Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of the Hidden Jewels - Carrie Cross (most popular novels of all time TXT) 📗

My mouth fell open. “You got it?”

“Just now. I totally just got it.” Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes sparkled like she’d just opened the perfect Christmas present.

I took a step closer to her. “What happened?”

“I was sitting in class and my stomach started hurting again. I thought I had to go to the bathroom, so I got excused and came in here. When I pulled down my pants I realized I’d gotten it.” Now Alexa smiled so wide I could see all of her teeth, right back to her molars.

“I’m so happy for you,” I said, feeling more envious than happy.

“Me too. Except for starting it in school. Good thing I wasn’t wearing white pants.”

“I know, right? Who knows when I’ll finally get mine.” I looked down at the floor. “I’ll probably need old lady diapers before I need tampons.” My face got hot. I couldn’t believe I was thirteen years old and had no clue when I would ever get my first period.

Alexa put her hands on her hips and looked at me like a mature girl who was giving advice to a little kid. “Stop it. You’ll get it soon too.”

My eyes started to water so I looked down and fished around in my purse, pulling out my lip gloss and putting some on. I needed to change the subject. “So did you have anything with you?”

“Yeah. My mom thought it was probably coming so she’s been making me carry around a pad in my purse. She said all those stomach cramps I’ve been getting lately and my moodiness were probably PSM.”

“What’s PSM?”

“Pre-menstrual syndrome.”

Oh. PMS.

“Good thing you had a pad.” I didn’t want to talk about Alexa’s PMS anymore. Or the fact that she’d gotten her period and I still hadn’t. “Come on,” I said, shoving the door open. “We need to get back to class.”

Alexa’s mom gave me a ride home after school and I let myself into the empty house. Crew Gang had the day off while they waited for materials to come in, and for once our house didn’t smell like B.O.

I was hungry and ate a package of peanut butter crackers without tasting them. Then I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. Heading over to my water quadrant, I sprinkled a little fish food into the bowl and watched my new black goldfish snap it up. I lit a stick of incense, and for some reason the sweet smell of vanilla made me feel sad. Climbing up to my office, I wandered over to the windowsill where I had found the fingerprint clue and looked down into the backyard. Maybe I would offer to help clean up the greenhouse this weekend so my mom could start to enjoy it. She’d been too busy writing history lectures to plant any flowers.

As soon as I thought of my mom I felt tears come to my eyes and realized that I really needed to talk to her. Forcing myself to do homework for almost an hour, I finally heard the low grinding noise of the garage door opening far below me. Then I had to wait for her to come inside, set down her purse and briefcase, pee like she always had to after being stuck in traffic, and make a cup of tea. I sat on the top step of the first set of stairs with my chin in my hands until I heard the microwave ding, then walked downstairs and went into the kitchen.

“Hi Mom.”

“Hi Honey.” She took her cup out of the microwave, plopped in a tea bag, and dunked it up and down a few times. When she turned around and saw my face she walked over to me. “What’s wrong? Is everything OK?” she asked, folding me into her arms. Then my mom pulled back so she could look me in the eye. “No, it’s not,” she answered herself as my eyes started to sting. “What happened today?” she asked, her hands still resting on my shoulders. I moved in for another hug.

“Alexa got her period,” I mumbled into my mom’s blouse. She tried to pull away to see my face but I didn’t let go of her.

“And did that frighten her? Or you?” Then she stepped back and looked at me seriously.

This made me smile a little. “No, it wasn’t scary or anything. It happened in class but she had a pad with her. She got cramps and thought she needed to go number two. It wasn’t really a big deal.”

“Let’s sit down,” my mom suggested, and we sat at the kitchen table. She blew across her tea and took a quiet sip, then looked into my eyes. “So, if it wasn’t a big deal, why is it bothering you?”

I looked down, flicking the corner of the placemat. “Because I feel like a baby,” I finally admitted. Knowing I’d feel like a really big baby if I started to cry, I couldn’t manage to look at my mom after I said it. Just kept flicking the stupid placemat.

“Because Alexa got it before you did?” my mom asked, and I nodded without looking up. “Skylar, everyone matures at different rates. Like you had a growth spurt before Alexa and are taller than she is, and some of the other girls your age are taller than both of you. Just because you haven’t gotten your period yet doesn’t mean you won’t get it soon. And even if you don’t, it sure doesn’t mean you’re a baby.”

Now I looked at her. “I sure feel like one. Cindy Kowalski’s still twelve and she already uses the Kotex machine in the bathroom. I’ve seen her.”

My mom smiled at me. “Well, periods can be crampy, and messy, and not very fun. But getting them is a mark of womanhood. How about this: be glad you don’t have to deal with them for now. And when you do get it we’ll do something fun, just the two of us, to celebrate. We’ll slip away for secret sushi one night when your dad has his poker game. How ‘bout that?”

The thought of a celebration made me smile. “I want him to go to secret sushi too,” I said, thinking that the real secret would be that I’d gotten it.

“Deal,” my mom agreed, reaching for my hand.

“Hey Mom, how about this weekend I’ll help you clean up the greenhouse?” I suggested. Suddenly puttering around that musty old shed with my mom was the only thing I wanted to do.

“That sounds terrific,” she said. “Just us girls.” We looked at each other and nodded. I still felt envious that Alexa got it and I hadn’t yet, but I sure felt a whole lot better.

13

Saturday I had to unpack boxes and load closets all morning, and after lunch my mom and I cleared all the dead plants out of the greenhouse and swept the floor. It wasn’t exactly a party, but it kept me busy.

I was so excited about the first week at Pacific that I couldn’t sit still while I waited for the weekend to be over. I had dissected a frog with Dustin Coles, who had picked me to be his partner! I couldn’t wait to get back to class to see if he would pay attention to me again. All of my teachers were nice except creepy Mr. Bidden, and I liked all of my classes besides history. I had rubbed the smooth end of the lip gloss tube over my lips several times each day, and unless I was dissecting a frog, I loved it. I’d survived the embarrassing sweater incident, and it seemed like everyone had pretty much forgotten about it.

But there were some major things bothering me: Smack, Sledge, and Ignado snooping around our house trying to beat me to the jewels, and the fact that I couldn’t decipher the mysterious drawing on the tattered yellow paper. After lunch I got back to work on the clue.

What could it mean? What did the squares stand for?

But if what if they weren’t squares?

Why couldn’t I solve for X?

Picturing Grandpa stroking his chin and looking at me thoughtfully, I remembered something he used to say when he’d talk fondly about his partner. Skylar, don’t ever be afraid to ask for help if you can’t figure something out or accomplish something by yourself. Sometimes two brains are better than one. Asking for backup does not mean you are weak, and refusing to accept help when you need it is just plain foolish.

I logged onto my website and looked under clues to see what my secret agents had come up with. Five of them had posted some amazing guesses:

Water Nymph Agent # 003:

It means 8641 – it might be an address or a secret code number? Or maybe the amount each jewel is worth.

Fire Princess Agent # 005:

U = You

Arrow up = go up the blocks

Blocks = Houses

4 = Number of blocks

So you go up 4 blocks to find the jewels.

Shining Onyx Agent # 007:

You go up 4 times to find the next clue.

Thunder Cloud Agent # 004 and Roaring River Agent # 006:

You need to go up 4 levels for the jewels.

My agents were rocking the clues, but the information still seemed incomplete. I grabbed my cell, photographed the clue, and emailed it to Alexa with a message asking if she could help me decode it. She might not read very well, but she can look at a picture or a diagram and figure out what it means in seconds. Alexa always beats me at video games too; she can find her way out of a maze in a fraction of the time it takes me. And if I was going to find Xandra’s jewelry box before Smack’s crew did, I needed all the help I could get.

Before I could decide what to do next I heard the ear-splitting noise of Harleys ripping up our steep winding hill. Flattening myself against the wall and peeking out my window, I looked toward the street. But I couldn’t see anything beyond the side yard. Suddenly the bikes’ motors stopped revving and the street went quiet. Then I heard the heavy crunching of boots on concrete.

Crew Gang was back.

But why? They didn’t work on Saturdays.

They walked through the gate and marched toward the greenhouse. Grabbing my Soundtrap, I cracked my window open and pointed the thin microphone down toward the side of the yard they were heading for. First thing I heard after putting in my earbuds was Smack’s squeaky voice barking orders. “Ignado! Pretend you’re carrying these behind the shed, an’ make a lot of noise dropping them so the dummies think you’re busy doing somethin’. Then look inside that shed real good. There’s ‘apposed to be a clue to the fortune in there.”

Hearing that felt like a punch in the stomach. I took out the earbuds and waited while pipes crashed noisily to the ground before I put them back in. How do they know there’s a clue in the greenhouse?! I’d already searched it, and cleaned it with my mom, and I didn’t find anything but dead plants, spider webs, and dirt. Maybe they’re just guessing. And who does he think he is, calling us dummies?

Smack started to turn around so I flattened myself to the floor in case he looked up. I kept the microphone pointed toward them and the next voice I heard was Ignado’s. “Ain’t nothin’ in that hothouse but junk. Let’s get outta here.” Turning off my Soundtrap, I got to my knees and watched them stomp across the driveway. Then motorcycles roared down our street and disappeared down the hill. They were here and gone within five minutes, marching in and out of our yard like they owned it.

Their visit proved that they were hunting for Xandra’s jewels, and somehow they had information I didn’t. I had even less time than I thought. And one less clue than I needed. I slipped the tattered paper into my pocket.

Flipping open my iPad cover, I read my detective notes. I was smarter than they were, and had to stick to my original plan. The clues would lead me in the right direction, and I would find what was hidden in the greenhouse if I followed them in the proper order.

There may be a hidden floor.

Hid her jewelry box somewhere