I.â She sounded mad, but Casey could tell she was very relieved to see him and Mike.
âSorry weâre late.â Mike was looking around. âWhere IS the party? Itâs quiet as a morgue.â
âEveryoneâs in our video theatre; itâs sound proof,â Mr. Maitland said, not in a boastful way like Greta would have said it. âGreta, take your guestsâ packs and show them down.â
Ungraciously, Greta reached for Mikeâs pack.
âSmells like doughnuts â didnât you think thereâd be enough food here?â She hung Mikeâs pack in a large hall closet; taking Caseyâs, she noticed the neck of a big bottle of Coke sticking out. âAnd you brought your own drink? I have to think neither one of you has ever been to a real party. Come on.â
Nobody even turned around as Greta slid open a pocket door and motioned Casey and Mike to some empty seats. She sat beside Casey and whispered, âItâs Friday the Thirteenth .â
âYeah, I know,â Casey whispered back. âGreat!â
He looked around the miniature movie theatre with its huge screen, and real semi-reclining theatre seats with arm recesses holding cartons full of popcorn. The sound was fantastic.
In a tense, silent part of the film, the sound of the sliding door being pushed open brought all heads around.
âBryan!â Greta shouted, almost falling as she hurried back to get him. Greta led Bryan to a seat beside her. She sat there watching Bryan instead of the movie.
âAh ha!â Casey said to himself. âIâll bet Gretaâs going to be in a much better mood now.â
She was. Her face glowed with happiness and she left Bryanâs side only when the film was over and her father called her to cut the huge cake on the dining-room table.
Interested to hear how Bryan had got along at his new school, Casey said, âIâve missed you, Bryan. How did it go down east?â
âFine,â Bryan said. âReally good. And the best part is Iâm back on the Internet.â
âBut youâve been banned from using the net for two years.â
âOh heck,â Bryan said. âThat was here. Down there, the school has computers everywhere you look and whoâs going to know Iâm online?â
âI think youâre taking a big chance.â Casey looked troubled. âOutside your parents, the police, and the lawyers, only my mother and I know about your Internet hate connections and the trouble they got you into. I canât believe youâd take a chance on getting caught.â He shook his head and went on, âIâll bet the school knows youâre forbidden to use the net. Theyâre not dumb. Someoneâs going to be snooping around and if you do get caught ⦠well, I donât know exactly what will happen to you, but it ainât going to be good.â
âEnough with the lecture, Casey,â Bryan said, âwith my fatherâs connections, I canât see me getting into serious trouble. Besides, Iâm not into that stuff anymore anyway, so forget I told you and donât squeal on me to your father. And donât play the heavy with me just because your dad beat mine in the mayorâs race.â
He walked away toward Greta, who was saving the first piece of cake sheâd cut for him â a corner piece with lots of icing.
Casey shook his head sadly. Bryanâs starting to sound just like his father, and thatâs a bad sign , he thought as he joined a group around the table.
âNice to see you, Marcia,â he said. He meant it. He didnât have a crush on Marcia any more, and besides, she and Terry were an item, but he still liked her. âHi, Terry. Kevin.â
âHeard about your summer job,â Terry said. âWe were hoping youâd be around for baseball and hockey camp.â
âI was hoping so, too,â said Casey. And he was.