Disclaimer:
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of it's characters used in this fictional story.
A Few of My Notes to the Reader:
This is my first story and it is based on my own original creativity. I only want you to R&R upon completion and like myself this story is very mysterious.
Summary:
Serenity and her four best friends are looking forward to the perfect spring break. That is, until they arrive at the beach and find every motel is filled. Then they meet the owner of the old Jamison place. Why does the owner give them such a great price for the week? And why doesn't he want to live in the house himself?
One by one, Serenity's friends disappear, and Serenity learns the old house holds a terrifying family secret. Will this spring break be the time of their lives or the time of their deaths?
Chapter 1"We've escaped!" Serenity Wheeler jumped into the backseat of her best friend Tea Gardner's old jeep and sighed deeply. "I can't believe it."
"No more teachers, no more books." Mai Valentine sang the popular jingle as they headed south out of some unreal Saturday morning Houston traffic. She leaned her head of golden-blonde curls into Serenity's shoulder and whispered, "Change seats with me at the next light."
Serenity looked at Mai, shrugged, and announced, "Change seats with me Mai. I want the best view. I want to be sure that we're really getting out of the city for a week."
At the next stoplight, both girls snapped off their seat belts and made a quick exchange of seating.
Mai squeezed Serenity's arm and sang again. "In the meantime, in between time…That's what we're in. In between time. I don't want to hear another word this week about s-c-h-o-o-l."
"Don't you even want to talk about what we'll do this summer?" Tea looked at Mai and Serenity in the rearview mirror. "Let's get jobs in Estes Park. Colorado in the summer is heaven on earth."
"You can't do that, Tea." Tea's boyfriend spoke for the first time. Yami Motou wasn't exactly a morning person. He wasn't even an afternoon person. He came alive for evening football games and after-school basketball practice. Serenity had never known a guy with so much athletic ability.
He certainly was the opposite of Serenity's brother, Joey. Joey sat on the other side of Mai with his nose in a book about identifying birds on the coast of Texas.
Yami continued to stare at Tea and protest. "I already have a job in Houston. You can't go off someplace for the summer."
"You could get a job in Colorado, too." Tea tapped her fingers as they waited for yet another red light.
"I couldn't get a vet job. You know I have to work at the veterinary clinic for a couple of summers in order to get into vet school. They want you to know what being a vet is really like. They want to know you're serious."
At the sound of Yami's voice, Brandy, his chocolate Labrador retriever, jumped up from where he was tucked into the front-seat floor and barked.
Serenity glanced at Joey. How could he read with all the commotion and excitement about going to the beach for spring break? He was totally inhuman.
"Watch it, Mai. The real reason I wanted to change places is that Joey gets carsick when he tries to read and ride in the backseat."
"You're kidding." Mai made a funny face and leaned away from Joey. "I thought only little kids did that."
"Joey is your problem, Serenity. You're the one who had to have a chaperon in order to go with us. You'll have to clean up the mess." Tea laughed and peeled onto Highway 45 leading to Galveston.
Serenity grinned and kept her mouth shut. Tea was right. She'd had a devil of a time talking her parents into letting her take this trip.
Going to the beach for spring break was Tea's idea. She could talk her parents into anything. Both her mother and dad thought Tea Gardner could do no wrong, but secretly, Serenity thought they were both afraid of Tea. Well, maybe not afraid, but in awe of her.
Who wouldn't be? Serenity stared at the back of Tea's perfect short, thick brown hair that curled just the right amount. She was in awe of Tea, too. Even though they had been best friends forever, Serenity never got over looking at Tea and thinking how beautiful she was. How smart. How perfect. And to top it off, how mechanical.
Tea, herself – well, maybe her father had helped her a little – had worked on the engine of the Jeep. She and her dad had cleaned up and painted the body until it looked brand-new. They'd hired someone to have the interior restored, but Tea had earned the money to pay for it working in her dad's body shop.
Serenity sighed audibly. Some people have multiple talents and gifts. Serenity had Joey.
"Does your brother do anything but read?" Mai asked, interrupting Serenity's thinking.
"Why don't you ask me?" Joey said, still looking at his book. "I'm within hearing distance of you."
"Oh, he talks, he walks, he -- "
Serenity interrupted Mai. "He writes in his journal. And in those notebooks. He has about a million notebooks by now. He plans to write the great American novel."
Everyone continued to joke and talk. The more they laughed, the more Brandy barked. Yami placed a hand on the lab's head to quiet him.
"Can I change my mind, guys?" Joey said. "If it's going to be this noisy all week, I'll lose it."
"Poor baby." Serenity stopped laughing. She had argued and argued, but her mother said no way was she going out of town for a week with three high school kids. Did dear old Mom think Joey was an adult because he was eighteen and graduating in May? Technically, he was still a "high school kid." Little did her mom know that once they got to the island, Joey would have his nose in a book all the time. He'd no more watch after Serenity than Brandy would.
She griped and complained to Tea and Mai, but they didn't care if Joey went. In fact, for some odd reason, Mai was happy Joey was going.
The highway grew more and more congested as they crossed the bay to the island, the bridge turned into a parking lot. It took nearly an hour to get over the island resort.
"Think we'll find a place to stay?" Yami asked, voicing the concern all of them felt as they sat and watched gulls soar and dive for scraps of bread people tossed them from the cars.
"Sure. We'll find something," Serenity said.
She didn't care where they stayed, as long as they were away from school and on the beach.
"I love you, Tea," Serenity announced when the car finally started to move after one long gridlock. "This is the best idea you ever had, and you've had some beauts."
"Ditto," Mai said. "Did you hear about the blondes on spring break who saw a sign saying 'Disney World, left.' They were disappointed but turned around and went back home."
Tea used to Mai's "dumb blonde" jokes, swung the loaded car to the right and headed out Road 3005.
Joey groaned. "I'm not going to be able to handle this, Serenity. Are all your friends this intelligent?"
Their laughing and joking lasted only a short time longer. Then reality set in. By late afternoon, they had passed Jamaica Beach, stopping at every place they could find that looked as if it might have rooms for rent, but there were no vacancies. They stopped at three real estate offices, asking about houses for the week, cabins, shacks, and closets. No luck. Every teen in Texas must already be in Galveston. Colleges were having spring break, too.
"Why didn't anyone make a reservation?" Yami asked. "We've known we were coming for two weeks."
"I didn't think it would be this crowded." Tea leaned on the Jeep's fender and twisted a curl around her finger. They were now at the end of the island.
"Okay, people, shape up." Joey took charge. "Let's go in that little store across the street and get some supplies. We did bring camping gear." He started in the direction of a small general store, probably the last place to stock up before they reached the more isolated beaches.
"I hate camping!" Tea stood up straight and put her hands on her hips.
"Me, too." Mai started after Joey. "But it looks as if we have no choice."
Yami whistled for Brandy, who'd been so glad to get out of the car that he'd run away up the block, sniffing every bush.
The woman in the store was shaking her head as Serenity and Mai stepped inside. "People are probably getting good money for closets and garages by now," she said in answer to Joey's query about housing.
"You can't think of anything?" Serenity begged.
"Well, I do know of one place." She rubbed her chin as if it helped her think. "Eldon Minor has been working on the old Jamison place for almost a year now. It might be good enough shape to live in. If you aren't particular."
"We're not choosy at all," Mai said.
"I'll call him for you, He lives right down the road, when he's home." The pleasant-faced woman picked up a phone and dialed. She waited for it to ring. "There is one problem with the house."
"That figures." Serenity felt her hopes slide. "There would be a catch. What is it?"
"Some people around here say that the place is haunted."
The five friends looked at each other, and for once, no one could think of anything to say.
To Be Continued:
Thanks for reading my story and I appreciate you all very, very much!
Until next time,
~Mai Charity Rose~
