They both frowned. It was Gwen who finally said, "Well…thanks. I think."
On the rug, Harper sat up straighter. "Hey, you know what we should do?"
"What?" I asked.
Her eyes brightened. "We should toilet paper his house."
At this, I had to laugh. "You mean like for Halloween?"
"No, for Christmas. The guy totally deserves it."
Back in high school, Harper and I had shared a whole bunch of friends. During the autumn of Harper's senior year, we'd been secret soldiers in a ridiculous toilet-paper war that had continued for nearly a month.
A few friends would hitourhouse. And then, we'd hittheirhouses back. It had been all in good fun. We'd simply string a roll or two of toilet paper from a few trees and maybe hit the porch or mailbox too. It was never anything that would be hard to clean up. The act would be just enough to let someone know they'd been tagged – or rolled, I guess.
Immature? Definitely.
But it had been loads of fun, until one day the police had caught us in mid-roll. Nothing had happened, because the friend whose house we were rolling had rushed outside to say it was all just a friendly game.
But Cole Henster wasn't friendly. And he had no sense of humor.A guy like that? In a neighborhood like this?It would drive him totally berserk. At the mere thought, I felt a wicked smile spread across my face. "Well, hedoeslive just across the street."
"Exactly!" Harper said.
"Oh, come on," Gwen laughed. "You're not serious, are you?"
Was I?I didn't even know.
Cole Hensterdidmake me crazy. This craziness – plus the fact that he was a monster – made me do things that I had never done before, like quitting my job before finding another.
Would toilet-papering his house be any less insane?
Thinking out loud, I said, "Okay, maybe I wouldn't hit his house. But I'd love to hit his office."
Harper asked, "Wanna know whatI'dlove to do?"
I was dying to know. "What?"
She leaned forward. "I'd love to give him a piece of my mind."
Knowing my sister, shewould, too. Like me, she was loyal to a fault. Plus, I was her little sister. She'd been looking out for me for as long as I could remember. And even though we were all grown up and didn't always see everything eye-to-eye, it was nice to know that she always had my back.
Just the thought of it made my heart feel all warm and gooey. With a fond smile, I told her, "Andthat'swhy you're my favorite sister."
Harper laughed. "I'm your only sister."
"Yeah, but you'd still be my favorite, even if I had a hundred."
With mock outrage, Gwen asked, "And what aboutme?"
I was still smiling. "You get to be my favorite cousin."
Harper chimed in, "Yeah, mine, too."
Gwen wasn't our only cousin, but shewasour favorite – probably because the three of us were so close in age. Plus, Gwen was really smart. She was working on her master's degree in physics and had a way of keeping us grounded whenever sisterly loyalty had us spinning out of control.
We were still discussing Cole Henster when I took another peek through the window blinds. The peek became a stare as I felt my eyes widen. "Oh, no."
Gwen asked, "What’s wrong?"
