Treasures in the Attic

by Andrea Witt

  “Holy cow! I can’t believe it is 10:30 p.m. already!” Emily said as she stood up to stretch and yawn. We were arranging furniture so long in the dollhouse that time flew so quickly! “We better get back to our attic adventures, Andi! We are going to run out of time to fit in all our weekend fun! Good thing you are staying 2 nights!” I said and Andi agreed with a “You’re right! Let’s get in the attic, now!” we stood up, stretched, grabbed another bubbly water from the sink and took turns taking potty trips before heading into the attic. “I can’t imagine finding anything even cooler than what we already found, Ginger!” “We shall see!” I said back to Andi as we entered the tiny attic door.

  “SNAP!” We jumped! “Wha…whaa…wh…wha…what was that?” Andi asked as she jumped toward me shaking. I was freaked at first, but remembered my mom said to be careful of the mousetraps that were set throughout the attic. “Oh! Probably just a poor mouse in a trap!” I said in a relieved voice. I felt bad for the mouse, but I was glad it wasn’t the evil doll girl coming to life to chase us out of the attic!

  We got the scissors and opened two more boxes. They were full of old china dishes. I will show my mom. She may like them. Then, we opened two more boxes and found old board games from maybe the 70’s or 80’s. The Mickey Mouse Roller Coaster, The Muppet Show Game, a game called Booby Trap, and Parcheesi were in one box and old records were in the other. Some records were small, and some were large. There were little storybooks with records in them. I’m not sure how they work but it was cool to find.

  At the bottom of all the records was a square suitcase. When I opened it up, there was a turntable and arm. It must be an old record player. “I wonder how this thing works!” I said as I plugged it into the wall. “Look! A light went on!” said Andi, as she pointed to the red light by the turntable. We pulled an “EWOKS Adventure” album out and put it on the turntable. We lifted the arm up and it started playing really fast. It sounded like the Chipmunks. I flipped a switch and it played regular. We started laughing at how silly it sounded even when it played normal. “What is an Ewok, anyway?” Andi said and started reading the record holder. “Who knows, but they are weird.” I said. “OH! These are from the Star Wars movies. No wonder they are weird!” I said as I found the information I needed to know. We took the record off and played one titled, ‘Patriotic Mickey’ instead. We were so excited to see what all these records with books were about that we stopped fooling with the big records and put the little records on instead. They didn’t fit at first. The hole of the record was way too big for the spike. “I wonder if you use this to make it fit.” Andi said as she picked up a round plastic adapter. She stuck it to the metal thing and the small record fit right over it. What happened was the book had a story in it. The record read the page and when Tinkerbell dinged her bell, you turn the page of the book. How cute! The story was about Donald Duck and a magic mailbox. We didn’t listen to it all, but we got the gist of how the records worked.

  “It appears this attic was a storage for people all the way from 1900 to 1980. I am not sure how many families lived in this house, but there was at least one when it was built in 1900 and at least another with kids in the 1980s. There are still boxes to go through. I wonder what else we could possibly find now!” I exclaimed. There were only a couple of boxes left to go through, but Andi agreed that now was not the time to do it. “It’s almost 1 a.m. and I am getting tired. Let’s save it for tomorrow and go to bed now.” Andi said as she yawned half of her words.

  I said, “I agree.” And with that, we hit the light off in the attic and headed into my cozy bedroom. Andi got her pillow out of her bag and placed it at the foot of my bed with her blanket. She laid with her feet facing me and I laid with my feet facing her. It beats one of us sleeping on the floor and we are too tired to care. “Andi, are you awake still?” I asked as I thought of all the fun I had with my best friend in the world. “Yes. But barely” she whispered. “Thank you for being here. You made this house special for me.” I said softly. “Thank you for including me in your new life. I was worried you’d forget me.” She said sadly. “NEVER!” I said and soon all we could hear was ourselves snoring. The sun shined through my window pretty brightly at 7 a.m.

  Chapter 4

  A New Day with Andi

  “RED!” Breakfast is ready if you guys want to eat! Get it while its here and hot!” My mom yelled up the stairs. Andi had just got done cleaning up and getting dressed and I just finished brushing my teeth in the bathroom. “COMING!” I yelled down. I was wondering why she didn’t include Emily in the invite to eat, but I realized that Emily was already downstairs eating when we got down there. The kitchen table was full of frozen (but toasted) waffles, syrup, peanut butter, cream cheese, and butter were out and orange and apple juice and milk. Nice! We can put anything we want on our waffles. I always lean toward peanut butter. I love peanut butter on waffles. Andi put peanut butter on her waffles and took a cup of syrup to dip it into. Good choice! I copied her. I mean not really, I eat that anyway, but she took the lead, so I followed. I just brushed my teeth, though so I assume mine won’t taste as good as Andi’s.

  “How did you girls sleep last night? Did you ever go to bed?” My mom asked as she cleaned up all the waffle condiments. “I slept great! I was so tired, and it was late when we went to bed.” Andi answered. “Where did you sleep, RED?” my mom wondered. I responded by telling her “In my room head to toe on my bed.” “Good plan!” she said as she finished wiping down the countertops and table. “Mom, can we all, including Emily, walk into town today? We need to stock up on some more snacks for our second night and I want to show her our town a bit.” “Sure, but don’t forget to take Emily’s phone with you and stay together as a group. Oh, and Did you take your medicine, Andi?” She looked worried but she still let us go. “Thanks, mom!! You’re the best! And, yes, I took my medicine when I got up!” I said as we left the kitchen, excited about starting our day.

  “O.k. we need a plan for today! We have to discover the town a bit and finish the attic. Also, Andi, I want you to pick one book and one piece from each box to take home and keep. Then, you will always have a part of what I have. It’ll be like we are sisters! Even when we are not here together, we still have common things with us to remind us of each other and this time we spent together.” Andi cut in and said, “This entire weekend is too awesome and the fact that you want me to take stuff home with me makes it even more special. I couldn’t ask for a better situation or a better friend. Thank you, Ginger. When will we be leaving to go into town?” She said shortly afterwards. “Let’s go get Emily and go now!” I answered.

  We ran to Emily’s room all excited and ready to go! “Emily! Mom said to take your phone and stay together but we are ready to go into town with you if you are.” I couldn’t stand my excitement! Emily said, “Wait a minute. I think we should all pee first and I still have to grab my phone.” “Well, times a ticking so let’s get on this!” I said back as I waited for her to pee real fast. “What kind of stuff are we doing in your town today, guys?” Andi asked us as we headed out the door. “Bye mom!” Emily and I yelled as the door shut. Then Emily, being the wise old sister said, “Well, since you need to stock up on snacks, I think we should do that last, so you don’t have to carry the bag the entire way. First, let’s hit Sugar Town and then the school playground, and then Rays Fuel and Store before heading home. After we get home, I’m finished hanging with you guys for a while.” I jumped in and said, “So then, we can explore the yard if you want, Andi, and then finish the attic. When we are in the attic, you can go through and choose the stuff you are taking from each box!” “Sounds Good! We can also play the rest of the time by ear, too! It sure is nice to walk through a town without having Jerry Spellman hover around tormenting our every step!” Andi said as she noticed the peaceful walk we were having.

  We headed into Sugar Town to get some candy for our second night together. “Oh my gosh! They have gummy cola bottles! I love gummy cola bottles!�
� Andi squealed as she grabbed a bag and started scooping. “My mom gave me $20 for the weekend and I haven’t spent anything yet. I thought I’d get some candy and then contribute the rest to our snacks for later!” I responded with “Sounds good to me! I brought some of my money I still have from the garage sale!” Emily said “I also have some of my garage sale money with me and I am getting these gumballs!” Where there is gum, Emily will find it. By the time we were done at Sugar Town, Emily had gumballs, Sour Patch Kids, and Jolly Ranchers. Andi had gummy peaches, gummy cola bottles, and sour cherries and I chose chocolate covered gummies, sour cherries and Raisinets. After checking out, we still had about $30 combined to spend on snacks.

  “Since we have so much money for snacks, why don’t we get a pizza from Romeo’s Pizza and Gyro? They have a $10 XL special and that still leaves $20 for drinks and chips!” Emily said excitedly! “What do you think, Andi?” I asked her, hoping she would agree. Pizza sounds good and Romeo’s is awesome! “Perfect!” She said and we headed to the school playground to play for a bit before getting the rest of our food for the night.

  “Your playground is so new compared to ours! No fair! You guys have swings?” Andi screamed as she ran towards a swing. “We also have a bouncy rubber track going around our football field!” I bragged. “I wish I could move here. You guys are so lucky!” Andi said as she swung high into the air. We swung for a while and climbed on the monkey bars before hanging out on the balance beams for a bit. “

  I think I’m ready to start heading back now.” Emily said as she jumped off the balance beam. “We still need to grab snacks and pizza. I texted mom and let her know what we are doing, so we are good.” Emily said as she started walking toward Andi and I. We ran to catch up and then we walked to Ray’s Fuel and Store and grabbed a bag of Doritos, a bag of Ruffles, a thing of dip, and 2 packs of Koolaid Koolbursts. We called Romeo’s Pizza & Gyro and placed our order for an XL Pepperoni on thin crust on the way to pick up the pizza. I guess we saved a little time by calling it over. When we got to Romeo’s Pizza and Gyro, we only had to wait for 5 minutes to pick up our order. Andi opened the box to peek in when the guy brought us our pizza. She said, “Oh my gosh. This pizza looks amazing! I cannot wait to try it! Look how hot and fresh it is!! I am glad you guys live right down the street. Let’s go!” Andi was in such a hurry to eat that we rushed out the door and had to run back in to grab our bags of candy that I put down on the booth. “That was close!!” Emily said as she grabbed the candy bags and we headed home.

  Our hands were pretty full of candy bags, bags from Rays, and the pizza so we all carried stuff. I had to set the pizza on the ground to open the picket fence gate. We walked into the house juggling everything and my mom came running up to help. “Wow!! It looks like you had a full day out! I guess I am off the hook for making dinner for everyone tonight!” I said “We had so much fun, mom! This is the best weekend, ever! Let’s eat, guys!” We carried all our food upstairs. We set the table with the pizza and opened the chip bags up. Emily got a spoon for the dip and stirred it all up. The three of us sat there, devouring delicious Romeo’s Pizza and getting along better than we have ever all gotten along. I usually don’t share my friends well but today was different for some reason. I was glad Emily joined us! Andi loved the pizza. “This pizza is just another reason I need to move here!!” she said with cheese oozing down her cheek. “It’s my favorite pizza ever!” Emily joined in on the conversation. “I agree!” I said. It was really difficult to talk since we were all focusing on chewing our yummy food. “I think we should leave the chips on the table tonight. The pizza will be fine, too if you want to leave it out for a while. I am going to take a break and let you guys go back in the attic for a bit.” Emily said and headed to her room. “I’m going to keep these drinks cold for us.” I said as I filled the sink with cold water and threw the Koolaid Koolbursts in. Andi was excited about choosing stuff to take home and she said, “Can we go back in the attic now?” “What are we waiting for?” I said and we ran into the attic. I had an idea. “How about we empty one of these suitcases so you can put your chosen things in it to take home with you?” I said as I dumped the contents of both suitcases onto the floor. Since we had to go through the outfits anyway, it made it easier for us to see what we had and for her to choose the larger suitcase. “Do you want the baby or the momma doll” I asked Andi. “Would it be ok if I took the baby doll?” she asked. “Sure! I said. That will give me the opportunity to torment Emily with the momma doll.” I joked. “I heard that!!” Emily yelled from her room. We started laughing. Andi opened the larger suitcase and chose the clothes that went with the baby doll. I am also giving her the baby buggy. I don’t need it without the big baby. She choose a couple of large records, a couple story records, 2 Barbies, 2 Barbie Babies, and a couple of games. Everything didn’t fit in the suitcase, but she put the Barbies, records and doll clothes in the suitcase and we carefully wheeled the buggy and baby out of the attic and placed it by Andi’s stuff, so she doesn’t forget it when she leaves tomorrow. “I can’t believe tomorrow is Sunday already!” Andi said in a sad voice. “Back to school Monday! I sure wish I went to your school” Andi said as she fidgeted with the baby in the buggy. “This weekend has been so fun! You can come stay with me anytime you want! I said back to her. “It’s already 8 p.m.! Where did the time go?” Emily never came back and joined us after we ate. I peeked into her room and she fell asleep sitting at her desk with the TV on. “Emily!” I said. “Your neck is going to hurt if you keep sleeping like that!” “What?” Emily said as she wiped drool off her chin. “Oh! I fell sleep! I’m just so tired! Where is Andi?” I laughed at her a bit and said, “she is in the bathroom. She will be back! We are going to play some of those board games we found if we can figure them out. You can join us if you want!” Emily looked surprised and said, “Thanks but I’m so tired and I don’t think I will be good company for you guys now,” Right when she was talking, Andi passed Emily’s room and said, “Sure you would but no pressure!” and she started opening the Muppet Show Game and reading the inside of the old ripped box lid to figure out how to play. “This thing is so old!” She said as she read the lid. “It even smells musty.” As she raised the lid to her nose to smell it. “Will you be joining us, Emily?” “I don’t think so, but thanks for asking.” She said as she went downstairs to watch TV with mom and John.

  Andi read the box out loud, “Place all of the Muppets and sets on their corresponding start spaces. Each player will choose their color for the game. Each player spins the scene spinner. The player who spins the highest number gets to start the game. Play will proceed clockwise (left) throughout the game. The first player to get both of their Muppets and their set into their final positions first wins the game.” “O.k., that sounds easy enough. Want to try?” I said “sure!” She said and we set up the game to play. After taking a few turns, we decided the game was boring and we put it away. We decided to play records instead. We kept trying new songs (well, they were old--but to us they were new) and making up dance routines to them. This music was from the 80’s! We danced to some Madonna, OMD, Cyndi Lauper, and Culture Club. “I am so tired! What time is it?” Andi asked as she lied on the floor wiping the sweat off her forehead. “2 a.m. Is that right? We should clean up our records and go to bed! No wonder the rest of the house is dark downstairs!” I said as I walked halfway down the stairway and peeked into the living room. We cleaned up our records and plopped down on my bed, foot to head like we did the night before. We were so tired that I don’t even remember talking. We must have just fell asleep instantly.

  Chapter 5

  Andi Goes Home

  “RED! There’s breakfast down here if you guys want it!” My mom yelled up the stairs. I was sleeping hard because she was getting upset from repeating herself and I only heard her once! “Did somebody say something?” I said sleepily through my closed eyes. Andi was all dressed, teeth brushed and standing over my bed laughing at me saying “Your mom’s been
trying to get you to wake up and come down for breakfast for like 20 minutes. I think she gave up.” “Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked Andi. “You looked so peaceful sleeping so I just got myself together and figured you would get up when you were ready.” Andi said, followed by, “I’m hungry! Can we go downstairs and eat now?” “Oh no! We left the pizza out!” I said as I ran to the table. I realized Emily must have cleaned it up at some point last night. Emily came up the stairs at that point and said, “I put the leftover pizza in foil and put it in the fridge downstairs.” I said, “Thank you, Emily!! You’re a pizza saver!” We laughed and headed into he kitchen to eat breakfast.

  My mom had 4 boxes of cereal set out, Styrofoam bowls, plastic spoons and a gallon of milk. We got to choose from Golden Grahams, Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes and Raisin Bran. I chose Golden Grahams, Andi chose Lucky Charms, and Emily ate earlier. She said she had cold pizza. Lucky. I love cold pizza!

  “Oh no! You leave today, Andi! No wonder I didn’t want to wake up! I had so much fun! I don’t want you to go!” I said as I stirred my cereal up. “I don’t want to go, either! I wish I could live here! I wonder if I could get my parents to move to this town! How awesome would that be? We could be neighbors and spend every waking minute together, like we used to only in your new cool house and in this awesome town! My mom will be here at 11 to get me. I am so sad!” Andi said as she at her cereal. “We only have 2 hours left!” I said. “Let’s hurry and finish breakfast so we can play outside the rest of the time!” “Ok!” And said and we slurped our cereal down, threw away our bowls and spoons and ran out the back door to explore the 2.5 acres of yard that I haven’t had a chance to show Andi yet.