chapter five: The Grand Turner Tour "Taaate!" Ryan called from outside the steps. "Are you ready to have a good time as we venture around the jungle that is known as Winnetka?" As loud as he called, no one answered the door just yet. Scratching his head, he sat down on the steps, his chin propped up on one hand. That is, until he heard someone hissing his name. "Ryan!" Startled, he looked around... and yet, no one was there. "BOOGA WOOGA!" A pair of hands clamped down on his shoulders, making him jump slightly. "Oh... Joey, it's you," Ryan said with relief, getting up and dusting off his pants. "Yeah, it's me." "Why didn't you just answer the door?" he asked, looking the Leonard household up and down before finally setting his gaze down on her. "Because... I don't know. But your shouting was probably loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. So, to avoid the risk of becoming deaf, I took the long way around. And when I did, it was quiet. I thought you'd've left!" "Oh. Well, obviously I didn't. And I've got the ransom note all done up and everything. All we need to do is stick it on here like so," he placed it firmly on the glass door, "and we're done!" "So... where's your car?" Joey asked, standing on tiptoe, looking for a vehicle of some sort. "Car?" Ryan snorted with laughter. "Nah... we're doing this the fun way--can someone say, 'two-seater bike'?!" "Two-seater bike," Joey said flatly, spotting the said means of transportation propped up against the bushes. "Actually, that was a rhetorical question, but... whatever." He began to mount the front seat of the bike. "Hop on!" Joey nodded and mounted the bike as well. "This should be interesting." "Well, yeah... I'm showing you around town!" "No, I meant  that us on this bike should be interesting." "To you, maybe, but this bike's family! Shee and I dubbed it our Fresh Ride." It was a good thing she was sitting behind him--Joey wasn't quite sure what Ryan would do if he caught her rolling his eyes at him... he had this certain unpredictible air about him. And it wasn't the cologne he was wearing, either. "Oookay, well, let's get this party started, eh?" And with that, he took his foot up off the driveway and cycled down the street, Joey having no choice but to pedal as well, it being a tandem bike. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey Ma..." "Morning, Brennie. Morning, Tate!" Mrs. Leonard replied, taking a sip from her coffee and flipping the page in the newspaper. "Have you seen Joey?" Tate asked, running a hand through her hair in a weak attempt to make herself more presentable in front of the Leonard family. Mr. Leonard looked at her. "I thought she spent the night in the basement with you? You sure she's just not hanging around there somewhere?" "Dad, she's nineteen... what would she be doing playing a game of hide-and-go-seek?" "Oh!" Mrs. Leonard said suddenly. "I remember now--she went outside to go clean her muddy shoes." Nodding, Brendan and Tate wandered outside, bowls of cereal in hand. "Joey?" "Where could she be? I mean.. she's cleaning her shoes for goodness sake," Tate said, looking around as she shoveled spoonfuls of milk and Cinnamon Toast Crunch into her mouth. "Oh... hey.. what's this?" Brendan said, turning around and pulling a piece of paper off the glass panel. Tate watched curiously as his eyes went back and forth across the page. "What is it?" "It says that they've got Joey... we have to meet them over by the batting cage at Skokie's.... We'd better high-tail it over there." The two exchanged worried looks before setting off at a sprint towards the field. "I don't see them..." Brendan panted, squinting around for any sign of Joey and her kidnapper. "There's another note." Tate reached up to grab it, but it was placed too high up on the metal post of the batting cage. Trying his best not to smirk in such a serious situation, Brendan extended an arm and picked it off and handed it to her. "It says... to go to the first trash can visible on the beach." Brendan paused for a moment, thinking. "It's not too far from here." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With a grin, Ryan hit the brakes on the bike. "And here is our meeting place. Now all's we gotta do is wait inside for them to come." "What is this place?" Ryan smirked. "It's the place where Brendan's mom works... Won't she be in for a big surprise when she sees the four of us there." Seeing the puzzled expression on her face, he elaborated. "She doesn't like Brendan or any of us inside because she thinks we're going to break something. When in reality, that's only happened once. But that's just between me, you, and the guys. Mrs. Leonard has never found out about it, and we don't exactly intend on clueing her in." "Sneaky," Joey laughed, waltzing right on through as he held the door open for her. "Aren't you one of Cathy's son's friends?" one of the ladies said to them from behind the counter. "See?" Ryan whispered. "They know me already. Too bad I never get any discounts around here." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "This guy obviously knew just where Joey was hanging around. I mean, if he's making us meet at my mom's store, he's gotta know his stuff." Tate nodded. "I hope she's all right." Brendan didn't answer. He simply looked across the street at his mother's store. "Well... here's the moment of truth." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "JOEY!" Tate squealed, running up to her and giving her a hug. "You're all right!" Joey grinned. "Why wouldn't I be?" Brendan and Tate looked at each other. "You were... kidnapped?" Brendan said slowly, his brows raised in question. "Not necessarily," Ryan said, straightening up from behind the counter. It was impossible for Ryan and Joey to tell who looked more murderous. "You had us WORRIED!" Tate hissed, throwing the small stack of papers about. Joey cowered slightly behind Ryan. "Yeah! I mean... that just was NOT a cool thing to do, Ryan." "I expected this from Ryan, but from you, Joey?!" "Chill out guys... don't even TELL me you guys couldn't recognize my handwriting. I didn't even try to change it." The Spud Couple merely looked blankly at them. "Does NO ONE know me any more? This morning Mrs. Leonard couldn't even recognize my voice. And now you two can't even tell my handwriting!" And finally, the two let out a laugh. "Sorry, Ryan." "That was a good one. I'm surprised you even came up with it, Ryan!" But before anyone could say much more, the bells jingled as someone else entered the store. "Brendan!" All heads turned towards Mrs. Leonard in the doorway. "Hi, Mom!" "Goodbye, Brendan. Bye, Tate and Joey! Bye, Ryan." She began to usher the four teens outside the shop, Mrs. Leonard's co-workers giggling good naturedly and waving them off. "So what do you guys wanna do now?" Joey asked, looking from one person to another. Brendan shrugged. "I'm actually still hungry. Tate and I abandoned our cereal on the steps... I doubt it'll taste any good once we get back." "I've... got some errands to run for my mom," Ryan said, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Mind if I call you later?" Brendan opened his mouth to protest, but then he realized that it wasn't he Ry Guy was addressing at all... it was Joey. "Yeah, sure!" was her reply. "I definitely owe you for that great tour." "That's how you're going to repay me? By letting me give you a call?" "Would you rather me not?" "I'll call you later, then." And with that, Ryan lolloped off. "I don't believe this," Brendan said to the two girls through a mouthful of pancakes. "Ryan has actually let on that he likes someone. Usually no one can ever tell. You must be something special, Joey." She laughed. "Can't see how, though. I've only known him for about a day and a half." "So you don't like Ry Guy?" Joey thought for a moment and shrugged. "I don't know... seriously. I really don't!" She picked at the eggs on her plate with her fork, pushing them around. "Well, Tate's friend or not, you break his heart, and I'll break your arm." A smirk came across Tate's face. She looked up at Brendan and chimed in, "Well, your friend or not, Brendan, if he breaks Joey's heart, I'm breaking his neck." "How violent of you," Brendan commented, now gulping down a glass of milk. Joey grinned and cut in before Tate could argue back. "It's nice to know that you both care about your friends... to some extent. I mean, if you were willing to break one of their limbs..." "Oh, come on, we were just joking, Joe," Brendan replied with a slight smile. Tate looked at him and scoffed. "Speak for yourself!"