"Whoa," I dropped my sleeping bag.
    "That's big," my brother, Alex said.
    "That house looks haunted,” my little sister, Hilary said.
    “Don’t worry, Hilary,” Alex said. “The old Clark House is not haunted.”
    “Whatever,” Hilary replied. 
    “Hey, guys,” my best friend, Jake Meyer said from behind me. I jumped.
    I turned around. “Hi, Jake.” We had been best friends since preschool, and he always scared me because he came up behind me.
    “Did I scare you, Layla?” Jake asked, grinning. I smacked him.
    “What?” he asked.
    “Let’s go,” Alex said.
    “Yeah.” Hilary agreed. Defeated, Jake and I had no choice but to follow them.
    When we entered the mansion, a butler greeted us and took our stuff.
    “This is better than a hotel!” Hilary sang as she danced around the foyer.
    “Jake!” Sam, his sister called. “Wait up!”
    We turned around. There was Samantha Meyer, running as fast as she could toward us. When she reached us, she handed a magazine to Hilary, and they did their “secret” handshake. Unknown to them, Jake and I learned it, and it’s our secret handshake when they’re not around. When they are around (which isn’t often) its smack, smack, clap, high-five. 
    “Hey, guys,” Michael Jasper, the cutest guy in school and the kid who lived in the mansion, said from the other end of the huge foyer. “I asked you to come for a reason. Well, a reason besides Jasmine and me with our birthday party.”
    All of us looked up.
    “Okay, now down to business,” Michael said when he was sure he had everyone’s attention. “My great-grandfather, Frank Clark, built this place 100 years ago. He and my great-grandmother lived here with their 3 kids. They grew up and moved out-except my grandmother. Her husband liked her parents, and moved in with them. Then they had my mother. When she was ten, both of my grandparents were mysteriously killed. She lived in the house with her grandparents until they died. By then she was married and had me. Then one day, I was playing in my room and heard Mom scream. I rushed to her room and saw her lying on the floor. I helped her up, and she was in a daze and could barely speak out of shock. She, in the half-hour interrogation, said she saw her dad. He told her that a family member murdered him. I thought she was going crazy, until I saw it
for myself and then I almost had a heart attack
    “Last October, I was messing around with some matchbox cars, when I saw Grandpa in front of me. He just stood there for five minutes. Finally, he said, ‘Don’t trust anybody but your most trustworthy friends.’ Then he disappeared.”
    “Freaky,” I muttered. I twisted my strawberry blond hair around my finger.
    “Anyway,” Michael continued. “We’re going to split up into groups of two and investigate. Alex, you and I will be together, Sam and Hilary, and Layla and Jake. We, Alex, will be investigating the west wing, Sam, you and Hilary will be investigating upstairs, which leaves-“
    “The east wing,” Jake and I cut him off. 
    “Exactly,” Michael said. “Now, ready, set, go!” We ran off in different directions. I stopped to remember which way was east before continuing.
    “Layla!” Jake called from ahead of me. “Come here!” I ran ahead to catch up with him.
    “Ho. Ly. Smoke!” I exclaimed when I reached him.

    There was a body! I almost screamed, but stopped myself. Then I looked closer. It was just a mannequin. I sighed with relief, and then saw a message scrawled across its torso. It read: STAY AWAY FROM THE POOL! I stared at it.
    “Let’s go, Jake,” I said, grabbing his arm. “Somebody’s trying to scare us.”
    But Jake pointed at the mannequin. I looked at it. There, written in tiny letters, were the words: THAT MEANS YOU, LAYLA AND JAKE!
    I gasped. “Why can’t we go near the pool?”
    “Like you said, it’s just a joke,” Jake said. “That’s our first stop anyway. Let’s go.”
    As we entered the poolroom, I could smell the chlorine. “Jake, I’m a little nervous about that warning,” I said. “Maybe you should investigate over there. I’ll stick by the pool.” As I investigated, I noticed the knob to turn on rapid water was slowly turning. I figured it was unwinding, until I heard the sound of rushing water. I gulped, and turned around. I saw white water, and then I felt a push, and cool water. Someone or something pushed me in. I can’t swim in currents. I would drown if somebody didn’t help me, and fast!
    “Jake!” I screamed over the rushing water. “Help!” Jake, who was on the other side of the pool, dove into the current, and swam as fast as he could toward me. When he reached me, he handed me a life preserver. I put it on, and he pulled me to the edge, and then helped me out. Soaking wet and dripping, I said, “I think Michael was telling the truth.” I told him the entire story.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re telling Michael.”
    “But, if we do, we won’t be able to find clues,” I protested. “And then this could have a better chance of happening again!”
    “We have to go back anyway, so you can change into dry clothes,” Jake replied as he tossed me a towel.
    “Good point,” I said. I caught the towel and followed him out the door. When we stepped into the hallway, I was almost hit in the head by a flying dodge ball. Hilary and Sam were running around tossing the ball around.
    “Hilary Skye Browning!” I said angrily. “Stop!”
    She stopped, but Jake was hit because Sam threw it and Hilary didn’t catch it.    “Samantha Charlotte Meyer,” Jake said calmly, although he looked like he was about to explode. Sam and Hilary ran down the hall and disappeared around a corner.
    “What is with those two?” I wondered aloud.
    “Who knows?” Jake replied. “Let’s find them, Alex, and Michael and tell them that we've had a breakthrough on the ghost.”
    “Yeah,” I agreed. “Let’s go.”
    An hour later, after I was in dry clothes, I filled them in on my pool experience. When I finished, everyone looked stunned.
    “I told you so,” Michael said solemnly, looking at Alex. I never realized until last week, but they despise each other. But then why would Michael pair himself with Alex? I wondered. Then I shook my head. I had been reading way too many Nancy Drew books.
    “Hey, guys,” Sam said, fear in her voice. “Look behind you.”
    I turned around and yelped in surprise. There, sure enough, was a hovering figure.  He stood there for a few minutes, and then simply said, “Beware. Don’t trust anybody.” Then he vanished.
    By now, I was gripping Jake’s arm. I didn’t know how tightly I was holding it until he said, “Layla, please let go before I lose circulation.” I immediately loosened my grip.
    “Okay, that’s it!” Michael said, outraged. “Everybody, back to investigating!”
    Jake, wiggling free of my loose grip, grabbed my hand and we ran back to the east wing. When we arrived, I let go of him and then noticed someone disappearing around the corner.
    “Jake!” I hissed. “Follow me!”
    Now, the thing about us being friends since we were four is that we can barley glance at each other to tell if the other is up to something. Once, I actually told him what he was going to say before he said it. The thing is, his facial expression tells me everything. I guess it’s the same with me, because, without hesitation, he followed me. 
Wordlessly, we tiptoed down the hall. I grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows I saw nearby, just in case.
    We turned the corner just in time to see a pair of doors about to close two feet away.
    “Jake, hold this,” I handed him the quiver and ran. I slid under the door with three arrows and the bow. I made it to the other side before it closed. As soon as I stood up, I looked around. I saw a strange contraption with a giant magnet on it. Then, I felt someone grab me from behind. I kicked, then went limp, pretending to faint. I know it worked because the person loosened the grip they had on me enough for me to karate kick and knock them out. The person was wearing a mask, so I couldn’t see their face. I walked over to the doors and jokingly said “Open Sesame!” It worked. I ran out and almost ran into Jake, who was pacing in the hallway. He was muttering something under his breath. 
    “Hi!” he said. “Back so soon?” He looked nervous.
    “What’s going on?” I asked.
    “Okay, Okay,” he said, holding his arms up. “ You caught me. I know something you don’t.” 
    “And that is?” I asked him.
    “That the ghost is really-“ Jake stopped himself with a gasp.
    “What?” I asked. He pointed behind me. I turned around. Two guys in masks were standing there, holding shotguns at Jake and me.

    “Put ‘em up,” one of the two said. “Drop all your money.”
    Jake and I immediately dropped our wallets. Normally I would have put my karate skills to use at this time, but I was broke and I knew Jake was too so I didn’t bother.
    “So what do you think we should do with them?” the first guy asked the second guy.
    Now I came up with an idea. I mouthed, “Confuse!” to Jake and he nodded. Just as Guy #2 was about to speak up, Jake butted in.
    “You know what I think? I think that you think that I think that you think that I think that we think the same thoughts,” Jake said. The gunmen traded confused looks, but quickly recovered.
    “Wrong answer,” Guy #1 replied. The gunmen cocked their shotguns. Then someone whacked them from behind. It was Michael’s twin sister, Jasmine. We are best friends.
    “What is it with mobsters?” she wondered aloud. “Come on, guys. Let’s get out of here.” Jasmine was my best friend, and besides Jake, she’s the only one I can trust. Jake’s the same way. We all met in kindergarten, although Jake and I had already been best friends for a year.
    “Where’ve you been?” I asked her as we walked down the hall. 
    “Around,” she said. “How about you?”
    “Well, I almost drowned, was almost knocked out, and then almost shot,” I said with sarcastic enthusiasm. “If it weren’t for Jake and my brown belt in karate, I’d be dead right now.”
    “Look, guys, I have to tell you something…” Jasmine trailed off.
    “What?” I said with concern. 
    “It’s nothing,” Jasmine said, sounding sad.
    “Hey, are you okay?” I asked, this time very concerned.
    “Never mind,” she said. “I’ve got to go.” She ran down the hall.
    “What’s with her?” I asked Jake.
    “I don’t know,” Jake said. “But we’ve got to go, too, before-duck!” he yelled, and jumped on top of me, pinning me to the floor just before an arrow flew past us. When we got up, I noticed a blossom of red spreading on his left shoulder.
    “Jake, you’re bleeding!” I exclaimed, pointing at his shoulder. “Come with me.” I grabbed his hand and we slid down the banister to the 1st story where the nurse was.
    “Nurse Jacqueline!” I called into her office. “Jake’s bleeding!”
    Nurse Jacqueline came out of the back and asked us to come in. She’s really nice. She has snow white hair and big green eyes. She reminds me of my grandma who lives 3,000 miles away in New York City.
    Jake took his shirt off so she could take care of it.
    “Well, it’s only a scratch,” she said after she examined him. “But what did it?”
    “An arrow,” Jake said.
    “Well, then I’m glad you came to me,” Nurse Jacqueline said as she dribbled hydrogen peroxide on his wound. Jake winced slightly when she dabbed rubbing alcohol on him.
    “Why are there even arrows in this house, anyway?” I asked.
    “Well, because mobsters attack us once a week,” she replied.
    “Why?” I asked curiously.
    “Well, nobody knows,” Nurse Jacqueline said, bandaging Jake’s arm. “But I suppose you can find out. That’s why you’re here. The mobsters are attacking us more now.” By now, she had finished bandaging Jake’s arm. “Okay, now go.”
    He slipped his shirt back on as we ran. When we reached the hallway, I stopped for a second. Everyone has a sixth sense right? Mine was sensing when bad stuff was about to happen- kinda like Spiderman. And at that point, I sensed danger. I turned around and saw a masked man coming from the other side of the hallway.
    “Not again,” Jake groaned. Then his eyes lit up as he thought of an idea. “Layla, you can flip in the air, right?”
    “Yeah,” I said, confused. “Why?”
    Jake cupped his hands together. “Put one of your feet on my hands.”
    I did, and I figured out what his plan was. Another thing is that Jake is very strong, and can lift me when needed, which is actually kinda weird because he weighs less than I do. Now, when the mobsters came near us, he launched me at them. I flipped and spun around, knocking both men to the ground. I landed and ran to Jake.
    “Great teamwork,” I said, giving him a high-five.
    “Yeah,” Jake said. “Now let’s get out of here.” 
    We ran back to the lobby and found Michael, Jasmine, Alex, Hilary, and Sam standing there waiting for us.
    “Guys, we found some valuable information about the ghost.” Jake said. 
    “What?” Michael asked.
    “The ghost is a hologram, and there’s a treasure in this house,” Jake said in one breath.
“What?” Alex asked.
    “Did you all find any warnings?” I asked, seeing what he was getting at.
    “Yeah,” Sam said. “Here is mine.” She set a message down that said, “After dinner, avoid the west wing!”
    Jake had written down our warnings, and set them down above Sam’s. Hilary set down a message that said, “Get away from this house or else.”
    Michael set down a message that said, “Even best friends can’t be trusted.”
    “Jake, I think I know where the treasure is,” I said quietly.

“What?” Alex exclaimed.
    “Put the messages together and you’ll know what I mean,” I said.
    When lined up, they looked like this:
Stay Away From the Pool!
That Means You, Layla and Jake!
After Dinner, Avoid the West Wing!
Get Away From This House Or Else!
Even Best Friends Can’t Be Trusted.
Everybody looked at it for a second. Then, in unison, we all said, “The stage!” 
    “How could I have been so stupid?” Michael said, smacking his head. “The stage is where we keep stuff like that.”
    “Let’s go,” I said. 
    We ran for the west wing, where the mini theater was. In there, we found more than we bargained for. We found a holographic projector, a brown chest, and a ton of mobsters surrounding the entire room. None of them were nearby, but I knew that if I picked the chest up, it would attract the guards.
    “Guys, don’t touch the chest,” I said. “I have a plan. Jake, come on.”
    “So, what’s the plan?” Jake asked.
    “Turn on the projector,” I said.
    “Okay,” he walked over and turned it on. Automatically, it attracted mobsters from the other side of the room. They began to shoot at us from all sides. Quickly, Jake grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the other end of the stage. It was closer than where everyone else was, and I can’t avoid gunshots.
    “How are we going to get over there?” I asked him.
    “I don’t know,” Jake admitted. “I guess we wait until they run out of ammo or get tired of shooting at nothing.”
“Jake, I know this sounds stupid, but I’m kind of scared,” I said. 
    “This is terrifying,” he agreed. “Look, this is a bad time, but…” he trailed off.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Never mind,” he said. “It’s not the right time.”
I felt weird about this for some reason. I shook my head. “Jake, what’s wrong?” 
“Nothing, okay?” Jake said. “Look, I need time to think this over before I tell you, okay?”
“Sorry,” I said softly. 
“It’s all right,” Jake said. “I just am not sure about anything right now, including that I know whose behind this- whoops!” he clamped his hand over his mouth.
“Is that the secret?” I asked. I could barely hold back a grin. Jake nodded. Now I burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, I just thought you were moving or something. And by the way, you’re right. We’re in enough trouble already.” 
“Follow me,” Jake said as he got up. 
I followed him backstage, where the costumes were.
“How about we get some costumes on, and distract those jerks?” Jake asked. He threw a costume at me and then grabbed one himself. We put them on over our clothes. I looked down at my costume. It was an outfit that made me appear to be one of the mobsters. Jake looked the same. 
“Let’s distract them long enough for Alex, Michael, Sam, and Hilary to escape. Then we’ll get out of here, and they’ll have aided an escape plan and not known it,” Jake sniggered. “They are so stupid.”
“Hey, guys!” I called out to the mobsters. “The boss just said that those brats are gone!”
“Really?” one of the mobsters called out. “Then we can go?” 
“Yeah.” Jake said from behind me. “Go on. We’ll get the treasure.”
When we were sure they were gone, we took off our masks and got out of there.
But when we entered the hallway, a mobster was waiting for us.

    “Jake? Layla?” the mobster exclaimed. “Is that you?"
    I realized who it was first. “Jasmine?” I asked, shocked. “How’d you know it was us?”
    Jasmine took her mask off. “I have ways. Anyway, what are you guys doing?” 
    “Finding a way to not only get the treasure, but keep those mobsters out forever,” I replied.
    “Oh, okay,” Jasmine said. “That’s what I’m doing, too.”
    “Guys, they’re coming back,” Alex muttered. Quickly, Jasmine, Jake, and I put on our masks as Michael, Alex, Hilary, and Sam scurried off in the other direction.
    “I thought you said we could go,” one of the gangsters said as he approached us.
    “We did!” Jasmine exclaimed as she knocked him out. I knocked out the second one, and Jake knocked out the last one. Then we took our masks off.
    “Good job, guys,” Jake said. Then I saw something moving over his shoulder.
    “Oh, no,” I said, pointing.
    “What?” Jasmine asked.
    “More mobsters,” I said. “And I think they saw us knock those other guys out.”
    “Hey, you!” one of them said as he approached us. “Who are you?”
    “That is for me to know, and you to find out- if you catch us!” I replied as Jake, Jasmine, and I started running. When we reached a big storage closet, we hopped inside and hid in it. We didn’t dare turn on the light in case the gangsters were outside the closet. 
    “What do we do?” Jasmine asked.
    “I don’t know,” Jake admitted. “We should try to find Alex and them and get out of here.” Suddenly the door burst open. Only, it wasn’t a gangster who opened it. It was Mrs. Jasper. 
    “Hi,” Jake said. “Could you get what you need, and close the door? We have a few people after us.”
    “Yeah- your sisters are looking for you, Layla and Jake. And Layla, you’re brother’s looking for you, too. Yours too, Jasmine.”
    “Whatever,” I said. “Could you help us out without being detected?”
    “Sure,” Mrs. Jasper replied. “Get in this laundry cart.”
    “Will it hold us?” I asked nervously.
    “Yes. We use it as a hiding place when gangsters attack,” Mrs. Jasper said as she opened the side door on it.
    “Okay,” Jake said as he, Jasmine, and I piled in. Pretty soon, we heard Alex talking nearby.
    “Okay, you guys can come out now,” Mrs. Jasper said as she opened the door. 
    “Can we go?” I asked.
    “No,” Alex replied. “We already tried. The mobsters sealed off every door.” 
    “Great,” I groaned. “Mrs. Jasper, is there any way we can help while we’re still alive?” When I heard no answer, I turned around and saw that she had disappeared.
    “Oh, come on!” Alex complained. “We’re stuck in a gangster filled house, no adults, with two crazy 11-year-olds!” He gestured at Hilary and Sam, who were currently investigating a dead bug on the floor.
    “Oh, no!” I gasped as I realized something.
    “What’s wrong?” Jasmine asked.
    “I have to call Phoebe and tell her to avoid the house,” I said as I flipped open my cell phone. Phoebe is my cousin who was going to come with her friends (who just so happen to be Jake’s cousins) Josh and Mary Jane.
    “Hey, girl, what’s up?” Phoebe said after I dialed her.
    “Hey, Phoebe,” I said. “Listen, I need to tell you something.”
    “Yeah?”
    I hesitated, then told her then whole story. 
    “So, you’re locked in a strange, creepy house with masked gunmen everywhere?” Phoebe asked. I knew she believed me. A similar thing happened at our school, John Adams Junior High, a few weeks back.
    “Pretty much, yeah,” I replied.
    “Okay, glad you called me,” Phoebe said. “We were about to walk the door. Mom was going to take us.”
    “See you soon,” I said. “If I live.”
    “Okay,” Phoebe said. Then we hung up.
    “Okay,” Michael said. “We’re staying together.”
    “It’d be better to split up, don’t you think?” Jake suggested. Was it my imagination, or did I see him cross his fingers?
    “You’re right. Stick with your original partner,” Michael said. “Jasmine, you’re with Sam and Hilary.” 
    “Layla, let’s go,” Jake said. “We should check out the west wing.”
    I started to follow him out, but Alex held me back.
    “What?” I asked him.
    “Be careful,” Alex said.
    “I will,” I said.
    “Layla!” Jake said. “We have to get out of this wing!”

    “I’ll tell the others,” Alex said, running ahead.
    “Why?” I turned to Jake.
    “There’s a bomb that’s going to go off within the next five minutes,” Jake said.
    “Oh, okay,” I said. Then I followed him out the door.
    When we were out of harm’s way, I answered my ringing cell phone. “Hello?”
    “Hi.” It was Jasmine. “Listen, remember how I told you I installed surveillance cameras in the house?” 
    “Yeah,” I said. She had told me she could see everything with those.
    “Well, somebody’s been following us around, so I think we should stay with you guys. We have a better chance of survival.” Jasmine sounded like she was very scared.
    “No problem,” I said. “We’ll wait here.” I shut my cell phone, and told Jake to wait for Jasmine. When she arrived, Jake, Jasmine, Sam, Hilary, and I ran across the lobby to the other wing. Our first stop was the ballroom. In there, the speakers were playing “The Four Seasons.” Music is on all day and all night.  (I’ve been there before). It can get annoying, but that’s usually where Jasmine and Michael’s parents have parties. Usually, it doesn’t play more than ten minutes of classical, then does something else. (I burned the CDs- I made sure that’s what happened). I also burned whole CDs of swing music that they play at their ‘50s parties. Suddenly, a new song came on. 
    “Guys, someone’s here with us,” I said. 
    “I’m scared,” Hilary whispered. 
    “It’s okay,” I said. “They don’t know we’re here.” I opened my backpack and pulled out my laptop. When it booted up, I figured I would change my settings, like my screen saver, background, and appearance. I changed my background to a picture of Hilary and me on the beach. My screen saver was pretty cool, too. It has all these colors flying around. After I changed that stuff, I changed the color of the bar at the bottom of the screen from red to blue. I could tell Jake and Jasmine was doing the same. Then, I got into Microsoft Word and began my story for my personal paper that I share with Jake and Jasmine.

Students Visit Supposed Haunted House and Find More
Story by Layla Browning

A certain someone at John Adams Junior High saw a spirit at his house and asked the newspaper squad to come investigate. What we found was not a ghost, but something worse. Mobsters were attacking his home and trying to smuggle his family’s fortune. They hesitate to kill no one and they carry guns that can kill you with no problem. My friends and I have already had a run-in with them twice. More on this story as we find out more.

    I saved it and closed my computer. I looked around and realized that we were safe to go. I looked at everyone and gestured to follow me. I put my laptop in its case and crawled out from behind the table we were hiding behind. I made sure the coast was clear, and then nodded at my friends and sibling. We crawled out, and then we stood up and ran as fast as we could to get to the exit. But once we were out in the hall, we had a narrow escape from a group of mobsters. Luckily, we ducked into the dance hall. It’s right next to the ballroom. You can dance and sing in there. Then we ran right into everyone else.
    “What are you guys doing here?” I asked.
    “We decided to go ahead and do karaoke,” Alex explained. “Short stick goes first.”
    We all grabbed a stick. Mine was shortest. I groaned, then walked up to the stage at the front of the room. I looked through the songs and decided on one. I put on a microphone that you can attach to your shirt, and began to sing. Then I felt power surge through me, and, without thinking, I began to dance. When I realized what I was doing, I almost stopped, but the look on everyone’s face told me I was doing great. I finished the song off with a cartwheel and then turned off the music.
    “Excellent!” Alex exclaimed, obviously very impressed. “Who wants to go next?” Jake raised his hand and quickly gave a dedication.
    “I’m only singing this song because I like it not cuz it means something to me,” he said, and then he launched into a song. He wasn’t that bad.
    After everybody had gone, we then had a two-part singing time. Jasmine and Alex sang together (we had to sing with a non-relative), I sang with Jake, and Michael sang with Hilary. Hilary is only a grade behind him, and I’m pretty sure she has a crush on him. Then Sam, who was the judge, posted her scores for us and Jake and I won. Then we all sang the song A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Any way you look at it, it was a blast. After we got done, we realized it was still pretty early, so we went exploring into two groups. One included Jasmine, Jake, and I. The other included Alex, Michael, Hilary, and Sam. Each group went in opposite directions. We had three hours to do whatever we wanted to do. First, my group found the laser tag room. We played a few rounds, me and Jake, Jasmine and me, and Jake and Jasmine. Then we played on separate teams in an every-man-for-himself game. Then we moved on to the skating rink. We strapped on skates and skated for a while. After that, we went on to the gymnastics room. It’s actually the entire second story in the south wing. All of a sudden, we heard people outside. Quickly, we jumped into the cheese pit and tried to bury ourselves as fast as possible. Unfortunately, we weren’t fast enough. The mobsters burst in and saw us. We ran as fast as we could toward the nearest exit. Unfortunately, there were three other exits besides the one we entered, and we all separated. As soon as I realized what had happened, I started to turn back. But, I saw a mobster in front of me, blocking me from the gymnastics room. I screamed and ran up the stairs. I ended up meeting up with Jake and Jasmine. I locked the staircase door, and we ran up the ramp in the laser tag room and hid.
    “Guys, if we die, I just want to tell you you’ve been great friends,” I whispered. 
    “Ditto,” Jake and Jasmine said.
    “Okay, I can’t see anything,” I said. I felt in front of me.
    “Ouch!” Jasmine exclaimed. “You poked me!”
    “Sorry,” I apologized. Then I felt Jake’s hand on my head. “Jake, your hand is on my head.” I felt it leave my head. Suddenly, the door burst open. We all stayed together, didn’t move, and barely breathed. We listened to their conversation.
    “Boss, I think the kids are dressed as gangsters. I think that we should find out who and where they are and punish them,” one of them said.
    “Yes, yes, very good,” the other man said. “I shall look for them. Now go.”
    “But, sir, my pay…” the first man started to say, but the boss stopped him.
    “I will take care of it later,” he said. “Leave.” I heard the door close, and then we stood up. The room was empty.
    “They busted us,” Jasmine said sadly.
    “Yeah, but at least they haven’t found us yet,” Jake said.
    “He’s got a point,” I pointed out. Jasmine just shrugged. 
    “We’d better get out of here. I think this is gangster headquarters,” I said. Jasmine and Jake nodded, and we ran down the ramp. Then my cell phone rang. I opened it and answered, “Hello?”
    “Do you know what day it is?” Phoebe said on the other line.
    I looked at my watch. “6:00 P.M. December 31?”
    “Yeah, and…” Phoebe said.
    I finally got it. “New Year’s Eve?” I guessed.
    “Good!” Phoebe said. “This means you welcome 2006 in 6 hours.”
    “Oh, man!” I said, smacking my forehead. “I totally forgot!”
    “Exactly,” Phoebe said. “Remember your promise?”
    “Yeah, Yeah,” I said. “I’ll call them right now. Bye.” I hung up, and then dialed one of my celebrity friends, Damon Smith. I know what you’re thinking. How did I ever meet him? I was lucky to get to meet him and his twin brother at a concert I went to once. As it turned out, my house was very close to theirs, and we were running from one house to another 24/7. They told me to call them on New Year’s Eve, and they would wish me a happy birthday (New Years Day is my birthday). After I finished dialing, I pressed call and pressed my ear to the phone until I heard Damon on the other line.
    “Hello?” he asked.
    “Hi,” I replied.
    “Hey, Layla,” Damon said. “What are you doing?”
    “Running from mobsters,” I replied. I told him the whole story.
    “Can we help?” Damon asked. 
    “If you can get in,” I said. “The gangsters locked us in.”
    “Hang on,” Damon said. I could hear him calling for his twin Cody. I heard a click and then Cody.
    “Hey, guys!” Cody said. “What’s going on?” I told him the whole story.
    “We’ll break in through a window,” he said. “We heard about that house in the newspaper, so we’ll meet you in the gymnastics room in, about 30 seconds.” Damon and Cody hung up.
    “We have to run to the gymnastics room now!” I said. We ran down the staircase, then up the one to the second floor. We burst through the gymnastics room door just as the twins jumped in. They landed on top of each other at my feet. I helped them up, then we decided to mess around in there for a while. 
    “You know, Layla can dance,” Jasmine said to them.
    “You can?” Cody asked. I can tell him and Damon apart because of their different wardrobe and personalities. 
    “Yeah, but I don’t feel like dancing,” I said as I turned on my computer. “I’m going to plug this in to the boom box and play some songs.” As soon as it booted up, I plugged it in to a nearby boom box and put on one of my favorite songs. We all sang and danced to it and had a blast! We actually forgot about why the twins were here. Until a mobster walked in and cocked his gun, we had not remembered we were in grave danger. Then he tied us up and hung us over the cheese pit, now filled with strange goo.
    “That is stomach acid,” the mobster said. “It will eat your skin and suffocate you. For example, take this piece of plastic. You throw it in and watch what happens.” He threw a large piece of plastic into the pit and it immediately decinigrated in the acid. I gulped, then realized something.
    “Can you give us ten minutes to say our last words?” I asked.
    “Okay, but no more,” the mobster said. “I’ll be right back.” He walked out the door.
    “Guys, I know how to get us out of here,” I said when I knew he was gone.
    “How?” Damon asked from one side of me.
    “Mucus,” I said. “It will create a pad in between us and the acid and save our lives.”
    “Cool!” Cody said from my other side. “All we have to do is get some out of our stomachs somehow.”
    “Like this?” Jake asked. He spit into the pit. It didn’t dissolve. I did the same, and Damon and Cody followed suit. Pretty soon, we had the whole pit covered in mucus, plus a small ditch that would easily hold up under our weight. Next thing we knew, the mobster walked in.
    “Time’s up,” he said as he cut the rope holding us up. We descended and landed in the pit we made out of mucus. The mobster ran out to tell the boss that we kids were dead. As soon as he was gone, we climbed out. Damon and Cody gave me a high-five.
    “You saved us!” Damon said. 
    “Yeah, and you used logic, too!” Jasmine said.
    “Let’s go before we get caught,” I said. We ran out the back door. I dialed Alex’s cell phone number.
    “Rendezvous at the pool,” I said, then hung up. I knew he knew what I meant, so we ran down the stairs, through corridors, and burst through the poolroom as Alex, Michael, Sam, and Hilary came in through the other door. Alex and Hilary ran to me and hugged me tightly.
    “I hate to break up your family reunion, but look who just showed up,” Damon said.
    We looked up to find a mobster standing in front of us. We screamed and tried to run. The mobster grabbed me and tried to throw me into the pool. I grabbed his mask and pulled it off. I gasped when I saw who it was.

“Dad?” Michael asked. “You’re the boss of this operation?”
“That’s right,” Jasmine said. “I figured it out and confronted him. He threatened to kill me if I told anyone. That’s why I was so sad when I met up with Jake and Layla.”
Mr. Jasper suddenly picked me up and threw me into the pool and turned on the jets. I screamed and was pulled under. When I surfaced, Mr. Jasper had tied everyone up (I can hold my breath a really long time, and Mr. Jasper can tie pretty fast) and was tying a weight to their legs. This made me mad, and I attempted to swim to them. Adrenaline pumped through me, and I swam faster than I ever had before. I reached that side just as Mr. Jasper was about to roll my friends into the water. I jumped out and ran at him. I punched him and he fell backward into the pool. I opened my cell phone and dialed 911.
“I’m at 4500 Breezeway Blvd.,” I said. “Come as fast as you can!” Then I hung up and cut the rope binding my friends with my pocketknife. I also cut off the weight.
“Thanks!” Cody said. He walked to the pool and said, “I hope you’ve learned your lesson, Mr. Jasper.”
“Help!” Mr. Jasper yelled. “Can’t swim!” 
Jasmine looked at me in concern.
“Don’t worry, Jasmine,” I said. “The police will be here before anything happens to him.” 
“Let’s go enjoy the rest of the slumber party,” Jake said.
“Bye, Damon, bye Cody!” I said.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Cody protested. “We brought our stuff; we just have to get it.”
“Okay,” I said. I was kind of happy they were staying. I haven’t gone to their house in a week.
“I’ll go with you,” Alex said as he followed them out the door. Everyone else went out the other door. We ended up in the entertainment room. Then the police burst into the room while we were watching TV. 
“Pool room’s down the hall, first door to the right,” I said without looking up. The police left the room. I got up to pop more popcorn. Then Mrs. Jasper brought in some warm cookies and hot chocolate. Then I looked at my watch.
“Guys, we have one minute until midnight,” I said as I pulled up the Rockin’ New Years Eve recording on the Jasper’s TiVo. I pulled the popcorn out of the microwave and sat down.
“And we have one more minute to midnight!” the announcer said. “Be making New Year’s resolutions now while the ball drops!”
“I want to do more of the stuff that I like doing,” Cody said.
“I want to be a better person,” Damon said.
“I want to be bolder next year,” Hilary said.
“I want to help the community,” Alex said.
“I want to get along with people,” Sam said.
“I want to do stuff I’ve never done before,” Jake said.
“I want to help the poor,” Jasmine said.
I was last. “I want to stand up for my friends and myself.” I finished just as the ball reached the bottom. 
“Happy 2006 everyone!” the announcer said. “Have a happy new year!”
We cheered and threw streamers. I noticed that Jasmine had tears in her eyes, so I crawled to her.
“Are you okay?” I asked with concern.
“We almost didn’t live to see 2005 come to an end,” Jasmine said, looking down at her lap.
“We’re here, aren’t we?” I said. “Don’t worry about it. It’s over and done with.”
Jasmine looked up and smiled. “You’re right. We’re here, alive and well. Thanks, Layla.” She hugged me.
“Hey, guys!” Cody called. “Hilary Duff is singing a song for this New Year!”
Jasmine and I ran over to see what song she was going to sing. I also met her at that concert (heck it was her concert) and I call her often. I asked her to sing a song just for me on New Years Eve.
“I think I’ll sing a song for my #1 fan,” she said on screen. “Layla Browning, this song is for you.” 
She sang Fly, one of my favorite songs.
“Oddly, I think that describes Layla perfectly,” Jasmine said. 
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jake agreed. 
“Hey, Mom,” Michael asked. “What happened to all the mobsters?”
“They are all behind bars,” Mrs. Jasper replied. “We now have custody of my family’s treasure.” 
“Yes!” We all cheered, not because of the treasure, but because of the fact that the gangsters were finally gone.
“So no more running to Aunt Judy’s house once a month?” Jasmine asked.
“No,” Mrs. Jasper said with a smile.
“No more hiding in the laundry cart during surprise attacks?” Michael asked.
“No,” Mrs. Jasper replied. 
“Yes!” Jasmine and Michael cheered together.
“Okay, kids,” Mrs. Jasper said. “You should settle into your sleeping bags now.” 
“Okay,” I said as we slipped into sleeping bags.
“Good night,” Mrs. Jasper said as she walked out, shutting the door. 
“Hey, guys, you want to watch a movie?” Jasmine asked.
“Sure, why not?” I said.
“Okay, let’s watch Madagascar.” Michael said as he popped in a movie. He knew we all liked that. We all fell asleep almost as soon as the movie started.
“Surprise!” Everyone yelled the second they knew I was awake. Mrs. Jasper brought in a tray that had bacon, eggs, and sausage on it. It also had a cup of chocolate milk and a crazy straw, which even at 13 years old I still use.
“We figured we should give you breakfast, since you saved us yesterday,” Mrs. Jasper said. “Plus, it’s your birthday.”
“Thanks, guys,” I said. “I’m sore all over from fighting last night,” I said as I moved into a comfortable position in my sleeping bag. I drank a sip of milk and ate a bite of eggs, then said, “This was thoughtful of you.”
“And we all got you presents,” Jasmine said.
“Thanks, guys,” I said. “I really appreciate it.” I tore open the first gift. It was a knitted scarf and hat from Jasmine. “Thanks, Jasmine!” I said. “I needed a new set.” The next gift was a card with $25 in it. It was from Mrs. Jasper. Next, I opened a card and a fifty-dollar bill fluttered out. It was from Damon and Cody. “Thanks, guys,” I said.  The next gift was from Jake. He got me the new Hilary Duff CD. “Thanks! I wanted this CD.” Finally, I got two new books from Alex and Hilary. “Thanks guys. All of you.” 
“Group hug?” Jasmine asked.
“Sure,” I said “Why not?”
And then as we hugged, I knew I was blessed with good friends.