I am a horrible, horrible person. I know. But you should know that you readers are what keep me sane. Its like my own little world. Ya'll are great and thank you to all you reviewers! Please please please keep it up! Happy New Year/Merry Christmas/Happy Kwanza/Happy Hanukkah. Bring it in 2013. Good news: I am doing nothing but hanging with friends and playing basketball this week. So that gives me time to edit and publish the chapters of The Soccer Game, The Ball, The Decision, and The Secret. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PATIENT. I value each and every one of your reviews and I learn from them and thank you personally inside my head for believing in my work.
Disclaimer:
Mr. P: Jane . . . what is this?
Jane: It's a story about us.
Mr. P: Oh really, I thought the next Birdsall book was coming out in 2015 or 2014?
Jane: It is. Unfortunately.
Mr.P: So...
Jane: This is a story. About us at Arundel. On Fan-fiction. With crazy awesome readers. But not Jean Birdsall. Again, Unfortunately.
;) Enjoy!
The four sisters crowded around the kitchen table, where their father and Iantha were sitting. A small pile of letters lay in front of them.
"Where is it, Daddy?" Jane exclaimed, jittery with excitement, and her face flushed from their sprint to the cottage.
From the top of the pile of letters in front of him, her father picked up a thick, white, sealed packet. Jane took it from his hands gingerly, her hands shaking, as if afraid it would explode at any moment. She admired the perfect, black lettering of her name on the front: Jane Letitia Penderwick.
"How did it get here, Daddy?" Rosalind asked softly.
"Tommy. He found it in our mailbox and sent it on to us here," her father said. "Go ahead and open it, Jane-O."
"Open it, Jane, open it!" Batty wriggled impatiently. The excitement and tension in the air was becoming too much.
Jane was oblivious to most of this. Everything all of a sudden everything seemed muted, distant. All she could hear was the frantic and nervous pounding of her heart. This simple package in her hands could change her future. Her whole career could depend on the content of this parcel, Jane thought. This was it.
Slowly, she undid the clasp of the package, lifted up the top fold, and pulled out a white sheet of paper among other content. And there, there at the top of the page, she read:
Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted . . .
That was all she had to read. Jane stared at the paper in amazement, and then, with a whoop of joy, threw the paper behind her and shouted, "I'm accepted!"
Then there was hugging and congratulations and I-knew-you-could-do-its and so-proud-of-yous showered upon Jane. Iantha and her father beamed and Batty hugged Jane.
Hound ran around and around the kitchen, not wanting to be left out of all the excitement, while Skype feverishly tried to dodge Hound and pull on a pair of shorts at the same time, for she had run the whole way back to the cottage in only her swimsuit; much to the protest of her feet, which now were scraped from trampling branches and sharp-edged leaves—Skye hadn't taken the time to put on her shoes, and had instead opted to carry her shoes and keep up with the Rosalind and Jane, who were already far ahead of her. Skye had been talking to Scott and Kade when Rosalind had come running up. Jane and she had started to run back to the cottage, and Skye had hastened to follow them. She'd snatched up her belongings, barely registered Jeffrey calling her name—or was it Kade or Scott?—and sprinted after them. Now though, she just beamed at Jane.
The only one who didn't join in the cheering was Rosalind. She bent to pick up Jane's letter that had floated to the floor. She read the paper twice and then slid it carefully back into its envelope. She gave Jane a smile that she hoped looked authentic and then climbed up the stairs to her room, where she sat on the edge of the bed and held her head in her hands.
This was good, Rosalind told herself sternly. This was what Jane wanted. She would be able to spend a full school year, maybe longer, at the school of her dreams in Connecticut. She could get the best education on literature, writing, and the arts and participate in amazing travel opportunities. Jane could meet real authors and actors—her two current passions being creative writing and acting. She'd stay in a dorm, eat good food, ride horses from the school's stables on weekends, and would be looked out for by older students and resident assistants and dorm "moms" and counselors. She wouldn't need Rosalind.
Would she?
Rosalind was the responsible one. She knew she and her father were her sister's strongholds. Besides her sisters' vacation in Maine, where admittedly disaster had nearly occurred (or so Skye informed her), she'd never been apart from her sisters. Could Jane live alone for that long, even in a place where she had begged to apply to months earlier?
Rosalind glanced at the picture of her mother on the bedside table. And what about the promise she made to her mother? She had sworn to look after her sisters, and had made it her personal responsibility to make sure no harm ever came to them (unless is was something that she couldn't prevent, soccer injuries aside) and that they always knew that they had someone to come talk to. How could she look out for Jane if she was all the way in Connecticut?
Rosalind sighed and rubbed her temples. Everything finally made sense; she had a wonderful boyfriend, a kind stepmother, four non-injured sisters, an adorable stepbrother, and she would be starting high school in the fall—supposedly the best four years of her life. Would Jane's absence change all this?
Rosalind had been afraid of letting someone new into her life when her father had started dating.
Now she was afraid of losing someone.
What to do? Talk to Jane, the logical part of Rosalind's brain told her. Yes, she would, Rosalind decided, as soon as she heard Iantha's opinion.
The kitchen was deserted, and as Rosalind walked through, she could hear Jane and Skye and Batty shouting and the sound of foot kicking ball. She knocked politely on the door to Iantha an Ben's room, and when she heard a soft "come in" she opened the door. Ben immediately ran up to her, hugged her legs and said, "Rosy!" Iantha smiled at Rosalind, but then seeing the look on her face, asked Ben would he please go outside with Batty.
Once he had left, Iantha patted the bed beside her. Rosalind sat down and leaned her head on Iantha's shoulder. She smelled like lavender. She stroked Rosalind's hair and waited for her to say something. That was something Rosalind's mom and Iantha had always had in common; they were both very patient and never pried.
"It's Jane," Rosalind said.
She felt Iantha nod beside her. "Her acceptance?"
"Yes. I mean—I'm happy for her and proud and everything, but I don't know if I'm—if she's ready to leave here—leave us. She's only in seventh grade! I wasn't planning on having to go through this until college!"
Iantha laughed softly beside her. "It is a little early, I agree," she said. "But this is Jane's decision." There was a pause. "For the record," she continued, "I don't want her to leave either. I'll miss her, too. But if this is her dream, if this is what she really wants to do, we should support her in any way we can."
"I made a promise," Rosalind said very quietly, and noticed the desperation in her own voice. "I made a promise to my mother. You understand that don't you?"
"I do. And you'll be able to keep it, no matter what. I believe in you. Give Jane a few days; she'll consider the options and will listen to her heart when it comes to making the final decision."
"So. . . we're just not going to do anything?"
"We'll love her and support her just as much as we always have. If she decides to attend, then we'll visit her."
"You know that's not the same."
Iantha sighed. "I know. But let's treasure the time we know we have for sure with her. She knows how important family is." Iantha kissed the top of Rosalind's head. "It's not the end of the world. She'll be okay, Rosy. You'll be okay. It'll all be okay."
Rosy took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and nodded.
"Good," Iantha smiled. "Now, do you want to help me make some brownies? I'm afraid I truly am terrible at baking deserts."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
(The Next Day)
"Skye? How much more do we have to run?" Kade said, out of breath, as he caught up to Skye.
"Until we're in shape enough to beat Darcy's team tomorrow. Now go up right—JANE! Get ready! Okay, now Kade CROSS!" Skye yelled as she passed the ball up to Kade, who promptly kicked it towards the goal, where it soared through Scott's outstretched fingers.
Skye sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples.
"Good kick!" Jane yelled from across the "field".
"Yes, yes good kick," Skye said. "Actually, great kick. That would get us a point. But when I say "cross" I mean for you to kick the ball ACROSS the goal, infront of the defenders, to Jane. She will then score. Right, Jane?"
"WHAT? DID YOU SAY MY NAME?"
"Yes, she will then score. Got it?"
He nodded, seemed to be about to say something else, and then stopped himself.
"Alright, let's go again! Jane cut left!" Skye shouted as she passed the ball up to Kade. He dribbled forward and then passed to Jane. The pass was a little too far ahead, and if they had been playing a full team of 9 they would've lost the ball, but as it was Jane sprinted to the ball and then kicked it. Scott jumped as it came toward him in an arc. It went right through his fingers once again.
"Good goal, Jane. SCOTT! Okay, we're going to get in a line and you're going to stop the ball. GO!"
The kicked the ball over and over again. At first, Scott missed every single one of them, but by the time that the sun was setting and the fireflies were starting to come out Scott was stopping almost every ball that came at the goal (except for some of Jane's, but that was expected. Jane was somewhat of a phenom). Skye could see, too, how Kade had improved over the past two days. He now had a stronger kick, and was actually a very fast runner when he wanted to be.
When her legs had begun to ache, and she was drenched in sweat, Skye called the team in, for this was the captain's job, and they had agreed as a group to give the captainship to her. "Ok. Bring it in, Scott! Good job, team," Skye said. "Let's meet tomorrow in front of the gardens at 9. Good work. See you later." She turned to leave.
"Wait!" Jane grabbed Skye arm. "We need a team name." Jane was absolutely glowing, her face covered in sweat but her expression one of excitement—an expression that she always had whenever she played soccer.
"How about the Gorillas?" Kade suggested.
"The Giant Gorillas," Jane agreed.
"The Giant Yellow Gorillas," Scott said.
"The Exploding Giant Yellow Gorillas," Kade said.
Skye cried, "We will NOT be the giant yellow gorillas—exploding or otherwise. Besides, I brought nothing yellow." Skye tried to say this sternly, but a smile was spreading across her face nonetheless.
Jane thought for a minute. "How about the Tornadoes?"
"I like it," Scott nodded thoughtfully.
Skye and Kade agreed.
"Okay, then as vice-captain of this team, I proclaim us the Tornadoes! We will destroy and completely annihilate the other blubbering cows of the other team—well, they aren't exactly cows, but that's beside the point. We will sweep through them like Hound swept through the gardens while chasing Yaz, and we will eat them like the purple fairies I know exist eat the nectar from yellow flowers imported from Narnia—"
"Fairies eat flowers imported from Narnia?" Kade whispered in Skye's ear.
"Just go with it."
"—and we need a team color," Jane finished.
"How about purple?" Scott suggested.
Skye snorted.
"That's the color of our rival team," Jane informed him.
"Fine, how about pink?" asked Scott.
Skye looked appalled.
Jane sighed and said, "Sounds good to me, but Skye owns absolutely nothing pink."
Scott looked confused. "I thought all girls liked pink."
"Then you have been woefully and completely misinformed," Skye said.
"How about blue?" Kade spoke up.
"Why blue?" Jane asked.
Kade looked at Skye. "Because it matches her eyes."
Skye felt herself blushing—WHY AM I BLUSHING? she thought—and quickly said, "Good. Blue it is. Tomorrow at nine. Sleep well. We have a team to beat tomorrow. Hands in. Call it, Jane."
"Tornadoes on three. One! Two! Three! TORNADOES!"
Kade and Scott said goodbye and walked away, playfully shoving each other and laughing. The sun was almost completely down below the trees, the last rays piercing through the and clouds and lighting the sky orange and pink.
Skye kicked the soccer ball. It bounced off the metal rim of the goal, making a hollow, almost echoing noise.
"You know, Skye, Kade—" Jane started.
"If this is about what Kade said about my eyes, please just make a comment about the weather or something."
Jane hesitated. "It really is a beautiful day today."
Skye laughed, and kicked the ball in the air toward her sister. Jane headed it into the goal.
"Nice." Skye grinned.
As she went to retrieve the ball, Jane said, "They're actually kind of funny."
"Yeah, kind of." Skye stopped the ball as it came rolling toward her. "Jane, do you think we can win tomorrow?"
"Do I think we can win? Yes," Jane said confidently. "Will we? I don't know. All three of them are good. I saw them practicing this morning when I went to visit Churchie. Skye, Darcy is going to give you a heck of a game. So will Jeffrey."
"Why Jeffrey?"
"Because he has a crush on you. And all boys try to look tough in competition, especially in one against the girl they like." Skye was not expecting this response at all. She stood perfectly still, a little shocked, but her heart had skipped a beat and was now dancing inside her chest. Jane patted Skye on the shoulder.
"Good job today, dear sister. We're going to cream Cameron Hardware in the fall. THOSE MAD COWS!" And with that, Jane walked back to the house, leaving Skye standing in the middle of their "field", the sun now completely gone, wondering when her sister had gotten so smart and so good at noticing things.
Hope you liked this! I had fun writing it! I love developing characters and scenery. Any questions? PM me. Like or hate it? Please review. Y'all are great. Enjoy the story.
GET EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! Go Tornadoes!
xx Shastafire
