"BETH!" Beth Malloy sat in her room, halfway through reading the book, The Sixth Sense, when the sound of her sister, Eddie, calling her rang through their house. "Coming," Beth chirped, pulling her wavy, honey-blond hair into a ponytail. She leapt down the steps, and she entered her family's living room. "What's up?" She asked. "Well," her mother started, but Beth's other sister, Caroline, interrupted, "We're going back, Beth! You know, home! We're going to visit this week! I love the summer. And we're gonna see the boys! What should we plan this time?"
Beth knew that by "the boys", Caroline meant the Hatfords: Jake, Josh, Wally, and Peter. Beth still had mixed feelings toward Josh. They had had a sort of Romeo-Juliet relationship; their siblings had been rivals ever since they had met. But with his big, blue eyes… Beth shook the thought out of her head. The Hatfords were for pranking. Not dating.
"Not now, Caroline," 14-year-old Eddie hissed. Their mother looked skeptical. "Plan? I thought you girls were over that…" "Oh," Beth piped up, "We are! She means to plan… a new recipe of cookies for Peter!" "Oh?" Her mother asked. "And what might that be?" "Um," Caroline put in, "We're not sure. That's why we're planning it."
After the girls were up in Eddie's room, they began to talk. "I can't wait to see the darling Bensons again," 11-year-old Caroline-the drama queen- told her sisters. She turned to 13-year-old Beth. "Cute little Peter-he's nine now, I believe- he emailed me a picture of the guys." She raised one eyebrow. "Josh has grown his hair out to his ears, and he looks hot." Eddie rolled her eyes. "Really, Caroline?" "No, I'm serious," Caroline continued. "And Wally has lost weight, and he has a deep tan and a buzz-cut." She shrugged. "I may even choose him to be my love interest again."
Eddie rolled her eyes again. "Wow, Caroline." She tugged her shoulder-length, blonde hair out of her ponytail, and she started getting into her pajamas. "We should start packing, now." She chucked aqua-blue duffel to Beth, and violet-colored duffel to Caroline, leaving a red one for herself. "Let's get started. We leave tomorrow at 7:00."
"We're almost there, we're almost there," Caroline chorused over and over. She couldn't believe that her sisters weren't this excited. She was practically bouncing out of her seat; whereas Beth was reading-again-and Eddie was tossing a baseball between her two hands. "Ooh, look," She chirped, "WE'RE HERE!" Since Caroline's mother was friends with Mrs. Hatford, they were letting the family stay in their upstairs room-"Just the perfect spot for the guys to prank us, so beware", Eddie had told the girls-and Caroline was thrilled.
As soon as the car was parked, Caroline leapt out of the car. "WOO! WE'RE HERE!" "Caroline," Beth complained, "Come get your luggage!" Caroline reluctantly picked up her bag, and she ran to the Hatford's yard.
She knocked at the door, and the guys' parents were there first. "Hello, Mr. Hatford; Hello, Mr. Hatford," Caroline said sweetly. "Thank you very much for letting us stay with you." "Oh, Honey, you're very welcome." Caroline's family slowly followed her up to the door. "Oh, it's been so long!" The adults started talking and catching up. "Oh, and girls, the boys are in the kitchen. Go right in." With Caroline leading the way, the girls walked in.
"Oh, look. It's the Whomper, the Weirdo, and the Crazy." Jake chuckled, remembering their nicknames for the girls. "Haven't seen you in a while." He'd grown about six inches taller, and his arms had little muscles from playing softball so much. "Oh, look," Eddie said sarcastically. "It's you." Jake's twin, Josh, looked over at Beth, and he blushed. Caroline marched over, grabbed, the notebook that Josh always drew in, and took a peek. "Oh, look. It's us."