Inot sprinkled some on her own tongue and Lyrehc tossed back her portion. Immediately the girls were alarmed, hopping up and down and holding their heads as tiny explosions tickled their palate.
“It’s a booby trap!” Lyrehc exclaimed.
“Shhh,” Inot hushed, looking around.
They huddled together, bursting into giggles.
The popular girls strolled by. The brood was known more for their cruel gossip than anything else.
“What’s so funny over here?” Detiecnoc demanded, tossing her hot pink hair. “Are you laughing over that notebook?”
“We’re so much prettier than that old woman on the cover,” Niav asked. “We have modeling contracts, you know.”
“For shurtles,” Inot added while Lyrehc nodded.
“And their school supplies are so archaic,” Hsibbons snubbed. “It’s a wonder they could learn at all.”
Inot and Lyr exchanged looks.
“Actually, they had a secret weapon,” Inot began. “We found this really orbiting stuff they used to ace all their tests. Too bad we can’t share it.” Knowing the girls were more into looks than books, she was sure they’d fall for it.
“We should be the first to try it,” Egelivirp suggested.
“Yes, we have that calculus exam on Thursday! It sure would save our butts,” Tiwmid urged.
“Ti, you could use it for sure since you brought your great grandmother’s pastry server to class when Mr. Elgnairt said we would learn the primal rule of pi,” Elttat revealed.
Everyone laughed.
“I just wanted to taste pie,” Tiwmid blushed.
“Sounds like they really could use a boost. What do you think, Inot, should we give them some?” Lyr egged.
“Maybe. If—”
“I’ll do anything,” Tiwmid rushed. “If I don’t pass, I’m off the fashion squad.”
“We’re all teetering on the edge of failing,” Detiecnoc admitted. “What’s your price?’
The girls hadn’t considered a money exchange. Inot began daydreaming about the glorious amount she could squeeze out of them.
“One hundred good deeds,” Lyrehc jumped in. Inot flashed her a bewildered stare, then realized this could be an interesting twist.
“One hundred? You’re crazy,” Elttat sputtered.
“It’s an appropriate number, don’t you think?” Inot baited.
“We don’t do community service,” Egelivirp confirmed with the flip of her lavender static bob.
“It will look fabulous on your permanent record. And it will be your ticket into any styling school you want,” Lyr dangled. “Besides, it’s only twenty-five niceties a piece. That’s pretty cinch to sail through all your classes.”
The narcissistic girls whispered amongst themselves. Then Niav spoke. “Deal.”
“Great. You must start right away. Oh, you need to upload every deed with this.” Inot tossed them a slim flash drive. “Insert the silver end into your earpiece,” she instructed. “Any time you complete an act of kindness, it will connect to your school file and tally up.”
“Sure,” Detiecnoc dismissed. “Now, the goods please.”
“Okay. But keep it quiet. When the brain dust activates, you’ll feel a slight bubbling. It may be startling at first,” Lyr warned.
Making sure the coast was clear, Inot emptied a few sprinkles among the quintet.
The girls lurched and flinched as the rocks fizzled on their tongues.
“This isn’t going to cause damage, is it? We have a photo shoot tonight,” Niav asked, waggling her mouth.
“It better not ruin our teeth,” Detiecnoc threatened. “My folks paid extra for turbo orthodontia.”
“Don’t worry, it’s harmless,” Inot advised, sounding like an expert.
“I don’t care for this,” Elttat cringed. “Will it end soon?”
“Just another minute or two,” Inot said, clicking her earpiece to check the pseudo stopwatch.
“When will we know it made us smarter?” Tiwmid asked, covering her ears with each pop.
“You’ll feel the same but when you take a test, the recall area of your cortex will take over,” Lyrehc said, throwing in science for good measure.
The posse sighed relief as the sensation subsided. “Tootles,” Egelivirp bade. Getting what they wanted as usual, they zipped away.
Inot and Lyrehc laughed, rocking their fists together.
“Pretty slick,” Lyr said. “But what happens when they flunk their finals?”
Inot shrugged. “Easy. School will be out for the summer. But if they bother us, we can blame the expiration date.”
“Yeah, what do they expect from century-old substances? We better put all this stuff away. Looks like they’re closing up.” She piled up the items. “Hey, I want one of those flash drives. It’ll be a great way for me and my sibs to keep track of our chores. Did your dad think it up?”
Inot smiled. “No, I did. It’s just an empty memory stick. When it touches metal, it screeches like crazy.”
“Ouch, brutal!” Lyrehc grinned. “How long do you think they’ll keep at it before realizing you pranked them?”
“Oh, those airheads might never catch on,” Inot laughed. “They really want to be supreme. Hey, I’m surprised you played along. You even dealt them your own hand.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Lyr said, equally shocked. “Maybe there is something in this stuff after all.” They looked for a place to hide the unopened Pop Rocks and a packet of something called Fun Dip. Then she brought up a short, thick volume. “Hey, I haven’t seen a paper book in ages!”
“Great, just what we need. Another boring manual telling us what to do.”
Lyr tried separating the cover but a key press prevented intruders. “I never saw a locked book before.”
“Whoa, it must be hiding something.” Suddenly Inot was interested. “Or maybe it’s all those forbidden subjects you keep wanting to reopen.”
“Yeah!” Lyrehc whispered. Goosebumps prickled her arms with hope. Then her eyes fell on the title. “Oh, it’s forbidden alright. See, it’s a Diary.”
“Oh, that must mean it’s a good book. Oh wait, isn’t that valuable items ladies in ancient times offered in a marriage deal, like cows?”
“No, close. You’re thinking of dowry,” Lyrehc smiled, amused by Inot’s vocabulary, or lack thereof. “It assured the bride and her family would have something of value if the marriage ended. Funny, if you think about it, dowries were like an old fashioned pre-nuptial agreement.” Then her tone turned mysterious. “A diary is where girls write their deepest, darkest secrets!”
“Ooh, juicy.” Inot peered into the crate. “Maybe the key fell off.” She leaned in, giving it a sweep. Her hobby of dumpster-diving for electronic parts came in handy for speed.
Lyr’s imagination spread like rumors as she visualized the drama stuffed between the sheets. “I hope the entries are more exciting than mine,” she said, thinking of her latest one.
“Really?” Inot muffled from within the depths of the treasure. She popped up. “More exciting than, Dear Journal Log, Evets was on the lane next to me during crater ball! Too bad his cuteness distracted me and I twisted my ankle in one of the pits and had to hop all the way to the nurse. Arggh, he probably thinks I’m a dweebezoid.” Inot laughed and dove back in.
“Shhh!” Lyr hushed, looking around. Reliving it was bad enough but Evets was goofing off on the skateboard and she didn’t want him finding out. “And I do not start my entries with Dear Journal Log. Amazing how you can remember that verbatim but claim memory loss on our literature quizzes.”
“Well, your writing sticks in my brain better than those Old English soliloquies,” Inot explained. “Besides, it was a gas to watch.” She disappeared into the chest once again.
Lyrehc shook off her chagrin and ran her hand over the vintage volume’s worn brown leather. Groovy cutouts from dated contact paper covered the bottom half. Retro floral in varying shades of marigold reminded
her of the far-out fashions depicted in the dance videos and decrepit shows they found streaming online, like “The Brady Bunch.”
Inot re-emerged from her dig but came up empty.
“Darn it, I really want to know what’s inside,” Lyr groaned. “If it was mine, I’d just rip it apart.”
“Hold on, I see something.” She burrowed down and brought up a winged badge. “Eastern Airlines. Never heard of ‘em but the tag says ‘junior captain pin.’ I’m jealous. Kids could fly back then? Why don’t our boots have flight capabilities?”
Lyr captured the swinging tag. “It says kids got these on their first flight. I guess they trained children as pilots back when there were wars.” She slid the sharp backing out of the clasp and jabbed it into the tiny dimple next to the lock. But the latch didn’t spring when she pressed it. “Darn, I thought it would work.”
“Here, try this.” Inot unwound a braid from her star-shaped clip and slipped the art deco pin out of her hair. The top wire was easily pliable to any 3-D shape. She straightened it and fished the line into the dot. Lyr pushed the button again.
“Nope,” Lyrehc said. “Still need something thicker.”
Inot bunched the wire together and twisted it into a stick. She plunged it into the hole and this time, the lock popped when her friend clicked it.
“Thanks!” Lyr said, impressed. She was about to open it but paused.
“Hurry, what are you waiting for?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t pry.”
“Seriously, after all that?” Inot hated let downs. “If it’s so private what’s it doing in a time capsule, huh? I think it’s meant to be read. So a peek won’t hurt.”
Lyrehc considered this and nodded. “Okay.” She cracked the creased binding. “It’s handwritten. Good thing I can read cursive. Oh, her name is Janet Marsh,” Lyr breathed as if meeting her for the first time.
“Weird name,” Inot snorted.
Lyr flipped past two pages. “Oh, it starts here. January 1st, 1978. Today I got you, diary.”
“What’s so big about getting a diary?” Inot asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, just listen,” Lyr sighed, annoyed at the interruption. “Aunt Ida mailed you to me for the New Year. And since I will soon be sixteen, she insists it’s important to have a private place to write down all my dreamy love spells!??? Like, what am I, a witch or something?”
“Okay, so it has meaning,” Inot mumbled, fashioning the art deco clip back into a star.
“And she might be a witch!” Lyrehc uttered. She randomly skipped ahead. “February 1st. Today is my birthday! Mom and Daddy gave me a lovely owl pin and they waggled tickets for the Shaun Cassidy concert at the Hartford Civic Center next month! But alas, our love cannot be. We got so much snow, the arena roof collapsed a few weeks ago! Marcie and I are just as devastated. We cried and kissed our posters. If I really could cast a love spell, then I would have Shaun play someplace else nearby! But since I can’t, it’s a good thing I have other things to concentrate on, like the grooviest birthday party ever! This is no ordinary cake and candles day. It’s the big one, Diary! FREEDOM, BABY. I have an appointment at the DMV to get my license ASAP! I even get the Nova! I’m grateful really, but it better not betray me when I have to do the dreaded parallel parking thing. I don’t want to look like a wack job.”
“Snore, let’s put it back.” Inot offered.
“No, she must be flight training. Turning sixteen must be a pretty big deal if they hand out new stars. I wonder what DMV and ASAP mean? It must be a secret code.”
Lyr was about to close the book when her eye fell on a paragraph. “Oh wait, boy drama, Inot!—February 9th. Today’s my lucky day! Daddy nabbed tickets for Shaun in New Haven March 4th!!!! But I think he regretted it when Marcie and I screamed like banshees! Sorry Pops! And to top it off, at school today Tommy Stonebloggen wore my favorite shirt! It’s the silky white one with brown and tan splotches all over and a wide, pointed collar. He never buttons the top two and it shows off his faint chest hair.”
“Eeww,” Inot interrupted, poking around the box as her friend narrated.
Lyr shook her head, continuing. “It’s subtle, really, since he’s so blonde. It’s the power of suggestion that intrigues me. And his gold chain looks so good with it.”
Inot unrolled an old movie poster. “Like this?” she laughed. A guy in a tight, white suit with an open-collared chest struck a pose, pointed finger in the air. He was strutting his stuff on a colorful lit floor. A glittery globe glimmered in the background.
“Yeah, like that disco instructional!” Lyr said, then returned to reading. “Tom was wearing the shirt a few weeks ago when he said hi to me for the first time in the cafeteria. Swoon. (Doodling of hearts and a cupid.) Of course, I know now the only reason he talked to me was to cut the line. Even though I was hungry enough to chew off my arm, I let him. I figured it would be a great way to get noticed. Now I had two reasons to feel weak.”
Inot made gagging noises.
Lyr ignored her. “I was pleased with my plan and about to muster something witty when I saw him flash his grin at Rose Winston. When she stepped aside and he advanced closer to the chicken tetrazzini, I nearly died. Especially when he continued to flirt with her. Stupid, Stupid, me. I was so disgusted, I left the line and went to the snack cantina. Ugh, next time I will take a stand for women’s lib! Gloria Steinem will be so proud. Next time I will make sure Tommy starves. Well, not to the point of death. I still think he’s the cutest guy in school.”
The girls giggled. Crush logic had not changed one bit. Lyr thumbed to the middle of the book. “Holy emoji!”
“What is it?”
“A mystery!”
“Do we find out who Gloria is? Is she her best friend or maybe the principal, or what?” Inot asked.
“Students, please return all items to the trunk,” Mrs. Rethom announced as she and Mr. Ekib strolled around the room.
“Terabytes!” Lyr swore. They were invested now.
The teens gathered the treasures, heading over.
“Just tuck it into your blazer,” Inot whispered. “We can snoop at home and bring it back in the morning. They’ll never notice.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Then we’ll just come back every day and read in installments,” Inot swayed.
“That’ll take forever,” Lyr sighed. “I know. I’m going to ask, legit.” With that, she ran over to the vice principal.
“Hi Lyrehc. Are you enjoying the artifacts?”
“Very much, sir. Can I ask you a favor? You know what a book nut I am. Could I borrow this to read?”
“I’m sorry, we have strict orders to keep everything together.”
Lyr’s heart took a dive. “I’ll bring it back, I promise. You know you can trust me. It’s just that, this a special book. And I feel destined to read it. I don’t know why…”
“What kind of book is it? “ Mr. Ekib asked. Lyrehc handed it over and he examined the cover.
“It’s a whodunit,” Inot added.
“Ms. Mahgirb, I’ve never seen you read a book in your life,” he teased.
“Well, this may be the one to turn me around,” Inot ribbed back.
“It’s a journal written by a student,” Lyrehc admitted. “So it’s not a valuable classic or anything, but I feel there’s something important it wants to tell us.”
The vice principal saw the pleading desperation in her eyes and because of her conscientious reputation, he relented. “My daughter likes to keep a journal. Of course they’re on satellite these days.” He handed the book back. “Alright, please return it before school ends. You have three days.”
“Oh thank you, sir! We will,” they said in unison.
On the walk home, Inot asked Lyrehc what she had seen.
“Theft! That owl pin she got for her birthday? It wasn’t just costume jewelry. I think Janet’s family was loaded because she said it was solid gold with eyes peeping out in three carat diamonds!”
/> “Three carat! Come on. Are you sure it’s not diamond-like? My great-grandmother left me her jewelry and they’re all zirconia. But they look real. See, I had some added to my brackets.” Inot flashed a bracy smile.
“Wow, they really sparkle in the sun. They do look authentic but I’m sure Janet knows the difference because see, she wrote, ‘solid gold…three carats each.’ If a pin is that expensive, then of course it would have genuine gems.”
”That’s a relief because I like a good jewel robbery. But we better read it in order,” Inot reasoned. “We don’t want to miss any clues.”
“Smart thinking.” Lyr flipped back where they left off. A minute later, she turned the page and laughed.
“Not to yourself! That’s not fair. We’re in this together.”
“Sorry, this is funny. It reminds me of the time I had that crush on Derf last year. Remember, nothing went right? I was always making a hyena out of myself.”
Inot nudged her and chuckled. “You finally got the guts to call his house, but when he answered, you asked for his sister Anez, then asked her for their other sister Enna, until the third sister Adnerb got on and you asked if she had a copy of the 1950 New Zealand Farmer’s Almanac for mapery homework. She thought you were crazy.”
“I know, I panicked,” Lyr cringed. “I meant to say Atlas. I wish we had phones like 1978 where the callers don’t see you or know what number is calling. Janet and her brother Joel just ordered an anchovy and seaweed pizza for Tommy’s house. Blech.”
“Classic,” Inot laughed. “They really served seaweed pizza? I thought she liked him. Guess she didn’t want him to go hungry after all. Hey, if you ever decide to call a guy again, like say Evets, just wear a disguise the next time you send a Holla-Gram. ”
“Good idea…I know, I’ll hold up the sexy notebook.”
“Oh, he’ll answer fast for sure. “
Giggling, they decided to go to Inot’s house. Then gliding up the loft, they kicked off their boots as soon as they settled in her room. Her mom brought up frosty glasses of lightning lemonade, her dad’s latest brainstorm. The concoction contained a floating neon bolt that released tartly sweet refills once the glass became half-full.
The Epochracy Files Page 8