“Hmm hmm, yes, nothing quite like a tea party on an evening such as this, I should think not,” said Charity.

She, Maxine and Alicia were up in her room, sitting on the floor around a low, child-size table. Charity was pouring imaginary tea from a plastic kettle. A Monster High doll sat at the table with them, making them an even foursome.

“Yep, nothing like good tea and good company,” said Alicia, taking a sip.

“Quite so, Alicia dear. Quite so,” said Charity. “Wouldn't you agree, Maxine?”

Maxine had gotten all excited to rewatch Babysitter Barbecue II: Past Their Deadtime. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Maxine?” prodded Charity patiently.

“I mean, quite so.”

“So then, how do you two know each other?” asked Charity, a master of polite teatime conversation.

Maxine and Alicia looked at each other. They weren't exactly sure. “Well, uh... we're...” said Alicia.

“We go to the same school,” said Maxine.

“I see! Is high school fun? Do you have boyfriends? Are you friends?”

“Friends? With her?” asked Maxine, disgusted. “No way.”

Charity was displeased with this response. “What?! That's not right! You're girls! Girls have to stick together! We should get along and all be friends and never fight! That's the power of friendship!”

“You're so young,” sighed Maxine.

Alicia laughed at that, despite herself. “Aww, no. She's joking. There's nothing friendship can't do!” Charity loved that, judging from the sparkle that appeared her eyes. Maxine smirked into her teacup. “I wouldn't say me and Maxine fight or anything...I think we get along okay,” continued Alicia. She looked at Maxine and smiled, imploring her to play along. “Right, Maxine?”

“Mmm...sorta, I guess,” Maxine conceded.

“We just don't know each other that well,” Alicia finished. “I'd really like to be Maxine's friend, I think she's pretty interesting. But these things take time.”

Maxine turned slightly red. “Yeah, a lot of time.”

Charity smiled again and stood up. “Okay, good!” she said, convinced. “Now that that's settled, it's time for the most important part of any tea party!”

“Oh? And what would that be?” asked Alicia.

Charity walked over to the lightswitch, and with a flick of her finger, plunged them all into darkness. “Scary stories!” she replied.

“I didn't know that was part of a tea party at all, much less the most important part,” answered Maxine.

They heard Charity pick something up sit back down with them. She turned on a flashlight under her face. “Oh, quite so, Maxine my dear. Nothing goes with tea...like TERROR!”

Alicia smiled gamely. “Sounds fun, Charity!” She thought about it. “Hmm...the thing is though, I guess I don't know any scary stories...”

“That's okay, Alicia!” said Charity. “I'm sure Maxine has one! She's the scariest person I've ever met!”

“Really?” asked Maxine, taking that as a very lofty compliment. “Well actually...since you asked, I do have one...”

She pulled her backpack over, unzipped it, and took out a sheaf of paper.

“Uh, what's that?” asked Alicia.

“My screenplay,” said Maxine, taking the flashlight from Charity and pointing it at the title page. She cleared her throat and read, “Cheerleader Entrails III: Spectre of Death.”

Alicia blinked. “Um...”

“Now, this is just the first draft, so go easy on me,” Maxine requested, turning the page.

“Hey, Alicia?” asked Charity innocently. “What's an entrail?”

“I'll tell you when you're older,” said Alicia. “Maxine, are you, uh, sure this is appropriate for a child to hea-”

Maxine cleared her throat. “Interior. Locker room – Night,” read Maxine, setting the stage. “We open on a cheerleader, dangling from the ceiling, lynched with her own entrails.”

“Ack! Maxine!” gasped Alicia, shocked.

“Well, there's that word again,” said Charity with a frown. “I can't help but feel that entrails, whatever they are, are integral to the plot. I feel like without knowing what an entrail is, I won't be able to fully appreciate your scary story, Maxine. And a scary story OUGHT to be appreciated. Like a fine tea.” She took a sip from her teacup.

“All you need to know is that they're gross,” said Maxine.

“Do all cheerleaders have them, or just some?” asked Charity.

“No, all of them do. They just hide them,” said Maxine. “The killer in this story pulls them out because he knows if you do, it makes cheerleaders as ugly on the outside as they are on the inside.”

“Got it,” said Charity.

“No you don't!” Alicia replied protectively, giving her a hug and covering her ears. “Maxine, come on. Don't you know one that's less extreme?”

Maxine sighed. “I guess so.” She put her screenplay down and turned the flashlight upward, shining it under her chin. “I suppose I can tell you a real story from Sunnycrest history...the story of Davey Fitzsimmons...the babysitter killer!”

“Who?” asked Alicia.

Maxine looked at her. “Huh? You've never heard of him? Everybody in Sunnycrest's heard this story. A teenage girl was hired to babysit a young boy...Davey. In the morning, she was found dead, her throat slashed. The boy was the youngest person in state history ever found guilty of murder.”

Alicia thought about this. The story did sound familiar. She might have heard something about it. Maybe recently. “Wow. Okay.”

“Reports said the police got a phone call that night from the girl who would be his victim. She said she was getting strange phone calls. A sound of heavy breathing.” She breathed heavily for effect. “Huuu....huuuu...”

Charity clung to Alicia in fearful excitement. “Yes?” she asked.

“She'd put Davey to bed upstairs, and was getting scared for herself and him. They told her it was probably just a prank. The teen admitted that was possible. So she hung up. A half an hour later, she called again. She'd gotten another call. The heavy breathing again. Huuu...huuu... The police said they'd trace the call if it happened again.”

Maxine smiled. “The mysterious person called again. That same gruesome heavy breathing. Huuu...huu...The police traced the call...They told her it was coming from...”

Charity squeezed Alicia tightly and held her breath, hanging on every word.

“...INSIDE THE HOUSE!” Maxine finished. Charity gasped. “The girl was terrified. She wanted to run. But she couldn't just leave Davey behind. She ran up the stairs...thump thump thump...and found him waiting at the top, holding a knife. And that was it.”

“Gosh,” said Charity.

“By the time the police came, the girl was dead. Davey was standing there next to her motionless body, holding the knife, covered in blood,” said Maxine. “They say if he ever gets out of prison, the first thing he's going to do is come back to Sunnycrest...and kill all the babysitters and little girls he can! Wooooo!”

Alicia laughed. Charity was beaming. “Ooh! And that r-really happened?”

“Yup. It's all true, every word.”

“That IS scary!”

“Is it my turn, now?” asked Alicia.

Charity stood up. “Not yet! I gotta go to the bathroom first!”

“Alright, go ahead. We'll be here,” said Maxine. Charity left.

The two teens took their charges absence as an 'at ease'. Alicia stood up, turned the light on, and stretched. Maxine laid down on the floor, hands behind her head.

“So I guess I'm stuck with you now,” said Maxine, annoyed.

Alicia stalled mid stretch and looked at her. “Huh?”

“It looks like Charity's in love with you. She'd get mad if I made you leave,” continued Maxine. “It's how girly and sugary sweet you are. You probably look like some Disney princess to her or something.”

With an embarrassed laugh, Alicia said, “I'll take that as a compliment?”

“You would, I'm sure,” smirked Maxine. “All that friendship crap? I dunno how you can say that with a straight face and no hint of irony.” A slight warmth crept into her voice, unbidden, as she finished, “But I have to give you credit, you're able to get away with it. You're really convincing. I almost believed that last part.”

The tough girl posturing aspects of this statement were efficiently filtered out by Alicia. “I was serious,” she said.

“You really expect me to believe that you'd be friends with someone like me?” asked Maxine.

“Like you?”

“You know. A scary kid. A freak.”

Alicia sat back down on the floor, this time at Maxine's side. “I mean, I wouldn't mind it. I like to try to get along with everybody. I'm not holding my breath though. I'm realistic about these things. I know you wouldn't be friends with a cheer nazi.”

“Wouldn't that be bad for your rep or whatever?”

Alicia laughed. “If my rep is that I would exclude someone over something dumb like that, it could use a change.”

Maxine looked at the redhead for a moment, a bit lost for words. Thankfully, Charity returned at that moment, sparing her from having to think of a snarky comeback.

“Alright then! Alicia, you're on!”

Maxine stood up. “If you'll excuse me, Charity, I simply must step out for a moment.”

“Hmm? Oh, well, okay,” said Charity cheerfully, sitting down. “Don't be long, Maxine dear.”

Alicia looked up at Maxine. “Huh? Where are you going?”

Maxine glanced at Charity to make sure she wasn't looking. When she saw Charity was occupied with making her doll sit up straight, she mimed smoking a cigarette. “Ah.”

As Maxine left, Alicia's phone rang. She didn't recognize the number, so she answered with a curious “Hello?”

Silence. Alicia waited a second, then repeated, “Hello?”

More silence. Then... “Hehhh... hehhh...” that same heavy, thirsty panting.

“Ki-irk,” she scolded, with a smile. “Would you knock that off? I told you you're not fooling anybody.”

“Hehhh... hehhh...”

“C'mon, really, there's such a thing as dragging a joke out for too-” Her phone beeped to indicate she had another call coming in. She looked.

It was Kirk's number.

Alicia felt goosebumps rise on her skin. She looked at the phone in disbelief. Then, she asked the voice, “Who is this?”

The person hung up.

“Who were you talking to?” asked Charity obliviously.

Alicia's heart was pounding, the sound of that breathing still echoing in her ears. She stared at the phone number, mind racing. Had she seen it before? “I...I don't know,” she said. “But the number looks...kind of familiar.”

Charity looked over Alicia's shoulder. She read the number Alicia's phone was displaying, and said, “Oh! That's our house phone! The land line!”

Blood froze in Alicia's veins. She looked at the girl in horror. “Are you...are you serious? Is it really?”

“Yep!” said Charity. Looking at Alicia's face, she finally sensed something was amiss. “What's wrong?”

Alicia stood up in a hurry and grabbed Charity's hand. “Come on. We have to get Maxine.”

…........

Alicia cautiously poked her head out Charity's bedroom door. She looked one way, down the upstairs hall, then the other way towards the stairs.

The coast was clear. She exhaled.

She looked behind her and asked Charity, “Where are the phones in your house? For the land line.”

“There's one in the kitchen,” whispered Charity. “And one in daddy's office.”

“Where's your daddy's office?” asked Alicia.

“Here on the second floor. It's the door at the end of the hallway.”

Alicia glanced at it. The door was closed. She listened in its direction, and heard nothing. Had he called from there, or the kitchen?

“Charity, I want you to stick close to me, okay?” asked Alicia. She tried to put on her best serious adult voice, and forget for a moment that she was just a very frightened teenager. “We're going to go downstairs and find Maxine. I think there's a stranger in the house.”

Charity took her hand, concerned. “Like a bad stranger?”

“I think so, yeah. But it's okay. Me and Maxine are here, and we know what to do.” The last part was a lie, at least on Alicia's part, but it was what Charity needed to hear.

Slowly, cautiously, the two girls left Charity's room. Alicia peeked over the upstairs railing at the foyer below, then they made their way downstairs. Alicia kept her back to the wall the whole way down, head constantly pivoting back and forth to see if anyone was trying to sneak up on them from either upstairs or downstairs. She wished Chase was there. God, did she wish Chase was there.

They looked into the living room. No one there. Beyond the living room, far away on the other side of the dining room, was the sliding glass door. On the other side of it they saw a wisp of cigarette smoke. Holding Charity close to her side, Alicia crept through the two rooms, past the kitchen, and to the door. She slid it open.

Maxine jumped, startled. “Oh, Jesus.”

Charity looked up at her. “WOW, you're SMOKING?! That's so bad for you!” she shouted. Her words did not match her tone or expression, which seemed to express that she thought Maxine was incredibly cool. “Can I have one?!”

“What?! You're just a kid! I'm not going to give you a cigarette! What are you, crazy?!” Maxine scolded. She held out the cigarette to her. “Just one pull and that's it!” Alicia swatted it out of her hand.

“Hey!” protested Maxine, watching it bounce away across the back porch. “I was joking!”