Thursday, October 17, 1985 Afternoon
I forgot to say yesterday that the stalker didn't follow the three of us home yesterday. I was so
relieved. Once again, we came to the street before ours and Freda left our trio. I wonder where
she lives. I've never bothered to ask. Probably in a HOUSE and not a lousy old flat. I mean, her
dad is a DOCTOR, for goodness sake! Zak says she lives in a barracks whatever that is. He's
probably accusing her of being a neo-Nazi again in code. Brothers.
Speaking of which, Zak has locked himself in his room every night for the past week working on
his science project. Next week is Serendipity Week. That means that we have all kinds of neat
stuff to do at school and no HOMEWORK! Monday is Drama Day, Tuesday is Music Day,
Wednesday is Career Day, Thursday is a field trip to the Smithsonian (yay!) And Friday is Science
Fair Day. How I will live through being at a science fair all day next Friday is beyond me. Of
course, after Career Day, I'll never be able to hold my head up in school again anyway.
I told Mr. Slacker that my dad hadn't exactly said yes to Career Day, but hadn't said no either.
(Which is sort of the truth) He was happy enough with that and said not to worry, he would come
through for me. And then he winked kind of slyly as I left his office. What was that all about?
Teachers.
Well, this morning, Zak and I met Freda again and walked with her to school. She was busy
talking about the cruiseline her dad works for when all of a sudden, I spotted our spy! He was
beginning to look familiar, and not just because he followed me everyday. I had seen him
somewhere before . . .
Anyway, we ignored him, and he disappeared before we reached the schoolyard. Freda took me
aside and whispered, "Bogus library hall" before running off to her homeroom. I whispered the
secret code to Zak, who seemed to have forgotten what it meant, so I had to explain it to him:
Freda had called a CONTROL meeting in the library during study hall.
At study hall, we met in the back corner of the library, the only spot in the large area that the
librarian couldn't see. Usually a popular make-out spot, this corner was perfectly suited to our
purposes.
"I have written ze charter for our organization," Freda whispered, even though it was fairly
obvious that the librarian couldn't hear us.
Here it is:
CONTROL Charter
We, people of the greater DC area, in order to form a more perfect alliance against evil, hereby
establish CONTROL, a protection agency for the innocent against the forces of KAOS. As
members of this August body, we thereby pledge our loyalty to each other, placing our lives in
each others hands in the firm hope of salvation should any peril threaten our numbers.
Written this Seventeenth Day of Oktober, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
Signed
"Freda" von Siegfried
Maxine Eidasix Smart
Zachary Maxwell Smart
We all signed it as you can plainly see. I was a bit embarrassed letting Freda know my middle
name, especially since she signed hers with her nickname, but she didn't say anything. What kind
of a name is Eidasix ( pronounced I-DA-sicks) anyway? Is is French or something? It sounds like
"86." What is my parents obsession with numbers? By then, it was time to go back to class.
Well, I have a TON of homework again. I think the teachers are trying to make up for the "lost
week" we will have next week.
Maxine Eidasix (yuck! And you wondered why I hate my name!) Smart
I forgot to say yesterday that the stalker didn't follow the three of us home yesterday. I was so
relieved. Once again, we came to the street before ours and Freda left our trio. I wonder where
she lives. I've never bothered to ask. Probably in a HOUSE and not a lousy old flat. I mean, her
dad is a DOCTOR, for goodness sake! Zak says she lives in a barracks whatever that is. He's
probably accusing her of being a neo-Nazi again in code. Brothers.
Speaking of which, Zak has locked himself in his room every night for the past week working on
his science project. Next week is Serendipity Week. That means that we have all kinds of neat
stuff to do at school and no HOMEWORK! Monday is Drama Day, Tuesday is Music Day,
Wednesday is Career Day, Thursday is a field trip to the Smithsonian (yay!) And Friday is Science
Fair Day. How I will live through being at a science fair all day next Friday is beyond me. Of
course, after Career Day, I'll never be able to hold my head up in school again anyway.
I told Mr. Slacker that my dad hadn't exactly said yes to Career Day, but hadn't said no either.
(Which is sort of the truth) He was happy enough with that and said not to worry, he would come
through for me. And then he winked kind of slyly as I left his office. What was that all about?
Teachers.
Well, this morning, Zak and I met Freda again and walked with her to school. She was busy
talking about the cruiseline her dad works for when all of a sudden, I spotted our spy! He was
beginning to look familiar, and not just because he followed me everyday. I had seen him
somewhere before . . .
Anyway, we ignored him, and he disappeared before we reached the schoolyard. Freda took me
aside and whispered, "Bogus library hall" before running off to her homeroom. I whispered the
secret code to Zak, who seemed to have forgotten what it meant, so I had to explain it to him:
Freda had called a CONTROL meeting in the library during study hall.
At study hall, we met in the back corner of the library, the only spot in the large area that the
librarian couldn't see. Usually a popular make-out spot, this corner was perfectly suited to our
purposes.
"I have written ze charter for our organization," Freda whispered, even though it was fairly
obvious that the librarian couldn't hear us.
Here it is:
CONTROL Charter
We, people of the greater DC area, in order to form a more perfect alliance against evil, hereby
establish CONTROL, a protection agency for the innocent against the forces of KAOS. As
members of this August body, we thereby pledge our loyalty to each other, placing our lives in
each others hands in the firm hope of salvation should any peril threaten our numbers.
Written this Seventeenth Day of Oktober, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
Signed
"Freda" von Siegfried
Maxine Eidasix Smart
Zachary Maxwell Smart
We all signed it as you can plainly see. I was a bit embarrassed letting Freda know my middle
name, especially since she signed hers with her nickname, but she didn't say anything. What kind
of a name is Eidasix ( pronounced I-DA-sicks) anyway? Is is French or something? It sounds like
"86." What is my parents obsession with numbers? By then, it was time to go back to class.
Well, I have a TON of homework again. I think the teachers are trying to make up for the "lost
week" we will have next week.
Maxine Eidasix (yuck! And you wondered why I hate my name!) Smart