Late one Tuesday evening, I was watching "Growing Pains"
(otherwise known as "Groaning Pains" to me), when the phone
rang. I answered, "Hello?"
A voice answered, "Ava, something really weird is going on!"
It was Staci, my detective associate. "You've got to solve
this mystery." I said, "O.K. Now tell me what's going on.
And make it quick, Tony's on the warpath and has to use the
phone." She told the story, "Recently a lot of people have
been seen going through this mystery door and never seen
coming out ever again!"
We decided to meet at the old office building where the
door was located the next day.
When I reached the building, Staci was already there, glaring
at those dared touch her brand-new Camaro. We exchanged
greetings and I waited for Staci to turn on her electrical
car alarm system. We went through the door. There was an
old lobby with shabby furniture in it. To the left was a
greasy sign that said stairs with an arrow pointing to the
right. We walked to the stairs. Our anticipation was
increasing with every step. We climbed up 16 flights and crept
toward a door that said "Everlasting Happiness, Inc." I
figured it must be a place where they sent you to live at some
gorgeous island where there was no worry and you could be
happy for the rest of your life or something just as stupid.
Just as Staci was about to open the door, a medium height,
husky young man came out startling us. He looked at us with
gorgeous hazel eyes and said with a clear masculine voice,
"Ask for the special package deal." He knew what we were there
for. He saluted and gave us a dazzling smile and then left.
We looked at each other. Then Staci squealed, "Ava, that was
Tom!" I was puzzled, "Tom? Tom who?" Staci replied, "Tom
Cruise! Who else?" I felt stupid, not recognizing the best
young actor today. "Oh, well!" I said. "Let's go in." I
opened the door. The room we entered was small. There was
a young pretty woman behind a desk. On the walls were travel
posters of popular places like Hawaii. The woman got up and
greeted us. "Hello, I'm Jill Horan. Please sit down." We
sat down on a couple of soft chairs.
"Now, what can I do for you?" said Jill. Looking her straight
in the eye, I said, "We want the special package deal." She
leaned forward, "Are you sure about this?" We nodded our heads
yes. For the remainder of our stay, she explained to us that
only one of us could go at a time. We made an appointment
for Staci for the next Saturday. As we left, Jill gave Staci
a small, gold key with instructions to bring it Saturday after-
noon. we left and started for the stairs. Then, suddenly out
of nowhere, it seemed, was Tom. Being the forward person I am,
I said, "Hi! I'm Ava and this Staci. Can I have your auto-
graph?" He smiled and signed 2 pictures of him that we had.
He signed mine, "To: Ava Love, Tom Cruise." Staci's read,
"To: Staci It's been an absolute pleasure meeting you.
Love, Tom Cruise." This, of course, was dictated by Staci.
Then, his hazel eyes turning serious, he asked us, "Which one
of you is going on the special deal?" "Staci is," I said.
"When?" inquired Thomas. "Saturday at 3 p.m." I replied.
Then turning to Staci, he said, "Be careful, Staci." He
kissed her on the cheek and gave me a friendly hug and left.
When I looked at Staci, I saw that her face was a nice shade
of red and she was grinning like an idiot.
The next couple of days dragged by. Finally it was Saturday.
We got there early. Staci decided to go up anyway. She went
inside. I decided to explore around the building. I walked
along the right side toward the back. It was just a regular
alley. At the end was a wooden gate. I opened it. I looked
inside and gasped with horror. There were decaying, dead bodies
all over the ground. Then I saw Tom Cruise in the midst of the
bodies. He was looking up. I looked up. There was a door on
the sixteenth floor. I then realized what the whole mystery
was about. The people going to Everlasting Happiness wanted
to commit suicide. They did that by opening the door and jump-
ing. They were instantly killed when they hit the cement floor.
I looked at Tom. His face was full of worry and apprehension.
I looked up again. I saw the door open. With horror, I
realized it was Staci. I saw a hand push her out the door and
down she fell. I heard her piercing scream. Tom went right
under her and caught her before she hit the cruel cement. He
fell down from the force of Staci's body. He got up and helped
Staci up, too. They were both unhurt. We walked out of that
ghastly yard and Tom took us home. We notified the authorities
and they took care of the whole situation. Later, Tom asked
us to be in his next movie. We accepted. Tom, of course, was
the leading man. Staci was the leading lady and I was a
"supporting character." Our movie swept the awards at the
Oscars and we lived happily ever after.