Tales from the Vault

The Insulted Angelina, Part 1

This story is the prequel to the story I just posted, Amber and the Mainsions. Again, I was 9 or 10. Probably pushing ten.

I pulled it out the other day and fell off the couch laughing.

I always kept my stories secret, except this one I actually read out loud to my mom and she suggested the title.

Believe it or not, these stories are actually great memories to me but that doesn't mean I can't make fun of them as well.
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Chapter 1: A letter

One January 2, my last day off before school, I got a letter.

My name is Amber Susan Night. You know that I live in Apple Brook and that I have 2o brothers and sisters, so I don't have to explain anything.

(I usually started these stories with a canned intro, Babysitter's Club—style, but by this point I'd thrown the towel in. "Screw it, just slap two sentences in there.")

Mom set me to the post office because she was expecting a letter from my uncle. But instead I got one from Angelina Leida, who was my friend when we lived in Car City for a year. The letter said,

(here I wrote in flourishing cursive that is better than my cursive today because I only remember how to do like nine letters and six of them are in my name)

Dear Amber,
I miss you so much. Although you just moved last month, it seems like an eternity. I am enclosing my favorite seashell for your collection. Please except my gratitude for being my friend in the brief time you lived here.
Love, your best friend,
Angelina Leida

"Were'd she get the idea we were best friends?" I wonderd out loud.

My sisters Lydia, Kit, and Rosie ran up. Sara followed them. (Sara was a recurring side character in multiple series.) "It's our last day before school starts," she said. "Wanna play in the treehouse? Everyone else is down there."

"All right." I zipped up my jacket.

"What did you do for your book report?" Sara asked.

I had done my Addy book. Lydia had done the incredible journey. Rosie had done a biography of Thomas Edison and Kit's was a book of dog stories.

When we all went through my front door, Rosie was jumping around. "Oh, Amber Susan!" she cried—

Pause. There are so many things wrong here. First of all, they talk about going to the treehouse, then proceed to walk through the front door and go inside Amber's home. And I just mentioned Rosie walking down the road with them, so why is she now here, greeting them at the door with news like she had been away from them?

Also, my doll Amber was named after two different people so for awhile I tried to call her Amber Susan. It dropped very quickly. Like, by the next book.

Anyway—

"Oh, Amber Susan!" she cried. "Angelina's going to come on Friday and stay till Tuesday!"

"What?" I cried.

"Aren't you excited?" Rosie asked hopefully.

"Of course!" I said. "But why would she want to come here?"

Excellent question. And this wouldn't be a Tale from the Vault if the answer made any sense, now, would it?

"Hope thought it would be a good experience for her to play outside a few days." Here I forgot dialogue tags, but I think it was the mom talking. Also, how in the world did they receive this information while Amber was away on an errand? They don't have a phone. How far away was that post office?