The Monster of Creasy's Hollow (Defenders of the Rift Book 1) (11 page)

“
I'm sure mine can try,” Alvin snorted. “But
I hope you're right.”

“
Of course I'm right,” Angie shot back, then
stuck her tongue out. Alvin laughed, and the others joined him.

“
Well, the important thing is that we managed to
fix it, and we're all okay, and nothing bad happened to anyone in
town,” Donna added her own proclamation. “Right?”

“
Sure.”

“
Yeah, right.”

“
Whatever.”

The mumbled responses came out one atop the other.

“
Oh, come on guys!” Donna exclaimed. “We
saved the world Saturday night! I mean, sure, it was our fault to
begin with, but still! We get points for making that right. Right?”

“
Absolutely,” Angie nodded. “No matter
what our stupid parents say.”

“
I guess that makes sense,” Alvin nodded.
“We did do a good thing, didn't we?”

“
We did,” Donny nodded. “And Chip was
awesome! Man, you got ba. . .er,
guts
, dude!” he managed
to catch himself, but Donna slapped the back of his head anyway.

“
Watch your mouth!” she ordered from her
lofty position of being the oldest by a full two minutes and change.

“
Whatever,” her brother shot back, rubbing
his head. “Anyway, Chip you are the man, no doubt!”

“
I have to agree,” Alvin nodded. “I
would never have had the courage to do that, Chip. It was all I could
do just to mutter the lines.”

“
I couldn't move, even when the monster was right
over us,” Donna admitted. “I was too scared to move. My
feet wouldn't do what I told them.”

“
My mom was breathing down my neck the whole
time,” Angie noted. “I'm sure if I'd tried to do
anything, she would have grabbed me in a second.”

“
I just did what I had to,” Chip shrugged,
uncomfortable with his friends' praise. “I felt responsible.”

“
Well, at least it's behind us now!” Donny
said cheerfully. “Now we can think about doing something
new
!”

His friends, and his sister, were still hitting him when
the bell rang announcing it was time for home room.

Still laughing, the five of them walked inside. They
were still in trouble, and they would still face irate parents at
home, but they had each other.

And they had put the Monster of Creasy's Hollow back
where it came from. After all that, whatever life had left to throw
at them would be a piece of cake.