DISC: I DO NOT own any of the chars from BSC. They belong to Ann M. Martin. I Do however own anyone you don't recognize!
Enjoy!
"Kristy's Big Decision"
CHAPTER 14
"Alex?" Anya asked. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"What happened!" Karen cried.
I pulled my sister back.
"We need to let Anya help her." I said. "And then we'll figure it out."
Karen nodded, but she still looked worried.
Anya asked Alex something softly in Russian.
Alex nodded.
She answered her mother in English before the tears of pain came.
"All right." Anya said. "It's okay. You're going to feel better soon." With that, she picked her up and headed for the nearest drink cart.
She purchased a fruit punch and returned to us a few minutes later.
Once it was apparent that a drink alone wasn't going to help, Anya went in search of a medical tent.
This affectively sent Karen over the edge and she burst into tears.
She kept insisting that Alex was going to die as I tried to comfort her. While I was pretty sure Alex wasn't going to leave us any time soon, I still wasn't sure what had happened in the first place.
"Kristy, what's going on?" Charlotte asked as she came up next to us.
"I'm not sure, Char." I replied truthfully. "I guess Alex felt a little sick and Anya went to get her some help."
"I wish my Mom was here." Charlotte said. "She would know how to help Alex."
I hugged Charlotte close. She was a sweetheart.
Charlotte's mother, Dr. Johanssen was a doctor at Stoneybrook Medical Center.
A half an hour later, Anya returned with Alex who looked a lot better than when she had left.
It was all I could do to stop Karen from jumping on top of her.
"Now that Alex is better," Karen said, turning to me, 'can we go on the Haunted Mansion? Please, Kristy?"
I laughed. It was just like Karen to switch subjects at lightening speed.
After doing a quick Baby-sitting switch since Sari, Emily and Gabby were too young to go on the ride and some of the older kids didn't want to, I headed off with Anya, Karen, Alex, Margo and Hannie for the Haunted Mansion.
As we got into our dune buggies, Karen grinned at me.
"This is so cool!" She exclaimed.
I hoped Karen still thought so when the ride began.
As the ride started, Karen's eyes grew wide behind her glasses. She was truly in her element.
As the hitchhiking ghosts came aboard, Karen screamed, but I could tell she was having fun. I also had a feeling that she would be spending many a night in our attic when we got back home, telling Ben Brewer all about it.
As we passed someone trying to get out of a coffin, I heard another scream, but this time I knew whoever had let it out wasn't enjoying themselves.
I glance to my right to check on Margo, but she was fine.
I was a little surprised that Margo hadn't gotten sick by now.
As I glanced back to where Anya and Alex were sitting, I frowned when I saw the little girl crying into her mother's shoulder.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I'll explain later." She said.
Karen glanced back as well and looked confused.
"It's only pretend." She said. "Everyone knows that."
"Karen." I said sternly.
As we entered the graveyard, a hitchhiking ghost sat next to Karen on her left.
My sister shrieked.
I raised my eyebrows.
Karen tried to act nonchalant, but I could tell that had scared her a little bit.
She blushed and mumbled an apology to Alex as the ride continued.
Once it was over, we met up with everyone else for dinner.
We ended up eating dinner in Tomorrowland before heading back to the hotel for the night.
While I tried to talk Karen out of ordering a chocolate sundae for dinner, Anya coaxed Alex into eating something small.
She was still a little shaken up from the Haunted Mansion, so she wasn't saying much.
Karen was particularly annoyed by this and started talking to Hannie instead.
After the kids ordered their meals and we baby-sitters had ordered, we started a light conversation.
"I wish Abby was here." Mal said.
Claud nodded.
"I can just hear her now. Yeah, I'll have the roast Donald duck and a side of Shere Khan flawn. And I think I'll have some Mickey moose for dessert."
We all cracked up at that.
Claud gave us a confused look.
"I wasn't kidding about the Mickey moose." She said.
That didn't surprise me in the least.
I took over just then.
"You don't have any roast Donald Duck? That's too bad. How about some barbue quack?"
This got everyone laughing.
I was grateful Sari was at the other end of the table.
When we reached the hotel, we separated into our groups for the night.
That meant Anya, Alex, Karen and I were in one room, while Mal, Margo, Claire and their mother were in another room.
Claudia was in a room with the Perkins girls and Charlotte.
Mom was keeping David Michael with her after the incident with Pluto.
Emily was in Mom and Dad's room.
The Papadakis' had a room to themselves and Watson and Mom were sharing of course.
After the kids were ready for bed, Karen asked Alex if she wanted to play a game.
"No thanks. " Alex said. "I'm gonna go to bed. I'm really tired."
Karen nodded.
"You're no fun anymore." She said.
"Karen!" Anya said, taken aback. "That's a little unfair. You need to say you're sorry. Remember, Alex was sick today. She'll play with you tomorrow."
Karen mumbled an apology before going over to a bed which she was sharing with me.
She got out her copy of "The Secret Language" and started reading it.
I could tell she wasn't really reading because she hadn't put her blue glasses on.
It wasn't long before both girls were fast asleep.
Once they were out, I wasted no time.
"So what happened when we were on the Haunted Mansion ride?" I asked.
Anya sighed.
"When that guy started coming out of the coffin, it reminded Alex of Rasputin."
I nodded.
"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" I asked worriedly.
"Oh yeah." She said. "She'll be fine by tomorrow."
"That's good." I said. "I'm sorry about Karen."
"It's okay." Anya replied. "Kids will fight. It's natural. I didn't' mean to scold her."
I shook my head.
"She needed it. " I replied. "I would have done it if you hadn't stepped in."
Anya smiled at me from her bed across the room.
"Night." She whispered.
"Night." I replied.
After Anya was done singing Alex to sleep, we watched a half an hour of Disney Channel before falling asleep. Little did we know how short it would last.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, I felt Karen moving beside me. I figured she was dreaming, so I decided to leave her alone. She hadn't started crying or calling out for me, so I figured whatever she was dreaming about wasn't scary.
Pulling Karen close, I rolled over and fell back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Karen was in a very strange dream of her own.
She was back in her house in Stoneybrook, but something was very different.
Instead of Claud, Abby, Stacey or even Mal watching her, there was someone very Goofy looking after her.
In the dream, Karen had a little sister. But it wasn't' Emily.
This little girl had blond hair like Karen, but green eyes instead of blue.
Her hair was also a darker shade of blond.
Her name was Julie. Karen didn't' know how she knew that, she just did.
"Uh, Goofy," Karen started when she found him in the kitchen. "That's not how Nannie or my Nanny Mary Perkins makes a bottle."
"Yeah, but this way is just as affective." He said. He got a thoughtful look on his face. "Now, where'd those matches go? Fire warms up everything."
Julie giggled from her bassinet.
"He is funny." Karen conceded. "But I don't think he's ever baby-sat before."
She followed Goofy into the hall closet where he proceeded to knock down three boxes full of Christmas lights in his search for the matches.
"Whoops!" He said.
"Goofy, I really don't think this is such a good idea." Karen said.
"Sure it is!" Goofy said. "This will heat things up faster."
"But it's not safe!" Karen exclaimed. "Mommy and Daddy say not to ever play with fire."
"What's the worse that could happen? Besides, we're not playing' with fire . We're using' it to warm up a bottle."
Karen sighed.
"Did you pass baby-sitting school?" She asked.
"Oh gorsh! I don't remember." He said.
"That's what I thought." Karen decided. "Something tells me you need to watch one of those how-to videos."
"Those are fun!" He said. "And informative too."
Karen rolled her eyes.
"When you pay attention to them." She said.
"It's not my fault there confusing." He said.
"They're pretty easy for me to understand." She pointed out. "And I'm eight!"
"Can you and I watch 'em together? " He asked.
"Sure. But Julie needs to be fed first. Let me do it." With that, she took the bottle, filled it with formula and warmed it up in the microwave.
When the bottle was done, Karen fed Julie while they watched a How-to video all about baby-sitting with Goofy.
A little while later, it was time for Julie's next feeding.
Goofy decided since he was the baby-sitter, he would feed her this time.
Going into the kitchen, he took a fresh bottle out of the cabinet, while knocking several things over in the process.
Karen ran in, holding Julie in her arms.
"You made a huge mess!" Karen shouted. "Julie's cleaner than you are and she's only five-months-old." With that, she glared and left the room.
"Now that wasn't' very nice." Goofy said.
After filling the bottle with formula, Goofy put it on the stove.
He then lit the stove with a match and watched in satisfaction as the bottle heated up.
"See? I knew it would work the whole time." He said. "See? I'm a great baby-sitter."
Without warning, the stove ignited, sending Goofy head first up the Chimney.
Karen heard the explosion and ran out of the house as fast as she could while still holding onto Julie.
Meanwhile, Goofy was stuck in the Chimney pretty good.
"Explosive." He said as he looked around for someone to get him out.
He was kind of hoping that Bert would come by on his daily rounds of sweeping the Chimney.
I was woken up by Karen sitting up abruptly.
I sat up as well, still half asleep.
"Kristy?" She asked.
"Uh-huh." I said.
"Never hire Goofy to baby-sit for us."
"Okay." I said before lying back down and promptly falling asleep again.
Meanwhile, across the room from us, Alex was in a dream of her own. Only this one wasn't so gooffy.
Alex looked around at where she was, but it was hard to see. The darkness surrounded her, making her shiver with fear.
It was only when she looked down that she recognized where she was.
It was a place she never wanted to be again.
Alex wanted out of there and fast. She wanted her Mama there with her as well. At least when Anya had been with her before, it wasn't so bad.
As the seven-year-old stepped forward, she heard a voice call out to her through the darkness.
"Alexandra." It said.
Alex tried to be brave.
"Whose there? " She demanded.
"Alexandra." It said again. "My, have you grown since the last time we met."
"Whose there?" Alex demanded yet again. "How do you know my name?"
"So quick to forget." The disembodied voice said. "Your mother was the same way. It took her ten years to remember who I was! But I don't think it'll take you quite that long. Think, child."
"As realization hit, the little girl shook her head.
"No. It can't be." She said. "Ya-you're dead."
"In a manner of speaking." HE said. "I wouldn't be if it wasn't for your mother."
"What does Mama have to do with this?" Alex asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know." The voice said. "I give you fair warning, Alexandra, enjoy your mother while you can because once I have my revenge…" His voice trailed off in a hiss and was gone.
As Alex stood there, she felt herself falling to the ground. Only she just kept falling.
As she hit the ground, she heard someone calling her name as well as some strange noises.
Jerking awake a few minutes later, Alex found herself gazing into her mother's cobalt eyes, while the noises she had heard started to make sense now that she was awake.
As she tried to concentrate on the conversation Mickey and Goofy were having, she felt her mother pull her into her arms.
But even as she felt safe, she couldn't get the voice out of her head.
"Shh, shh," Anya soothed. She put a hand through Alex's light brown hair and kissed her cheek. "Shh, Alex, it's okay. You're safe now. What happened, huh? What scared my baby girl?"
Alex tried to answer her mother's question, but she was too overcome by tears to speak.
Once she had calmed down, she told her mother everything that had happened in her nightmare
"Mama, he said he wanted to kill you!" Alex cried before dissolving into tears while burying her face in Anya's right shoulder.
Anya comforted her daughter as best she could. She assured her she was safe-that they both were safe and sung her "Once Upon a December" hoping it would help her calm down.
After her mother had sung their song one more time, Alex started to relax. Her breathing went back to normal and her tears started to subside.
"That's my girl." Anya soothed. "That's my good girl." With that, she kissed Alex's head and resumed stroking her hair.
Meanwhile, I had awoken when Karen unceremoniously jabbed me in the ribs before hitting me in the head.
She woke up a minute later and rubbed at her eyes.
Her first question to me was, "Kristy, can we go see Beauty and the Beast?"
I grinned despite myself.
Even though the morning had gotten off to a rough start, I had a feeling the day ahead was going to be full of surprises for everyone…