No Grown-ups Allowed Read online

  No Grown-ups Allowed

  Copyright © 1995

  Beverly Lewis

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 95-23931

  Cover illustration by Paul Turnbaugh.

  Story illustrations by Barbara Birch.

  Ebook edition created 2012

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  Published by Bethany House Publishers

  11400 Hampshire Avenue South

  Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

  www.bethanyhouse.com

  Bethany House Publishers is a division of

  Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

  eISBN 978-1-4412-6067-3

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

  This book is dedicated

  in loving memory

  to

  my grandmother,

  Zelma Elaine Jones.

  (1906-1994)

  Her chocolate chip cookies

  were the best

  in the world,

  because she mixed them

  with love.

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  About the Author

  Other Books by Author

  Back Cover

  ONE

  Jason Birchall stared at the valentine box on the kitchen table. He could almost taste the juicy chocolates. Cherry-filled, jelly-filled, coconut . . .

  “Jason,” his mother called. “Come here, please.”

  He backed away from the heart-shaped box. He didn’t want his mother to know what he was thinking. Snitching thoughts!

  “Coming,” Jason answered.

  His mother sat on the sofa in the living room. “Let’s talk,” she said.

  But Jason’s mind was on something else. He was thinking about ooey gooey chocolates.

  “We’re going out of town for Valentine’s Day,” his mother began. “And Grandma Birchall will stay with you from Friday until Sunday.”

  Jason whined, “Oh, Mom. A whole weekend with Grandma?”

  His mother frowned. “Now, Jason, you know better than that. Your grandma will take good care of you.”

  Jason quickly changed the subject. “Can’t I stay up late on Friday night?”

  His mother shook her head. “You must get your rest, Jason. It’s important.”

  “But, Mom!”

  “Jason,” she said firmly. “You will go to bed at your regular time. I don’t want you to be sick.”

  Jason nodded, but he didn’t mean it. He was tired of taking pills. He was tired of being an Attention Deficit kid. No junk food and early bedtimes were boring. It was time for a change—a big change.

  Jason tiptoed to the kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder. Was his mother watching? Could she hear him lift the candy box lid?

  The glorious smell greeted his nose. Ah, yes! Jason’s taste buds started to jig. They danced the chocolate twist, followed by the ooey gooey chocolate boogie.

  The fantastic smell floating out of the valentine box grabbed Jason. It made him pick out the juiciest mound of chocolate. It made him plop that mound into his mouth.

  “Jason Birchall!”

  He jumped half out of his skin. Slowly, he turned around. There stood his mother. She glared at him, her hands on her hips.

  Jason gulped.

  TWO

  Jason nearly choked. She must have come in during the chocolate boogie, he thought.

  He tried to speak. “Yesh?” The heavenly ball of chocolate crowded his mouth.

  His mother scolded, “I can’t turn my back for one second!”

  Jason swallowed. The sweet mound of heaven slid down his throat. Five seconds was too short to enjoy a chocolate valentine.

  “Well, Jason?” his mother asked.

  “I’m sorry.” But Jason was only sorry about one thing—the short time the chocolate stayed in his mouth.

  Mrs. Birchall opened the lid. The smells leaped out of the box. She counted the chocolates. “How many did you eat?”

  “Just one.”

  She stared at the heart-shaped candy box, then at Jason. “Are you sure?”

  Jason nodded.

  “You know what sweets do to you, Jason.”

  But Jason didn’t care about being wound up and hyper. He could think of only one thing. Dark, rich chocolate.

  His mother snatched up the pink vaientine box. “I’ll put this away.” And she carried it out of the kitchen.

  Jason peeked around the corner. He watched her turn into the master bedroom. He heard the closet door squeak open.

  Good! Jason could almost see the hiding place. It was the same spot his parents hid Christmas candy. And caramel corn. And Dad’s M&M’s.

  Just then, the garage door opened. Jason ran to meet his dad.

  “Here’s an early Valentine’s Day gift,” his dad said. He handed the gift to Jason.

  Jason tore the wrapping off and looked at the present. It was a tiny marker board with a green marker.

  “Like it?” his dad asked, smiling.

  “Uh, sure, thanks.” Jason stared at the gift. Just what I always wanted, he thought.

  “You can write important things on it,” Dad explained. “It will help you remember to take your pills while we’re gone.”

  Jason pulled the green marker off the Velcro. He wrote his name on the board. His stomach felt tight. He gritted his teeth. His parents were no fun. No fun at all! Why did God make parents anyway?

  Jason followed his dad into the house. He shuffled down the hall to his room. Closing the door, he plopped down onto his beanbag.

  Jason drew a picture on his new marker board. It was a giant ice cream sundae. Covered with chocolate candies. And gobs of whipped cream.

  He daydreamed about the chocolates in his mother’s closet. He thought about his plan. Soon he wouldn’t have to daydream about chocolates. He would gobble them right down!

  Jason took his glasses off and twirled them. He danced a wild jig. Friday—two days away. He would trick his grandma. Easy!

  THREE

  At last it was Friday.

  Jason walked home with the Cul-de-sac Kids. All the kids lived on Blossom Hill Lane. Seven houses on one cul-de-sac.

  “My grandma is spending the weekend,” Jason told his friend Dunkum.

  “Sounds like fun,” Dunkum said.

  “No kidding!” Jason said.

  Dunkum stopped in the middle of the street and stared at Jason. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothin’ much.” Jason ran and slid on the snow.

  Abby Hunter tossed her scarf around her neck. “I think Jason is up to something!”

  Dunkum nodded. “I better have a talk with Jason’s grandma.”

  Dee Dee Winters giggled. So did her best friend, Carly Hunter—Abby’s little sister. “I like your grandma,” said Dee Dee.

  “Me too,” said Carly.

  Stacy Henry laughed. “Who needs a sitter when you’re in third grade? I stay by myself every day after school.”

  “But what about for a whole weekend?” Abby asked.

  “Guess you’re right,” Stacy said. “
That’s too long to be alone.”

  Abby’s Korean brother, Shawn, threw a snowball at Stacy. It bounced off her backpack.

  “Why you!” Stacy dropped her stuff and reached down. She pushed a pile of snow together. “This is war!” she shouted, giggling.

  Eric Hagel grinned. “You’re in for it now, Shawn!”

  The kids watched Stacy smooth out her snowball. She added more snow to it, then patted it hard. She tried to pick it up. It was too heavy.

  Shawn marched into the snowy street. “I help you, Stacy. This make good snowman.” He spoke in broken English because he’d just come to America. Shawn and his brother Jimmy had been adopted by Abby’s parents.

  “Goody!” shouted Carly. “Let’s build a snowman.”

  “How about a snow monster?” Eric suggested. “The biggest one in the world.”

  “Make him an alien!” yelled Jason.

  “There’s no such thing,” Abby said.

  “So what,” said Jason. “There aren’t any monsters, either.” But he thought about his plan to trick his grandma. Now that was something a monster might do!

  The kids took their school stuff home and came back with buckets of warm water.

  “Let’s make him in my yard!” Jason hollered.

  Just then Grandma Birchall stepped outside. She stood on the porch, waving to Jason.

  Jason looked the other way. On purpose. He knew what she wanted. It was time for his medicine.

  “Jason, dear,” she called.

  “In a minute,” Jason snapped. Then he ran to help Eric and Dunkum roll up a huge snowball. They grunted as they pushed it across the yard.

  Abby and Stacy made a medium-sized ball.

  Dee Dee and Carly made the head. Carly started laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” Abby asked.

  Carly kept giggling. “We could call the snow creature Dino-Dunce. And give him a walnut-sized brain.”

  “I know! He could have a tiny head like a Stegosaurus,” Dee Dee added.

  Eric laughed. “Who said anything about making a dinosaur?”

  “Yeah,” said Jason. “What happened to our alien?”

  “Let’s mix him all up,” s-uggested Dunkum.

  “Yes!” Shawn shouted. “We make snowman-monster-dino-alien.”

  “And let’s call him our February Snow Creature,” said Abby.

  “Our what?” Stacy asked.

  “You know, like at the Winter Carnival in Minnesota,” Abby said. “My grandparents took us to see it once.”

  “Yes!” said Shawn. “We make great snow creature.” He and Jimmy, his little brother, were grinning.

  Jason couldn’t remember seeing Shawn and Jimmy so excited. Except for the day Abby and Carly’s parents adopted them. That was Thanksgiving—three months ago.

  Jason had an idea. “We could rope off the cul-de-sac and charge a fee to see our snow creature.”

  “For how much?” Dunkum asked.

  “Enough for an ice cream party,” yelled Jason.

  “You’re not supposed to have sweets,” Dee Dee reminded him. She wrinkled up her nose.

  Jason gritted his teeth. He’d have sweets if he wanted to. He was thinking of his mother’s valentine chocolates this very minute.

  Jason turned and looked toward his house. Good! Grandma had gone inside. She’s probably making supper, he thought. Now is a good time to sneak inside. Nothing can stop me now!

  FOUR

  Jason crept onto the porch and tiptoed inside. Grandma was tinkering around in the kitchen. All clear!

  First, he sneaked down the hall. Then he dashed into his parents’ bedroom.

  Squeak! He slid open the closet.

  There were hatboxes and shoe boxes on his mother’s side of the closet. Color coded as always. Red was for dress up. Blue was for work at her beauty shop. Green was for around the house. Everything was in order.

  Now for the candy!

  Jason pushed his father’s shirts aside. Behind them was a shelf for belts and ties and things.

  Before he could see the box, Jason smelled the chocolates. His taste buds shivered. They quivered.

  Dark, rich chocolate balls! Waiting to melt into pools of sweet bliss in his mouth.

  He reached for the box and opened it. The fattest candy seemed to call his name. Jason placed it on the end of his tongue.

  “Gotcha!”

  Jason whirled around. He stared into Abby Hunter’s face.

  “Spit it out!” she said.

  “You cwavy?” Jason said, his mouth full.

  Abby shook her head. “Say what you want, but we need those outside.” She was giggling now as she grabbed the candy box. She held up two plump, juicy chocolates. “What bee-u-tee-ful eyes you have!”

  Jason stared at his friend. He couldn’t believe it. She was going to use his mother’s chocolates for snow creature eyeballs!

  Jason chewed up the gooey candy and swallowed.

  Abby waved her finger at him. “Does your grandma know what you just ate?”

  “Do I look that dumb?” Jason said.

  Abby raised her eyebrows. Then she turned and ran out of the house. But Jason was right behind her.

  “Jason, is that you, dear?” It was his grandma calling from the kitchen.

  Oops! Jason froze in his tracks. “Uh, yes, Grandma, it is.”

  She came into the living room wearing an apron. It was tied in a bow around her trim waist. “Come here, dear. I need a hug.” She held out her arms.

  Jason hugged her, but held his breath so she wouldn’t smell the chocolate on his breath.

  “It’s time for your medicine, young man.” She pulled a bottle of pills out of her pocket. Opening the lid, she put one in Jason’s hand.

  Jason spun around and hurried out the door.

  Grandma called after him, “Do you want a glass of water, dear?”

  “Not this time,” Jason yelled. And as soon as she wasn’t looking, he dropped the pill into the snow. Poof! It disappeared.

  There! Grown-ups can’t tell me what to do! Jason decided. He felt mighty good about taking charge of things. His way.

  FIVE

  Jason helped Shawn and Jimmy pour water on the snow. They rubbed out the bumps so the snow would harden. Nice and smooth.

  Jimmy found an old twig and snapped it in two. “Snow Creature . . . funny arms,” he said.

  Stacy found another twig. “Here, this girl needs three arms.”

  “GIRL?” shouted Jason.

  Stacy grinned.

  Dunkum frowned. He plopped his blue hat on Snow Creature. “There, now it’s a BOY!”

  Dee Dee ran home and came back with two pieces of lettuce for ears.

  Abby licked the pieces of chocolate. Smack! She stuck them on Snow Creature’s face.

  Jason gritted his teeth. What a waste!

  The kids clapped. It was perfect, except for one thing. The nose.

  “Is SHE a snooty snow creature?” asked Stacy, looking down her own nose.

  “No, HE needs an antenna nose,” announced Eric.

  “Let’s have a nose vote,” said Abby. “How many want Stacy’s idea?”

  Stacy, Dee Dee, Carly, Abby . . . and little Jimmy voted yes.

  “No fair!” Jason whined. “Jimmy can’t vote with the girls.”

  Dunkum whistled. “Here’s a freaky idea. We’ll give S.C. two faces, one on each side of his head.”

  “S.C.?” asked little Jimmy. He looked confused.

  “Santa Claus, right?” Jason said, laughing.

  The boys cheered.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” said Abby. “Don’t get Jimmy all mixed up. S.C. stands for Snow Creature.”

  “S.C. need two heads,” Jimmy said.

  “Yes!” Shawn said. He began rolling up another snowball.

  “A two-headed snow creature,” said Stacy. “One for the boys; one for the girls!”

  “Ours will look beautiful,” bragged Dee Dee.

  Eric strutted around Snow Creatu
re. “But ours will be better!”

  Abby frowned. “This isn’t a contest. We’re the Cul-de-sac Kids—we stick together, remember?”

  Dunkum grinned. He marched up to Abby and stood beside her. “The president of the cul-de-sac is right.”

  So the kids set to work, for the fun of it. And by dark, Snow Creature was finished.

  The head created by the boys wore Dunkum’s blue knit hat. Black olives made the eyes. And a red rubber band formed the mouth.

  The head created by the girls wore Abby’s straw hat. Red licorice formed the mouth. And lettuce made the ears. Two chocolate eyeballs stared straight at Jason’s house.

  Jason wished the chocolates were melting in his mouth. Instead of freezing rock hard outside.

  “Time for supper,” Grandma Birchall called.

  Jason hurried to the front porch. He turned to look at Snow Creature once more. HE was terrific!

  Inside, Jason smelled Grandma’s meatloaf and potatoes. He ate some of everything. Grandma smiled when he finished.

  Boy, did I fool her! She thinks I’m full, Jason thought as he planned his dessert. Ah, dessert! The rest of the valentine chocolates, of course.

  The truth was he shouldn’t have chocolate at all. And he knew it. Chocolate made him very hyper, sometimes sick.

  Grandma stacked the dishes on the counter while Jason went to the living room. He sat on the sofa waiting for his big chance. Dessert was calling.

  Click! Jason turned on the TV with the remote control. He found channel 7 and leaned back. It was a loud, shoot-’em-up cop show.

  Grandma peeked around the corner. “Is that something your parents let you watch?” she asked.

  “Every night.”

  “Jason, are you sure?”

  “Uh-huh,” Jason lied.

  At the commercial, Grandma came in with a cup of coffee. Quickly, Jason switched to the news channel.

  Grandma settled into a comfortable chair and watched. “This looks interesting,” she said, sipping her coffee.

  Jason stared at the coffee in Grandma’s cup. The dark color reminded him of valentine chocolates—the ones in his mother’s closet!

  Grandma seemed interested in the local news. So Jason sneaked out of the living room and made a beeline for the hallway.

  It was now or never!