DENNIS

Lavender Link and her best friend Raylene Rodgers were walking down a path in Miller’s forest one day, talking about their favorite television program, “Tupelo Teens”. They had become particularly fond of the dashing young blonde boy, Cliff, who, according to the story, was the son of a famous pop musician. Raylene thought that Cliff was cute while Lavender thought Cliff was simply a god in human form. Lavender said to her friend , “If Cliff ever comes here to our town I’m going to marry him.”
  Raylene looked at Lavender and stoically  said, “Not if I marry him first.” Lavender looked at her friend and they both started giggling and began running down the path.
  Their game of chase lead them to the shore of Miller’s pond, one of their favorite places to play on hot summer days, unfortunately, neither girl had worn her swimsuit so they were limited to wading and trying to catch tadpoles. They both removed their shoes and socks, all the while planning their imminent  marriages to the scorchingly cute Cliff of “Tupelo Teens”. they decided that they would BOTH marry him, since they were best friends and shared just about everything. They waded into the water and began their search for the denizens of the pond, still talking, still laughing and generally having a nice time.
  After a while, they began to hear voices in  the forest, and the voices seemed to be getting closer. The two girls recognized the voices they were hearing as those of kids so were not worried, as the forest was a popular play area for local neighborhood kids. Soon enough, the kids who owned the voices came out of the forest and Lavender and Raylene recognized that they were two boys in their class, Matt and Eric. The two boys stopped just short of the water and looked at the girls and then at each other, both looking a bit nervous.
  “Hi Matt, hi Eric. What are you both up to today?” asked Lavender congenially.
  “Not much”, said Matt, “we just came out to swim.. It’s pretty hot today.” Matt eyed the swinging rope that had been hung from a tree branch longingly.
  “Well, go ahead”, said Raylene, “there’s plenty of pond for everyone” she smiled at the two boys. Raylene had had a crush on Eric for some time now and relished any chance she could get to hang out with him.
  Eric whispered something into Matt’s ear and matt nodded then said to the girls,  “Well, we can’t swim now.”
  “Why not?”, asked Lavender.
  “We didn’t bring swimsuits.” Replied Eric nervously.
  “Yeah, we were going to skinny dip.” said Matt.
  Lavender and Raylene exchanged a glanced and giggled then looked back at the boys. Matt whispered something to Eric and Eric whispered something back. Matt nodded and the to two boys smiled.
  “Hey, we have an idea” said Eric.
  “Well, what is it?” asked Raylene.
  Matt said, “Why don’t we all skinny dip together?”
  Lavender and Raylene looked quickly at one another, eyes wide. “Well, could you give us a moment? We need to talk for a moment.” , said Raylene.
  “Sure.” said matt as Eric busied himself by removing his shoes.
  Raylene lead Lavender away a bit and said, “Lavender, let’s do it!”
  “What?” asked Lavender, “What do you mean? You mean to skinny dip with them?”
  “Sure, let’s do it” said Raylene.
  “But, Ray, they’ll see us naked” said Lavender nervously.
  “So what? We’ll get to see them naked too.” said Raylene, “Come on Lavender, no one will know.”
  Lavender looked over at Matt and Eric, then back to her best friend.
 
  To be continued .........................

Lavender  heard the stranger in her hallway just as the sheet that Raylene was climbing down went slack in her hands. Her bedroom door burst open and there was the strange  man. He grabbed her arm and said, “You need to come with  me.” lavender screamed and jerked her arm out of the strangers grip and took off running.
  She ran out her bedroom door and into the hallway. She was so frightened she didn’t notice what was wrong, only that her eyes were stinging and it was hard to breath. She heard the man behind her and she poured on a burst of speed. Just as she reached her stairway she heard the stranger scream, “NO!!!” and just as she was about to descend the stairs she felt herself being lifted up. She started to scream but she heard the stranger yell, “No, don’t go that way, that part is on fire!” as she was carried back down the hall she finally understood. Her eyes were stinging from the smoke of a house fire, and it also must be why she couldn’t breathe too well. The stranger carried her to her parents bedroom and then to the windows overlooking the front lawn. Of course…those windows opened onto the porch’s roof and would be easier to get down. The stranger urged her out the window and quickly followed. Once on the porch roof they heard the
sirens of approaching fire trucks. The stranger climbed off the roof and called up to Lavender, “Jump down and I will catch you.” lavender jumped into the strangers arms and they ran to the sidewalk together to watch the firemen as they arrived and began to unroll their hoses.
  Within a few hours the fire had been quenched and Lavender and the stranger were sitting by the ambulance as Raylene was being treated for a sprained ankle. Lavender had learned from her friend that there was six feet lacking to their makeshift sheet rope and Ray had had to drop the additional distance and upon landing had twisted her ankle on a rock in the flower bed. Shortly after Lavender had gotten the story from Raylene her mother had arrived. There had been a moment of panic from her mother but upon seeing that her daughter was safe she had calmed down. Now, as Lavender and the stranger sat together Lavender turned to the stranger and said, “I’m sorry, mister, I thought you were a burglar, or worse. Thank you for saving me.”
  The stranger looked at Lavender and smiled. He said, “ I understand, miss. You were very wise NOT to open the door for me, I AM a stranger.”
  “Yeah”, Lavender said, “but you were trying to help me.”
  “Yes, I was. But I was in such a panic it never occurred to me to yell ‘FIRE’ or to let you know my intentions. See, I was across the street when your mother left and I saw that you had stayed behind, but when your mother backed out of the garage she must have knocked something over because I saw the flames almost immediately. I knew you and your friend, who had arrived soon after your mom had left were still in the house and I became terrified that you two would be hurt or killed. And, as I said, I panicked.”
  Lavender smiled at the stranger and said, “Well, despite the mistakes, you saved my life and I am very thankful.”, she hugged the stranger and the stranger hugged her back. Just then her mother walked up and placed her hand on Lavender’s head.
  “Are you alright, honey?” lavender’s mother asked her.
  “Yes, mom, I’m fine. Thanks to this man here.
  Mrs. Link turned to the stranger and he stood up and held out his hand. Mrs. Link looked at his hand a moment and then hugged the stranger. “Thank you. Thank you SO much.”
  The stranger said, “My name is Greg … Greg Thompson. I moved into the house across from yours last week. I was out working in my flower beds when I saw that your house was on fire.”
  Mrs. Link looked at Greg and said, “ Well, thankfully, nothing major with the house was damaged. The garage needs to be completely rebuilt and the mudroom needs to be repaired, but the main portion of the house escaped the fire.”
  “Well, THAT’S good. You should also be very proud of your daughter. She didn’t realize the house was on fire and ran from me, thinking I was a burglar. You have raised her very well and wise.”
  Mrs. Link wrapped her arms around her daughter and said, “Yes, I am VERY proud of Lavender. Very proud indeed.”
That night, as she was climbing into bed, Lavender’s mother said to her, “Lavender, you were very smart to have run today. That was the right thing to do. If you are unsure of someone’s intentions, or are wary of someone you don’t know you should always run or call for help.”
  Lavender looked at her mom and said, “I know mom. I will ALWAYS avoid strangers.”
  Mrs. Link kissed her daughter’s forehead, turned off her lamp and said, “Good night, honey”

  Lavender and Raylene Ran up the stairs when the stranger at the door began to slam his shoulder into the door. As soon as they were up stairs they heard a loud crash and the door slammed open. “What are we going to do?” asked Raylene.

“I don’t know, “ said Lavender, “I don’t know”

The two girls barricaded themselves into Lavender’s room, and both were very frightened. They could hear the strange intruder downstairs, it sounded like he was running from room to room, knocking things over. Maybe he was robbing Lavender’s family. Lavender had wished that her mom and dad had allowed her to have a phone in her room, but since she didn’t she couldn’t call the police for help. Raylene began crying, and Lavender hugged her friend, near tears herself. She was so scared she didn’t know what to do. The crashes and bangs from downstairs got louder and they started to hear the stranger talking, it sounded like he was shouting, but they couldn’t tell what he was saying because now both girls were crying very hard.

Lavender’s mom had always told her not to open the door for strangers, but had never told her what to do if a stranger got in anyway. Her mom had never told her what to do in these situations. What if the stranger had come to kidnap her, or worse? There was a huge crash downstairs and Raylene couldn’t hold her fear in anymore and let out a dispatched scream of terror. Lavender put her hand over her friend’s mouth but it was too late, she could here the stranger coming up the stairs. Lavender looked around her room, looking for anything that might help. She saw her bedroom window. Her heart jumped in her chest. She grabbed Raylene’s arm and pulled her towards the window. Raylene hesitated for a moment until Lavender said, “The window, Ray, we can get out the window!!”

They ran over to the window and pulled up. It didn’t budge. They tried again, it still didn’t budge.

Lavender began to panic until Raylene said, “Unlock it, Lavender, it’s locked.” lavender reached up and unlocked her window and when they tried again and the window slid easily upwards. Lavender looked out her window and her heart fell, it was a straight drop down. No hand or foot holds. They could break their necks if they tried to go out. She looked around the room again and then ran over to her bed and pulled the blanket off. She began to twist it up then tossed one end out the window. “Ray, climb out and I’ll hold the blanket, when you get out run next door and get help. Raylene shook her head in a yes gesture and began climbing out the window. They gave one last glance at each other and the Raylene was out of sight.

Lavender’s arms were being taxed to their limit by her friend’s weight, but she held on. Suddenly she heard the stranger in the hall outside her room, he seemed to be calling out to her saying, “Come out, I know you’re up here, I need to find you!!”

Suddenly the weight on her arms was gone and she took a moment to look towards the window, when she did she heard her bedroom door crash open behind her. She turned her head and tears began to run down her cheeks, there stood the stranger, breathing hard and staring intensely at her.

“Come on”, he said, “You’re coming with me” he reached over and took Lavender’s arm and Lavender screamed.



To be continued…………………………..

Lavender Link sat in her classroom, waiting for the end of the day bell…she wasn’t really a big fan of school. She was 12 years old and would rather be hanging out with her friends listening to music. She twiddled with her ponytail, watching the classroom clock. It was SO slow. She took a moment to look over at her best friend, Raylene. She, too, was watching the clock. They caught each other’s gaze and grinned.

Finally, at long last, the bell rang and their teacher, Mister Harris, said, “class dismissed.”

The was a moment of chaos as the crowd of sixth graders made a mad dash for the door and soon everyone was in the hall heading for the school’s exit. Lavender met up with Raylene at her locker and said, “Want to come over and hang out?”

“Sure”, said Raylene, “I have to go home and walk my dog, then I’ll be right over.”

“Cool, see you then” and with that Lavender left the school and started home.

Lavender arrived at her house and entered to find her mother gathering up her purse. “Where are you going, Mom?” she asked.

“I have to take your brother to soccer practice and then go to the airport to pick up your father.” her mom replied.

“well, I invited Raylene over, is that ok, mom?”

“Sure, sweety, as long as you both stay here and don’t tear up the house.” “We won’t mom”, Lavender comically rolled her eyes.

“I should be back in a couple of hours, there’s some fruit if you want a snack and I think we will order in Chinese for dinner, ok?” asked her mom.

Lavender LOVED Chinese so she said, “Yeah, that would be great!!”

Lavender’s mom walked to the door and said, “Okay, I will see you later, remember not to open the door for anyone.”then she called up the stairs, “ Ricky!! Let’s get a move on!!” and soon Lavender’s brother came bounding down the stairs and they both exited.

After her mom and brother had left Lavender went into the kitchen and looked at the bowl of fruit. She sneered and then walked over to the cupboard and got out a package of microwave popcorn.

She put the popcorn in the microwave, set the timer then went to the family room and turned on the television. She flipped the channels until she found the music channel and then went to get her popcorn.

She was walking back to the family room and the doorbell rang. She went to the door and peeked through the peephole and saw her friend Raylene. She opened the door and let her in. they walked to the family room, talking and giggling and sat down on the couch. They dug into their popcorn and watched the music videos, occasionally oohing and ahhing over the musicians they thought were cute.

“Lavender”, Raylene asked, “what do you think of Tim Jarvis?”

Tim was a boy in their class and Lavender thought he was cuter than anyone she knew, “I think he’s alright.” she said. “why do you ask?”

“Well, I heard from Rachel, who heard from Will, that he likes you” said Raylene.

“oh, that’s cool” said Lavender with a stone face, though deep inside she was Bursting with delight.

“yeah,” said Raylene.

Lavender reached over to get her soda and there was a knock at the door. They both looked at each other and got up and ran to the door. Lavender looked through the peephole and saw a strange man with long hair standing there. “I don’t know who that is” said Lavender.

“are you going to answer?” asked Raylene.

“No, my mom said not to answer the door.” there was another knock and lavender looked through the peephole again. The strange man was looking from side to side quickly. Suddenly he slammed his shoulder into the door. Both girls screamed and ran up the stairs and into lavender’s bedroom. They heard another loud slam on the door and Raylene said with fright, “what are we going to do? He’s trying to get in!”

Lavender looked at her friend and said, “I don’t know, Ray, I don’t know!” suddenly, they heard another slam and the sound of the door crashing open.


To be continued……………………..