She slipped into her flying suit, stepped out on the balcony and leapt into the night sky. There were a beautiful full moon and a smattering of wispy clouds. She could only be gone for a few minutes but she needed to do something extra special . . . something she had never done before.
She decided to see how high she could go . . . maybe even all the way to the moon. Well, on second thought, maybe not all the way . . . even though she could because the suit would protect her. But that was a tad more adventurous then she felt.
With her hands outstretched, she soared straight up and willed the suit to go as fast as it could. In a moment, she could see the entire city, then the entire state, and finally she was literally out-of-this-world. The earth became a smaller and smaller disk making her feel just the opposite of when she used the ring to shrink herself. This time it felt like she was becoming unimaginably large.
In less than a minute, she stopped and looked down. The sight was breathtaking. In the moonlight, she could see the outlines of North America and parts of South America all the way to Alaska and Canada. Every city seemed to be lit up with lights. It was breathtaking and unimaginably awesome. ‘Oh my gosh, what a beautiful world we live on,’ she thought.
But then the realization of how high she was hit her. Though she wasn’t proud to admit it, it was a little scary. Well, to be totally honest, maybe a lot scary. So instead of flying around the planet, she decided enough was enough and she turned around and flew back home.
All in all, it was so very wonderful to be Flying Girl she thought for the millionth time. It made her realize just how much it meant to her. And if it wasn’t for Dazzle (with a little help from her mother and Grammy), it might have come to a horrible, horrible end. That thought was even scarier than being in outer space and sent shivers down her spine.
As she touched down on her balcony, thinking about Dazzle made her remember something the Princess had said . . . “I endanger the plan by helping. You have yet to prove yourself.”
For the life of her, she couldn’t understand what that meant. Prove herself how? Even her Grammy wasn’t sure. Well, at least that’s what she said but Egg had the feeling that her grandmother knew more than she was telling.
She went back inside, took off her suit and slipped it back in the little chest. But instead of hiding it on the top shelf of her closet, she placed it on her desk . . . locked of course. There was no use trying to hide it anymore now that her family knew that she had it.
After brushing her teeth, Egg jumped into her bed. She wanted to fall asleep fast and talk to Dazzle who would be terrifically happy that she had recovered the flying suit. Off went the light, and as the darkness washed over her, Egg closed her eyes and tried to dream about the warrior princess…
. . . but the next thing she knew the stupid alarm was making its usual horrible buzzzzzzzz and the sun was streaming though her bedroom window. It was morning.
“I wonder if I talked to Dazzle last night?” she thought. “Oh, my gosh . . . what if she told me something important and I’ve forgotten. She’ll be so mad.” She concentrated very hard but just couldn’t remember any dream. “I’ll just have to talk to her again tonight. She’ll understand that I can’t always remember my dreams.” And that thought made her smile. It was kind of cool to have a dream friend.
*****
By the time she got to school Egg was as giggly happy as she had ever been. After getting her suit and jewelry back and then flying as high as an astronaut, she was on top of the world . . . so to speak. She didn’t feel like a nine-year-old girl; she felt invincible. “I bet this is how a warrior princess like Dazzle feels,” she thought.
At lunch, the Hameggattic sisters were all abuzz over the new CD from Fandango Sally that was to be released that weekend. The all-girl band was their absolute favorite and they had every album and had seen all the videos.
“. . . and they’re going to be on MTV tomorrow at noon to sing one of the songs” reported Melody. “Why don’t we have a meeting of the Sisterhood at my house and listen to it?”
“Do you have a room like Ham’s attic (that was where the Sisterhood was first created and it was their official headquarters)?” asked Egg.
“Nothing that cool, but we have a home theater room that has a huge screen and big comfy chairs. It’s great for watching movies and listening to music.” So they agreed to meet at Melody’s at eleven thirty the next day.
*****
The room was like nothing the other four girls had ever seen. It was a movie theater, only a lot nicer. They were very impressed . . . and despite herself, Egg felt just a little stab of envy.
Melody gave them a quick tour of the room and all of its gadgets. Then she turned on the TV and all five settled in to watch the MTV special.
“Good afternoon and welcome to an exclusive live presentation by those five teen wonders . . . Fandango Sally . . . here to sing their next big hit entitled Don’t Mess with My Sister, Mister. Before I introduce the fabulous five, I want our audience to know that you can buy their new CD (he held it up to the camera) . . .
. . . called SISTERS on our website for a very special onetime offer of $5.55. But the offer ends at exactly 5:55 PM today so you need to hurry.”
“Now, let me introduce five super stars that need no introduction (and the curtain pulled back to reveal the band) . . . we have lead singer Sierra, Alicia on the drums, Lulu on base guitar, Luna on electric guitar and Yvonne on keyboards.” The girls waved as they were introduced and the live studio audience let out a deafening roar of approval.
And with that, the band started to play what was sure to be their next number one hit . . .
The Hameggattic sisters went totally bonkers . . . it was as if the song had been written just for them. They were screaming and jumping up and down.
Had a parent walked in on them at that moment, they would have thought the girls had seen a mouse . . .
“OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH” was all that Egg could utter.
When they had finally settled down, Sylvia said, “I think that should be the official song of the Sisterhood. All in favor raise your hand.” The final vote was six to nothing in favor of the suggestion. (Egg had raised both hands and so had voted twice . . . quite against the rules).
Then they all raced up to Melody’s room where she logged on to the MTV website and ordered five copies of SISTERS. “It’s my treat,” she said. The other girls were impressed that she was allowed to order stuff online. They were strictly forbidden . . . they had to get their moms to do it for them. It made Melody seem very grown-up and it made Egg a little resentful.
“See if you can find the words to the song,” requested Angela. Melody found them and printed five copies, which she handed out.
“Everyone has to memorize this by Monday,” insisted Egg. But it didn’t take that long . . . after singing it about seventy-three times in the next thirty minutes; they pretty much had accomplished their mission. By the time everyone left later that afternoon, they knew every word and every note. In fact, Melody was able to play it reasonably well on her guitar, which impressed her four friends. In fact, it made Egg just a teensy bit jealous.
*****
On Monday morning, Egg and Sylvia walked into their classroom and were shocked by what they saw . . . Melody looking like Lulu, one of the guitarists from Fandango Sally.
Her hair had strings of cornrows highlighted in red and orange . . . the guitarist’s trademark look. When the shock wore off, they both ran up to her and squealed in delight.
“It’s totally awesome,” said Sylvia. “Where did you get it done?”
“My mom took me to Libby Lu’s at the mall yesterday. You like it?”
“No, I love it.”
“How about you, Egg?”
Egg’s initial enthusiasm was beginning to wear off. In its place was a very unpleasant feeling . . . of envy. She just loved that hairstyle; she always had. Lulu was her all-time favorite band member and she used to dream a
bout being the band’s guitarist (well, that was before she started dreaming about Dazzle). Now to see it on Melody made her feel like something of hers had been taken. Of course, that didn’t really make any sense and she knew it. But still . . . if anyone should wear that style, it should be her, even if her mother would never give permission.
But Melody was a Sister, so she forced herself to put aside those feelings and said, “It’s absolutely perfect.” She was thankful that the bell rang just then and they had to take their seats. And for the rest of the day, Egg was preoccupied with her thoughts. Four times in just a few days, she had felt jealous of things that Melody had. She knew it was wrong, but she also knew she had to talk to her Grammy about it.
*****
“Hello, Egg, my love. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“Grammy, I need your advice.”
Egg couldn’t see her grandmother smile on the other end of the telephone line. “Well, of course, child.”
So she told her about Melody’s theater room, the MTV account, the guitar and the hair-do. “Grammy, I felt really jealous that she had those things and I didn’t. I know that I shouldn’t, but I just couldn’t help myself. I just can’t help myself.”
“Hmmm, I see. First of all, dear one, wanting what someone else has is a pretty common feeling. It’s what you do with those feelings that really matters.”
“What do you mean?”
“Would you force Melody to quit the Sisterhood because of those things?”
“No, of course not. You were right about her . . . she’s a very nice person.”
“If you could, would you take away what she has just so you could have them?”
“No.”
“Do you wish she didn’t have them because you don’t?”
Egg gave that a moment’s thought before answering “No.”
“There’s nothing you can do about her theater room, but you could take guitar lessons and practice every day to become as good as she is. Are you willing to do that?”
Egg smiled and said “Uh-uh.”
“If I told you I could get your hair done like she has, and open an internet account so you could buy whatever you like . . . would that make you happy?”
“Oh, Grammy . . . would you?”
“Of course . . . but I would want you to give up something in return. How about your flying suit?”
Egg was horrified “NEVER” she screamed and immediately apologized.
“Do you think Melody would give up all of those things in return for your flying suit?”
“Well, of course she would.”
“So, maybe if she knew you were Flying Girl she would be envious of you?”
That gave Egg pause. “Are you saying that everyone has something that another person might want? Might be jealous of? And it’s what we do with those feelings that make us a good person or a bad person?”
“Very, very good my love. Very, very good.”
Chapter 3 – Doggone It
If April showers bring May flowers, then it was going to be a bumper crop of daisies, and daffodils and sunflowers . . .
. . . because it rained and rained and rained and . . . well, you get the idea . . . it rained a lot. Now, kids can keep busy on weekdays when it rains because they have school and homework and maybe a little television. But, on weekends it’s a different matter altogether . . . there is probably little to do except to get on your mom’s nerves. That’s why Mrs. Graystone asked her daughter . . .
“Sweetheart, why don’t you call your friends and I’ll take all of you to Roller Whirl.” That was the name of the roller skate rink at the mall.
Egg thought about that for three, possibly four seconds before declaring, “That’s a wonderful idea. Mother, sometimes you impress me.”
“High praise indeed” laughed the older woman.
So Egg ran up to her room, and began to call the other members of the Sisterhood. Since they were all in an equal state of boredom, they agreed without hesitation. And about an hour later, all five were slipping into their skates and jibber jabbering about . . . umm . . . you know, stuff that bored nine-year-old girls talk about.
Then arm in arm they rolled on to the skate area and began a lazy circle around the rink. After a lap or two to warm up, they decided to try some Olympic style moves . . . even though the Olympics didn’t actually have roller skating.
For their first event, they chose Sylvia’s soon-to-be-world-famous Whirl and Twirl. She stood in the middle of the four girls with her arms spread wide. Presley grabbed one hand and Melody the other. Then Egg put her hands on Presley’s hips while Angela did the same to Melody.
As Sylvia began to rotate, the girls on either hand began to skate in the same direction. It didn’t take long for them to build up a lot of speed . . . and as Sylvia twirled, the girls whirled; they all began to squeal louder and louder. If you could have seen them from above, they would have looked like a giant propeller spinning and spinning – faster and faster.
As they spun and laughed, they didn’t see the little boy coming at them . . . totally out of control. He tried to avoid the girls but fell and slid into Egg. The collision caused her to let go of Presley and she went flying off towards the wall. She put out her hand to stop herself but was going so fast that it didn’t help much.
The other girls watched in horror as their friend hit the wall with a loud thump. At first Egg said nothing. Then the pain in her left hand made its way up to her brain and she howled…”OWWWWWWWWW.”
*****
On the way home from the hospital, Egg sat quietly in the back seat with Sylvia. The other girls had already been dropped off at their homes.
“Does it hurt much?” she asked her friend for the ninety-seventh time.
“Please stop asking me that. It doesn’t hurt at all.” The ring finger on the left hand had been dislocated and not broken. The doctor had popped it back into place and taped a little splint made from a tongue depressor on it. Then he gave her a couple of tablets for the pain.
“Keep that on for about ten days. And, Mom (he said to Mrs. Graystone), just give her regular Tylenol until the pain goes away in a day or two.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“You’re welcome. And Egg, next time you go flying (Egg’s eyes popped open) off like that . . . try to slide feet first.”
She had to smile at his choice of words. “Absolutely, Doctor, the very next time I go flying.”
So now in the car, all the excitement and the pain pills were making her a little drowsy. As they drove up the driveway to Sylvia’s house, the girl asked her best friend “don’t forget, if you need absolutely anything, call me. Promise?”
“I promise. And, Ham . . . thank you for caring so much.”
They hugged and Sylvia jumped out. Mrs. Graystone waited until she went inside, then she backed out and headed home. “Dear, are you hungry?”
“I’m very tired, Mom. Do you think I could just go right to bed when we get home?”
“Of course.” And fifteen minutes later, Mrs. Graystone tucked her daughter into her bed, kissed her forehead and turned off the light. By the time she had closed the bedroom door, the girl was asleep.
“Egg.”
“Hmmm.”
“It is I, Egg.”
“Dazzle?”
“I am here. How is your injury?”
“It’s not really an injury . . . it was just a discombobulated finger or something like that.”
“I am not familiar with an injury such as yours. Are you in much pain?
“The finger hurt a little when it first happened, but it’s okay now. Thank you for asking.”
“You are very brave. That is good.”
“Dazzle, who are you?”
“I am your mentor.”
“What’s a mentor?”
“A teacher and a friend.”
“How can we be friends if we never met?”
“I have known you since before you were born.”
“I’m sorry but that doesn’t make any sense. I wasn’t me before I was born.”
“You were always you. You have been you for a thousand years.”
“Are you sure you have the right person? I’m only nine.”
“We will talk of this when the time is right.”
“When will that be?”
“When you complete your tasks.”
“What tasks?”
“Goodnight, little one. Sweet dreams.”
“Dazzle, don’t go.” But she was gone.
*****
Buzzzzzzzz.
Egg woke up with the same thought she always had “I hate that sound.” As she stretched and yawned, her conversation with Dazzle came back to her and she smiled. “I sure hope she’s real and not just my stupid imagination,” she said to herself. But before she could relive the conversation, there was a knock on her door.
“Come in.”
“Morning squirt, how do you feel?”
“Good morning, Ashley. I feel terrific, thank you.”
“Aren’t you the little brave soldier,” she teased. “Well, if you’re hungry, I’m making cinnamon French toast.”
“Oh, I’m starving. I’ll be right down.”
She popped out of bed, washed up and put on her favorite pair of grungy blue jeans and a red sweatshirt. As she made her way to the kitchen, the smell of bacon made her mouth water.
“Oh, my gosh. I’m so hungry I could eat a hippopotamus.”
“The ancient Egyptians thought that was a delicacy,” said her older sister.
“Ugg . . . I wasn’t serious. Why would they eat a hippo?”
“Probably for the same reason you eat hot dogs and because there were a lot of them in the Nile.”
“Well, I’ll settle for French toast and bacon if you don’t mind. By the way, where’s Mom and Dad.”
“Guess.”
“Buying antiques?”
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 21