Page 100 of Slumming It
"Good point," I said. "So, what happened?"
"So the lid blows off the can, and it's booming around like crazy in there, and the parents bolt of the house, going absolutely berserk, and the dad's trying to douse it with a garden hose, and the mom's yelling that they're under attack…"
I laughed. "Under attack?"
Emily gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "You'd have to know his mom."
"So where wereyou?"
"Hiding in the bushes next door. But I had parked at this convenience store maybe a quarter mile away, and I told Vivian in advance to run out the back door as soon as the parents ran out the front."
I liked the way her mind worked. "And you were sure they'd run?"
"Oh, yeah. No doubt. They'rereallyparticular about their trash cans."
Odd."How do you know that?"
"Because they're particular about everything. Like I said, they're really stuffy. So anyway, while they're running around the front yard, Vivian crawls out from under the bed and sneaks down the stairs. She slips out the back door, and we meet up a few minutes later at the convenience store, and I drive her back home. End of story."
I was still chuckling. "But what about Jason?"
"That's the most annoying part," she said. "He returns to the cabin maybe an hour later and calls Vivian all upset that she left, but notsoupset that he ever confesses to his parents that he'd brought a guest."
"And what about Nikki?"
Emily shrugged. "Who knows? Jason claims that it was just a tire thing, and that fixing it took longer because of the holiday. But if that was the case, why didn't he call and let my sister know?"
"Did she ask him?"
"Oh, yeah. He said hewouldhave called, but his phone battery died."
"And she believed him?"
"Well, it does happen, so yeah, she gave him the benefit of the doubt. Butthen, do you wanna know what Jason does?"
"What?"
"He stays at the cabin with his parents, leaving Vivian to spend the holiday alone."
What a douchebag. "And why'd he do that?"
"Hesaidhe didn't want to hurt his parents' feelings. So you see what I mean, right? It's like he cares about everyone's feelings, except hers."
I gave her a look. "So you know what I'm gonna ask, right?"
"No. What?"
I tried to keep a straight face. "Why weren't there fireworks the other day?"
Emily looked confused by the question. "What do you mean?"
"I'm just saying, I feel a little cheated."
After a long moment, her expression cleared, and she gave a little groan. "I knew you'd bring that up."
I put on my innocent face. "Bring what up?"
"Of me hiding under your bed. But just so you know, Iwastelling the truth – about looking for a listening device, I mean."
