chapter forty


Julie and Bob had managed to sit back and watch Scott. Scott's eyebrows were in a V shape and he looked extremely pissed.

Bob and Julie, among the others, were all confused. Scott reminded himself he shouldn't let on that he liked Julie quite yet. He just couldn't bear to watch his brother kiss his crush. It wasn't natural.

Scott released his eyebrows and calmed down. "Nothing. Ashley it's your turn." Scott said calmly and waited for Ashley to spin. Ashley was nervous. She wanted to kiss Bob. She was jealous of Julie. Ashley looked at Julie and she looked as if she was on cloud nine. Ashley smiled and Julie didn't see.

Ashley leaned forward and giggled as she spun the bottle. It landed halfway in between Clint and Scott. She decided to spin again. This time it landed on herself. So much for that, she thought.

It was now Julie's turn. She spun and it landed smack dab on Clint. Clint's eyes lit up and he made a kissy noise with his mouth. Julie giggled and got ready to kiss another Moffatt. She was so excited she could hardly keep from shaking. She managed to gain control.

Just as her and Bob had, Julie and Clint moved closer over the bottle and were just about to touch when Sheila suddenly pulled the curtain back to reveal the four spectators and the two in the center, about ready to kiss.

"Clint!" Sheila almost yelled.

Clint jumped back and looked at Sheila. Julie sat back and looked at Sheila quickly. Sheila faintly recognized the girls from the autograph line.

"What's going on here?" Sheila demanded. Then she noticed the Naya water bottle in the center of the floor. Sheila had to sympathize. She knew what it was like to play "Spin the Bottle". She tried not to smile. "Who are these girls?" Sheila asked, untensing.

Scott took the initiative. "This is Julie and Ashley. Some fa...friends." Scott stuttered.

"Girls...how did you get back here?" Sheila asked Julie and Ashley. Julie and Ashley fought smiles.

"We kind of got lost. I'm so sorry, Sheila!" Ashley admitted.

Sheila knew this girl wasn't lying. "Ok. Would you like to call your house?" Sheila offered.

"I already called my mom's car phone. She said as soon as you or Frank got here to have you or him call her." Ashley said.

Sheila nodded. "Ok. What's the number?" Sheila asked.

Ashley told her and Sheila dialed after opening the cupboard and taking the reciever off the hook.

"Hello?" Ashley could hear her mom clearly.

"Hello, Mrs..." Sheila put her hand over the phone and waited for Ashley to give her a last name.

Ashley understood and replied quickly. "Whitaker."

"Mrs. Whitaker." Sheila finished. "This is Sheila Moffatt, the Moffatts' stepmom..." Sheila said, waiting for a reply.

"Oh! Hi! I'm Mary Anne Whitaker, Ashley's mom." Mrs. Whitaker said.

Sheila waved her hand for Ashley to close the curtain and let her be alone to talk with Ashley's mom. Ashley slid the curtain back and looked at Julie and Clint, who were both obviously disappointed. Clint reached behind him and under his bean bag chair and pulled out a bag of gummy worms.

Clint offered everybody one and all refused except Ashley. They sat in silence trying to hear Sheila. She was speaking lowly and they couldn't.

Then, after a few minutes, as Sheila ended the conversation, she spoke up louder. "So it's okay if they stay here tonight?"

Ashley and Julie got extremely giddy and couldn't contain themselves, hoping it would be ok with Mrs. Whitaker.

"Okay, Mary Anne. Yup, we'll see you tomorrow!" Sheila said and hung up. Sheila pulled the curtain back to see two very excited girls and four hopeful guys.