Disclaimer: ToL and the characters within are the property of Namco.
Author's Note: Well, I've gotten the rant off my chest in the Xmas story, and now I've got an overload of ideas in my head. I'd better get them out quickly.
Chapter 1
The party members were all together in Senel's house. Norma went out to collect the daily mail, and then returned with some exciting news.
"Ooh, ooh, look at this!" Norma handed the flyer to Senel.
Senel read the flyer out loud. "Disco party at the bar, tonight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Party on down 'til the sun comes up. Ages 15 and up only."
"Yeah, that's my kind of party!" Norma exclaimed. "Let's go, you guys!"
"Absolutely not," Will said. "If they restrict the ages, then it's not a very family-friendly party."
"It doesn't sound like the kind of party I'd enjoy," Chloe said.
"Me neither," Shirley added.
Norma pouted. "You people are no fun at all."
"I'd like to go," Harriet said.
"No, Harriet, you're too young," Will told her.
"It really doesn't matter," Jay pointed out. "Many kids like to dress and act as though they're older, and they let them in anyway."
"Well, even if Harriet were old enough, I would still forbid it."
"But I don't want to go alone!" Norma whined. "JJ, be my date for the party!"
Jay shrank back. "Wh...what kind of request is that?"
"Just what it sounds like!" Norma slid over to Jay, tracing circles on his chest with her finger. "Come on, JJ. Be my date, will you? Pretty please?"
"No."
Norma pounded Jay's head with her fists. "You stupid son of a no good son of a stupid..."
"Norma!" Will called. "Settle down!"
"But Teach, someone has to go with me!"
"It's too bad, Norma," Chloe said. "If you want to go that badly, you'll have to go by yourself."
"Aw man..." Norma whined. "I don't want to go alone...
------------------
Later that day, Norma approached Harriet at Will's house.
"Come on, Hattie!" she pleaded. "You have to come to the party with me!"
"But Norma, Dad already said no," Harriet told her.
"Bah, he's just being mean. You're not going to let him order you around like that, are you?"
"But I've already hated him once before. I don't want to hate him again."
"Come on, come on!" Norma pressured.
"But I'm gonna get in trouble!"
"Hey, who said that Teach has to find out? We'll work it out. We'll make it a Girls' Night Out."
"Girls' Night Out? That sounds like fun!" Harriet smiled. "All right, let's do it!"
Will entered the room. "What are you two doing?"
"Oh, nothing," Harriet lied.
"We were just talking about girl stuff," Norma added.
"I see. You weren't trying to pressure Harriet into going to that disco dance, were you?"
"No, of course not! I even decided not to go after all. It's just no fun when we can't go as a group."
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Will handed Harriet a sheet of paper. "Harriet, could you get some things from the bakery for me?"
Harriet took the list. "Sure, Dad."
"See you later, Teach!" Norma and Harriet both left the house.
"Okay, if this is going to be a Girls' Night Out, we need more girls," Norma said.
"Yeah, it's too bad Chloe and Shirley don't want to go," Harriet agreed. "What about Grune?"
"Hmm...nah, we'll let G-Girl entertain the boys while we're having our fun," Norma said.
"Hey, that'll work."
"Hmm, now who should we pick up next...?" Norma went through the list of female friends in her head. "I know! How about Elly?"
"Elly?" Harriet asked, not sure of the nickname.
"You know, Elsa."
"Oh yeah, Elsa Alcott! But isn't she too young as well?"
"Like JJ said, it doesn't matter. All we have to do is dress and act mature, and they'll let you in."
"Oh, all right..."
---------------------------
Norma and Harriet went over to the hospital, where Elsa was working.
"Hi, Elly!" Norma said.
Elsa turned to face her. "Oh...hello, Norma."
"What's wrong, Elly? Why the long face?"
"Well, there's a disco dance at the inn, and I'm too young to go. My father won't let me."
Harriet's face soured. "My dad wouldn't let me go either!"
Norma raised her fist. "Fear not, girls! Norma's on your side!"
"Wh...what are you doing?" Elsa asked.
"Don't ask me how, but I've pulled some strings. And I've managed to get you both on my list. We're going to that dance, just the three of us! Tonight will be our Girls' Night Out!"
"Just the three of us? You mean Chloe's not going?"
"Nah, C said that she doesn't want to go. She's such a bore."
"But Chloe's my friend."
"I know, but...she doesn't want to go, so it's her loss. The three of us are going to have a good time, right, girls?"
Elsa continued to look uneasy. "But my father is going to kill me..."
Norma paused. Hmm, she does have a point. After all, her dad used to be Stingle...
"Look, we'll just make sure that Sting—I mean, Arnie doesn't find out," she said.
"Uh..." Elsa and Harriet both looked down, riddled with guilt.
"Okay, I'll tell you what," Norma said. "If Teach and Arnie find out, I'll take the fall for you."
Elsa and Harriet looked up. "What?"
"I'm the one that talked you two into going to the dance, right? So I'll take the punishment for you."
"You'd...do that for us?" Elsa asked.
"Wow, what a friend!" Harriet exclaimed.
"So no more of this guilty stuff," Norma said. "This is our Girls' Night Out, and we're calling the shots! We're going to have fun, right, girls?"
"Yeah!" the other girls said in unison.
"All right, let's go!"
Silence.
"Go where?" Elsa asked.
Harriet looked at the list that Will had given her. "I'd better hurry up and get these things for Dad before it's too late."
"Oh, you're right!" Norma said. "The bakery is going to close soon. So we get those things and drop them off at Teach's house. Then we'll come to my room at the inn and dress up for that dance."
"All right!"
-----------------------
After picking up the needed items from the bakery, the girls returned to Will's house. Norma and Elsa remained outside while Harriet went in.
"Hey Dad, I got the stuff you needed," she said, setting the bag on the kitchen counter.
"Ah, thank you," Will responded.
Harriet faked a yawn. "Ah...I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Harriet went upstairs into her bedroom. However, instead of going to bed, she opened her window and carefully slid through, dropping down to the ground below. She landed on her feet, letting herself collapse. Although the fall was painful, she held in her scream so as not to alert Will. Norma and Elsa ran over to her.
"Are you ready, Hattie?" Norma asked.
"Yeah," Harriet said. "I delivered the groceries to Dad and told him that I was going to bed."
"All right, Operation Fool Will is complete!" Norma said. "Now let's go to the inn."
"Yeah..." the girls said quietly.
Carefully, the snuck away from Will's house.