Chapter #1: Prologue
Muse. That was my name now. Muse. A few months ago, the best day of my life occurred. My friends and I, The Goonies, had gone on a wild journey to find One-Eyed Willy's treasure in order to save the Goon Docks. We nearly lost our homes, but I had saved us. I had managed to get some jewels before the ship set sail. If I hadn't have spoke out after 8 years of silence, I wouldn't be here. I'd be somewhere in Detroit with my adoptive brother and parents.
I no longer spend my days as silent as a snake ready for the kill. No, I sing like a canary every chance I get. I guess that's how this whole journey began. One minute, us Goonies were headed to Mikey's Uncle's lakehouse, the next, we were all headed down an old trail in the deep, dark, forest. But hey, all the adventures always came to us. The Goonies. And we took them every chance we got.
It all started when I began to hear noises in the middle of the night. I don't know why I had ever said anything; anything like these adventures always led us down the trail towards death. Somehow, though, we always seemed to make it out unharmed by death and his cruel ways.
Maybe I should tell you how this all started.
It was the end of the school year already, a few months after our little One-Eyed Willy adventure. I was standing by my locker, cleaning out the rest of my folders and papers. I was in no hurry. It was already raining out, and most of the people had already left. Only Data and a few others were there still.
I watched as the still-new-girl, Dana, cleaned out her locker next to mine. She didn't talk to me a lot, mostly because she seemed shy and nervous. And whenever I tried to talk to her, she was always hidden behind that curtain of dark brown hair, which was as dark as mine. Seeing as she was still new and didn't have many friends yet, I decided to talk to her.
" Hi...are you Dana? Dana Meeker?" I asked. She looked up. Her eyes were a rich and creamy colored grey, a lovely shade. She nodded and said," That's the name. But, everybody calls me brains."
" Oh, ok...well, I'm Alexandra, but everyone calls me Muse," I shrugged. She nodded.
" Where did you live before here?" I asked.
" I lived in Chicago. I was the smartest of my class," she gloated.
" That's cool. My adoptive brother, Data, is really smart, too," I said. She smiled. I was beginning to like Dana. Well, Brains. In a flash, someone, who was running towards me, crashed into Brains and caused her to drop her books. " Data," I said, a bit annoyed.
" Oh, sorry," Data replied, getting down onto his knees and helping Dana pick up her books. " Who are you?" Data asked.
" Dana Meeker. But, everyone calls me Brains," Dana mumbled, not meeting his eyes. I guess she got nervous around boys.
" Well, it was nice meeting you, Dana. I'm going to stop at home and then meet you at the arcade. Kay?" I asked. Data nodded.
" Can-can I maybe come?" Dana asked nervously. I smiled. She sounded a bit like me when I was just coming out of my shell. " Sure," Data said, smiling.
He gathered the rest of her books and helped her up. After he handed them to her, he said," I can lead you to the arcade, if you'd like."
She nodded and said," I'd like that."
They began to head out, but not before I said," Hey! Where's Snow?" Snow, or Winter Charmichael, Andy's baby sister, was one of my friends. We met after the adventure. We had both been at Mikey's house with Andy and Data, and we just kind of clicked together. She was like the sister I'd never had.
" Snow already left. She said she had the Muraniis," Data said the last part confused. That was our code name for tapes. Cassette tapes, I mean. We always listened to rock music like Iron Maiden and Bon Jovi. Yes, I like Iron Maiden shockingly.
Data pulled a lever on his jacket, and a pop-up umbrella popped up over his head. " Moveable Water Spout!" Data exclaimed. Data and his funky invention names...
Him and Dana left out of the school doors towards the arcade, after Dana shut her locker and gathered the last of her books. I picked out the last of the papers and books, and shut my locker door.
The rain was pouring down as fast as lightning, and I sighed. Great, just great...the beginning of summer and this is what I get...just great...
I ran out into the rain and down the street. I'd have to be quick to get back home. I finally arrived back at the house. When I walked in, no one was there, like always.
I ran up to my room and changed into new clothes. I pulled on light jeans with a simple T-shirt. I wasn't all girly, since I wasn't all preppy and all. I slung my shoulder bag over my shoulder and headed back outside after slipping on my rain coat.
The rain was beginning to settle down, making it easier to see what was in front of you. I got to the arcade in a matter of 5 minutes, and everyone but Brand, Stef, and Andy were there.
Chunk was playing Pacman while Mouth and Dana were playing Super Mario Bros. Data was playing Pole Position while Mikey was next to him playing Tempest. Snow was sitting at the table, waiting for me to arrive. She was wearing dark colors, like always. She disliked girly things like I did. I tapped her shoulder and she turned around. " Hey Muse," she said.
" Hey Snow. Wanna play pinball?" I asked. I noticed she was listening to Flight of Icarus by Iron Maiden. One of my favorites. " Sure," Snow replied, getting up with her cassette player still in hand. I played the KISS pinball machine and Snow played the IRON MAIDEN game.
I heard the arcade door open and Brand, Stef, and Andy walked in. Snow rolled her eyes towards Andy. They were rivals. One was girly, while the other was more tom-boy.
I finished my game and waited for Snow to finish. While waiting, I slipped off my rain coat. Brand sat down at our table with Stef and Andy. The arcade was our hangout, anyways. Ever since we became millionaires with the jewels, we had a new hangout. Yes, we were rich. But, we didn't change. Why would you change just because you came across money? We all had split it up, and we were able to fix all of the problems we had, like late and unpaid bills (for our parents). Brand had finally got his own car, too, after he passed his driving test. He had an orange and black Camaro. :) Other than that, we were all the same.
Snow finished her last round and sat down in her spot again. I sat by her on the left, and soon enough, the others joined us. Mikey sat down on my right and Dana was across from me next to Data. " Who's this?" Andy asked politely.
" I'm Dana. Dana Meeker, but everyone calls me Brains," Dana replied. Chunk gave her a confused look. " nice to meet you, Brains," Andy said with a smile.
" Hey, Brains is a boy's name!" Chunk exclaimed.
" Well...let's play a game then...it can prove if I deserve the nickname...who's the smartest out of your group?" Brains asked. Everyone pointed towards Data.
" It's definitely Data...or possibly Muse...nah, it's Data. Definitely Data. You wanna compete with him in a brianiathon?" Mouth questioned.
" It's brainathon, dummy," I said with an eye roll.
" Well, you can't be so sure of that, now can you, loud mouth?" Brains challenged.
" We'll just have to wait and see," Mouth finished. Of course he had to get the last word in. " Okay, I can make the questions. It'll kind of be like Scholastic Bowl, then," I said. I was in Scholastic Bowl. It was actually pretty fun.
Stef and Snow helped me make the questions, and soon enough, we were ready. I would be the narrator, and Snow would be the score-keeper. Data and Brains sat at two separate tables next to each other. " Ok, question #1: Biology. Name this animal from these descriptions: a large, light colored antelope with cured horns."
Automatically, Dana raised her hand. " Dana," Snow said. " Addax."
" That is correct," I replied. Snow marked down '10' on her tally sheet. " Question #2: Shakespeare. Where did Hamlet take place?"
This time, Data raised his hand first, to my surprise. " Data."
" Elsinore Castle, Denmark."
" Correct. Question #3: American History. Name this town which executed 20 people for witchcraft in 1692." Dana's hand flew up. " Dana."
" Salem." "That is correct." Snow wrote down the results. " Question #4: Fine Arts. Robert Joffery founded his troupe in this city," I read. Once again, Brains raised her hand. " Brains," Snow said. " Chicago, Illinois."
" Correct. Question #5 (last question): Geography. Why are there no lemurs found in Africa?" Data raised his hand quickly. " Data."
" When Africa and Madagascar separated, Lemurs drifted off with Madagascar and began to populate as their own species."
" That is correct. This game is officially over and Brains is the winner!" I exclaimed. The others clapped and Brains and Data shook hands, as if saying ' good game'. Mouth clapped sarcastically. Brains shot him a look and spat," What?"
" " Good job, Dana. Brilliant job. You're pretty smart, but we already have 2 girl goonies over here, Ms. Charmichael and Alexandra Fratelli over here," he smirked. I squinted my eyes at him. Why did he always have to bring up who my real family was?
" What are goonies?" Brains asked.
" Ok, you're really smart but I can't believe you don't know what a goonie is. And WE are the goonies. It's a group. We all have nicknames that are either descriptions of us or shorter versions of our names," Mikey said.
" Mouth, don't be so harsh. Besides, I think we need another girl goonie. I mean, she's not girly and it would be nice to have another smart person on here to compete with Data. She seems really nice," I reasoned.
" Fratelli," Mouth began.
" Do NOT call me that," I spat out. " Shut up Mouth," Snow added. Mouth smirked and continued.
" You always think everyone's the nice guy."
" Then where do you stand? I'm talking to you, aren't I?" I asked, smirking. He frowned. BOOM, bitch!...I thought. Muse:1 Mouth:0
" Well...how do you she's like...not criminal or not then...?" Mouth asked. I rolled my eyes.
" At least she gives people a chance," Snow said.
" Shut up, Snow. I wasn't talking to you. You're personality is ugly, like...inside and out..." Now THAT was a lie. Snow was the prettiest out of our group. That's how she got the nickname Snow. It was short for Snow White.
" Mouth, Snow isn't a mirror. I think you may have mistaken your reflection for hers," I shot. He frowned more, seeing as I had one. Ever since I had begun talking, Mouth didn't like it. Why? Because I won every fight we had.
" Fine, she can be a goonie," Mouth sighed. Dana smiled, realizing she was our friend now and that we (Snow and myself) wanted her to join our pact.
" Ok, raise your right hand," Mikey said. Dana listened. And raised her hand.
" Ok, repeat after me," Mikey stated. Dana nodded.
" I will never betray my goon dock friends," Mikey began.
"I will never betray my goon dock friends," Dana repeated.
"We will stick together until the whole world ends,"
"We will stick together until the whole world ends,"
"Through heaven and hell, and nuclear war,"
"Through heaven and hell, and nuclear war,"
"Good pals like us, will stick like tar,"
"Good pals like us, will stick like tar,"
"In the city, or the country, or the forest, or the boonies "
"In the city, or the country, or the forest, or the boonies,"
"I am proudly declared a fellow goonie," Mikey finished.
" I am proudly a fellow goonie."
" Ok, your nickname is Brains," Data said. I leaned back in my chair. We had another girl goonie. " Guys, what are we gonna do all summer? There's nothin' to do," Chunk asked and whined. That was a good question. What were we gonna do?
" That's what I've been thinking," Mikey said. " I mean, there's nothing really to do here."
" Well...I was talking to mom the other day..." Brand trailed off.
" What? What is it?" Mikey urged. " What have you and mom been hiding from me?"
" Come on, Brand, tell us!" Mouth added.
" Come on!" Chunk whined.
" Don't hide things from us!" Data chimed in.
" Come on, Brand, tell them," Andy said, batting her eyes and running her finger down his arm. He seemed hypnotized by her...Brand, I mean. If I did that to Mikey, would the same thing happen? I wondered. Yes, we were still dating. BUT, we didn't let our relationship get in the way of spending time with our friends, which I enjoyed.
It's like some people say, bros before...well, you get it. " Fine, alright, alright. Mikey, you remember Uncle Tim, right?" Brand asked.
" Yeah...he's the one who owns the lake house, right?" Mikey asked.
" Yeah. Mom said he called and said that we could all go out to the lake house and stay out there for a while," Brand said.
" Oh, yeah! The lake house! It's like a mansion out there!" Mikey said, a smile creeping onto his face.
" Yeah, he said all of us goonies could stay out there for the summer," Brand said. " Really?" Mouth asked, unsure.
" How do we know it's not some run down place like the Fratelli's- sorry, Alex- the restaurant?" Data added.
" It's not. We went there for two weeks last year with mom and dad," Brand said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
" What would we do out there, though?" Snow asked.
" Anything, really. You could go hiking, swimming, running, play baseball-" Mikey began. Mouth cut him off.
" Ok, ok, we get it. But, what if our parents won't let us go? What if we need like an adult or something?" Mouth asked.
" Uncle Tim will check in on us. Besides, Andy, Stef, and I are the oldest," Brand said.
" Well, I'm pretty sure Snow and I can go. Our parents won't really car and we aren't planning anything," Andy said.
" My mom and dad are still trying to settle in. It'd be better if I stayed out of their way," Brains stated.
" Yeah, and Muse and I's parents are going to China for a few weekends and mom was going to get us someone to watch us..." Data said. I knew Data's mom wouldn't get us a babysitter EVER.
Last time, which was when I was 8, Data and I had a babysitter who was really mean. She was a teenage girl who had fake everything. I'm surprised she wasn't made in Taiwan or something. It's not our fault that Data accidentally lit her fake and burnt curly hair on fire with a fork. Don't ask how with a fork; it's a LONG story.
" Well, pretty much everyone could go so...we should definitely go out to the lake house!" Brand said. Maybe it could be fun. Spending the whole summer with my best friends.
But one thing was for sure. This would be one of those unforgettable summers that everyone loves.