The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (15 page)

Gabrielle looked over at
her
with excitement
.
“Well
,
you do know what we have to do now
,
Jess?”

Jessica cleared her throat
.
“Gabi, please don’t say it
.
”

Gabrielle reached over and hugged Jessica
.
“Yes
,
Jess, the clue wants us to go back to Parker Hall,” she exclaimed.

“Gabi, didn’t I just ask you not to say it?” Jessica said nervously.

“What are you two talking about? What’s Parker Hall?”
Zora
asked.

Gabrielle rubbed her palms together eagerly
.
“It’s like th
is
weird mini
-
castle named after Jessica’s great-grandmother
.
”
 

“Okay, so what’s in there?”
Zora
asked.

“All sorts of weird stuff
.
L
ike today
,
when we went into it, you know
,
just to check things out
,
we found this secret room with all these weird books and furniture,” Gabrielle said with excitement.

Rosalinda looked around the room nervously
.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” she said. She pointed to the clock on the dressing table
.
“And look at the time
.
I
t
’
s eight o’clock; it’s way too late to go on some wild goose chase.
B
esides, if Ms.
Vineswell
catches you, you will get in serious trouble,” she declared loudly.

Zora
smiled bravely
.
“Okay, so what time are we leaving?”

Gabrielle looked over at Jessica
.
“Okay, since you know more about
Vineswell
Academy than any of us
,
w
hen can we sneak
out without anyone noticing?”

Jessica twisted a strand of hair around her finger
.
“Well, every night at
ten-thirty,
they do a lights-out check
,
just to make sure that everyone is in their room
.
S
o, we
’
ll
have to wait until then before we can sneak out.”

Rosalinda jumped
up abruptly and stomped over to them
.
“Oh
,
no
,
you don’t!” she s
aid as
she wagged a finger in their face
s
. “There will be no sneaking
out. If we get caught, do you know what will happen to us?” She looked at them like a scolding schoolteacher
.
“Do you?” she asked
again
with scorn in her voice.

They looked at her silently.

“Well, let me tell you. We will get thrown out of
Vineswell
,
and I
,
for one
,
have no intention of bringing shame to my father and family by getting thrown out of school,” she said angrily.

“Relax
.
T
hat won’t happen because we won’t get caught,” Gabrielle said calmly as she rubbed her hands together with
glee.
“Come on
,
Princess Rosalinda
,
don’t be afraid,” she teased.

Rosalinda stamped her foot angrily like a child throwing a tantrum
.
“Oh
,
chica
!
That is so annoying. Stop calling me Princess Rosalinda
.
”
 

“Gee-whiz, relax. You’re way too uptight,” Gabrielle said.

Rosalinda crossed her arms in front of
her
chest stubbornly.

“I know that you want to know why we all have the same pendant. I mean
,
come on
.
W
e all want to know
,
don’t we?” Gabrielle continued. She poked Rosalinda playfully with her elbow
.
“Come on
,
Rosa
, y
ou know you do
.
”

“All right
…
but we must be very
,
very careful,” Rosalinda agreed grudgingly.

Gabrielle
smiled.
“Okay, so we’ll wait until the room checks are done then we make our escape,” she said with excitement as she looked over at them
.
“Does everyone agree?”

They looked at each other and giggled as they nodded their heads in agreement.

“So, in honor of this awesome time, we should do something totally crazy to mark the start of our great adventure,”
Zora
said eagerly.

“Like what?” Jessica asked with a baffled look.

Gabrielle placed her hands on her hips and walked over to the window in deep concentration. She swiftly twirled around with a playful smile on her face. “Okay, I have an awesome idea that will motivate us to victory. Remember at the tea party—”

Rosalinda groaned painfully
.
“Gabi, don’t even mention that tea party ever again. That was the most embarrassing moment of my life,” she wailed.

Zora
and Jessica nodded in agreement.

Gabrielle held
up her hands defensively
.
“Hold on a minute; hear me out first before you bite my head off
.
” She pulled a lollipop out of her ponytail and popped it into her mouth. The lollipop clicked against her teeth as it rolled from one side of her mouth to the other
.
“Believe it or not, I thought it was just as embarrassing—and I don’t get embarrassed easily. But I just remembered what Ashley said about us gabbing too much. You know, when she called us Gabby Girls?”

They groaned painfully.

“Well, I think Gabby Girls is an awesome name. So, in honor of our
Vineswell
g
irl Ashley, I hereby name us the Gabby Girls,” Gabrielle declared boldly.

Jessica quickly covered her mouth as she giggled softly.

Zora
smiled mischievously
.
“Splendid! But let’s add that
we’re Gabby Girls on our way to countless adventures,” she said happily.

Rosalinda looked at them like they were all crazy.

“No, I have one even better—we’re Gabby Girls on our way to a Gabby Girls Adventure,” Jessica chimed in.

“Okay, so now that we agree on our name—and in the spirit of our Gabby Girls Adventure
—
let’s kick
it
off with something totally off
-
the
-
hook,” Gabrielle said eagerly. “Hmm
,
let me think
…
”
S
he looked over at them and smiled mischievously
.
“I got it
! Q
uick, let’s form a small circle,” she said with excitement.

“Oh, this is so ridiculous. I will do no such thing,” Rosalinda s
aid
with
disdain
in her voice.

“Rosa, come on
. Y
ou’re a Gabby Girl now
.
L
et’s not argue,”
Zora
said.

Rosalinda rolled her eyes skyward as
Zora
moved to stand in front of Gabrielle
,
and Jessica moved to stand to the right of Gabrielle. They all looked at Rosalinda expectantly.

“Gosh, I didn’t know that Gabby Girls were so pushy,” Rosalinda declared sullenly as she moved to stand to the left of Gabrielle.

“Now, that’s the spirit
,
Gabby Girl,” Gabrielle chirped happily. “Hmm…let me see…so how should we do this?”
S
he rubbed her hands together anxiously. “Okay
,
I got it.” She stuck out her right hand face
-
down. “Okay, Jessica
,
you place your hand on top of mine
.
Zora
,
you place yours on top of Jessica’s
.
A
nd
,
Rosa
,
you place yours on
Zora’s
,” she instructed.

They place
d
their hands
as
instructed then looked at Gabrielle expectantly.

With a huge smile on her face,
she screamed,
Gabby Girl Gabrielle!”

Jessica giggled
then screamed,
“Gabby Girl Jessica
!
”
 

Zora
grinned impishly
.
“Gabby Girl
Zora
,” she screamed loudly.

 
They all giggled hysterically as Rosalinda breathed out with exasperation, “Gabby Girl Rosalinda
.
”