Ann Martin - Kristy And The Haunted Mansion

As soon as Janine walked out the door, Lucy began to cry again. "You just don't like to see anybody leave, do you?" said Claudia, picking her up.

"Can we play Wizard of Oz?" asked Jamie. "You can be Dorothy, and Lucy can be Toto, and I'll be the Cowberry Lion."

Claudia laughed, even though Lucy was still crying. "You mean the Cowardly Lion?" she asked Jamie.

"That's what I said," said Jamie. "Or maybe I want to be the Scarecrow."

Just then, the phone rang. Still carrying the crying Lucy, Claud ran to answer it.

"Hi, Claudia, it’s me, Mary Anne," said Mary Anne, sniffling.

"You sound terrible," said Claudia. "Did something happen?"

"No, I'm just so worried. Why don't they call us?"

"I don't know. They will as soon as they can, I guess." Claudia noticed that Jamie was watching her closely. "Um, I should go," she said. "Call me if you hear anything."

"Did something bad happen?" asked Jamie, as soon as Claudia hung up. "You look sad."

"I'm fine," answered Claudia, amazed at how sensitive and perceptive kids can be. She didn't want to scare Jamie by telling him that the Krashers and I were missing. "Everything's okay. Should we start our game?" By that time, Lucy had stopped crying and was playing with one of Claudia's earrings.

"Yea!" said Jamie. "You can still carry Lucy, but just pretend you're Dorothy and she's your little dog."

"All right," said Claud. "Come on, Toto, let's follow the yellow brick road." She began to walk through the downstairs, pretending she was following a path. Jamie ran ahead of her and hid behind one of the chairs in the living room.

When Claudia walked by the chair, Jamie jumped out. "Rahhhrrr!" he cried.

Lucy, startled, began to cry. Then the phone rang again. Claudia ran to answer it. This time, Stacey was calling. She had no news, but she was hoping that Claudia did. It was a short call. When Claudia hung up, Jamie looked at her. "What happened?" he asked again.

This time, Claudia told him about the missing Krashers, trying not to make the situation sound too scary. But Jamie was very concerned. "Where do you think they are?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Claudia. "But as soon as it stops raining, they'll probably find their way home."

"What if it doesn't stop raining for a long, long time?" asked Jamie.

"I'm sure it will stop soon," said Claudia, sounding more confident than she really was.

The phone rang again. It was Dawn. She

and Claudia talked for a few minutes. Then, as they were about to hang up, Claudia thought of something. "Do you think anyone has phoned the hospitals around Redfield?" she asked. "I mean, if they were in an — I mean, if something happened, they might be there," she said, catching herself before she said the word "accident" in front of Jamie.

"That's a good idea," said Dawn.

"I'll try calling around," said Claudia. After she hung up, she called information and got the numbers for three hospitals. Then, even though she knew she shouldn't tie up the Newtons' phone, she called each one quickly. None of them had any information about a van accident. Claudia hung up from the last call, not knowing whether to feel relieved or even more worried. Was no news good news?

Jamie tugged on her arm. "Do you think they're dead?" he asked.

Claudia was shocked. Jamie seemed too young to know much about death. "Oh, no, Jamie," she said. "I'm sure they're not dead."

"But kids can die, right?" he asked.

"Well," replied Claudia, "they can. That's true. But it doesn't happen very often."

Jamie asked tough questions throughout the evening. It wasn't easy for Claudia to answer some of them, but she did the best she could. When the Newtons came home, she pulled

Mrs. Newton aside and filled her in on what had happened. Then she headed home and called Stacey. "Want to come over and spend the night?" she asked. "I think I need some company."

Chapter 9.

I sat down at the kitchen table next to Bart. The kids were waiting while Charlie cut up two apples and divided some bread. I knew the kids must be hungry — I certainly was. It was frustrating to know that I couldn't give them as much food as they needed.

"I want my mommy," said Karen, suddenly. "I'm tired of being in this dumb house. Can't we go home now?"

"I want to go home, too," said Chris, sniffling a little. "I miss Molly. She's my dog. She probably wonders where I am. I bet nobody remembered to feed her."

I realized that the younger kids were probably getting tired and therefore cranky. And the older ones were just plain restless. I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers, wishing that the electricity would come back on. Having lights would make everything so much easier. It was almost dark out by then, but it would

be awhile before the kids would be ready to go to sleep. Lights would make entertaining the children a lot simpler. But when I opened my eyes, the kitchen was still dim.

I looked around and noticed that the Krushers were sitting on one side of the table, and Bashers were sitting on the other. Even though they'd played a couple of games together as the Krashers, the kids hadn't really gotten to know each other. Since they live in different neighborhoods, they don't spend much time playing together.

Suddenly, I had a good idea. "Hey, listen," I said. "How about if we get to know each other a little better? I mean, all we know about each other is what we've seen on the ballfield. Like, we know Jerry is an awesome third base-man, and we know we can always count on Patty to get a hit and that Joey and Buddy make great double plays. But how about if we find out more?" The kids looked interested, so I went on. "I'll start by saying a few things about myself," I said, "and then we can go around the circle. Okay?"

Everybody nodded. "Well," I said. "My full name is Kristin Amanda Thomas. My best friend's name is Mary Anne Spier. I like sports and animals, and I don't like dressing up, eating cabbage, squirrels, loose teeth, and people who chew with their mouths open." I saw

few smiles. I turned to Patty, who sat to my left, and told her to go ahead.

Patty, who's seven years old, and has bright red hair and freckles and a spunky personality, drew in a breath. "I'm Patty," she said. "I have three brothers and we have a horse named Ginger. When I grow up I want to be a carpenter and ride a motorcycle. After that, I want to be the president of the United States."

"Cool," said Joey and Jackie.

Jerry was next. He's a wiry nine-year-old with curly brown hair and a wicked grin. "I have two pesty little brothers and a dog named Winter. I also have a paper route with my best friend Bonzie. His real name is Jimmy, but we call him Bonzie. I like to build forts in the woods."

We went all the way around the circle, while we sat in the ever-darker kitchen and munched on our pieces of apple. I think the kids had fun. I know I did. I learned all about the kids I didn't know, and I even learned new things about the ones I did know. For example, I hadn't known that Buddy Barrett has an aunt who lives in Alaska. Even my own brother had a few surprises for me: Charlie said he remembered holding me when I was a baby! Bart made me blush by telling everyone that one of his favorite things to do was "be with Kristy."

By the time we'd finished, everyone seemed to feel much closer — as if we were a temporary "family. Nobody was sniffling anymore or asking for their mommies. Then Bart suggested that we go back to the room with the pool table and "hang out" there until it was time for bed. Charlie lit a lantern and led the kids down the hall. I heard them talking excitedly about some of the things they'd Learned they had in common. Bart and I sat alone for a minute at the table.

"That was fun,” said Bart. "It was a great idea."