Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel]

by Robert Iannone

  Dear Sisters;

  I am very sorry for having been so bossy. I was only trying to be helpful. But, after re-reading my diary, there is a very small chance that I was not being a nice friend. From now on, whenever the Hameggattic Sisters meet, we’ll take a vote on any suggestions and whoever gets the most will win. And I promise I won’t just leave if I don’t get my way.

  I hope to hear from each of you very soon as I am now dressed and ready to enjoy the beautiful weather. Your friend and sister…Egg.

  I checked my emails all morning but I didn’t get any. So I locked myself in my room, put out my Do Not Disturb sign and went flying. I hadn’t done a good deed in weeks. I flew up and down the town looking for anyone to help, but no one needed rescuing. Then I flew over the park and saw a small boy fall off the monkey bars. He was screaming and his mom came running over to help him. Then she started screaming. I landed right next to them and before anyone could say anything to me or stop me, I reached out and touched the boys arm. It was broken and sticking out in a weird way. “Arm, return thyself to your natural position. Pain, you are banished from this poor child.” I just don’t know why I talk that way when I try to heal people. Anyway it worked, everyone stopped crying, and I blew them a kiss and flew away.

  When I got back home, I checked my emails, but there were none.

  Friday, June 21st: Dear Diary – I slept late this morning. I probably could have slept till lunchtime, but the phone kept ringing.

  The first call was from Sylvia. She said she just read my email and she wasn’t really mad at me. But she thanked me anyway and invited me to her house after lunch.

  The next call was from Melody. She said I was very sophisticated for realizing my mistake and very grown-up for apologizing. She said she was very proud to be a Hameggattic Sister.

  Angela said she accepted my apology even if it didn’t sound sincere.

  Presley called last and said she hadn’t read the email. She was only calling because she lost a necklace and thought it might have been at my house. I asked her to read the email while I was on the phone. She did and said it was sweet.

  Saturday, June 22nd: Dear Diary – I’m very glad I didn’t send that thank you card to the weatherman. It rained all day today. I’m so bored I could just scream.

  *****

  It would be nice to think Egg had worked out her problems on her own and life would return to normal. But sometimes things need to get worse before there’s a chance for them to get better . . . assuming they can.

  Chapter 5 – Don’t Tell Tinkerbelle

  “My mom got three tickets for a Peter Pan play. Do you want to go?”

  “When?”

  “This afternoon. It’s supposed to rain again so this will give us something to do.” Egg really didn’t want to . . . but she felt like she owed it to her best friend.

  “Sure, that sounds great.”

  “And guess what I’m going to do right now?”

  “What?”

  “I’m getting my ears pierced. Is that too cool?”

  Egg forced the little pang of jealousy she felt to disappear. “Oh my gosh, I wish I could get mine pierced.”

  “Why don’t you ask if you could come with us? Then we’ll see the play and maybe we can convince our moms to let us have a sleepover.”

  Now that sounded like a truly great idea. “I’ll call you right back.” Egg hung up and ran downstairs. “MOM” she yelled.

  “Egg, please don’t yell.”

  “Sorry. Can I get my ears pierced?”

  “No.”

  “Ham is getting hers pierced. Please?”

  “No. You can get them pierced when you go to middle school. I think kids in elementary school are too young.”

  “Pretty, pretty, please?”

  “I said no. Don’t ask me again.” What Mrs. Graystone didn’t tell her daughter was that she had already decided to take Egg to get her ears pierced on her tenth birthday this coming December. It was going to be a surprise. In fact, she was planning to keep Egg out of school so the two of them could spend the whole day together.

  Not knowing what her mother was planning, Egg was crestfallen. “Can I at least go with her and her mom? And they invited me to see a Peter Pan play.”

  “Of course you can. And I’m very sorry you’re disappointed.”

  Egg walked slowly and sadly back to her room. “It’s just not fair,” she whispered to herself. “It’s not fair at all.”

  *****

  “Where are you going to get it done?”

  “I want to do it at that place at the mall. You know the new one that everyone’s talking about; Ear-Resistible.”

  So they drove to the mall, which was really crowded because of the lousy weather. Every mom, daughter and grandmother knew that when it rained . . . well it’s like a sign from heaven to go shopping. And with so many cars there, they had to park about a hundred miles from the entrance. Ham and Egg shared an umbrella and they ran as fast as they could. It didn’t much matter, by the time they made it inside, they were both drenched from the tips of their shoes to the top of their heads.

  Ham thought it was great fun and couldn’t stop giggling.

  Egg felt like a drowned rat and didn’t join in her friend’s merriment.

  “Oh, don’t be so grumpy,” Sylvia chided, “it’s only

  “Just look at my hair (Egg examined her reflection in a store’s window) . . . and my shoes.”

  “Oh, you’ll be dried in a few minutes. Come on.”

  They went up the escalator and found the store packed with girls of every age. Mrs. Hampton squeezed her way inside and talked to the lady who made the reservations. When she came back, she said, “They’re running behind. It’ll be about a half hour. Do you two want to window shop?”

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Egg said “Look at me . . . I’m still soaked. I’ll just wait here and dry off. You two go ahead.”

  Sylvia looked at her mom who shook her head in a way that said “sorry, I can’t leave her here by herself.”

  So they found a bench outside the store and waited their turn. Sylvia tried to get her friend to talk about . . . anything. But, Egg had nothing to say.

  Mrs. Hampton came to her daughter’s rescue by telling a funny story about her first dance with a boy when she was in sixth grade.

  “It was my first dance and I was both excited and nervous. My mother warned me that boys at that age are terrified of asking a girl to dance . . . so don’t be disappointed. Well, as long as none of my girlfriends got asked, then I wouldn’t care.

  I went with my two best friends, Jane and Suzanne. We all had on our best party dresses. And before you say anything – yes we actually wore dresses back then. Mine was a green misty color. I can’t remember what the other two wore.

  Anyway, we got to the school and went into the gym, which was decorated for the occasion. And, just as my mother predicted, the boys were on one side of the room and the girls were on the other side. I can still remember the song that was playing, The Rose by Bette Midler. To this day I get teary eyed when I think of the words . . .” and to the horror of Ham and Egg, Mrs. Hampton began to sing:

  It's the heart, afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance.

  It's the dream, afraid of waking, that never takes a chance.

  Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows,

  Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes the rose.

  Luckily, she couldn’t remember all the words.

  Mrs. Hampton wiped her eyes, which in fact did get teary. Then she continued, “Anyway, it’s a beautiful song. Well, my friends and I went to our side of the room, found something to drink and waited. We had no choice since we certainly weren’t going to ask the boys to dance.”

  “Then one of the boys got up his courage and walked across the dance floor . . . straight to where my friends and I were standing. All three of us start
ed to blush at the same time. It was Bobby O’Bobby . . .”

  “Who” asked Sylvia?

  “His real name was Bobby O’Brian. So his initials were B.O.B. Some troublemaker gave him the nickname Bobby O’Bobby and it stuck. He was a big kid – both tall and wide. But worse of all, he was very, very clumsy. He didn’t have many friends since he was always falling down and wasn’t very bright. Anyway, he was the one boy that no girl wanted to dance with. So when he made his way over to us, we blushed from embarrassment.”

  For some reason, that thought made Mrs. Hampton giggle. “He came over to me and asked me to dance. I wanted to die.”

  “I was about to say no thank you when Jane answered for me. ‘She’d love to’ and shoved me forward. I could have slapped her.”

  “Well, I had no choice so I went out on the dance floor with him. As we walked out, I noticed his shoe was untied and told him. As he bent down to tie it . . . there was a loud ripping sound. His pants had split right down the middle. He stood up, put his hands over his butt – excuse my language – and started to run to the boy’s room. Unfortunately, he tripped over his shoelace and went flying. His pants ended up ripping completely in half. I don’t know what was redder – his underpants or his face. Poor kid, he transferred to another school the next week.”

  Sylvia laughed appreciatively. Egg just smiled politely.

  *****

  On the way home Ham kept touching the piercing studs. “How do they look?”

  “They’re not supposed to look pretty” Egg replied with more than a trace of annoyance “they’re only supposed to keep the little holes from closing up.”

  “Yes, I know that. But I do have to wear them for six weeks. After that I can wear the beautiful ones Mom and I bought.”

  That got Egg’s attention – or at least her curiosity. “What did you get?”

  “I got a pair that are heart-shaped. They’re silver with a red heart on the inside . . .”

  “. . . and a pair that have round rubies . . .”

  “. . . and a pair that kind of look like daisies. They’re made with gold and have little diamonds in the center. Very sophisticated.”

  Egg felt glad for her friend . . . but just miserable for herself. Those earrings sounded just about perfect. And she had to wait two more years . . . heck, that was so far in the future it might just as well have been a million years.

  *****

  By the time they got to the play, Egg was feeling very sorry for herself. It had been just a horrible start to the summer . . .

  It had rained nearly every day.

  The Hameggattic Sisters thought she was being too bossy and she had to apologize. (That was irritating. Her suggestions had been very, very good. Could she help it if she had a better imagination than her friends did?)

  They hadn’t made very much money from the lemonade stand and now she wasn’t sure how she could pay for the tickets to the Fandango Sally concert.

  Ham got her ears pierced and three sets of earrings, while she had to wait two years for hers.

  She had been soaked in the rain and now she was going to see a play for which she had absolutely no interest.

  But what made it all worse was a conflict she was barely aware of. Being Flying Girl was beginning to change her. The ability to fly and the magic of the jewelry gave her enormous power. It was power that could save lives or make a real difference. Somewhere deep inside she was beginning to have a hard time being a nine-year-old girl with nine-year-old interests most of the time, while being Flying Girl the other times.

  *****

  The play was performed by a local troupe of actors. And to Egg’s surprise, they were very good. The set was elaborate and the special effects were wonderful. It didn’t take long for the audience to feel like they were in Neverland.

  Tinkerbelle was adorable . . .

  Captain Hook was delightfully evil . . .

  And Peter Pan was sensational. As he floated above the stage, Egg couldn’t help but smile. She felt a kinship with the loveable character since he was the male version of Flying Girl. It was a very special moment for her. In fact it was the happiest she felt since school got out.

  When the play ended, the audience gave the cast a standing ovation. Egg’s applause was as loud, if not louder, than anyone’s. She was beaming.

  *****

  They got in the car and started to drive home.

  “Thank you for taking me. I just loved it.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Mrs. Hampton who was glad to see that Egg was her old self again.

  “Mom, can Egg and I have a sleep over?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry dear but not tonight. We have company coming over. You can do it any other night.”

  The girls were disappointed but they had the whole summer ahead of them so it didn’t much matter.

  “Well, I’m glad you liked the play, anyway” said Sylvia to her friend.

  “I thought it was wonderful. Wouldn’t it be great if you could fly like Peter Pan?”

  Sylvia laughed. “I don’t think so,” she said.

  Egg was shocked “why not?”

  “Why would anyone want to fly like that? It would be so dangerous. Besides, it could never happen, so what’s the difference?”

  “It could to happen . . . and I think it would be amazing.” Egg’s good mood was disappearing fast.

  “Well, I guess we just have to agree to disagree. I think it’s just silly. It’s something only boys (she said the word as if it was made of sour lemons) would think about.”

  Now Egg was steaming mad. The most important thing in her life . . . being Flying Girl . . . and her best friend was making fun of it.

  “Don’t say that.”

  “Oh, what’s the difference? Besides I think having pierced ears is much more fun.”

  Just then, they pulled up to Egg’s house. “Here you go, dear. Say hello to your mom for me.”

  Egg started to get out . . . but then all the unhappiness and frustration she was feeling came bursting out. “DON’T YOU DARE SAY THAT ABOUT FLYING,” she yelled to a stunned Sylvia (not to mention her mom). “AND I THINK PIERCED EARS ARE STUPID.”

  “Egg . . . they are not,” her friend said defensively. “I just don’t know what’s wrong with you today. You’re being very mean.”

  Egg now went from mad to furious. And without thinking of the consequences, she screamed, “I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN. NEVER.” She slammed the door and ran into the house.

  And just like her grandmother had done fifty years before . . . Egg had lost her best friend.

  Book 6

  Bacon and Egg

  Book 6

  Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood

  © Copyright, 2016 by Robert Iannone,

  All Rights Reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 – The Lollipop Guild

  Chapter 2 – Flying Monkeys

  Chapter 3 – Bacon & Egg

  Chapter 4 – Singing in the Rain

  Chapter 5 – . . . and Toto too

  Chapter 1 – The Lollipop Guild

  “Oh, but anyway, Toto, we're home. Home! And this is my room, and you're all here. And I'm not gonna leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all, and - oh, Auntie Em - there's no place like home!”

  The five girls applauded. Just like Peter Pan the week before, this production of the Wizard of Oz was terrific. The curtain came back up, the main actors came on stage, and the applause was even more enthusiastic.

  Then the supporting cast came out one by one. The last cast member to take her bows was the Wicked Witch . . . and she got a standing ovation and the very loudest applause. She was ever so ugly but so beautifully wicked. You just had to love her.

  With the play over, the five girls (well, actually one of them was Mrs. Hampton who was probably just a tad bit too old to be called a girl) made their way back to the car.

  “I think if I was in the play, I’d be Dorothy,” said Sylvia.

&nb
sp; “I’d be Glinda, the good witch,” volunteered Angela.

  “Only because she’s beautiful,” teased Melody. “I would be the Scarecrow. I think he was just the nicest.”

  “But he didn’t have a brain” kidded Presley referring to what the Scarecrow wanted from the Wizard. “I would be the great and powerful Oz.” Then she added “. . . and Egg would be the Wicked Witch of the West.” This made Angela laugh, Melody giggle and Sylvia smile.

  “Now, now, girls” said Mrs. Hampton, “she was once your friend.”

  “That was before she completely lost her mind,” declared Angela.

  “Do you think she caught some kind of brain flu?” asked Presley.

  “There’s no such thing as brain flu. Is there, Mom?”

  “No, there is not. Now please change the subject.”

  “Mom, can the girls come over for a little while?”

  “Of course. And, they can stay for dinner.” This was greeted by cheers from all four friends. “But when we get home, they need to call their moms to make sure it’s okay.”

  “And we should have a special meeting of the Hameggattic Sisterhood” proclaimed Melody.

  “Why?”

  “We should take a vote on whether we still want Egg to be a sister.” Presley and Angela nodded their agreement. Sylvia just stared out her window.

  *****

  There was a knock on the door and Egg said, “Come in.”

  “Hi, little sis.”

  “Hi, Ashley.”

  “Can we talk for a minute?”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” Ashley sat on her sister’s bed.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Egg who knew exactly what she was talking about.