Abby in Wonderland by Ann M. Martin

Author:Ann M. Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2015-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

That evening, Mallory called to tell me about the beach party the BSC members had thrown at the Pikes’ house. I was glad to hear from her and to have something take my mind off my worries about Gram.

Technically, Mallory, Jessi, Mary Anne, and Dawn weren’t baby-sitting, because Mr. and Mrs. Pike were at home. But the senior Pikes were staying in their bedroom, leaving my friends in charge of the party.

That afternoon, while Anna and I were working on Wonderland in our grandparents’ yard, Dawn, Mary Anne, Jessi, Mallory, and the Pike kids created a beach setting for their party.

Apparently, they did a great job transforming the backyard. From the way Mallory described it, the result was a cross between Sea City and a tropical paradise.

A little asking around had produced three more borrowed kiddie pools. Nicky came up with the bright idea of draping the garden hose over a branch of the apple tree and letting it pour into one of the pools, creating a waterfall effect.

Dawn insisted that he keep the flow to a trickle so they wouldn’t waste water. “It’s going into an empty pool,” Jessi pointed out. “If we wanted to fill this pool we’d use the same amount of water. We’ll turn it off when it’s full.” Even Dawn couldn’t argue with that.

Vanessa had found some pink flamingo lawn ornaments and staked them around the backyard as beach birds.

As you may have suspected, her plan to capture a seagull never panned out. But Dawn had found her mother’s CD of beach sounds, which included the cries of seagulls along with the crash of waves. She plugged her boom box into an outdoor outlet and put everyone in the mood by playing the ocean sounds while they worked.

The triplets dragged two beach umbrellas from the garage and set them up. Beach towels were spread out around the pools. Pails and shovels were tossed into the sandbox.

Vanessa and Margo set out cookies, popcorn, and lemonade on a picnic table, with a large hand-drawn sign marked REFRESHMENT STAND.

Next to one of the pools, Nicky piled three milk crates on top of one another. He drew a large red cross on a piece of poster board and propped it against the crates.

“What’s that?” Mallory asked him.

“The lifeguard station,” Nicky replied, in a voice that implied it should have been obvious to her.

“Who’s the lifeguard?” she asked.

Nicky pulled a pair of very dark sunglasses from the pocket of his shorts and put them on. Then he produced a silver whistle on a lanyard from under his T-shirt and blasted it.

“I guess you’re the lifeguard,” Mallory said wryly. “Silly of me to have asked. Remind me not to drown.”

Just before four o’clock, when the party was scheduled to start, Mr. and Mrs. Pike strolled into the yard. “Wow!” Mrs. Pike said, gazing in all directions. “What a fantastic job.” Then she went back inside.

Each kid had been given permission to invite one or two guests. They began arriving promptly at four o’clock.

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