The Summer of Our Discontent, Jacquel May [e book reading free .TXT] 📗

Mara, "not unless we want to get in trouble."

 

"Well, we're already in trouble for being friends with a girl that nobody here likes, so what's the worse we can do?" said Stuart.

 

"Nothing," said Irene. "We can do nothing. But doing nothing means that the villain has already won. Besides, we want our friend back, and doing nothing isn't going to bring her home."

 

"And the only way we will be able to get Tanya back is to play the game," said Mara. "But I'm not sure if we should fall into that trap, seeing as we've never been fooled before."

 

"But the person wants us to play their game," said Pearl. "We must do what they say, lest we want trouble for ourselves. If we don't, we won't be the only ones this stranger would destroy."

 

"You're right, Pearl," said Stuart. "This stranger won't hesitate to hurt our families and friends if we don't do what he or she wants."

 

"Well, to be fair, it seems as if we have no choice," said Mara.

 

"Yeah," said Irene. "We'll play his little game. But if I have to do anything stupid, he'll be sorry."

 

"Indeed," said Stuart.

 

The kids sat back in their seats and wondered how much of their summer was compromised no thanks to the unexpected scavenger hunt. If anything, they knew that the moment they agreed to the game, everything they thought they kept secret would be exposed to the city…

 

* * * * *

 

Little did Mara, Stuart, Irene, and Pearl know that someone had seen them at the park. The person in question was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and a fedora. The person whispered into a walkie-talkie, "They have taken the bait."

 

"Good," said a person on the other end. "The game starts tomorrow. We must do whatever it takes for the kids to find Tanya and ONLY the kids will find her. The police will not get involved in any way."

 

"But the cops have already been notified about the kidnapping," said the first person. "They won't stop until they have the girl in custody or arrested someone who kidnapped her. We have to be extremely careful so that they won't know it's us."

 

"Well, they already have that Susanna Brezetta under suspicion, so let's make sure that all circumstantial evidence in this case points to her," said the second person. "She won't be able to get away this time. we already know what happened when they allowed my sister's killer to go free..."

 

"And Susanna's fingerprints were all over that "not guilty" verdict, I bet," said the first person.

 

"And we had to kill the killer and his mother, which was a shame because they both deserved it," said the second person. "Anyway, we must start the game tomorrow. I have the girl secured in the Green Hill Manor in a place where no one will think to find her. We will have those Teen Rebels in our clutches and those bullying brats in prison before the summer is over."

 

As the second person spoke, a girl sat on a bed in a dark closet. Her feet were bound so she couldn't escape or get help. but she knew she could send a message. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote, "My name is Taylor Parker. I'm being held captive in the Green Hill Manor. If you get this message, please find Mara Llewellyn, Stuart Greer, Irene Haughton, and Pearl Tanner. They will tell you what you need to know."

 

She stuffed the folded note inside an empty water bottle, then crawled out of the room and rolled the bottle down the hall. With any luck, someone would find the bottle and find her friends before it was too late...

Episode 2: The Reality of the Situation

Within a few hours, Mara, Stuart, Irene, and Pearl woke up to a letter being shoved under the front door of their houses. The letter read:

 

"The hunt has begun, there's so much to do; I wouldn't waste any time if I were you. If you want to find the person that you seek, you must go to the place where you first meet."

 

"Well, that's interesting," said Mara as she stared at the letter. Upon receiving the message, she called Stuart, Irene, and Pearl to tell them about the message. They had received the same message as Mara did. "I received a letter telling me to look for a blue scarf. What message did you guys get?"

"I got a letter telling me to look for a locket," said Stuart.

"My letter says that I should find a diary," said Irene.

"Children's book," said Pearl.

"Well, that's interesting," said Mara. "Although I don't know what these particular objects have to do with finding Tanya."

"Maybe we should meet at the clubhouse," said Stuart. "That way we can compare notes."

"And also know where to go," said Irene.

Mara jumped out of bed and took a bath. After that, she put on a medium-length dress that was the color of a key lime pie and white sandals. (She never liked wearing t-shirts and jeans.) She then left her house, as a citywide curfew didn't allow children between the ages of 12-17 to be at home between 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM.

"Well, in all honesty, I think the people who made the curfew were asking for this situation to happen," said Irene as she climbed into the golf cart. "I mean, any teenager living here can run away from home if they wanted to. Nobody's that stupid."

"Yet, they want us to live like how they used to live back in the day, where it was OK to stay out as long as you like," said Mara. "Did this city learn nothing from the tragedy of little Ella Carter?"

"Dead," said Pearl as she climbed into the golf cart. "She meets a stranger, is taken away, and she dies. City did nothing to help her family."

"You're right, Pearl," said Irene. "And it was such a shame, as that poor girl needed some help."

"But how will her death help us?" said Mara.

"By reminding us that we were children once," said Stuart as he climbed into the golf cart. "And if we're going to find a missing child, we need to think like a child. Where do children go during the day?"

"School," said Pearl.

 

"Right," said Stuart. "And what school did we attend as children?"

"Well, I wouldn't rightly know, since the children I know usually aren't allowed outside without their parents' permission," said Irene.

"Don't be silly, Irene," said Pearl. "Children go to school. We go to school. School is where we first met Tanya."

"Yes, but which school did we first meet her?" said Mara.

"Well, it wouldn't be Harrison Creek Elementary School, wouldn't it?" said Stuart.

"It is," said Mara. "That's where we met Tanya in the fifth grade."

"OK, when did that happen?" said Irene.

They all thought back to the day when they first met Tanya...

October 4, 2006

Harrison Creek Elementary School

10-year-old Mara and 8-year-old Stuart were sitting by themselves on the playground. Mara, as usual, was reading a fantasy book while Stuart was staring off into space. 10-year-old Irene approached them, saying, "I don't know why the teachers insist that we play outside. Don't they know that you can fall off the playground and get hurt?"

"Yeah," said Mara, who wasn't paying attention to anything Irene was saying.

"Plus, there's the matter of how rough the other kids are," Irene continued. "Don't you think it's better for them if they learned to sit down and play quietly?"

"I wish," said Stuart.

"And there's the awful stories I've heard about people stealing children from playgrounds and we never see them again," said Irene, but Stuart said, "Wow, you're quite the cynic today. Who slapped you when you were in kindergarten?"

"Don't be such a realist, Stuart," said Mara. "Besides, it's better for us to sit and digest what Mrs. Wormwood is teaching us instead of running around acting like hoodlums as the other kids are doing."

"You don't say!" said Irene.

"Oh yes, she just did," said Stuart. "What are you going to do about it?"

Just then, the sound of car alarms cut into their thoughts. Somewhere in the neighborhood, several car alarms were going off, with the loud noises being spread all over the place. "Who keeps setting off those blasted car alarms?" Stuart yelled.

"Nothing but those blasted squirrels that keep running around here throwing their nuts at our heads and never giving us a moment's peace!" Irene shouted. To the squirrels, she yelled, "Shut up, squirrels!"

"What happened next?" Pearl snapped. Everyone glared at her. "Go back to the story!"

"Oh, you won't believe what happened next," said Stuart as the memory began again...

As Mara, Stuart, and Irene sat on the bench outside the playground, a yard monitor came to them, saying, "I'm sorry, kids, but I can't allow you to sit on the bench while the other students play. You should get up and play or I'll report you to the principal."

"Oh, I'm *so* scared," Stuart mocked her. "You can't make me do anything!"

"Plus, playing at recess is a waste of time, time that could wisely be spent reading books," said Mara.

"I wouldn't dare touch any surface that peasants allow their children to roam," said Irene.

"Did you not hear me?" said the yard monitor. "Get off the bench or else I will make you."

"You can't do that," said Irene.

"Yes I can and I will," said the yard monitor. "Since you children won't do what I asked you to do, I'm taking you straight to the principal's office. We'll see how long you can defy him."

"Wow, so even back then, you refused to follow the rules," said Pearl. "You guys were pretty badass."

"And proud of it," said Mara.

"And you won't believe what happened next," said Irene.

The yard monitor led Mara, Stuart, and Irene to the principal's office; many students shrank and ran away in fear as the woman guided the three disobedient students down the hallway. Mara frowned, wondering what was wrong with sitting down and being quiet. Wasn't that what children were supposed to do while they were in school? Kids don't need to play all the time, not when children everywhere were being dumbed down by boring video games and pointless TV shows.

Stuart said to her, "Wow, guess I never took you for the genius type."

"I know," said Mara. "I never liked to go outside, not when there's a world of imagination waiting for you inside a book."

"And I thought book readers never liked to have fun," said Irene.

The monitor reached the front office and shoved them into the principal's office, saying, "You just wait until Mr. Marshall gets here. He's going to straighten you brats out."

"But what if they don't want to be straightened out?" said a girl who was sitting in a chair in the office. "What then? You can't make kids play outside; they have to want it for themselves."

"Not another word out of your mouth, Miss Parker; you're already in enough trouble as it is," said the monitor. "Don't make it worse for yourself."

"Please," said 11-year-old Taylor Parker as she narrowed her brown eyes at the woman. "How much more trouble can I get myself into?"

The monitor left the office and slammed the door shut, causing everything in the room to rattle. The kids were startled for a