Spring Break at a Flash
It was morning, but none of the group were awake. Mrs. Lynch sent Larry to go wake the boys up and Elizabeth to go wake the girls. Larry saw that the boys' room was empty and went down the hall to Diana's suite, where his younger sister was standing at the door smiling. Elizabeth noticed Larry approaching and put her finger to her lips as she went to meet him.
"What's going on, Liz? The boys aren't in their room."
"I know," she whispered. "Let's go get Mother so she can grab the camera. She'll definitely want to remember this."
After being informed of the plan, Mrs. Lynch went to grab her newest digital camera and made her way to the door of Diana's sitting room. Seeing what Elizabeth thought was so sweet, she was very happy to have been warned to get the camera. There on the floor of the sitting room were four bundles of blankets with heads. Diana and Lilli had snuggled together in the way that only really good friends can, while Josh and Shawn had their backs to the girls in a way reminiscent of protection. She quickly snapped a few photographs from various angles before waking the teens.
Seeing the teens awake, Mrs. Lynch left to print out a few copies of the best picture.
After breakfast, the teens decided to spend the day with the younger kids. They played board games like Monopoly and Mousetrap. They played video games. They even did as the little girls suggested and acted out a play. By the time dinner rolled around, they were more tired than the kids.
The rest of the week went by quickly. They went to the mall in White Plains. They took in another movie. They returned to Wimpy's. They went riding every afternoon.
Friday morning, Mrs. Lynch surprised Diana by mentioning she'd invited the other Bob-Whites and Ben over for the evening. Thankfully, during the afternoon rides, Diana and Trixie had talked and were back to normal.
The four teens spent the day getting things ready for the small party. They set up the game room and by 4:30, everything was ready. Only the food was waiting to be set out. At five, the doorbell rang. The two sets of twins took their jobs seriously and took the newcomers jackets before showing them to the game room, bidding them to have a good time, and going to their own playroom for a night of movies and popcorn.
Greetings were exchanged, the food put out, and plates made. After eating, Diana thought it would be a good idea to start a game.
"Okay," she said, "I have an idea for a game. I have these little pieces of paper with each of our names on them. We'll go in alphabetical order and draw a name. You think of a song title that reminds you of your person. Then everyone else has to guess who the person is. Put the names back in so we don't automatically guess Trixie's person. Ben, you go first."
Ben drew a name. "Uptown Girl." The guesses were between Lilli, Diana, and Honey. Ben revealed that Honey was who he drew. He put Honey's name back in the pile and nodded to Brian.
Brain looked at his paper and said, "Substititiary Locomotion." There was a unanimous guess of Mart. Brian nodded and moved the pile over to Dan.
Dan wriggled his fingers through the pile and found one. He laughed and said, "Down With the Sickness." That caused a bit of laughter, but everyone chose the aspiring doctor. Dan moved the pile to Diana.
Diana looked at her chosen strip. "." Diana laughed and agreed with the Mart guesses.
Honey took her turn next. "Follow Me."
Everyone looked confused at first. Then Diana laughed. "Trixie, of course. Everyone's always following her, right into trouble usually."
Jim took his turn. "Wicked Soul," he said with a wink. "Dan" was the majority guess.
Josh was next. He was nervous because he didn't know the Sleepyside group well. He sighed in relief as he said, "Teddy Bear." Only Lilli and Diana guessed right when they said, "Shawn." Shawn blushed.
Lilli took a deep breath before drawing. "Long way to the Top," she grinned. Quite a few people guessed Ben.
Mart was ready. "Sound of Silence." No one got it. He had to tell his person. "I drew Lilli. She's always so quiet." That statement sent Diana, Josh, and Shawn into hysterics. Mart looked confused. "I guess you have to know her?" he asked. His only answer was a nod from Diana, who'd had her ear talked off a few times by her roommate.
Shawn methodically shuffled through the pile. "Complicated," he stated.
Only Honey guessed that Shawn referred to her brother. "He's the only one that no one understands why his temper is lit by some things but not others."
Trix took her turn. "A Whole New World," she half-stated, half-asked.
"Me," called Ben, jumping up and down. Trixie nodded.
"I have an idea," Lilli said. "Since Diana and Josh were the only ones not selected, I say the rest of us think of a song title for them." The others nodded, and after a short conference, Lilli announced, "Josh, your song is Only the Good Die Young, and Diana, yours is Save Me."
The game was a success, but there was a lull afterwards. Diana looked pleadingly at Josh, who jumped up and said he'd love to play a game of pool. He was joined by Dan, Ben, and Brain. The girls scooted closer together to exchange gossip. Shawn joined Mart and Jim in conversation.
The party broke up a few hours later.
Saturday morning, the four teens blearily made their way to breakfast. They learned that the whole day was scheduled and they needed to get moving.
They ate breakfast and got ready for the day. Then they went to the Beldens' for lunch. Mrs. Belden was very glad to see them again before they left. She made sure they understood that they were now part of her family and that if they needed anything, she'd do her best to help. "These walls are stretchy," She reminded them.
After lunch, Lilli, Josh, and Shawn were shown the Bob-White's clubhouse. From there, they walked up the hill to the Manor House, where they would be dining with the Wheelers, as Honey's parents had been out of town the weekend before and wanted to say hello and good-bye to the new friends. Mr. Wheeler happily offered Lilli and Shawn summer internships with his company after hearing of their plans to go into Business Management.
Lilli jumped on the offer while Shawn was reluctant. "I'll have to see what my parents have planned for the summer. If they're going to be very busy, I'd like to take you up on the offer, but if they've planned to take time off, I'd like to spend it with them."
Mr. Wheeler smiled. "That's just fine. Just let me know. Even if it's only for a few weeks, you'd be welcome."
"Well, now, I feel left out!" Josh exclaimed, to everyone's laughter.
"You'd be allowed to come visit," Diana assured him. "You're just not interested in business for an internship. I'm sure Regan could put you to work though," she grinned.
Josh nodded, mollified. Then he seemed to catch on to what Diana said. "You'd ship me off to that slave-driver?" he almost screeched. That caused another bout of amusement.
After dessert but before it got too late, Diana reminded her guests that they needed to get back to her house to pack and ready themselves for the return trip to school. Diana's chauffer would take them as Brian and Jim didn't have to leave until Monday morning.
With that cue, they said their good-byes and left.
Letting Mrs. Lynch know they were back, they headed to their rooms to begin packing.
