Episode 4

"This is a good part." "You've seen this tape before?" Diane shrieked. "Twice," Casey admitted. He ducked, and the sofa pillow Diane threw sailed over his head. "It's a pretty afternoon," Margaret said, stretching her arms above her head. "Maybe we should go outside. You know. Ride bikes or something." "You think you're still back in Michigan? It's always a pretty afternoon here," Diane said, chewing loudly. "I don't even notice it anymore." "Maybe we should do the math assignment together," Margaret suggested hopefully. Diane was much better in math than she was. Diane shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe." She crinkled up the bag and set it on the floor. "Your dad looked kind of nervous, you know?" "Huh? What do you mean?" "Just nervous," Diane said. "How's he doing?" "Sshhh," Casey insisted, picking up the potato chip bag and tossing it at Diane. "You know. Being laid off and all." "I guess he's okay," Margaret said wistfully. "I don't know, really. He spends all his time down in the basement with his experiments." "Experiments? Hey -- let's go take a look." Tossing her hair back behind her shoulders, Diane jumped up from the chrome and white leather couch. Diane was a science freak. Math and science. The two subjects Margaret hated. She should have been in the Brewer family, Margaret thought with a trace of bitterness. Maybe Dad would pay some attention to her since she's into the same things he is. "Come on -- " Diane urged, bending over to pull Margaret up from the floor. "He's a botanist, right? What's he doing down there?" "It's complicated," Margaret said, shouting over the explosions and gunfire on the TV. "He tried to explain it to me once. But -- " Margaret allowed Diane to pull her to her feet. "Shut up!" Casey yelled, staring at the movie, the colors from the TV screen reflecting over his clothes. "Is he building a Frankenstein monster or something?" Diane demanded. "Or some kind of RoboCop? Wouldn't that be cool?" "Shut up!" Casey repeated shrilly as Arnold Schwarzenegger bounded across the screen. "He's got all these machines and plants down there," Margaret said uncomfortably. "But he doesn't want us to go down there." "Huh? It's like top secret?" Diane's emerald green eyes lit up with excitement. "Come on. We'll just take a peek." "No, I don't think so," Margaret told her. She couldn't forget the angry look on her father's face two weeks before when she and Casey had tried to pay a visit. Or the way he had screamed at them never to come down to the basement. "Come on. I dare you," Diane challenged. "Are you chicken?" "I'm not afraid," Margaret insisted shrilly. Diane was always daring her to do things she didn't want to do.Why is it so important for Diane to think she's so much braver than everyone else? Margaret wondered. "Chicken," Diane repeated. Tossing her mane of red hair behind her shoulder, she strode quickly toward the basement door. "Diane -- stop!" Margaret cried, following after her. "Hey, wait!" Casey cried, clicking off the movie. "Are we going downstairs? Wait for me!" He climbed quickly to his feet and enthusiastically hurried to join them at the basement door. "We can't -- " Margaret started, but Diane clamped a hand over her mouth. "We'll take a quick peek," Diane insisted. "We'll just look. We won't touch anything. And then we'll come right back upstairs." "Okay. I'll go first," Casey said, grabbing for the doorknob. "Why do you want to do this?" Margaret asked her friend. "Why are you so eager to go down there?" Diane shrugged. "It beats doing our math," she replied, grinning. Margaret sighed, defeated. "Okay, let's go. But remember -- just looking, no touching." Casey pulled open the door and led the way onto the stairway. Stepping onto the landing, they were immediately engulfed in hot, steamy air.

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