Georgia's Greatness (11 page)

We couldn't very well argue with that.

So we all, including the McG, climbed into the bed of Pete's pickup truck; Pete said we would drop off the McG first.

As we drove through the night, the cool wind whipping our hair, the McG had a question for us. In fact, she had more than one question.

"What happened back there?" she asked. "How did Georgia manage to disappear and then appear again? And what exactly is going on?"

After all she'd been through, we felt we owed her an explanation, but as we opened our mouths, she cut us off.

"No," she said. "Come to think of it, I don't think I want to know. In fact, I'm going to pretend none of it happened."

But she couldn't stop herself from asking one more question.

"I'm grateful, of course," she said, "to your uncle for chasing Crazy Serena out of town. But why didn't he call the police? Why didn't he have her arrested?"

It was Georgia who answered, honestly, looking the McG square in the eye. "Because then the Proper Authorities would know about us," she said. "And then they would come split us all up because we are eight little girls living at home alone."

It was hard to catch all the expressions that raced across the McG's face: shock, sadness, understanding.

At last she spoke. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that either," she said, "because if I had, I'd have to do something, like report it." Then: "But thank you, Eights. Thank you for finding me in that room and for keeping me company and for everything else you did. Thank you."

***

We dropped off the McG, with promises to see her at school bright and early the next morning, and then went back to our own house.

Pete came inside with us.

We fed the cats, made some cocoa, and then filled Pete in on all our latest news, about how we'd tricked Crazy Serena by using Georgia's disappearing act and all the rest.

"So Georgia can really disappear now?" Pete said.

"Oh, yes," Georgia said.

"Show me," Pete said, crossing his arms.

We couldn't understand why he'd doubt us now. After all, hadn't everything we'd ever told him turned out to be true, like refrigerators who could talk and fall in love, and like Durinda being able to make everyone except Zinnia freeze? Well, we figured, maybe, like everybody else in the world, Pete just enjoyed a good show.

So Georgia twitched her nose two times and disappeared.

A moment later, Pete put his big hand to his own cheek.

"Georgia," he said, wonder in his voice, "did you just
kiss
me?"

"I did, Mr. Pete," Georgia said shyly after she'd twitched herself back into view. "It was to thank you for everything you do for us."

"This is all very
sweet,
" Rebecca said, interrupting the tender moment. "But earlier in the night, I asked Georgia how she had known that Crazy Serena really was A Bad Person after all, and I'm still waiting for my answer."

"I don't know," Georgia said, sounding puzzled. "Maybe in the same way she recognized that I was the one she needed to keep a special eye on, that I'd cause the most trouble? You were right about that, by the way. Or maybe because I'm so awful myself, I guess I just know evil when I see it."

"I don't think you're awful," Pete said to Georgia, "and I don't think you're evil."

"You don't?" Georgia asked.

"No," Pete said. "In fact, I think you're grand."

Georgia blushed.

"Now get to bed, you girls," Pete said as he rose to leave. "School in the morning!"

He paused with his hand on the doorknob.

"And you say," he asked, "that this Crazy Serena person is some sort of relative of yours?"

Eight heads nodded.

"Huh," Pete said. "The missus and I have a few like that in our families too. I suppose all families have them."

And then he was gone.

Pete had said that he and Mrs. Pete had
a few
relatives like Crazy Serena in their families? And we hadn't even known Crazy Serena
was
our relative, not until that day.

It was awesome to think that we might have other relatives we didn't know about yet, loose out there somewhere in the world.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The next day—Tuesday, March 18—when we arrived at school, it was as though none of the events of the month had happened. Crazy Serena was gone, no one was even talking about the parade anymore—it is amazing how quickly things become old news—and the McG was at her desk, looking down her long nose at us as though she smelled something bad.

In fact, we'd almost begun to doubt that any of it really had happened, but then—we swear!—the McG
winked
at us before calling the class to order. If that weren't proof enough that the universe had tilted strangely, nothing ever would be.

And there was more universe-tilting!

Right after the first class, the McG ordered us to take an early recess
outside
because it was the nicest day we'd had so far all year.

So we raced to the jungle gyms, where, hanging upside down and such, we filled Will in on all that had happened.

"You mean Ms. Harkness really was A Bad Person?" He was stunned. "But no one guessed at first, except for Mandy."

This was true. Georgia had guessed only later; it was Mandy who knew from the start. We realized we owed her an apology. And we also owed her something else.

"Thank you, Mandy," we said, having found her playing in a corner of the playground all by herself. "Thank you for telling our friend Mr. Pete when Crazy Serena took us away in her car."

"Mr. Pete?" she said. "I thought that man was your uncle!"

Oh, dear. We hadn't meant to let
that
slip out.

So then, of course, since Mandy had done us such a good turn and proved herself to be A True Friend, we thought we should tell her, you know,
everything.

But as we opened our mouths to speak, she stopped us, just like the McG had done the night before.

"I don't want to know," Mandy Stenko said. "Or perhaps I should say, I'm not
ready
to know." Then she paused before adding, "But I'm glad,
really
glad, that you're all okay."

And then we all played together.

Will Simms and Mandy Stenko and the eight of us.

***

We arrived home that day with backpacks crammed full of homework assignments. The McG may have winked at us that morning, but she was definitely making up for lost time.

"Homework before anything else!" Annie commanded.

"No," Georgia said.

"What do you mean, no?" Annie asked.

"I need to find my gift," Georgia said.

"But it's not the right time for the return with the elixir yet," Jackie said. "That always happens at the very end of the month. I told you."

"I don't care," Georgia said. "Everything that's supposed to happen has already happened. I've discovered my power and I've even used it wisely to get us all out of trouble.
Now I want that gift!
"

Nothing could persuade Georgia differently, so we all sat back and watched as she spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening tearing the house and grounds apart.

"Did you check the mailbox?" Petal suggested.

"Yes," Georgia said.

"Have you tried summoning a pigeon to help you find it?" Zinnia said.

"No," Georgia said, "and I won't. I will have no stinking pigeons helping me this time. I want to find it myself!"

"Can I make you a cup of tea?" Durinda offered. "Perhaps that will help you focus on where it might be."

"No," Georgia said. "I still don't like tea."

Georgia was outside, digging in the neglected garden, as early evening turned into night. "Here," Annie said, bringing Georgia a coat. "At least you won't get cold."

"Take a hat too," Jackie said, slapping a hat onto Georgia's head. Then we all went back in.

"I don't think any of us has ever searched so hard for anything," Marcia observed as we all stood at the window watching Georgia continue to work her shovel, turning up great clumps of earth.

"I'm beginning to think that Georgia is as crazy as Crazy Serena," Rebecca said.

Then, at last, just as the grandfather clock in the drawing room was striking ten o'clock and we were all beginning to get drowsy, we heard a loud shout of "
Eureka!
"

A moment later, Georgia came inside, her face smudged with dirt, hair wild under her hat, and one hand clutching a golden object.

"Wherever did you find it?" Zinnia asked. "It's so pretty."

Georgia looked embarrassed. "I just found it sitting right on the ground outside the woodshed. I wish I'd thought to look there first."

"Now that you've got it," Rebecca said with a yawn, "can the rest of us go to bed? We are awfully tired."

"No," Georgia said. "First we need to go get the note from the drawing room."

So we followed her in there and watched as she removed the loose stone from the wall and took the note from the space behind.

Dear Georgia,

Six down, ten to go. And, may I add,
very
nicely played!

The note was unsigned.

We did still wonder who was leaving these things.

"A thought occurred to me," Georgia said, "during those many hours I spent digging outside."

"Ooh, a thought," Rebecca sneered. "Get two of those and you might have a whole idea."

Georgia ignored her. We all did.

"What is it?" Annie asked. "What was your thought?"

"It's just that it occurred to me that we might as well relax for a bit. The first note we ever got said that we
each
needed to discover our own powers and gifts in order to learn what's happened to Mommy and Daddy. We've already figured out that we each receive our power and gift, one at a time, at the rate of one sister per month. It stands to reason, then, that we won't have everything we need until
after
Zinnia's discovered her power and gift, which will be sometime in the month of August."

"I do wish I didn't have to wait that long," Zinnia said with a heavy sigh.

"So you see," Georgia said, "since we won't have everything we need before August, we might as well settle in and enjoy the ride."

"However bumpy that ride might prove to be," Jackie said. But she didn't sound as though she was complaining. She sounded as though she was excited. And who could blame her? April—her month—was next.

"At least we don't have Crazy Serena to worry about anymore," Marcia said.

"But who knows what other sort of awful person will pop up next?" Petal said.

"Whatever happens," Annie said, "we'll handle it."

"With occasional help from Pete," Jackie said.

"And Will," Durinda added.

"Maybe even Mandy," Zinnia said.

"But what are you going to do with that compact?" Rebecca asked Georgia. "You said you don't even like compacts."

"I know," Georgia said. "But maybe I could use the mirror in it to start fires by focusing the light of the sun?" She shrugged. "I'm sure it will come in handy at some point. Nearly everything always does, except when it doesn't."

"If you don't like it," Zinnia said timidly, "you could always give it to—"

"No!" Georgia said, clutching the golden compact to her chest. "I've worked hard for it, dug in the dirt for it, and it's mine, I tell you, mine, mine, mine!"

On another night, one of us might have accused Georgia of being selfish. What, after all, is the point of clutching tightly to something if a person doesn't even
like
that something?

But we couldn't criticize her, not on that night. When we were imprisoned at Crazy Serena's, Invisible Georgia could have escaped alone and left us to fend for ourselves. And yet Georgia hadn't done that. Rather, Georgia had done so much, so much to save
us.

So, instead:

"Three cheers for Georgia!" seven voices shouted. "Hip, hip, hooray!"

Even Rebecca cheered.