INTRUSION (Whitney Holmes Series) (2 page)

Mrs. Kingsley told me to sit down and fill a plate with food. I immediately obeyed her and I was eating when Chanda came in with sweats on.

“
Where are you going all dressed up?” her father asked sarcastically.

“
We are going to the mall to try on bathing suits and I want to be comfortable,” Chanda said as she sat down her mother handed her a plate of food.

“
I think that is very practical,” she said.

I thought so, too, wishing I didn’t have my tight jeans on.

We finished breakfast and I ran home and got my purse. I hurriedly told my mother where I was going and I left.

We walked to the Park-and-Ride, which was about four blocks away. We talked about the boys we thought were cute and wondered what they would say to us if they saw us in our bathing suits.

When we got to the Park-and-Ride, we waited for the bus that would take us to the Buena Park Mall. That was still our favorite mall, even though there were others nearby.

The price of a bus ticket had gone up again. It was now $1.50 for one way and $2.00 for a round trip. Chanda and I each handed over two one-dollar bills.

We were lucky and got seats together. There were strange people on the bus, as usual a lot of people were homeless, I could tell because they had so much stuff with them.

I really felt sorry for the homeless. If I had extra change, I would always try to give it to them. I know I should give them more, but I made my money babysitting and didn’t have much. I barely had enough money for a bathing suit. I had been saving for months for it.

I was excited to try them on. I had lost a little weight since last year and I thought I might look pretty good in one.

Chanda had a great figure, she was part Italian and she had the whole Gina Lollobrigida thing going on. A lot of boys at school liked her. She had a crush on one boy who she had liked since junior high. He tortured her so much. Sometimes, he acted like he liked her and would text her, but then there would be nothing from him for quite a while.

I was glad I didn’t have anyone I liked right now. I had just broken up with a boy, Brendan. It was a fairly platonic relationship, and we were mostly just friends anyway. We still said hi to each other because we had some classes together and saw each other every day. If I broke up with a boy, I liked to stay friends, if possible.

We arrived at the Buena Park Mall and got off the bus. I always thanked the bus driver. Sometimes they say, “You’re welcome,” but sometimes they just grunt.

We decided to try Sears first. We went to the teen section and there were many bathing suits on display. I usually got a one-piece, but this year I wanted to try a bikini.

I saw an orange one that had yellow stripes, it was really cute and I pulled it from the rack.

Chanda was already taking two or three off the rack. She was very decisive and she picked ones that she thought would look good with her coloring. She held them against her tan to see how the colors looked.

We found the ladies’ dressing room. The store clerk at the entrance to the dressing room told us to leave on our underwear when we tried on the bathing suits. I knew that was more sanitary, but how could I get a good look at myself in the bikini with my underwear sticking out?

She gave me a large number one on a plastic card and she gave Chanda a large number three.

We went into different rooms. Like I said, we were modest.

I didn’t leave on my underwear when I tried on the suit and felt guilty. I thought about what if other people did the same thing and hurriedly looked in the mirror. I liked what I saw and could tell I had lost some weight, I looked good and, I hurriedly took the suit off. I was going to buy it. I looked at the price and it was reasonable. I was glad because I really wanted that suit.

I put on my clothes and left my little changing room. Chanda was still in hers. I tapped on her door. “It’s me. I got one. Did you find anything?”

“It’s a choice between a red one and a hot pink one,” she said through the door.

“
Get them both, you know we will be going to the beach all summer and you hate to do laundry,” I said.

“
Good point,” she said.

In a minute, she came out. She had the two bikinis she was buying in one hand and a blue one that she didn’t like in another.

I said, “I want to buy some sunscreen. You know I don’t have your tan skin and I burn.”

“
That is what they make sunscreen for, darling,” she said in a funny voice.

“
Okay, but let’s go to CVS and get some before we go,” I said.

“
All right,” she said.

We went to the cashier to pay and I was pleasantly surprised that my bikini was on sale. Chanda’s were, too. It was so funny how they put bikinis out in the spring and then put them on sale before summer had even arrived.

We walked around the mall, window shopping. My bikini, even on sale, took most of my money.

The mannequins in the stores were all dressed up for summer. It was a good feeling, that summer was coming.

We had lunch at the food court. I went to Orange Julius and got a hot dog and a small Orange Julius. Chanda went to a Chinese restaurant and got a plate full of food. She had always been like that. She could eat like a horse and not gain a pound. She was on the school’s volleyball team, so she got a lot of exercise.

After lunch, we decided to go home. The mall wasn’t too big and we had pretty much seen everything that was interesting to us.

I was out of money, so we didn’t go to CVS to get the sunscreen.

The bus ride home was uneventful and then we walked the four blocks home. I told Chanda I wanted to do some stuff at home and I would see her later. She said that was fine, as she felt like taking a nap. We both laughed because we knew that was what I was going to do also because I loved my weekend naps.

I was looking forward to summer so I could take a nap during the week. All I had planned for summer was to volunteer a couple of days a week at the library and on the other days, go to the beach.

We used to have a pool in our back yard. It was one of those inflatable above-ground kind and it was a pretty good size. My mom had to test it for algae and pH every day. Anyway, the water got green and we couldn’t clean it, so we got rid of it.

Now, the only swimming I did was in the ocean. I loved to body surf. I usually got sunburned pretty badly in the beginning but I had heard of a sunscreen that didn’t wash off. I had to ask my mom if we could buy that kind because I had heard it was pretty expensive.

After my nap, I got up and read. Chanda came by and knocked at the door and I went to the door and was happy to see her.

“Do you want to go to a movie tonight? My dad said he would drive us and pay,” she asked.

“
Sure,” I said, surprised.

I asked her to come in and we went to my room. She immediately flopped on my bed the very same way I did on hers.

“What are we going to see?” I asked.

“
The new James Bond movie,” she said.

“
Again?” I asked. We had seen it twice already.

“
Yes,” she said, smiling.

“
Why the secretive smile?” I asked.

“
This time, my dad is springing for 3D,” she said.

“
Wow,” I said. I had heard that 3D movies were amazing.

“
What time are we leaving?” I asked.

“
In about an hour. Eat dinner and then we will go,” she said.

I looked at the clock and it was five o’clock, I couldn’t believe I had slept so long.

We went to the movies and some weird guys tried to sit with us and talk to us. They were about thirty years old! I was so upset by them trying to get the seats near us that I didn’t enjoy the movie, even though it was 3D and I was interested in the whole 3D experience. We had to move twice to let them know we were not interested. I finally said that if they did it again, that I would get a movie usher to kick them out. They, of course, called us unrepeatable names because they couldn’t take rejection.

Chanda’s dad came and picked us up. We didn’t say so but we both understood not to tell him about the guys if we ever wanted to go to the movies alone again.

When I got home, everyone was in an uproar. Jacob had zipped himself into his pants because he didn’t put on underwear that day. My mom was trying to help him unzip his pants without hurting him too much. My dad and Jordan were giving unwanted advice and I suggested they take him to the emergency room but Jacob screamed, “No!”

Finally, my mom got his zipper down with Jacob howling. My mom told him to go take a baking soda bath.

I never knew what was going to happen next with my little brothers. They were always in the middle of something crazy. Luckily, my parents were around to handle things.

I went to my room and flopped on my bed. The boys shared a bedroom and my dad had a study where he worked on his computer he let us use his computer for school and sometimes, he let me play games on it. I had an email account and I also had a Facebook account.

I had had my own cell phone since I was in the seventh grade. My parents thought I should be able to call them if I was in trouble.

I got a phone call. On the phone it said, “blocked.” I didn’t answer it. Blocked phone calls were usually sales calls.

A text message came through.

It said, “U were smart not to sit by those old men.” That was all it said. The text message came from a blocked number, so, I had no idea who had sent it. I felt the hair rise on the back of my neck.

I called Chanda and told her about the text. We both agreed that was totally creepy. We didn’t see anyone we knew in the theater, but it was dark in there. Anyone from school could have been in there, probably sitting behind us.

CHAPTER TWO

We went to church the next day, our family went to a really cool church. The music was great, the kind of music that you would hear in your head for the whole day after church. The message was always interesting and I didn’t fall asleep.

My brothers liked it because the Sunday School had a Royal Ranger program. It was sort of like Boy Scouts, but it was Christian-based. They had little uniforms and everything.

After church, we got pizza at our regular place. We did this every Sunday. We always got the same kind, a large pizza with sausage and olives. I ate my two pieces as I sat and watched my family devour the rest.

I had decided to stop drinking cola, I had gone to the dentist and had five cavities filled; he said it was because of all the sugary cola I drank. I never wanted to deal with the dentist again, not like that, so soda was on my list of things that were my enemy. I made a lot of lists it helped me figure stuff out.

I was sipping tea when my dad asked me how the James Bond 3D movie was. True to my silent agreement with Chanda, I didn’t talk about the weirdos who wouldn’t leave us alone.

“It was good, I love James Bond,” I said.

“
We know, we know,” Jordan said.

“
Oh, have I mentioned that before?” I asked innocently.

“
Only about one million times,” Jacob said.

I smiled.

We cleaned up and went home and I took my usual Sunday nap. When I woke up, my phone rang. It was a blocked number again, I didn’t answer I and I wondered if I was going to get another creepy text, I did. The text read: “How did you like your pizza?”

Definitely creeped out, I went over to Chanda’s and I told her about the text. She told me I should tell my parents. I wanted to, but somehow, I didn’t want to bother them.

I kind of thought it was a prank, like it was a kid watching me, so I didn’t take it too seriously. I thought if I got another text that I would talk to my mom, she was understanding about weird things.

Chanda and I listened to music and talked. We were sort of excited that school was almost over. We only had six weeks to go and then we would both be juniors. I knew next year was the year that everyone said would be the hardest, academically.

I went home before dark, even though she was next door. I was starting to get nervous.

I got my clothes ready for school and laid them on the chair in my room. I always did that, I am kind of a neat freak. I made sure my curtain was closed tight and then went to bed and read until I fell asleep.

I woke up when the alarm went off. I got ready for school and went into the kitchen to eat breakfast. My mom had cooked French toast, one of my favorite breakfasts.

My dad usually drove me and Chanda to school. It was only five or so blocks, but we liked to talk in that short time.

“You seem tired today,” my father said.

“
I read until late, I know, I know, not a good idea,” I said.

“
I used to do that, but my eyes can’t take it anymore,” my dad said.