Author's note: Okay, here's the last chapter. It's about time I managed to get this done. Mat, I tried to work a little of your material in here.
-
Chapter 9: Wrapping Up
-
THE NEXT DAY - SANTA MONICA BEACH
Brittney and Mathew were sitting on the pier, watching the waves crash down on the sand. I didn't get a good look, but I think I saw them trying to kiss each other.
"Coming here was an excellent idea," Brittney said to Mathew. "The sunset looks so romantic …"
"Yes," Mathew agreed. "I wish this evening could last forever. I'm kind of glad Leo won that bet with me; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have asked you out like this."
Brittney nearly double-taked upon hearing this. "You're saying you asked me out because you LOST a bet?"
Mathew nodded. "Kind of silly, huh? By the way, do you like classical music?"
"Classical music? I don't listen to it often, so I'm not sure," Brittney replied. She was about to say something else when Mathew took out a CD player and started it. The air was filled with sample pieces from classical songwriters such as Beethoven and Mozart.
For a moment, the two of them sat and listened to the music (which, I must admit, I liked as well). Sam interrupted them, though: "Could you turn that music down, please?"
"Sorry," Mathew said back to Sam as he turned down the volume.
The three girls and I were sitting nearby and having a chat. Sam turned back to us and continued talking: "Seriously, Mandy saw me as a bat and her courage just vanished. I'm still laughing about that one."
"No kidding," I responded, "I'd laugh too."
"That's because you get almost all of your laughs out of Mandy's suffering," Clover pointed out.
"Well, yeah."
Suddenly, I stood up. "I just thought of something. Where's the nearest novelty shop around here?"
"There's one down that road," Alex replied, pointing. "It's on the right side of the street, just before the corner."
I dashed down the road Alex pointed out and found the shop. Not long after, I exited the shop holding a bag with something in it.
"Look at that Leo," Mathew commented, noticing me. "This must be another one of those pranks he always pulls on Mandy."
"This should be a good show," Brittney added. "Let's go watch."
Mandy was walking down the sidewalk at that point with her two "lackeys". "As far as I'm concerned," she said, "that trip I made to Horror Haven yesterday was a total bust. It totally bored me; I'm going somewhere else next time."
"Oh, you were just too scared," one "lackey" shot back as I climbed up on top of an awning that they were about to walk under.
"Please! You know nothing ever scares me," Mandy retorted.
This was my cue. I dangled something down in front of Mandy's face, and she shrieked and ran back the other way.
"Scared of a cheap novelty fake bat," the second "lackey" muttered as she examined what I'd dangled. "Boy, that girl doesn't have half the courage she says she has."
"I heard that!" Mandy yelled as she turned around and ran back to join her "lackeys". "There's only one person I know who would go to all this trouble just to do this to me, and that person's name is …"
I'll let you figure out for yourself how Mandy finished that sentence.
-
THE END
Boy, I got a kick out of making this story. It's finally done now, and Mat, I guess you can now get started on that joint project with É who was it again?