PART TWO
That night, after the manor had gone to sleep, Suzie and Edmund snuck out of their beds and down the hall to where Marta was waiting in her room. She looked up from her open notebook with a grin as they silently closed her door and hopped up onto the foot of her bed.
"OK," she said softly, reaching over to turn on her lamp for Edmund's benefit. He, unlike his sisters, had not been born with night-vision. "I jotted down a few of the ideas from this afternoon. I think two of them could really work-namely the ones concerning the rollerblades and the pogo stick spring. But the one with the insects and the treacle…I just don't think it's feasible."
"But I like that one!" Suzie whined, somehow managing to contain her annoyance in a whisper.
"I don't!" Edmund retorted in a similar whisper. "Smearing someone's face with treacle while they're asleep then dumping ants and things on their bed?" He shuddered. "That's not a prank, that's cruel!"
"Funny you should say that," Suzie said. "Since you were the one I was planning to try it on."
Edmund's hazel eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"You what!"
"SHHHHHH!" Marti insisted. "The treacle idea is out and that's the end of it."
"But-" Suzie started.
"End," Marta repeated firmly, staring her sister down. "Now, about the rollerblades. Eddie, how do you plan to pull this off?"
"Well," Edmund said, starting to get excited. "Do you remember that science activity book I got for Christmas last year?"
"Oh yeah!" Marti said. "The one that shows you how to make slime with Borax and gumdrops with gelatin?"
"Yeah," Edmund said, with a nod. "Well, it also came with three magnets. The big one was so powerful it could actually lift a hammer!"
Marti bit her lip as the implications hit her.
"Oh… Oh that is brilliant, Eddie. That could be so funny… And I know the perfect person to pull it on."
"Who?" asked Suzie.
"Uncle Alistaire!" Marti exclaimed. "He wears those fiberglass inserts in his shoes because of his flat feet. Edmund, you could tape the magnets underneath the arch of those inserts and I'll bet he'd never even feel the difference!"
"But will it still work through his shoes?" Suzie inquired skeptically.
"I think so," Edmund said. "The big magnet worked on the hammer even when I put it in my book bag."
"Super!" Marti made a quick scribble in her notebook. "Then that's one prank set. The pogo stick/boxing glove one was my idea, so I'll make it work, don't worry about that."
"But who are you going to pull it on?" Edmund asked.
Suzie rolled her golden eyes.
"Who d'you think?" she snarked. "Samuel, of course. Isn't that right, Marti?"
Marta scowled.
"Yes," she admitted. "But it's just because he's the only one who would find it funny!"
Suzie snorted.
"Right..."
Then she sat up.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I've got one for Uncle Brian! And it'll work, too. You know how he always likes to watch the morning news?"
"Yeah," Marta said warily.
Suzie looked crafty.
"Then I'll just say three words," she said. "Remote control, fishing line, and water pistol."
"That's seven words," Edmund pointed out.
"Name three things, then," Suzie corrected with a scowl. "Don't be pedantic."
Edmund scrunched up his forehead.
"What's pedantic?"
"You!" Suzie retorted with a shove. "Now shut-up."
"Hey!" Marta broke in with a glare. "This is my room, remember. I won't have that kind of thing in here. Either get along or get back to bed."
Suzie looked like she was about to make a scathing remark, but at the last moment, she held it in.
"Good choice," Marta said. "Now, as I was about to say, if you think you can make your idea work, Suzie, go ahead and try it. So now we've got three…"
She looked up from her notebook.
"Any other ideas?"
Suzie looked thoughtful for a moment, then started to chuckle softly.
"What?" Marta asked curiously.
Suzie's evil chuckles just got louder.
Edmund tilted his head, starting to get nervous.
"What is it?" he asked, his tail twitching slightly against Marta's colorful quilt.
Suzie looked up at her siblings through devious yellow eyes.
"Have either of you ever wondered what Auntie Kitty would look like as a blonde?"
Marti blinked.
"What was that?"
Suzie grinned wickedly.
"No, seriously," she said. "We could get the dye stuff from that all night druggist's in town. You know, the kind you wash in then wash out the next day?"
Marta looked wary.
"I don't know," she said. "If she ever found out it was us, our lives wouldn't be worth living. Besides, it would take at least three teleports just to get there and I'm already sleepy…"
"But it would be such a marvelous laugh!" Suzie insisted. "Come on! It'll only be for one day."
Marta shook her head.
"I'll have to think about that one," she said. "But I just had a fantastically cunning idea. You know how Dr. MacTaggert always keeps a fresh filter in the coffee machine so she doesn't have to go searching for them in the morning? Well, I was thinking if I mixed salt with a little bit of water and spread it on the bottom of the filter…"
And so the plotting went, lasting far into the night. By the time the three young schemers finally got to sleep, the birds were just starting to sing in the bushes and trees beside their windows. They'd be sure to be tired in school, but it was well worth it. Their pranks were all set up, and now were just lying in wait for the unsuspecting manor residents to wake up and start their day.
To Be Continued...