When I get back from playing with Jewel, I walk inside. Right away, I see the door to my room, slightly ajar. I know I closed it. I closed it partly because I wanted to seem secretive, and partly because I didn't really want him to see the journal entry. I wonder if Kyle did it. The possibility never occurred to me.
I walk into my room, not knowing what to expect. I first head straight for the beanbag. The journal is still splayed, face down, but I feel like something's different. Maybe it is just my imagination... but I check to be sure. I pick it up gently, by the spine. Yes! I see the crease of the pages where it was originally dropped, and then I see the bolder, newer creases left by whoever read it.
I look over too the spy poster, half expecting the purple water dragon to be removed, or pulled away from the wall. But no, all is right there. I walk over to it, and pull it away from the wall. There is a note! It read: "Hi Amber, This is aunt Dawn." My hopes were crushed. So it was her? I decide to read the rest, and see what she says. "I see that you found the little spy hole! I saw John in here earlier, and shooed him out. Please check that none of your stuff is amiss. I seem to recall he was holding a notebook. Oh, and if you see him, please tell him that I wish to speak with him. Snacks are in the kitchen if you are hungry and can't find me. Bye Love, Aunt Dawn."
YES YES YES YES YES!!!!! So he did pick it up! He even read it! YES!! I run outside and immediately bump into John. We both turn equally bright shades of red. Now that we both know we like each other...
WAIT!
He doesn't know that I know that he knows that I like him! For that matter, he doesn't know I know that he likes me! All I manage to say is, "Aunt Dawn wants you." He turns even more red. "I, uh, found a note in the hole between the posters that says she wants to talk to you... among other things." I add, for mysteriousness.
"Oh, um, OK. I will do that. Do you know where she is?" He asked, clearly wanting to get it over with.
"No..." I say, then as he turns away I add, "But I can help you look." Darn it! that just makes him even more nervous.
"O-o.k." he says, stuttering over the O, which I've never seen him do before. Am I that scary? I wonder. I guess I must have looked horrified, cause he immediately offered,
"You don't have too help if you don't want to." That wasn't what I meant! I think, as loud as I can in his direction.
"Nope, I am perfectly fine with helping you find my aunt. She must be here somewhere, right?" I declare, grabbing his arm and leading him too the kitchen.
"Where are we going?" He asked, catching up.
"The kitchen. In her note she said there was snacks in the kitchen. And who leaves a snack without a note?" I reason. We head to the kitchen in more companionable silence. When we get there, there is trail mix in a bowl on the counter, and, just as i predicted, a note.
Dear children,
I am hidden somewhere on the grounds. I want teams of 2 too come and find me. Whoever gets there first wins. Out of bounds include: Outside the campgrounds, The treehouse, And the places where actual customers are camping. I have included space for you all to sign your names. You are not allowed to tell the other kids that you have seen this note, or that I am missing. Please sign your names in your teams, and everyone else will sign after. If you are alone, and there is only 1 person left, you may go find them. If you are already here in a pair, that is your group. Good luck!
Aunt Dawn
I looked over at John. This was my team. I grabbed a pen, and 2 large ziploc bags. I signed my name at the bottom of the paper
Amber Ray Jordan
John grabbed the pen, and signed his name next to mine.
Amber Ray Jordan John Moore
I filled the two large ziploc bags with trail mix, and stuck them in a convenient tote bag. I smiled at him, and we headed out the door together.
((a hastily written Journal entry, with some watermarks- tears?))
ok so this is gonna be quick. I don't have much time, and the situation is dire. Aunt Dawn is missing, for real. That whole scavenger hunt thing, that was a fake. We went out to look for Aunt Dawn, John and I, and we found clues, just like she said we would. But hidden inside the clues was more information. So apparently there is a group of evil magic users out there, and they have a master all their own. Thinking about it now, I should have known there would be some sort of evil group out there. So these people want to rule the world. Of course they do. All evil villains want to rule the world. But see, in order to rule the world, they have to get rid of the other magic users that want to stop them. So naturally, they're targeting the master. Who happens to be my mother. So they actually kidnapped Aunt Dawn, and they're demanding my mom hand over... something. That last message wasn't too clear. Besides, I'm sure it's something magicky i wouldn't know about. Kyle of course was upset he had to partner with Anabelle for the scavenger hunt (I totally would have, it's just that John was already there at the time...) and finding out that Dawn was gone was a huge shocker. Anabelle is devastated. Her room is across from mine, and I could hear her crying from inside my closet. What was i doing in my closet? Trying not to cry. I know it's not like she's dead, but I'm scared for her. She's been so kind to me, I can't believe she was ever NOT a part of my life! I'm sure the rest of my family, even John, feel the same way. Anyway, we're gonna get her back, and NOTHING is gonna stop us!
I close my journal with a decisive snap. I head across the hallway to check on Annie. I knock softly. "Hey, are you OK in there?" I ask.
"I'm fine," she sniffles. I open the door quietly, and I see her lying face up on her bed. Her hair is flopped out around her like a giant lion's mane. Her beautiful eyes are clouded and red from tears. "Hey," I say softly, sitting down next to her. "It's ok. We're gonna get Aunt Dawn back. It might take a little bit, but we'll have her back safe and sound." I say, wondering if I was comforting her or me. She reaches up and puts her hands around my waist. she hugs me, and her tears flow onto my shirt. but I don't care, because this is my little sister, and I hate to see her cry. I pat her shoulders, pet her hair, anything to make her feel better, stop crying. A little jingle sounds in the hallway, and then Jewel pushes the door open. For the first time, I realize she doesn't like it when people cry either. She hops into Annie's lap, rubbing her head on Anabelle's wet face. Anabelle lets go of me, and hugs Jewel. Jewel just purrs and purrs, while I reach over and hug them both. This is my family, and I will protect them. Others may protect me, but I want to protect them.
______________________
Kyle's POV
John and I sit outside. My face is burning, probably because I should've put sunblock on. I've seen the lobster monsters my sisters and brothers turn into. But I stubbornly sit outside, because I can't go inside. Amber, Anabelle, and Jewel are all sitting in Anabelle's room, crying together. Well, not the cat dragon so much, but you know what I mean. My mom is sitting in the living room, with her "I'm thinking and being master face" on full throttle. I turn to John. "Was it you or her that figured it out first?" I asked, wondering once again if they were ever gonna figure out they liked each other.
"oh, well, we just kinda, built off what the other one said." he said nervously, trying to avoid my "older brother mode". Honestly, I would kinda like it if they'd just come out already. It's weird having that crush energy around all the time. I think Amber would totally tell him, but something's holding her back. Anyway, back to my current situation.
"So you worked together. Good for you guys. Anabelle pretty much walked around looking at all the "pretty flowers" and I actually searched for clues. But really, she pointed the thing out that made everything click for me. So I guess you could say we worked together". I said grudgingly. "So John. You gonna tell her?" I pressured him.
"Um... I don't think now's the best time. We just found out that her Great Aunt's missing. Do I really want to add more confusing and conflicting emotions into her life?" He reasons with me. I nod and smile and give him a look that I give him pretty often now. It's my, "come on I know you like my sister why don't you just tell her already?" look. He sighs. "Stop making that face Kyle!" he says huffily. He knows exactly what that face means.
