The Thief in the Treehouse - Short Story

The Treehouse

 The next day after school, the trio met up at Roxy's treehouse an hour before Aisling would be there. They straightened up the place to make it somewhat pleasant for their guest. Even though she might be a threat, they knew they should still show respect and stay on her good side as much as possible. They fixed rugs, took out the trash, unfolded a table to draw on, and put some cushions around it for seating. It was ready.

In what felt like around fifteen minutes later, Aisling arrived, knocking on the gate on the fence surrounding Roxy's backyard. Caleb quickly climbed down from the treehouse and greeted her. "Hey! Ready to work on the poster?"

Aisling did not return the grin Caleb forced himself to wear. "Yes," she replied with a plain tone.

Caleb led the girl up to the treehouse where Leah had spread out the cardstock and Caleb's vast collection of art supplies he'd brought over onto the foldable table. Roxy, meanwhile, was licking a popsicle, far from the paper so it wouldn't get ruined.

The group discussed their ideas for the poster. They'd settled on drawing all of their classmates, along with Mr. Raven in the middle, in front of a colorful backdrop. The words, Mr. Raven's Class, 23-24, would be written above.

Everyone thought the design was perfect, even Aisling, but Leah couldn't help but wonder if the girl really agreed. She studied Aisling's vacant face. Could she be thinking about something else? Like how she could ruin this for us? Leah asked herself. She managed to swallow her fear and watched Caleb draw.

Caleb was an exceptional artist; it all came naturally to him. Group Two was very fortunate to have someone as talented as him on their team. In those two hours spent in the treehouse, he had managed to finish sketching their entire class. Aisling suggested that he incorporate one detail about every person that was unique to them in the drawing, like the chain Greg always wore around his neck. Caleb and the others liked the sound of that and grinned at Aisling. Aisling did not smile back, but the trio knew that she had acknowledged them and was saying, "You're welcome."

Roxy managed to center the title perfectly, which made the group very pleased. Roxy had a talent for designing, measuring, and math; she was the one who had designed their beloved treehouse after all. Though many people thought it was childish for soon-to-be-middle schoolers to hang out in a treehouse, that was what made it all the more special to them. They could be younger there, free.

Everyone decided they'd done enough work for the day and agreed to pick up on the final touches to the sketch on the next. Leah asked Roxy if she could play with Roxy's dog, Major, until it was time to leave, which was half an hour from then.

"Of course! Major! Here, boy!" Roxy called. In a split second, Major bolted around the house, crashed through the fence gate, and zoomed over to tackle Roxy in a sort of excitedly aggressive dog hug. Leah loved dogs with all her heart, and it was special that she was allowed to play with Major so often. Leah's family could not possibly own a dog (especially one as large and wild as Major) with the kind of furniture they had in their house. Also, with Leah being an only child and her parents being gone for most of the day, the dog would be alone and might get into trouble. Roxy handed Leah Major's favorite toy, and Leah began to throw it across the yard in a game of fetch.

Aisling, meanwhile, was on the other side of the yard, talking to Caleb from a polite distance.

"Your art is amazing!" Aisling commented, watching as Major dove after the toy. "How do you do it?"

Caleb shrugged. "I taught myself, I guess. Not to brag or anything. Do you have any talents?" he asked curiously.

Aisling's blue eyes slightly lit up. "I'm really good at acrobatics!"

"Show me!" Caleb replied with a smile on his face. That one was genuine.

Aisling, of course, did not return the smile. She hesitated at Caleb's request for a moment before complying. Standing up, she began to tumble around the yard in many graceful flips. It looked as if she were weightless, flying. She'd clearly been practicing for years.

Her form was flawless, and the girls paused to admire her from across the yard.

After she was finished, Aisling walked back over and sat next to Caleb. "If only Roxy had a trampoline..." she mumbled to herself. She still kept her distance from Caleb timidly, and the queasy, what's-she-gonna-do feeling came back to him once he'd noticed it.

After sitting in an awkward silence, the two heard Aisling's phone vibrate in her bag. Aisling jumped and fumbled with her bag, hastily reaching inside and grabbing it. "It's my mom. I think it's time for me to leave now."

"Oh, okay. Would you like me to get your water bottle for you? I think you left it in the treehouse," Caleb offered, trying to hide the distressed tone in his voice. Despite this pleasant first encounter, he still couldn't trust Aisling in the treehouse by herself.

"No, thanks. I'll get it," Aisling replied before answering her mom, muttering a few hushed words into the speaker as she started striding toward the tree.

"No, I insist-" Caleb said, faking a kind laugh, but it was too late. Aisling was already up on the platform of the treehouse. Caleb stood up and dashed toward Leah and Roxy, who were still gleefully playing with Major. He looked at the treehouse and felt a little nauseated. Maybe he was a drama queen, but the simple fact was that no one aside from the trio had been in the treehouse without consent before.

"What's wrong, Caleb? Where's Aisling?" Roxy asked, directing Major to sit next to her. His tail wagged and made a rustling noise as it brushed against the grass. He was also panting like crazy, clearly tired out, but happy.

Caleb pointed to the treehouse. "'Getting her water bottle,' and talking to her mom."

The blood rushed from girls' faces that instant, leaving them pale as ghosts. "No, no, no! We have to-"

Leah was cut off by Aisling running over to them. "Is everything alright?" she asked, her face slightly flushed from her little trip.

"Y-yeah, everything's fine," Leah replied shakily, offering a wobbly smile.

"I should be going now. Thank you for having me here!" said Aisling. Roxy noticed that she actually sounded genuine, but she definitely did not show it.

"Bye!" the three replied. They were faking the kindness in their voices.

Aisling disappeared behind the fence and the trio waited for a few seconds until she would be unable to hear them.

"We should probably go check on the-" A voice coming from the house cut off Caleb's words.

"Hey, Leah, Caleb, your parents are here to walk you home!" Roxy's mom called. "Roxy, come inside, too!"

Roxy sighed. "We'll check it out tomorrow."

"We're coming, Mrs. Brown!" Leah replied, not wanting to keep the sweet woman waiting. "I sure hope Aisling didn't do anything to the project, or worse!" she then said to both Roxy and Caleb.

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Word Count: 1212