimed. She silently applauded herself. The one thing that both girls could agree on was separation!
Mia and Abby started thinking about where they would place their things. “Here I will put Sarah’s house, which includes her food, toys, and bed.” Mia said politely. Abby turned around.
“Oh no you don’t!” she announced, plotting. Abby walked over to an open space on the carpet and said, “Here is where Brady’s dog house will go. He’ll live with me!” Abby was on the verge of shouting. Mia placed her hands on her hips.
“Excuse me, but Brady is not staying, and even if he was, why would you put his dog house in here?” Mia was not prepared to have a reckless dog loose in her bedroom.
“Hello? We are in an apartment. No backyard for Brady,” Abby said defensively.
“Precisely the reason why Brady should go,” Mia said matter-of-factly.
“He should too!” Abby screamed.
“Should not!” Mia replied back, even louder.
“Should too!”
“Should not!”
“Should TOO!”
“Should NOT!”
“Whoah, whoah, whoah. Girls! What’s going on in here?” Mom came into the room startled by the argument.
Mia slowly waltzed over and stood next to Mom. “I know, Mother. But Abby has this far-fetched idea that Brady is going to live in HERE with Us!” Mia spoke softly, knowing loud noises spooked her mother.
“Oh you are such a kiss-up!” Abby said, completely annoyed. Mia stuck out her tongue quickly when her mother wasn’t looking.
“I am not!” Mia stamped her foot on the ground.
“Are too!”
“Am not!”
“Are TOO!”
Am NOT!”
“GIRLS!!! That’s enough! This apartment I’m afraid, does not allow pets,” Mrs. Fowler sighed. She frowned in knowing how Sarah and Brady were so important to her children.
“WHAT?” Both girls exclaimed.
“I’m so sorry,” Mom whispered. She wrapped both girls in a bear hug. Mia whimpered. Abby sighed.
The Plan
Mia sulked while she hulled the moving boxes into her bedroom. “Hugh,” she sighed. “I’m so sorry Sarah,” she spoke to her cat. “This is all happening too fast!” She decided to check on Abby’s packing process.
Mia took a deep breath, plugged her nose, and prepared to enter “the hole”. The stench was strong enough to make an average person faint after two minutes. Only Abby and Brady were immune to it all. A garbage truck smelled better than Abby’s room.
The door opened a tiny bit. So Mia wedged herself through the crack.
“Sup?” Abby asked. She was on her back doing curl-ups. She didn’t look ready to move in a week. Heck, she didn’t look ready to move in a year!
“You do realize that if we don’t have a plan, the we’re moving this Saturday?!” Abby nodded, but then when back to sitting up and down, up and down.
“It takes two seconds to shove things into boxes, I’m brainstorming. If only Dad could help, he’s working really hard on getting his job back, and-”
“That’s it!” Mia cheered. “We can’t beg Mr. Minske to give Dad his job back. Well we could, but it’s better if we SHOW him that Dad deserves his job back,” Mia was on a roll. Inside her head, the wheels were turning at the speed of light. Her bright blue eyes were bursting with excitement! She soon found herself jumping up and down and waving her hands frantically in the air, trying to catch her train of thought before it ran off the tracks.
“And how are we supposed to do that?” Abby asked, confused. Mia grinned her I’ve got a perfect plan grin.
“Just a little something I like to call documentation,” Mia replied with a smirk. Abby nodded in agreement.
“Right Mia, we just document everything that Dad has done for Mr. Minske, and he’ll just know that Dad was his best and hardest worker, and that he should rehire Dad immediately, or at least keep the money rolling.” Abby was almost as excited as Mia was. Her brain was spinning like thread on a spinning wheel, and she felt like Rumpelstiltskin, weaving the straw into gold, except the straw was her thoughts, and the gold was her genius plan. Her dark brown eyes sparkled like they never had done before, and Mia noticed. She felt her heart fill with some reassurance, and light all in one.
“Whoah.” Mia said. Her throat all of sudden became dry and her palms were sweaty. Did I just agree and BOND with ‘the thug’? But when Mia said it that time, her heart wasn’t in it.
“What? Whoah what?” Abby looked flabbergasted, and didn’t realize what had happened to her, and she never really would, until she had that same moment with Mia.
“So I was thinking…” and Abby shared all of the gold with Mia. She nodded and grinned. Nodded and grinned. Soon her grin grew into a smile. Abby stared at her sister’s pearly white teeth. I could of sworn I saw a sparkle.
“What’s up with your hands, they’re wet?” Mia asked, disgusted. Abby stared down at her palms, dripping with sweat. She tried to answer, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. Her throat was as dry as a bone. Mia still looked confused. Abby gulped, swallowed her saliva, and formed the words on her tongue.
“Never mind these sweat bombs, the plan is set. Our battle plans are ready for action, as soon as we collect our weapons, our data.” Abby breathed a sigh of relief. Mia’s teeth sparkled as she gave Abby a thumbs up. Abby breathed heavily, but grinned back, with sparkles in her eyes. Mia gasped.
“Yup, the plan is set.” Both girls gave each other a fist bump.
Mr. Minske
Mia and Abby sat quietly in the waiting room, silently going over their plans in their head. It was Friday, tomorrow is moving day! It has to work, it just has to, Mia thought. Mia was dressed in a blue pantsuit, with a white blouse. She had on white heels and an orange clip in her hair. Abby actually brushed her hair and she wore dress pants with one of Mia’s polos.
Mia held the tape in her hand. Abby had sketched some diagrams of the diagrams that her dad had been working on. Mr. Fowler was an architect, and he loved his job. He always had a passion for drawing, and now he could use his skills to design buildings. Mrs. Fowler was a 3rd grade teacher at the local elementary school, so she didn’t work in the summer. She also wasn’t paid, so that was why the Fowler’s needed money right away. Mia and Abby didn’t want to move, for they’d have to leave their school, Edcastle Academy, and go to the public middle school.
Abby pulled on her blazer and bent down to tie her sneakers, but the she realized that she didn’t have sneakers! Mr. Minske’s secretary, Ms. Bushe, called the girls in. It’s go time! Abby thought.
As the girls entered Mr. Minske’s office, they realized why their father had never gotten along well with him. His oofficewas perfect, spotless, not one paper out of alignment! He had lists of workers that had been laid off, or fired. Mia spotted her Dad’s name, Michael Fowler.
“Good morning girls, how may I help you?” Mr. Minske smiled. Her had bright white teeth and a small gray mustache.
“Hello there, Sir, we have a business proposition, so to speak.” Mia spoke loudly, clearly, and with confidence, hoping Mr. Minske wouldn’t treat her like a child.
“I see. Well how will you show me? Charts, diagrams, videos, pictures, or getting down on your hands and knees and begging, you are a Fowler child after all.”
Mia felt offended by his rude comments, but pushed past it, nonetheless, for she was determined. “Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, and no sir,” she replied with an attitude. If he’s gonna treat me like a little girl, I’ll treat him like an old man.
He smiled. “Got some spunk, do we? Very well, show me.” Abby pulled open the projector and sheet, placing the tape inside. Mia put up the charts and diagrams on the left of the easel, and hung the pictures on the right. Mr. Minske’s expression changed from disinterested, to startled. Mia beamed.
Abby pressed play, and the presentation began. No longer did Mr. Minske think that he was perfect, but that the girls really had some strong evidence of why he should rehire their father.
The slide started with some videos of their father working really hard at some blueprints. “For one whole week Dad skipped dinner and breakfast to finish some plans for you,” Abby informed. The boss just nodded, like the work showed it.
“Dad also skipped going to see the Patriots play against the Giants in Foxboro just because he wanted to add more depth the his sketches! He loves the Patriots!” Mia exclaimed. Abby almost fell backwards. She’d never expect her sister to remember anything sports related, but then Abby remembered. Mia had an eidetic memory, so she never forgot anything!
At the end of the show. Mia and Abby focused on the charts, diagrams, and pictures. “Here are some of my copies of some of Dad’s blueprints in the past,” Abby inquired.
“And here are some pictures of our vacation,” Mia added. Mr. Minske shook his head.
“I don’t need to see some lousy pictures of Michael having fun-”
“Oh but he’s not! In fact, Dad brought his work on our vacation, and the day before we left, he worked late to gather his things and get as much done as possible. Dad was planning on telling you, but then you took a half day for lunch with your mom and you never even told-”
“Girls! I get the picture. Your father was one of my best workers. He always turned every blueprint in on time, he never forgot any work, and I guess he worked even when he wasn’t getting paid.” Mr. Minske was formal. He was sincere. He was-
“So what d’ya say? Give Dad his job back, or be a loser who has no good judgement.” Abby winked at Mia. That should turn him straight.
“I say, I say tell your dad, that he should report here tomorrow morning, at 8:00 sharp, any later and I’ll fire him!” He laughed.
“YES!!!” Both girls cheered. They hugged Mr. Minske, but quickly withdrew their hug, in fear of him changing his mind.
Unpacking
“It feels so good to unpack my closet and re-arrange everything! The Earth is back into orbit. My life is finally going somewhere again!” Mia paraded the hallway, carrying brown, empty boxes to the basement.
“I know right, although I never even packed anything, I wouldn’t know where to start!” Abby added, jokingly. “I guess my room is a pigsty!”
“You know, I could help you organize your room so that you would have some type of space for your daily exercises,” Mia said. That would help her and me! Abby smiled at her sister.
“That would be genuinely cool! But only if I get you into watching football!” Mia rolled her eyes. This was a tough deal. As much as she hated watching sports, she hated smelling Abby’s stench even more.
“Fine.” She replied. Abby hugged Mia. Mia hugged Abby. Mia plugged her nose and Abby gasped, too much perfume!
“Hey! Can I see your dream closet? I’d kinda like something that I could display my trophies on, and I want it in the closet form.” Abby turned red, but Mia just giggled.
“Dude, that would be so cool!” Both girls broke out laughing at Mia’s vocabulary choice. Just then Sarah came riding out on Brady’s back, meowing her head off. Brady barked a Great Dane bark.
“Hey Brady, we got a lady on our paws, be polite,” Abby smiled. Brady’s barking reply sounded like a “YES,” but the girls weren’t positive what he said.
“I’m sorry I called you a thug,” Mia apologized. Abby laughed.
“Me too,” Abby replied. “And by that I mean that I didn’t mean to call you a prissy princess!” Both girls smiled.
“I think we’ve got a real good friendship going here.” Mia side-hugged Abby.
“Me too.”
The End
Mia and Abby listened behind the corner where the kitchen and the hallway meet while Mr. and Mrs. Fowler argued. “Your stench is attaching to my cashmere sweater!” Mia exclaimed. She took a step away from her sister, looked down at Abby’s muddy shoes, and stepped further away.
But Abby wasn’t listening. She didn’t even know that Mia had stepped away from her, nor did she care. Abby was more concerned to what Mom and Dad were saying.
“How could you do that?” Mom was screaming in the kitchen at the top of her lungs. Abby cringed at the ear piercing yelps. Abby turned her head to look at her sister. Mia was picking dirt out from underneath her freshly painted parlour nails.
“Something’s wrong. Really wrong,” Abby whispered, teeth clenched. She stuck her head around the corner so that she could see into the kitchen. Dad was sitting down but Mom was up. Maybe Dad had told Mom something that he did and she got upset. Maybe both of them were both sitting but as soon as Mom heard something disturbing, she stood up, pushing the chair behind her.
“Why’d you say so?” Mia asked. She obviously didn’t hear Mrs. Fowler. Just then Mom’s ear piercing shrieks rang through both girl's ears. Mia covered her ears, and Abby noticed her scratch on the outer side of her hand. Abby grunted.
“What happened here?” Abby was hoping to hear that Sarah had scratched her, but Mia never replied. Mia was too concerned with her ears.
Mrs. Fowler was a sophisticated, mature, and quiet adult. She believed that everything could be said quietly. These were some of the reasons why Abby never saw eye-to-eye with her. When Mom yelled, there was trouble. Mr. Fowler, on the other hand, yelled even when he had a calm emotion. Nothing stopped him from sharing his thoughts (except his wife).
Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were two completely different people. They were nothing alike. Now why exactly were they married in the first place? They don’t know. That’s probably why they had two wonderful twin girls, who were opposites.
Mia was her mother’s daughter. She was prim, proper, and neat. Nothing met her standards, not even the Marines! And having Abby as a sister was torture for her.
Abby was the boy in the family, even though she wasn’t a boy. Abby loved playing soccer, running, and anything that had to do with sweating. Her dog, Brady, was a giant Golden Retriever. He was the same way as Abby. They both lived up in their own filth. Mia liked to call it, “the hole,” and solemnly swore to never enter.
“So what did Dad do this time?” Mia asked Abby. Abby shrugged.
“If I knew I would tell you.” Two seconds after she finished her sentence, Mrs. Fowler called the girls into the kitchen.
Mom had tears dripping down her cheeks and Dad looked forlorn. The warm, green kitchen tiles didn’t seem the same anymore. Abby pulled out a chair and plopped into it. Mia motioned for her father. He pulled out the chair for her and she sat down like a sophisticated first class lady on the Titanic.
“Girls, we have some unfortunate news. Don’t you remember our vacation we just took?” Abby thought back to when she was walking into Foxborough stadium. She imagined the announcer yelling “Please welcome, THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS!”
“Of course!” Abby exclaimed. “We stopped to watch a Patriots preseason game on the way home.” Abby could never forget anything about sports.
“Well yes, we did. And it was a lovely two weeks. But your father seemed to have forgotten some things. Our tooth brushes, sunscreen, the fact that he never told his boss about taking those two weeks off.” Both girls stopped breathing.
“You’re kidding, right? Dad’s been stupid, but not this stupid,” Abby said. Mr. Fowler looked offended by his daughter’s words. But then he shrugged in agreement.
“No, he’s been this stupid. He left without a care in the world and returned unemployed. Mr. Minske was not too thrilled by your father’s actions.” Mia felt like crying.
“Diane, how come you can’t just come out and say that I’m an idiot? That I had a major goof. I’m a complete failure. Why not?” Mia started sobbing.
“He did not!” Mia shrieked, tears rolling down her face. She made Abby jump. Mom wrapped Mia up in her arms. She stroked Mia’s silky blonde hair.
“Oh baby!” Dad cried. “It’s gonna be okay. I’ve already picked out the perfect apartment for the ‘Fowler Bunch’”. He kissed Mia on the head.
The stupid baby is just doing this for attention, Abby thought. She didn’t dare say it out loud, for Mom would just send her to her room.
“Daddy, this is not the Brady Bunch,” Mia sobbed. Mom pulled her in tighter.
Mr. Fowler had a huge obsessions over the 1970’s sitcom, The Brady Bunch. He started calling his family The Fowler Bunch, even though there were only four people in the family.
“I don’t want an apartment!” Mia and Abby both hollered simultaneously. We’d have to live in the same area, share the same closet space, the same air. I can’t do that! This is awful, Mia thought to herself. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler sighed and shrugged their shoulders.
“But Daddy,” Mia said, stroking her hands through her hair. “Abby and I can’t live together, we are two totally different types of species, even though we’re twins, and we just can’t live together, it’s just not right!” Mr. Fowler laughed under his breath, but then he went serious again.
“My hands are tied,” he frowned.
The Apartment
A few days after Mr. and Mrs. Fowler’s news, The Fowler Bunch went to look at the new apartment that Mr. Fowler had picked out.
As Mia and Abby entered their room-to-be, they both gasped at the sight of it.
“This is the size of my closet,” Abby said, scared. Mia shivered.
“Don’t you mean ‘the hole’?” she asked sarcastically. Abby huffed, blew up her bangs, and rolled her eyes. “And what’s worse, it’s br- br- br- br-”
“Just say it.”
“Brown!” Mia felt chills roll up her spine. Colors were very important in Mia’s life, and they set off her mood. She liked red in lipstick and on Valentine’s Day. She liked yellow in flip-flops and floppy hats. She liked blue in hair ties and balloons. And she liked pink in sunglasses, purses, crop-tops, and sneakers.
Mia liked orange in clips and socks. She liked green in shorts and pants. She liked purple fuzzy rugs, and she liked white in blouses, sandals, and jewelry.
But Mia hated, loathed, avoided, cursed, shunned, abhorred, detested brown! And having that color in her room was a dreadful thought. Her parents couldn’t afford a new paint job, they could barely afford the apartment!
In the room, there were two twin beds, bunk beds, with a brown duvet cover. There was one small closet in the corner, and a dresser on one side of the beds. That was it.
“Even the carpet is brown,” Abby exclaimed. “Well, I want the bottom bunk, who knows what’s going on up there on the ceiling,” Abby smirked. She then jumped on the bottom bunk. Mia scoffed. “Oh no you don’t,” and she pulled Abby off, brushed her skirt, and sat down politely. “This is my bunk!”
Both girls stared at each other. “WAR!” they exclaimed. Then both Mia and Abby started an intense Rock, Paper, and Scissors game. Mia played paper, although she preferred to call it stationary, and Abby chose rock. Mia smiled. “Mine,” she said teasingly.
Mia and Abby knew that they needed territory, a side of the room that they could do whatever they wanted with. “Pick a side,” Mia muttered.
“But we’ll make a neutral zone for the door, the closet, and our beds,” Abby agreed.
“Well I’ll get the closet, you can use the linen closet down the hall, I mean there is no way my angels can share a space with your rags!”
Mia was not only particular about colors, but she was meticulous when it came to clothing. Her sweaters, cardigans, dresses, blouses, crop-tops, and polos were hung on hangers in her closet, along with her dress pants. In her drawers, she neatly and efficiently folded her shorts, skirts, nightwear, socks, and underwear. Her shoes were given a whole section of her closet, for they were coded depending on their style. She set flats, sandals, and flip-flops along with slippers. She placed her sneakers, boots, and her orthopedic shoes aside separately. Mia also had special places for her dress shoes, her heels, and her wedges.
“Fine, as long as my jerseys get put on hangers.” Lucky for Mia, Abby didn’t care about the specific details that she cared so much about, so if she wanted something nice for herself, and bad for her sister, Abby wouldn’t mind. Mia nodded.
“Of course!” Mia exclaimed. She silently applauded herself. The one thing that both girls could agree on was separation!
Mia and Abby started thinking about where they would place their things. “Here I will put Sarah’s house, which includes her food, toys, and bed.” Mia said politely. Abby turned around.
“Oh no you don’t!” she announced, plotting. Abby walked over to an open space on the carpet and said, “Here is where Brady’s dog house will go. He’ll live with me!” Abby was on the verge of shouting. Mia placed her hands on her hips.
“Excuse me, but Brady is not staying, and even if he was, why would you put his dog house in here?” Mia was not prepared to have a reckless dog loose in her bedroom.
“Hello? We are in an apartment. No backyard for Brady,” Abby said defensively.
“Precisely the reason why Brady should go,” Mia said matter-of-factly.
“He should too!” Abby screamed.
“Should not!” Mia replied back, even louder.
“Should too!”
“Should not!”
“Should TOO!”
“Should NOT!”
“Whoah, whoah, whoah. Girls! What’s going on in here?” Mom came into the room startled by the argument.
Mia slowly waltzed over and stood next to Mom. “I know, Mother. But Abby has this far-fetched idea that Brady is going to live in HERE with Us!” Mia spoke softly, knowing loud noises spooked her mother.
“Oh you are such a kiss-up!” Abby said, completely annoyed. Mia stuck out her tongue quickly when her mother wasn’t looking.
“I am not!” Mia stamped her foot on the ground.
“Are too!”
“Am not!”
“Are TOO!”
Am NOT!”
“GIRLS!!! That’s enough! This apartment I’m afraid, does not allow pets,” Mrs. Fowler sighed. She frowned in knowing how Sarah and Brady were so important to her children.
“WHAT?” Both girls exclaimed.
“I’m so sorry,” Mom whispered. She wrapped both girls in a bear hug. Mia whimpered. Abby sighed.
The Plan
Mia sulked while she hulled the moving boxes into her bedroom. “Hugh,” she sighed. “I’m so sorry Sarah,” she spoke to her cat. “This is all happening too fast!” She decided to check on Abby’s packing process.
Mia took a deep breath, plugged her nose, and prepared to enter “the hole”. The stench was strong enough to make an average person faint after two minutes. Only Abby and Brady were immune to it all. A garbage truck smelled better than Abby’s room.
The door opened a tiny bit. So Mia wedged herself through the crack.
“Sup?” Abby asked. She was on her back doing curl-ups. She didn’t look ready to move in a week. Heck, she didn’t look ready to move in a year!
“You do realize that if we don’t have a plan, the we’re moving this Saturday?!” Abby nodded, but then when back to sitting up and down, up and down.
“It takes two seconds to shove things into boxes, I’m brainstorming. If only Dad could help, he’s working really hard on getting his job back, and-”
“That’s it!” Mia cheered. “We can’t beg Mr. Minske to give Dad his job back. Well we could, but it’s better if we SHOW him that Dad deserves his job back,” Mia was on a roll. Inside her head, the wheels were turning at the speed of light. Her bright blue eyes were bursting with excitement! She soon found herself jumping up and down and waving her hands frantically in the air, trying to catch her train of thought before it ran off the tracks.
“And how are we supposed to do that?” Abby asked, confused. Mia grinned her I’ve got a perfect plan grin.
“Just a little something I like to call documentation,” Mia replied with a smirk. Abby nodded in agreement.
“Right Mia, we just document everything that Dad has done for Mr. Minske, and he’ll just know that Dad was his best and hardest worker, and that he should rehire Dad immediately, or at least keep the money rolling.” Abby was almost as excited as Mia was. Her brain was spinning like thread on a spinning wheel, and she felt like Rumpelstiltskin, weaving the straw into gold, except the straw was her thoughts, and the gold was her genius plan. Her dark brown eyes sparkled like they never had done before, and Mia noticed. She felt her heart fill with some reassurance, and light all in one.
“Whoah.” Mia said. Her throat all of sudden became dry and her palms were sweaty. Did I just agree and BOND with ‘the thug’? But when Mia said it that time, her heart wasn’t in it.
“What? Whoah what?” Abby looked flabbergasted, and didn’t realize what had happened to her, and she never really would, until she had that same moment with Mia.
“So I was thinking…” and Abby shared all of the gold with Mia. She nodded and grinned. Nodded and grinned. Soon her grin grew into a smile. Abby stared at her sister’s pearly white teeth. I could of sworn I saw a sparkle.
“What’s up with your hands, they’re wet?” Mia asked, disgusted. Abby stared down at her palms, dripping with sweat. She tried to answer, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. Her throat was as dry as a bone. Mia still looked confused. Abby gulped, swallowed her saliva, and formed the words on her tongue.
“Never mind these sweat bombs, the plan is set. Our battle plans are ready for action, as soon as we collect our weapons, our data.” Abby breathed a sigh of relief. Mia’s teeth sparkled as she gave Abby a thumbs up. Abby breathed heavily, but grinned back, with sparkles in her eyes. Mia gasped.
“Yup, the plan is set.” Both girls gave each other a fist bump.
Mr. Minske
Mia and Abby sat quietly in the waiting room, silently going over their plans in their head. It was Friday, tomorrow is moving day! It has to work, it just has to, Mia thought. Mia was dressed in a blue pantsuit, with a white blouse. She had on white heels and an orange clip in her hair. Abby actually brushed her hair and she wore dress pants with one of Mia’s polos.
Mia held the tape in her hand. Abby had sketched some diagrams of the diagrams that her dad had been working on. Mr. Fowler was an architect, and he loved his job. He always had a passion for drawing, and now he could use his skills to design buildings. Mrs. Fowler was a 3rd grade teacher at the local elementary school, so she didn’t work in the summer. She also wasn’t paid, so that was why the Fowler’s needed money right away. Mia and Abby didn’t want to move, for they’d have to leave their school, Edcastle Academy, and go to the public middle school.
Abby pulled on her blazer and bent down to tie her sneakers, but the she realized that she didn’t have sneakers! Mr. Minske’s secretary, Ms. Bushe, called the girls in. It’s go time! Abby thought.
As the girls entered Mr. Minske’s office, they realized why their father had never gotten along well with him. His oofficewas perfect, spotless, not one paper out of alignment! He had lists of workers that had been laid off, or fired. Mia spotted her Dad’s name, Michael Fowler.
“Good morning girls, how may I help you?” Mr. Minske smiled. Her had bright white teeth and a small gray mustache.
“Hello there, Sir, we have a business proposition, so to speak.” Mia spoke loudly, clearly, and with confidence, hoping Mr. Minske wouldn’t treat her like a child.
“I see. Well how will you show me? Charts, diagrams, videos, pictures, or getting down on your hands and knees and begging, you are a Fowler child after all.”
Mia felt offended by his rude comments, but pushed past it, nonetheless, for she was determined. “Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, and no sir,” she replied with an attitude. If he’s gonna treat me like a little girl, I’ll treat him like an old man.
He smiled. “Got some spunk, do we? Very well, show me.” Abby pulled open the projector and sheet, placing the tape inside. Mia put up the charts and diagrams on the left of the easel, and hung the pictures on the right. Mr. Minske’s expression changed from disinterested, to startled. Mia beamed.
Abby pressed play, and the presentation began. No longer did Mr. Minske think that he was perfect, but that the girls really had some strong evidence of why he should rehire their father.
The slide started with some videos of their father working really hard at some blueprints. “For one whole week Dad skipped dinner and breakfast to finish some plans for you,” Abby informed. The boss just nodded, like the work showed it.
“Dad also skipped going to see the Patriots play against the Giants in Foxboro just because he wanted to add more depth the his sketches! He loves the Patriots!” Mia exclaimed. Abby almost fell backwards. She’d never expect her sister to remember anything sports related, but then Abby remembered. Mia had an eidetic memory, so she never forgot anything!
At the end of the show. Mia and Abby focused on the charts, diagrams, and pictures. “Here are some of my copies of some of Dad’s blueprints in the past,” Abby inquired.
“And here are some pictures of our vacation,” Mia added. Mr. Minske shook his head.
“I don’t need to see some lousy pictures of Michael having fun-”
“Oh but he’s not! In fact, Dad brought his work on our vacation, and the day before we left, he worked late to gather his things and get as much done as possible. Dad was planning on telling you, but then you took a half day for lunch with your mom and you never even told-”
“Girls! I get the picture. Your father was one of my best workers. He always turned every blueprint in on time, he never forgot any work, and I guess he worked even when he wasn’t getting paid.” Mr. Minske was formal. He was sincere. He was-
“So what d’ya say? Give Dad his job back, or be a loser who has no good judgement.” Abby winked at Mia. That should turn him straight.
“I say, I say tell your dad, that he should report here tomorrow morning, at 8:00 sharp, any later and I’ll fire him!” He laughed.
“YES!!!” Both girls cheered. They hugged Mr. Minske, but quickly withdrew their hug, in fear of him changing his mind.
Unpacking
“It feels so good to unpack my closet and re-arrange everything! The Earth is back into orbit. My life is finally going somewhere again!” Mia paraded the hallway, carrying brown, empty boxes to the basement.
“I know right, although I never even packed anything, I wouldn’t know where to start!” Abby added, jokingly. “I guess my room is a pigsty!”
“You know, I could help you organize your room so that you would have some type of space for your daily exercises,” Mia said. That would help her and me! Abby smiled at her sister.
“That would be genuinely cool! But only if I get you into watching football!” Mia rolled her eyes. This was a tough deal. As much as she hated watching sports, she hated smelling Abby’s stench even more.
“Fine.” She replied. Abby hugged Mia. Mia hugged Abby. Mia plugged her nose and Abby gasped, too much perfume!
“Hey! Can I see your dream closet? I’d kinda like something that I could display my trophies on, and I want it in the closet form.” Abby turned red, but Mia just giggled.
“Dude, that would be so cool!” Both girls broke out laughing at Mia’s vocabulary choice. Just then Sarah came riding out on Brady’s back, meowing her head off. Brady barked a Great Dane bark.
“Hey Brady, we got a lady on our paws, be polite,” Abby smiled. Brady’s barking reply sounded like a “YES,” but the girls weren’t positive what he said.
“I’m sorry I called you a thug,” Mia apologized. Abby laughed.
“Me too,” Abby replied. “And by that I mean that I didn’t mean to call you a prissy princess!” Both girls smiled.
“I think we’ve got a real good friendship going here.” Mia side-hugged Abby.
“Me too.”
The End
The Diary Of Grace Faith Williams
December, 1620
Dear Diary,
I am so scared. I have never been more scared in mine life! Father gave me this journal to help me with the transitions from Holland to the New World. We used to live there, even though I’m English. Mother and Father took us back to England to ask permission of King James to go to Jamestown in the New World. They wanted me to grow up with my English heritage but not be persecuted because we are Puritans. Luckily, King James said yes. We started out on the Speedwell but it had leaks so now we are on the Mayflower. It has almost been two months! It is so cramped! Some people are saying that we should turn back to England. A storm blew us off course so even if we do reach land, we won’t get to Jamestown. Almost all of mine hope is lost, but Reverend Thomas says that as long as we believe in God we will find our way. A man has already gone overboard, but the crew rescued him. After that we’re not allowed above deck. Being below deck is like being imprisoned. I should know. Before mine family moved to Holland, we were stuck in the Tower of London for one year. That was the last straw. We were having a secret meeting with fellow Puritans. King James sent his soldiers into our home. A member of the Church of England had heard us singing and turned us in. We were arrested for an unfair reason. After Queen Elizabeth had made the rule that everyone should be loyal to the Church of England, mine parents were persecuted. Then we were persecuted. If we hadn’t left we could have been executed. I wish we could have stayed in Holland. As long as we could practice our religion, there shouldn’t have been a problem. Speaking Dutch was fun. But Father said that no Dutch should be spoken on the Sabbath. I have broken it many times, but he lets it slip. It’s hard to communicate if you can’t speak the language. It’s getting late. My candle is going out. I must say goodbye.
-Grace Faith Williams
May, 1621
Dear Diary,
We struck land! I am so happy. It’s been awhile since I’ve written. The harsh winter is over. Sadly, most passengers have passed. Mother is no longer with us. But Father and I are officially moved into our new home. We’ve put our hardships behind us and moved on; sort of! On the Mayflower I met lots of new people. One of the girls I met was a lovely girl. Elizabeth Grace Hope was her name. It is quite funny that her middle name is my first name! Even though we are not in Jamestown, we are in a new settlement, Plymouth Colony. I also met a girl named Sarah Jane White. She is very kind. Sarah and Elizabeth and I love to have sewing circles It is much fun. They also assist me with the garden. It is quite tricky to tend to the garden, clean my home, cook all the meals, and find time to work on my embroidery. Nevertheless, it must get done. Time can pass quicker when Elizabeth and Sarah help. The Widow Smithens has told Father many times that he should marry soon. I think it is so amusing because she is trying to tell him something. Widow smithens has always shown an interest in Father’s personality and handsomeness. She has been looking for a husband. I would love to have more assistance, but I would have a new brother. Joseph Smithens. He is my age but he is a rotten boy! I met him on the Mayflower. He teased me the entire 66 days we were on the floating prison cell. Father is hungry. I must start supper.
Grace Faith Williams
November, 1621
Dear Diary,
Father has married. The Widow White is now called Goodwife Williams. The ceremony in July was quite sticky and warm. The indians Samoset and Squanto have come and brought the chief of the Wampanoag tribe Massasoit. Sarah Jane White Williams is now my sister and they live with us. We are having a three day Thanksgiving celebration. We have turkey, corn, quail, deer, fish and other delicious food. We have been saying prayers at the top of every hour to thank the Lord that we live another hour. I am still grieving of Mother’s passing, but that is God’s will. She is celebrating with us and the Lord. Tis almost time to pray again. I won’t need this to help with adjustments anymore. I shall bury this in thy ground.
The Lord is conceived
That I shall not grieve
Grace Faith Williams
Dear Diary,
I am so scared. I have never been more scared in mine life! Father gave me this journal to help me with the transitions from Holland to the New World. We used to live there, even though I’m English. Mother and Father took us back to England to ask permission of King James to go to Jamestown in the New World. They wanted me to grow up with my English heritage but not be persecuted because we are Puritans. Luckily, King James said yes. We started out on the Speedwell but it had leaks so now we are on the Mayflower. It has almost been two months! It is so cramped! Some people are saying that we should turn back to England. A storm blew us off course so even if we do reach land, we won’t get to Jamestown. Almost all of mine hope is lost, but Reverend Thomas says that as long as we believe in God we will find our way. A man has already gone overboard, but the crew rescued him. After that we’re not allowed above deck. Being below deck is like being imprisoned. I should know. Before mine family moved to Holland, we were stuck in the Tower of London for one year. That was the last straw. We were having a secret meeting with fellow Puritans. King James sent his soldiers into our home. A member of the Church of England had heard us singing and turned us in. We were arrested for an unfair reason. After Queen Elizabeth had made the rule that everyone should be loyal to the Church of England, mine parents were persecuted. Then we were persecuted. If we hadn’t left we could have been executed. I wish we could have stayed in Holland. As long as we could practice our religion, there shouldn’t have been a problem. Speaking Dutch was fun. But Father said that no Dutch should be spoken on the Sabbath. I have broken it many times, but he lets it slip. It’s hard to communicate if you can’t speak the language. It’s getting late. My candle is going out. I must say goodbye.
-Grace Faith Williams
May, 1621
Dear Diary,
We struck land! I am so happy. It’s been awhile since I’ve written. The harsh winter is over. Sadly, most passengers have passed. Mother is no longer with us. But Father and I are officially moved into our new home. We’ve put our hardships behind us and moved on; sort of! On the Mayflower I met lots of new people. One of the girls I met was a lovely girl. Elizabeth Grace Hope was her name. It is quite funny that her middle name is my first name! Even though we are not in Jamestown, we are in a new settlement, Plymouth Colony. I also met a girl named Sarah Jane White. She is very kind. Sarah and Elizabeth and I love to have sewing circles It is much fun. They also assist me with the garden. It is quite tricky to tend to the garden, clean my home, cook all the meals, and find time to work on my embroidery. Nevertheless, it must get done. Time can pass quicker when Elizabeth and Sarah help. The Widow Smithens has told Father many times that he should marry soon. I think it is so amusing because she is trying to tell him something. Widow smithens has always shown an interest in Father’s personality and handsomeness. She has been looking for a husband. I would love to have more assistance, but I would have a new brother. Joseph Smithens. He is my age but he is a rotten boy! I met him on the Mayflower. He teased me the entire 66 days we were on the floating prison cell. Father is hungry. I must start supper.
Grace Faith Williams
November, 1621
Dear Diary,
Father has married. The Widow White is now called Goodwife Williams. The ceremony in July was quite sticky and warm. The indians Samoset and Squanto have come and brought the chief of the Wampanoag tribe Massasoit. Sarah Jane White Williams is now my sister and they live with us. We are having a three day Thanksgiving celebration. We have turkey, corn, quail, deer, fish and other delicious food. We have been saying prayers at the top of every hour to thank the Lord that we live another hour. I am still grieving of Mother’s passing, but that is God’s will. She is celebrating with us and the Lord. Tis almost time to pray again. I won’t need this to help with adjustments anymore. I shall bury this in thy ground.
The Lord is conceived
That I shall not grieve
Grace Faith Williams
Carbon Monoxide Infestation
“Sniff, sniff! What’s that smell?” My mother lifted her nose into the air. I raised my nose (in a similar way to what she had done) and inhaled deeply. My nose picked up this smoky smell that was disgustingly burnt!
“Smells’ like something is on fire!” My voice squeaked. Thinking of something being on fire is horrific! Running out of the house to the mailbox as I watch everything that I own burn to ash. Orange and red flames lighting up the house and black, grey smoke filling the sky.
“I agree. Let me go check the furnace downstairs in the basement,” Mama said boldly. The basement was dark and scary, with the furnace always roaring awake and then dying out again until the next time that I walk down there. At least my father’s mancave is. ‘Barbie World’ was bright pink and purple and rainbows were everywhere!
“Thud, thud, thud…” Mama’s footsteps stopped probably midway through the staircase. I slid over to the basement door with my socks. At the bottom of the staircase there was a thick, grayish-white cloud of smoke! The scents of smoky burt things hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Is the basement on fire?” My voice trembled as I spoke. Mama finished descending the staircase and turned into ‘the mancave’.
“Nope! But there is some gas in the air.” Mama sounded sure of herself. I could feel my stomach tighten and twist and almost leap out of me.
This just couldn’t happen to me! Not now and hopefully never. My house was just burglarized and now there was some gas that I don’t even know if it is toxic that I am inhaling every second. If this is toxic, then this is the end for me and if it isn’t toxic, then there must be something wrong with the furnace.
Mama stared at the basement door that she had left ajar, then slammed it with as much force as a boxer's punch. Almost like if the door was shut tight enough, the chemical in the air would evaporate.
My thoughts were so twisted with confusion that the only thing I could think to do was to gather all of the valuables of my family (basically my stuffed animals). I told Mama my plan and she agreed.
“I will call your father, he might know what this is all about. Maybe the furnace is supposed to be like this but we just noticed it now.” But what if it isn’t?
Once all of the stuffed animals were in my lap, I fell to the floor of my parents bedroom, exhausted. I wonder what Daddy will say? Is this gas even toxic?
The questions were just too much to handle! So after all of my thoughts cleared, I drifted off to sleep.
My mind became full to the brim with peaceful thoughts. I thought of yellow; the bright, vibrant color of the sun. About Woobie; the way er soft, pink fur touched my face when I held her close. All of my fun memories with her, like the time when we played Wabbit Hide-and-Go-Seek. All of my fun memories of vacations and family time. The world itself with peace. No dangerous gasses or robberies. No wars or violence. A world where every child has a home. No endangered species. The end of starvation. A world where pain is a myth and no one ever raises their voice. Where happiness is all that is ever known. Global warming has vanished along with all of the pollution and John Lennon’s song “Imagine” is the world’s anthem. That’ll be the day. My eyelids were so heavy, so droopy that I couldn’t even stay awake while sitting up. My energy was gone and all that was left was my helpless, weak body. I couldn’t get up again. Not in a world like this.
“Grace! Let’s go! Come on! Before it’s too late!” My mother’s shrieks startled me awake. I gathered what was left of my energy to stand. I quickly ran down the stairs to see Mama standing there waiting for me.
“What is going on?” My voice sounded so weak I was humiliated to let Mama hear me.
“The house has been infected with a toxic gas called Carbon Monoxide.” Whoah! Wait a minute! Back up! So the house has some toxic gas in it and Mama and I have been breathing it for who knows how long?
“Will we be okay?” Mama nodded. At that moment, the huge knot in my stomach start to loosen and a sigh of relief swept over me.
“Then we were lucky,” I said calmly. Mama hugged me so tight I thought she was going to suffocate me, but I knew she never would. She loved me too much to do that.
“Yes Gracie. We were lucky.” Now my dream is almost complete, everything will be okay and I am safe. That is all I could ask for.