A Family Affair (Hunter Street)

Chapter Four -- A Split Experience

EVERYTHING WAS SILENT. No one had said a word in five minutes, not after they read the note that was uncovered only by the black light machine that Daniel had borrowed from the police station. Not even the house was making a single noise, like it was waiting, too, for the answers to the riddle. If they had given her just a little bit of time, Jennie was sure she could have come up with something to see the message on the note, like a black light flashlight, but there was no waiting with Anika, not when it came to adventures and treasure hunts. Besides, her mind was still stuck on Josh for her to even be thinking about that right now. 

The lights suddenly flickered back on, and a ruckus of gasps and squeals erupted around her. Jennie had to blink a few times because of all the stars that appeared in her vision from the sudden appearance of light after it was so dark for the black light machine to work. When the stars finally disappeared from her line of sight, she nearly cursed under her breath when she saw Erik, Kate, and Dottie all standing in the entranceway to the living room, all wearing varying shades of bemused expressions. She quickly flicked the blanket over the black light machine before any of them saw it.

"Wow, you all invited everyone you know to come here, didn't you?" Erik asked with a small smile on his face as he gazed out at everyone in the living room. 

Jennie glanced at Jasmyn and Oliver, who she was sitting in between on the couch facing the entranceway. Evie was wedged between the arm of the couch and Jasmyn with them while Anika, Sal, the blonde girl named Sophie, and Tess sat on the opposite couch together. Max and Jake both stole the chairs and were turned almost 180 degrees around to face their parents. Daniel stood by the coffee table, hovering above the black light machine, while Florian sat on the ground in front of Anika's legs. Jennie was sure that all twelve of them had horrified looks on their faces because she felt the temperature drop in the room.

"Yeah. Yeah," Jake said enthusiastically. He nodded before shooting a quick look at everyone behind him. Jennie began nodding, too, forcing a smile on her face. "That's exactly right. We wanted the old friends, like Sophie, to meet the new friends, like Florian and Jasmyn and Oliver. Right, guys?"

"Right!" Evie said, backing Jake up. He shot her a grateful grin. "Though I know everyone here," she added as an afterthought. Jasmyn slightly kicked her leg, so Evie quickly continued, "But Max and Tess don't know everyone here. That's why we invited everyone. And Sophie also doesn't know everyone. This whole thing's more for them than for me."

"Well," Kate said, clapping once, "who's hungry?"

For the second time in their lives, the Hunter kids were silent. Jennie did a glance around the room to see them looking at each other, probably wondering what they should do. She had to act fast if she wanted them to leave the group of teenagers (and Daniel and Sophie as they were not teenagers anymore) alone. Hopping up from her spot on the couch, she said, "I have a thought," she said, hating the feeling of eyes on her. "Why don't the three of you go get us lunch?"

"Um, why would we do that?" Dottie said, sounding grumpy. Jennie knew that Oliver's mom was a very weird person, and they never knew which Dottie they would get. "There's almost a thousand of you in here. That would cost a lot of money. Plus, the food you guys eat isn't good, unlike the food I make. Besides, it's closer to dinner than lunch."

Jennie glanced at the grandfather clock that stood menacingly in the corner of the living room and gasped in surprise. She had no idea when it had gotten this late in the day. She spent most of the morning hanging out with Josh in the library and all the way here after he had upset her with his jokes. It did take Daniel a while to get here, yes, but she couldn't believe that the time had gone that fast.

"Mom," Oliver said, groaning. "Please? We'll all pitch in when you guys get back home. I promise."

"That sounds like a great idea," Erik said, smiling between Jennie and Oliver. She quickly smiled at him so that he wouldn't see the scared look on her face. "I have some errands to run anyway that I forgot to make earlier, and Kate and Dottie can come with me."