[Chapter 1] Great News!

“Kristyn! Baylee! Levi!”

“Coming!” the three of us chanted.

“Better wash your hands, Levi, or you’ll get it from Mom,” I told my brother.

“Baylee, did you finish your homework yet? Remember, no dessert until you do,” Dad reminded Baylee. Her being in seventh grade, he constantly had to make sure that she was finishing her homework. Mom said that thirteen-year-olds forget a lot more than twelve-year-olds like Levi.

“I just gotta study for some dumb old history test tomorrow,” Baylee replied.

“It wouldn’t be history if it weren’t old, Bay. Go wash your hands for dinner,” Dad said, not even looking up from his book.

“Any mail?” I asked Mom when I reached the kitchen.

“Yes, but wait until after we eat to look at it. Go put these forks on the table,” Mom told me.

“What’re we eating? Spaghetti, I hope,” Levi asked, walking in after me.

“Meatloaf,” I replied. “Put the napkins on the table.”

“Whatever. We should have spaghetti tomorrow night, Mom,” Levi said.

“Be nice you two,” Mom told us impatiently.

Less than ten minutes later, all five members of my family were sitting at the table. After a long day at school for us kids, we were glad to be able to relax and eat some good food. Generally, my mom keeps us longer for dinner so we can have “family time,” but tonight I excused myself early.

“That was delicious, Mom. Thanks,” I told her. I put my dishes in the sink, then went to look at the stack of mail on the front table. I searched for a letter from Liz, one of my best friends. She was out on an early vacation in Colorado, and tried to write every Tuesday.

“There it is!” I grabbed the letter and ran to my room. Once there, I closed the door and began reading:

Dear Kris,

How ya been doing? I have some great news. My grandparents said that you, Baylee, and Levi can come up to their house over break! I hope your parents let you come. Maybe we can even find a mystery! Their house is supposed to have hidden passageways and stuff like that. Kimmie’s still being as annoying as ever, but she’s stopped following me around as much. Please find out if you can come ASAP!

Your BFF always,

Liz

“Mom!” I yelled down the stairs. I just had to see if we could go.

“Yes Kristyn. What could possibly be so important that you couldn’t even come downstairs?” Mom asked playfully, walking into my room.

“Liz’s grandparents invited us to come to their house in Colorado over break!” I said, all in one breath.

“Oh, really? Well who, exactly, did they invite? And how do you plan on getting there?” Mom questioned.

“Liz said in her letter that all 3 of us-Baylee, Levi, and I- are welcome. We could probably fly over, if you let us.” I answered cautiously, waiting for her reaction.

“I might consider it. You will have to choose between that or your cousins, though. They are coming for Easter, don’t forget,” Mom reminded me.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Maybe Aunt Beth and Uncle Ben will let Logan and Zach come with us. Only if it’s okay with Liz’s grandparents, of course,” I offered.

“Well, you call Aunt Beth and Liz and work it out. If Logan and Zachary can go, then I’ll let you 3 kids. If not, I’ll have to say no,” Mom said, and went back downstairs.

I grabbed my cell phone right away and began dialing Liz’s cell immediately. I knew it by heart. It rang a few times, but finally she answered.

“Hi, Kris! Can you come?”

“On one condition: Logan and Zach have to be able to come too.”

“I’ll ask Grandma Moore. Just a sec.”

I waited a couple minutes, then she came back on.

“She said yes! Oh, and I still have to tell you the best part. Niki and Jake are coming too! I can’t wait!”

“Cool! But I still have to call Aunt Beth and make sure that the boys can come. I’ll call you back as soon as I get an answer, okay?”

“Sure, but hurry!”

We both hung up and I began to dial Aunt Beth’s number. This time it only rang once.

“Bethany Littleton speaking. Who is this?”

“It’s Kristyn, Aunt Beth!”

“Oh, Kris! It’s so nice to hear from you again. Is something wrong?”

“No, I just needed to ask you something.”

“Sure, anything.”

“Do you think that Logan and Zach could come with Baylee, Levi, and I to my friend, Liz’s, grandparents’ house?”

“Is it alright with her grandparents?”

“Yep! I just checked!”

“Well, then, I don’t see any reason that they couldn’t. But they won’t come if they don’t want to.”

“Okay! Could you see if they’ll come right now?”

“I’ll ask them. Wait a moment.”

I heard her asking first Zach, then Logan.

“Well, Kris, it seems that not only do they want to come, but Logan has offered to drive you all there!”

“That’s fantastic! Thank you Aunt Beth!”

“They said that they’ll be there Friday to pick you all up.”

“Thanks again. We’ll be ready. Love ya!”

“Love you, too, Kristyn. Bye!”

“Bye!”

I called Liz again.

“So?”

“They can come, and Logan’s even gonna drive us there!”

“Great! I can’t wait! I’ll go tell Gram. See ya!”

“I gotta tell Mom, too. Bye!”

As soon as I hung up, I ran to tell Mom.

“We get to go, and Logan’s even gonna drive!” I shouted, running into the living room.

“Wonderful, dear. You all had better start packing,” Mom said, smiling.

“Yes ma’am! I’ll report to the recruits at once!” I teased, racing back upstairs.

“Baylee, Levi! We get to go to Liz’s grandparents’ house in Colorado! Logan is gonna drive us there! He’s picking us up on Friday, so you’d better pack!” I yelled to them, then ran into my room and started packing.