BSC08 Boy-Crazy Stacey Read Online Free Page A
Author: Ann M. Martin
read ELLEN COOKE, REALTOR. Mr. Pike went inside. He returned a few minutes later with a ring of keys and a folder full of fliers and ads and even an un-inflated souvenir beach ball. We drove off again.
"I claim the ball!" cried Nicky.
"No, me!" yelled Margo.
"No, me!" yelled Claire.
I grabbed the beach ball and sat on it. "Guess what," I said. "The beach ball is either everybody's or nobody's."
"Thank you, Stacey," said Mr. Pike.
"But it can't be everybody's," said Nicky.
"Then I guess it's nobody's," I replied.
"If it's nobody's, then I claim it!" Nicky retorted gleefully.
Luckily, just then we turned into a driveway.
"Here we are!" announced Mr. Pike. "End of the line! Everybody out."
"Yea! Hurray!" We tumbled out of the car. Mrs. Pike parked next to us, and the triplets and Vanessa tumbled out of her car. The Pike kids were all jumping around and yelling. No wonder. The air smelled wonderful. It wasn't just the salt. It was something else that I couldn't describe, a freshness that was different from country air.
"We're back, we're here, we've come once more, to our gingerbread house by the white seashore!" sang Vanessa.
"Hey, that was a good one," said Byron appreciatively.
I took a look at the Pikes' rented house. We were facing the back, but even from there I could see that it was sort of gingerbready — with carved railings and posts and eaves and edges. Very old-fashioned. It was large and rambling, painted yellow with white trim. I glanced at Mary Anne and could tell that she had already fallen in love with it. I knew she was mentally writing a postcard to Dawn, describing the house and its view of the ocean.
"Do you rent the same house every year?" I asked Mallory as we unloaded cartons from the car.
"Yup," she said. "And we're so lucky. I mean, right on the beach and everything. In
the evening we sometimes sit on the front porch and just stare out at the ocean. And when it rains. ..."
"Yeah?"
"I go up to this room on the third floor and sit on this window seat and watch the lightning and the waves crashing and everything."
I shivered. It sounded very romantic.
"Plus/7 added Mallory, "the lifeguard stand is right in front of our house. We can walk out the front door and straight into the ocean for
a swim."
The driveway was behind the house, and we were carrying things in through the back door. Inside, Mrs. Pike was directing traffic.
"Why don't you take the same rooms you had last year?" she suggested. "Boys in the big bedroom at the end of the hall. Claire and Margo, in the room next to Daddy and me. Vanessa and Mallory, the pink bedroom. Oh, and Mal, show Mary Anne and Stacey the yellow bedroom, okay?"
Mary Anne was looking around the house, wide-eyed. The rooms on the first floor were big and bright and airy. I saw a living room, a sunporch, and a kitchen before Mallory whisked us up the wide staircase to the second floor.
The second floor consisted of a hallway,
bedrooms, and bathrooms. It reminded me a little of Watson's house, only it wasn't nearly as big. Mallory opened a door toward the end of the hall.
"This is the yellow bedroom," she said. "If you don't like it, there are a couple of rooms on the third floor, or you could trade with somebody."
"Oh, no, it's perfect!" Mary Anne breathed. "Just perfect."
It was a pretty room, I suppose, although not really to my taste. It was old-fashioned, with two high, dark wood beds, a bare wood floor, and yellow flowered wallpaper. It did, however, have a view of the beach. Out our window was sand and sun and the lifeguard stand.
"This is great!" I said to Mary Anne as soon as Mallory had left. "What a view. Come on, lef s unpack. Then we can help the kids unpack, and after lunch, we can go out and do something."
We did just that. We emptied our suitcases, putting things in the tall bureau between our beds, or hanging them in the closet. Then we gave the Pike kids a hand. While Mr. and Mrs. Pike were still unpacking boxes and opening
"I claim the ball!" cried Nicky.
"No, me!" yelled Margo.
"No, me!" yelled Claire.
I grabbed the beach ball and sat on it. "Guess what," I said. "The beach ball is either everybody's or nobody's."
"Thank you, Stacey," said Mr. Pike.
"But it can't be everybody's," said Nicky.
"Then I guess it's nobody's," I replied.
"If it's nobody's, then I claim it!" Nicky retorted gleefully.
Luckily, just then we turned into a driveway.
"Here we are!" announced Mr. Pike. "End of the line! Everybody out."
"Yea! Hurray!" We tumbled out of the car. Mrs. Pike parked next to us, and the triplets and Vanessa tumbled out of her car. The Pike kids were all jumping around and yelling. No wonder. The air smelled wonderful. It wasn't just the salt. It was something else that I couldn't describe, a freshness that was different from country air.
"We're back, we're here, we've come once more, to our gingerbread house by the white seashore!" sang Vanessa.
"Hey, that was a good one," said Byron appreciatively.
I took a look at the Pikes' rented house. We were facing the back, but even from there I could see that it was sort of gingerbready — with carved railings and posts and eaves and edges. Very old-fashioned. It was large and rambling, painted yellow with white trim. I glanced at Mary Anne and could tell that she had already fallen in love with it. I knew she was mentally writing a postcard to Dawn, describing the house and its view of the ocean.
"Do you rent the same house every year?" I asked Mallory as we unloaded cartons from the car.
"Yup," she said. "And we're so lucky. I mean, right on the beach and everything. In
the evening we sometimes sit on the front porch and just stare out at the ocean. And when it rains. ..."
"Yeah?"
"I go up to this room on the third floor and sit on this window seat and watch the lightning and the waves crashing and everything."
I shivered. It sounded very romantic.
"Plus/7 added Mallory, "the lifeguard stand is right in front of our house. We can walk out the front door and straight into the ocean for
a swim."
The driveway was behind the house, and we were carrying things in through the back door. Inside, Mrs. Pike was directing traffic.
"Why don't you take the same rooms you had last year?" she suggested. "Boys in the big bedroom at the end of the hall. Claire and Margo, in the room next to Daddy and me. Vanessa and Mallory, the pink bedroom. Oh, and Mal, show Mary Anne and Stacey the yellow bedroom, okay?"
Mary Anne was looking around the house, wide-eyed. The rooms on the first floor were big and bright and airy. I saw a living room, a sunporch, and a kitchen before Mallory whisked us up the wide staircase to the second floor.
The second floor consisted of a hallway,
bedrooms, and bathrooms. It reminded me a little of Watson's house, only it wasn't nearly as big. Mallory opened a door toward the end of the hall.
"This is the yellow bedroom," she said. "If you don't like it, there are a couple of rooms on the third floor, or you could trade with somebody."
"Oh, no, it's perfect!" Mary Anne breathed. "Just perfect."
It was a pretty room, I suppose, although not really to my taste. It was old-fashioned, with two high, dark wood beds, a bare wood floor, and yellow flowered wallpaper. It did, however, have a view of the beach. Out our window was sand and sun and the lifeguard stand.
"This is great!" I said to Mary Anne as soon as Mallory had left. "What a view. Come on, lef s unpack. Then we can help the kids unpack, and after lunch, we can go out and do something."
We did just that. We emptied our suitcases, putting things in the tall bureau between our beds, or hanging them in the closet. Then we gave the Pike kids a hand. While Mr. and Mrs. Pike were still unpacking boxes and opening
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