The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (16 page)

 
Gabrielle looked at them with mock seriousness
.
“Okay, so on the count of four, we let go, raise our hands in the air
,
and scream
,
‘
Gabby Girls Adventure
.’
Ready
,
everyone?
One
, t
wo
, t
hree
,
f
our
…
”

In unison, they raised their hands in the air
.
“Gabby Girls Adventure!” they screamed at the top of their lungs.

Now finding the answer to this second clue will be quite easy for the four of you. It has a back, supports four legs, it’s made for one
,
and rests the arms when they get weary. When you have found the answer you seek, just plant your arms and then your feet.

M
s. Duncan’s shoes clicked softly on the wood
en
floors as she walked down the Tea Rose
D
ormitory hallway. Mid-stride, she stopped and shook her head disapprovingly when she spotted a group of girls chatting animatedly in the hallway.

They look
ed
over at her and smile
d
apologetically
.
“Hi
,
Ms. Duncan,” they shouted in unison.

Ms. Duncan smiled
back.
“Now
,
young ladies, you know the rules. You have to be in your room by
ten-thirty
with the lights out. No exceptions.”

The girls nodded their heads in agreement and scuttled quickly into their rooms.

“Good night
,
ladies,” Ms. Duncan said in a sing
-
song voice. She slowly walked down the now
-
empty hallway, searching for any signs of turned on lights under each of the room doors.

Gabrielle, Rosalinda,
Zora
,
and Jessica sat silently in their room, anxiously waiting for Ms. Duncan to leave the hallway.

Jessica smiled knowingly
.
“Just like I said, she’s right on schedule
.
”

“Shush…she might hear you,” Gabrielle whispered.

“Sorry,” Jessica whispered.

Ms. Duncan slowed her pace and
a
mysterious smile spread across her face. Abruptly
,
she turned on her heels, walking back down the hallway and down the stairs.

Gabrielle sat anxiously in her pair of well-worn jeans, a sweatshirt
,
and sneakers. Her hair was brushed
and
pulled neatly into two ponytails
;
stuck on top of each ponytail was a cherry lollipop.

Zora
quickly stuffed her backpack with a hodgepodge of items
:
among them were
a magnifying glass, a flashlight,
a
notebook, a pencil, the gold compass
,
and the clue.

“Okay
,
Gabby Girls, it’s time to go,” Gabrielle whispered as she quietly tiptoed over to the door.
 

Rosalinda quickly brushed her hair then smeared lip
gloss onto her full
lips. She grabbed her designer purse and sauntered over to the door.

Gabrielle looked impatiently at Rosalinda
.
“Now where in the world do you think you’re going with that purse? This is a Gabby Girls Adventure
,
not a trip to the mall,” she said in a loud whisper.

“
Qué
usted
significa
?
What do you mean? My purse is filled with all of my essentials and I am not leaving this room without it,” Rosalinda whispered as she opened her purse. “Mirada
…
I mean
,
look. It has my comb, my lip
gloss, my cell phone, my—”

Gabrielle looked at Rosalinda with stunned disbelief
.
“Rosa, can you tell us how any of those stupid things that you just rattled off so proudly can help us on our Gabby Girls Adventure?”

Rosalinda sniffed with displeasure
.
“Well
,
first of all, I don’t have to explain anything to any of you. And second of all, I’m not leaving this room without my purse and that’s that,” she declared as she looked over at Gabrielle stubbornly.

“Look
,
p
rincess
…
” Gabrielle
began.

“L-
l
ook
,
Gabi, if she wants to take her purse, let her take it. We have to go; we’re wasting time here,” Jessica stuttered.

Zora
picked
up her backpack, hoisted it onto her back
,
and quietly walked over to the door
.
“I agree with Jess. Let her bring the purse. We have to get a move
-
on,” she whispered urgently.

Gabrielle looked furiously at Rosalinda. “Fine—
y
ou
win!” she said grudgingly.

Then s
he slowly opened the door and carefully peeked
out. “The hallway is clear. Let’s go
.
”

They looked around nervously as they tiptoed down the hallway, down the stairs
,
and to the front door, quietly opening it. As they stepped outside into the frigid air, Gabrielle took the lead and the
others
followed closely.

They quickly walked across the lawn. When they finally reached Parker Hall, Gabrielle,
Zora
,
and Rosa warily walked towards the front door.

Not paying attention, Jessica nervously walked toward the side of the building.

Gabrielle impatiently looked at Jessica
.
“Where are you going
,
Jess?” she whispered urgently.

“What do you mean? The front door is always locked by
six
o
’
clock so we’ll have to climb through the side window,” Jessica whispered.

Rosalinda stamped her foot
.
“No way!
No one said anything about climbing through any side window,” she whispered angrily.

Ignoring them,
Zora
quickly ran up the front stairs, hesitantly turning the doorknob. She smiled with relief when the door slowly creaked open. “Gabby Girls
,
come on! The front door is unlocked,” she whispered urgently.

Jessica shook her head
in
disbelief as she followed them up the stairs and through the front door. They all shivered when they stepped in and Gabrielle quietly shut the door.

Rosalinda nervously looked around and quickly hugged her body for warmth.
Zora
took off her backpack, pulling
out her flashlight.

Jessica looked around the hall nervously
.
“Something is awfully wrong here; this building is always locked by
six.
So why was the door open? It’s like someone intentionally left
i
t
open for us.”

“Oh
,
come on
,
Jess
. W
ho really cares why the door was open
?
I really don’t think any of us were looking forward to climbing through a window. I know I wasn’t,” Rosalinda said impatiently.

Zora
walked over the first painting, carefully running her fingers across it
.
“Wow, this painting was done in 1908,” she marveled.

Rosalinda walked over to stand next to
Zora
, looking at the painting with amazement
.
“What a beautiful lady. Who is she?”

Jessica smiled proudly
.
“That’s my
m
other.”

Gabrielle looked around the room
.
“We need to start moving.
Zora
, take out the clue and read it again
.
”