#97 Spy Copter 2

We ran for it.

The gate was a seriously long way from Anjeli’s house. We had to keep stopping to catch our breath. Then Curtis would make a kind of agonized wail and start running again.

“We’re going to visit the Wights!” Curtis panted as we hurried past the guard in his blue-gray uniform and cap. The guard stared at us, clipboard in hand, as if wondering whether he should stop us or not. In the end, he just shook his head and turned his attention to the car that was driving up to his window.

I’d never been inside Anjeli’s neighborhood before. The houses were unreal. Some of them didn’t even look like houses. Grassy hills rolled. Trees teased into strange, artificial shapes grew in the yards of miniature castles. One house looked like a fancy, oversized log-cabin, another one had a front with white pillars three stories high.

Anjeli’s house had a big round window a story above the double front doors. Instead of just a doorbell, there was an intercom box with several buttons and a speaker. From inside,  we could hear Anjeli and her friends making disgusted sounds, and then all together they suddenly burst out into uproarious laughter.

Curtis didn’t know which button to push, so he slammed his hand against all seven of them.

The laughter just kept on going. Curtis raised his fist to bang on the door, but before he could reach it, it swung open.

When Anjeli saw Curtis she had to try really hard to hold back a laugh.

“I’m sorry, I was flying my quad copter around by the woods back there and it accidentally flew into your tree. Can I get it back?”

“Some accident,” Anjeli said. “Stay right here, I’ll get it for you.”

Curtis and I stood on the porch. I peeked in, dazzled by all the polished wood inside. Every time the girls set up another round of howls of laughter, Curtis’ face changed color.

At last, when Curtis had gone from red to blue to green, Anjeli came back with the copter in her hand.

“I need the… oh, the card is still in the camera,” Curtis said, nearly falling over with relief. “I was afraid you might be…”

“oh, we watched the whole thing,” Anjeli said with a big, nasty smile. “I made a copy. We need it for evidence.”

She shut the door in our faces.