A Surprise at Dancing Fields

AuthorHouse

Contents

Chapter 1: A Sleepover in a Different Kind of Neighborhood.....................1Chapter 2: Is it a Snake?......................................................9Chapter 3: Watching the Magic..................................................17Chapter 4: Danger Lurks........................................................23Chapter 5: Have They Hatched Yet?..............................................28Chapter 6: Flying Potatoes.....................................................33Chapter 7: The Birthday Party..................................................41Chapter 8: Katarina is a Hero..................................................47Chapter 9: What a Relief.......................................................54Chapter 10: The Babies Hatch (And Guess Who Finds Them?).......................61

Chapter One

"Hold it tight, it keeps falling over," Tali said. She sounded exasperated. The pole that was supposed to hold up the tent tipped over for the fourth time.

"I am holding it," Jennifer grumped. "I can't help it that it keeps falling."

"Here, let me help you," Sand's mom Ruth said. "These big tents are not easy to put up, even for adults." She passed Tali the rope. "You hold this side, and, Jennifer, why don't you hold this one?" Jennifer took hold of the other rope.

"Now, Sand, hold the pole straight up, and don't let it move when we pull the ropes, okay?"

Sand nodded. She held the pole firmly with both hands, feet wide apart on the grass.

"We need one more pair of hands," Ruth said, looking to Andrea. "Turn off your iPod for a minute and come and help."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Andrea clicked off the music.

With everyone's help the big tent was up and stable in a few minutes. The four girls planned to spend the night in it, out in the open, not far from home, on the field under the big maple tree. They had all brought their sleeping bags, pillows, and special treats for their midnight feast.

Ruth asked, "You have the flashlights?" She knew it got very dark on the field, and they would need them.

Tali pointed at a pile of belongings on the ground. "They're over there."

"Looks like you're all set then," Ruth said. "You girls have fun and don't stay up too late."

"We won't," Sand said. "Night, Mom. I love you."

Ruth blew a kiss. "Love you too," she said, before she left the girls to walk back home.

Sand and her mom live on the edge of the field, close to the playground. Jennifer lives around the corner from them, and Tali and Andrea live nearby in houses that face each other. Now, Dancing Fields, the neighborhood they live in, is not like most city neighborhoods. Called a co-housing community, it's a really fun place for kids to grow up in. Everyone knows everyone, so it's a bit like being surrounded by uncles and aunts and grandparents and cousins, even if they're not your real family. Nobody locks their doors so the girls can just knock, then peek inside to see if a friend can come out to play.

Most neighborhoods have cars on the roads, so children have to be very careful crossing the street. It's different in Dancing Fields, because cars park far away from where everyone lives. So all the roads to friends' houses, to the playground, or to anywhere else in the neighborhood are super-safe for kids. All the children except the littlest, the one- and two-year olds, can play outside by themselves and go anywhere they want to. Only one place in the neighborhood is off-limits to children-the pond. All the kids know not to go near it unless they're with an adult, but they have so many other fun places to explore that they never run out of places to have fun.

The four girls love having each other to hang out with. Almost every afternoon when they come home from school, they get together and ride their bikes around the farm. That's another great thing about Dancing Fields. Even though it's in the city, part of their neighborhood is a farm for growing organic vegetables, and sometimes the girls get to help the farmer plant seeds or pick the ripe vegetables. Tali and Jennifer love the baby carrots best, while Sand prefers the broccoli. Andrea, unfortunately, hates vegetables.

The girls don't like everything about their neighborhood, though. One of the most annoying things is that the boys leave their stuff-scooters, bicycles, bats and balls-lying around everywhere. But if you pick up a bike and ride it, the boys get mad and yell, "Hey, that's my bike! Get off!" And of course if the boys ride some girl's scooter, then the girl has to chase them around to get it back. Sometimes boys can be a real pain. Well, maybe not Michael and Bill, because at the moment Andrea kind of likes them both.

After it got dark that night, the girls stayed up late talking and listening to Jonas Brothers and High School Musical. They meant to stay up the whole night without ever falling asleep, but that plan didn't work. After they had shared their treats, unfortunately Tali often ate more candy than her tummy could handle, and when she did that, bad things happened.

At first she got super-hyper, so that she jumped up and down and did headstands and cartwheels and walked on top of the playground's monkey bars in the dark without even holding on. After an hour or so all that energy was getting on the other girls' nerves, until Tali suddenly got very quiet. The other three knew from past experience what that meant-it meant look out!

Just as they expected, soon Tali said, "I don't feel so good."

Jennifer gave her a suspicious look. "Are you sick?"

"I don't know. My tummy doesn't feel right. Ooh, I think I'm going to throw up."

"Then go outside, quick!" Andrea gave her a shove.

That wasn't as mean as it seemed, because in a minute Tali did just that, she threw up. Luckily she was outside and a few steps away from the tent. Afterward, though, she got tired and crawled back into the tent to rest on her sleeping bag.

Sand was worried whenever someone was sick. "Feel better?" she asked.

"Some better," Tali said. "But I'm not going to eat any more candy."

Relieved, the others crawled into their sleeping bags too.

"Now, nobody goes to sleep," Jennifer said. "We'll just lie here and talk."

Of course that wasn't what really happened. After they started talking about Hannah Montana's latest music video, within a few short minutes the two younger girls weren't talking any more, just breathing deeply. The older girls changed the subject to Michael and Bill, the neighborhood boys, trying to decide which one was cuter, when Andrea realized she was talking to herself. She tried to stay awake, but her eyelids kept closing by themselves until finally she, too, gave in to sleep.

Chapter Two

When the sun was barely up, Tali jumped out of her sleeping bag and shook the others awake. The girls loved having the playground all to themselves. No boys, no adults, no one but them, and the only time to do that was early in the morning, before anybody else was up. Jennifer and Sand crawled out of the tent and quickly put on their shoes, but Andrea groaned and complained. First she said she had to brush her hair, and then she had to look around the big jumble of sleeping bags and flashlights and food for a yogurt stick....