The best laid plans …

I would like to thank my dear friends,
Angel O’Hare, Karen Page, Joni W., Annette MacGregor and Holly H Heart
for their kindness, help, support, and input.

Education in the Hills
Chapter 22

By Penny Reed Cardon

D Day - Minus one.

"Wake up, little one," Kimberley teased as she gently shook me, waking me much earlier than normal. "It's time to go and say goodbye to the other students."

I tried kicking her, but being that I was still under the blankets my kicking didn't do any good. So I rolled away and frowned.

Kimberley gently rolled me back so I was facing her, "What's all this pouting for? You still don't like to be referred to as 'little one,' do you?"

"NOO!" I eloquently replied, followed by showing off what some have called a cute little tongue.

Laughing at my antics, Kimberly prodded, "Come on now, crawl out of that bed. We've got to hurry if we're going to say goodbye to Mary Beth and the others. We didn’t have to get up as early as everyone else, to get breakfast before leaving, but you do want to see them off and say goodbye, don't you?"

I nodded and replied, "Uh, ha. Give MayBee hugs wiff kissies." I immediately started struggling, trying to get out from under the tightly tucked blankets. At home, Sally slept in a large crib, but when traveling they used oversized blankets and tucked them tightly, to keep her from falling out of bed. I spent many sleepless nights, while I was getting used to being so confined.

"All right, take it easy, I'll get you out," she chuckled, as she pulled back the blankets.

As soon as I was free, I rolled to the edge of the bed and slid over the side. In my haste to get off the bed, I ended up hitting the floor head first. This action was naturally accompanied with a verbal expression of displeasure appropriate for a two-year-old. ... All right, I started crying, okay.

Kimberley dropped to the floor and pulled me into her lap, hugging me close for a moment. Then she examined my head, all the while trying to calm me down. "Oh, it's all right. Hush now. It's just a little bump. A big girl like you, making so much noise over such a little bump, my, my."

I only cried for a moment, being more startled than hurt, and imitating Sally’s actions. After I stopped making noise I returned Kimberly's hug.

‘There are some advantages to being two, or acting like you’re two, everyone wants to give you hugs.’

Kimberley rose up to her knees, pulling me up to my feet, "All right, enough of that. Raise your arms so I can take off your nightgown."

As I was stepping back I snuck in a kiss to Kimberley's nose, followed by giggling.

"Oh, you rascal." She teasingly tapped my nose in return.

I was giggling at successfully sneaking in a kiss, as I raised my arms. After pulling off my nightgown, Kimberly helped me lay across the bed. After removing my nighttime diaper she helped me back up and handed me a pull up to put on. After two weeks of being undressed by Kimberley, I had almost become accustomed to it. Raising my arms she pulled a cute Munchkin style dress over my head. Four buttons up the back of the dress, some heavy white socks with lace, some clunky, black, Mary Jane’s and I was ready to face the world, or at least Mary Beth and my friends.

Hand in hand we went through the door into the suite common room. Well, sorta hand in hand, I was pulling Kimberley along. I didn't want to miss saying goodbye to Mary Beth.

"Hold on," she complained, "we need to get our coats, its going to be cold outside."

Kimberley got our coats, while I danced my little Munchkin dance, as I waiting impatiently by the door. As Sally isn't permitted to open doors, I’m not allowed to either. Soon we were moving again, hand in hand. We descended the three flights of stairs to the main lobby of the administration building. As we reached the main doors, Kimberly stopped to put on her coat. She was snugly buttoning mine as she cautioned me, saying "Now remember, the sidewalks may have some ice on them so no running, no skipping, and no dancing. You have to hold my hand, okay?”

I knew there wouldn't be any ice, because I knew the sidewalks were heated. So, I defiantly stomped my feet and shook my head, saying, "Noo! Noo! … Noo!” The pigtails of my wig were flying back and forth, slapping my nose and cheeks.

"No? No what?”

"Noo ice," I protested.

"No ice? What do you mean, no ice?"

"Noo ice on side walk."

Kimberley put her hands on her hips and looked down at me. "That looks and sounds like Sally, but if I didn't know better I'd say Matilda was trying to tell me something?" she scolded.

I stopped shaking my head and plopped myself down, sitting crossed legged, with my head down. I almost started crying.

Kimberley knelt down and gently lifted my chin. "It's all right. I know how hard this is for you. I'm just trying to help."

"I knoow you help. Is just so hard," I mumbled.

"I know it's hard. I've got the easy job. I just have to be the big sister. You just have to remember, if Sally wouldn't know it, you can't say it."

"I knoows. I knoows. Me for gets sometime."

"That's all you have to do, you just have to forget how to be Matilda."

"Like me for gets, how use ... potty?" I whispered.

"What do you mean, forget how to use the potty?"

"I knoows when I wet. Can not ... make it stop," I squeaked out as I started sniffling.

"Oh dear … Matilda, I’m so sorry!" Moving to a nearby chair, she pulled me onto lap and held me close. "Have you told anyone else?"

Hugging Kimberley gave some comfort, which helped me regain control. Sadly, I looked into her eyes and shook my head.

"Well, we'll have to have a talk with Ellen about this, later, is that alright?"

I quietly nodded in reply.

"All right. Now, do you still want to say goodbye to Mary Beth and the others?"

Struggling with sniffles and wiping my nose with my sleeve, I nodded.

"All right, let’s dry your eyes, cheeks, and your nose. There may not be any ice on the sidewalks, but having your eyes freeze shut would be really bad."

Her joke made me giggle, as she gently wiped my eyes.

"There you go, nice and dry. We better hurry; it's almost time for the busses to leave."

Leaving the building, we headed for the parking lot, where the four busses were being loaded. As we got closer I saw Mary Beth. I broke away from Kimberley and ran up behind Mary Beth, throwing my arms around her. If it weren't for the support from the others around her, who saw me coming, we both would have ended up tumbling off into a snow bank.

"Well, there's my Munchkin," Mary Beth exclaimed, after the shock of being tackled wore off. "I was beginning to wonder if you were coming to say goodbye."

"Course I come," I blurted. ”Give hugs wiff kisses. Me gunna miss MayBee."

"Oh, I'm going to miss you too. I really wish you were going on the bus with us. It would sure make the trip lots more fun.

"I want go wiff MayBee. But they say noo. Make me very sad."

"I know, it makes me sad too. Thirty-six hours on a bus without a Munchkin is going to make for a very long trip. You always make something funny happen."

"You make fun at me?" I asked, pouting slightly.

"No, of course not. We've been through so much that I wouldn't make fun of you. Although, I'm not so sure of the Black Sheep, they’re still unpredictable. It’s just that ... well, when you're with The Munchkin, suddenly you’re in places that you never dreamed of and quick as you can say ‘Bob’s your uncle,’ the most unusual things begin to happen."

I looked at Mary Beth for a moment, as my mind worked out her reference. I smiled as responded, "May-we Poppie my nanny once."

We giggled and hugged for the last few moments before Mary Beth had to get on her bus. The first and second busses had already pulled out as we said our last farewells. Mr. Peterson, in his quest for variety, had put years A and H on the last bus for this trip.

As the third bus pulled out, Mr. Peterson stepped off the fourth bus and came over to where Kimberley and I were standing. Bending down, he took my hand in his, saying, "So long Sally. I'll see you in Quebec. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to having Matilda back. You be a good girl for Arabelle.”

“I all ways good girl,” I snickered.

“Well, I guess that depends on your definition,” he said with a smile, straitening up. “Arabelle, you take good care of our Munchkin."

"Of course, I will, Mr. Peterson. We'll see you in a couple of days."

"Right. By now. You two have fun on the airplane."

"Bye, bye. See you soon." I waved to him as he got on the bus. Of course, I was also waving to Mary Beth and the rest of the Black Sheep as well.

After the busses were gone, Kimberley took me to the cafeteria for breakfast. Being that the cafeteria was deserted, we headed for the kitchen.

It had been a while since I'd been in the kitchen, not since I'd found out about the no contact rule and we'd raided the ice cream freezer. But, I was still impressed with its size and appearance, all white tiles and polished, silver, metal and a lot bigger than what was needed for this school.

"Okay Munchkin, what do you want for breakfast?" Kimberly inquired.

"Peezza!"

"Pizza? Again? You always want pizza."

"Is nummmmmy." I replied as I danced around one of the islands, running down the middle of the kitchen.

“Of course it’s yummy, but you can’t eat pizza all the time.

“I can try,” I replied with a grin while spinning around.

“You can try that on someone else. Right now it time for breakfast and I'm going to find some breakfast food in this kitchen someplace.” Kimberly announced as she opened one of the big refrigerators.

"Good morning!" Ellen announced as she entered the kitchen. "What kind of mischief are you two into, so early in the morning."

"Just trying to rummage up some breakfast for me and the Munchkin," Kimberley replied.

"Peeeezza," I called out while dashing around the corner of a steel table with my arms extended. Unfortunately I caught the handle of a pot that was stacked on the table. The cascade that followed brought about a dozen pots crashing to the floor.

Once my ears stopped ringing, I looked over at Kimberley and Ellen, "Me sorry. Me fix." I apologized excitedly, as I grabbed the nearest pot and started wading through the pile towards the table. With unstable footing, I slipped while stepping over a large pot, landing abruptly on my padded bottom, scattering the remaining pots further. Of course, the pot I was carrying went flying.

"Arabelle, why don't you take our little human tornado out to romp in the snow, for awhile?" Ellen pleaded. "I don't think she can do much damage out there. I'll let you know when breakfast is ready."

"You're going to fix breakfast?" Kimberley wondered aloud.

To which Ellen scoffed, "I may be over forty, but I'm quite capable of preparing breakfast for the four of us."

"Four?"

"Yes. Mr. Black will be joining us."

I stuck out my tongue and blew raspberries, eloquently adding my two cents worth.

"Come on Sally," Kimberley chuckled, lifting me out of the pile of pots. "Let's get out of here so Ellen can do her thing."

We slipped our coats back on and went back outside. Heading away from the administration building, Kimberley took me to where some of the students had built a snow maze. Letting go of my hand, I skipped off into the maze. After I'd been darting around for a while, my PDA beeped telling me I had a new message.

'How do they expect me to stay in character as Sally and answer messages on this thing?' I wondered as I pulled out my PDA, to find a simple message from Ellen.

>> Breakfast is ready. >>

I giggled as I typed a reply. I knew Sally didn’t type or use a PDA, but I still thought my reply was fun, and keeping in character.

<< Me hide. You seek. <<

It didn't take Ellen long to reply.

>> Breakfast now. Play later. >>

Not wanting to have Ellen upset with me I turned around, to start back towards where I'd left Kimberley. To my surprise, she was just rounding a corner with her PDA in hand.

'Darn that silly locator system. I know I’m not supposed to play with it, I didn’t know that Kimberley had free access.'

Both Ellen and Mr. Black were waiting for us to return to the cafeteria. Ellen had prepared what had become my favorite breakfast; eggs, hash browns, sausage, black olives, green onions, and cheese, all scrambled together, covered with country gravy.

'I wonder if they keep track of what everyone eats. It's obviously that they've been keeping track of me. I wonder -"

"Good morning Sally, how are you feeling this morning?" Mr. Black casually asked, after we were seated.

"I hungry n cold. Me play in snow." I replied with a smile, proudly adding that I'd been playing outside.

"You were playing in snow? All alone?"

"Bellie wiff me ... sorta."

"Arabelle was sort of with you?" he wondered aloud.

"We were out in the maze. Sally skipped ahead, as she usually does. I don't worry about her in the snow. She can't get lost and there's nothing she can break," Kimberley giggled.

"You're right about not breaking snow," Ellen agreed while shaking her head. "Stainless pots are another story."

Kimberley started to ask a question, before being interrupted, "You mean that some-"

"Two of them have good size dents in them. I don't know what the kitchen staff will say when they return from their little vacation." We could hear the smile in Ellen’s voice. Ellen and Kimberley went on to discuss what I'd been doing the last few days, as well as arranging a visit later.

Mr. Black didn't join in their conversation. He quietly ate his breakfast, smiled, and occasionally shook his head as he listened.

After breakfast it was time for my last visit with Miss Baker.

“Good morning, Arabelle, Sally. How are you feeling this morning?” Miss Baker inquired.

“I feel good.”

'Why is everyone asking me how I feel? Would it make any difference if I said I was feeling terrible? Oh, wait, Sally wouldn't know terrible. How about blah. I wonder why Miss Baker didn’t join us for breakfast. Maybe she had breakfast with the rest of the school."

After the day's lesson, Miss Baker surprised me by asking, "Remember when I told you, about the people in our lives?"

Obviously not something Sally would know; I thought for a moment before I nodded.

"You are one of those special people, Matilda. Someone who comes into someone's life for a reason. At least for Sally and Arabelle you are someone special. I know they will be grateful for what you're doing. They may never know what you have sacrificed in their behalf, and that is what makes your sacrifice so meaningful. That's what makes you special."

‘Well, that gave me something to think about before and during lunch.’

After lunch, we had a chat with Ellen. I didn’t feel much like talking, but after hearing Kimberley’s report about my problem and worry this morning, she was very sympathetic and explained about how muscles that aren't used get weak. She compared me to Rachael in that she has lots of muscles that will need rehabilitation. Ellen had talked with Dr. Harris and she assured me that after we got back, it would take some time, but we would be able to retrain my weakened muscles.

* * * * *

Departure — Day — December 14, 2004

"Come on my little Munchkin, time to get up,” Kimberly proclaimed, as she woke me.

“Still seepie,” I mumbled, rolling away.

“I know it’s way early than normal,” she apologized. “But, we need to get you up, changed, and ready for breakfast. We're going on a long trip today, remember?"

Kimberly had gotten so used to me being Sally that she always spoke to me as if I were two. Of course, over the last two weeks, I'd almost completely let go, as I fell into the role of Sally. The hard part was not saying things that Sally wouldn’t know.

"I member. We go on air-pain," I replied with a yawn.

"That's right, we’re going to ride on a big airplane."

"MayBee n Nellie come too?"

"No, MayBee left yesterday morning on the bus. You gave her a hugs and kisses, remember?"

"On yeah, I member now. But, Nellie come?" I ended with a worried sound.

“I’m afraid not. Nellie will have to wait here for you.”

"Why?" I asked sadly.

"It's just another of the school rules, special friends don't go on field trips."

"But Nellie be berry sad," I pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but she'll have to wait here. I tell you what, why don’t we take Nellie into MayBee’s room? Nellie and Samantha can wait together, is that OK?”

“Mantha not go wiff MayBee?” I asked.

“No, Samantha is on MayBee’s bed, waiting for her to come home.”

“All right. Nellie and Mantha best friends. They be good together,” I conceded.

“Ok, now that that’s settled; let's get you ready to travel."

It wasn't long before I was dressed, fed and we were in one of the small vans heading for the Salt Lake International Airport. The shuttle bus driver from the parking lot to the terminal was sure grumpy. He wouldn't let me dance in the aisle; even though we were the only ones on the bus.

After the driver got upset, Mr. Black asked, "While we're traveling, I think it would draw less attention if you acted like a normal girl, could you do that?"

"I not normal girl ... me special," I smiled. "Sides, normal girl not need pull-up under dress."

Mr. Black didn't seem to be amused, as he looked at me rather sternly.

"All right. You right about not want ah-ten-chin. I not act like Sally till you say OH-Kay. But still need talk like Sally. Hard for me change talk on and off."

As the airport terminal was pretty crowded, Kimberley kept a tight hold on me, so I couldn't slip away, although slipping away was the last thing on my mind, so it wasn’t really needed. I was more interested in the electronic terminals, where Mr. Black was busy checking us in. I wasn't surprised to be listed as a child. What surprised me was that I was listed as Sally Black. I wanted to get out my PDA and do a little looking around. Even if all I had was the travel PDA, I could still have had lots of fun. Unfortunately, I was being closely guarded so there was no chance for a little PDA play.

After checking in and leaving our luggage to be scanned at the TSA checkpoint, we spent the rest of the day waiting in another line. This one was moving ever so slowly towards the security screening; zigzagging back and forth as the line slowly moved forward. Okay, it wasn't all day but it sure seemed like it. It’s a good thing I can turn off my Sally personality. From what I know about her, being confined and motionless for twenty minutes would have her screaming with frustration.

Just before boarding the plane, Kimberley took me into a family restroom so we could change my pull up. Okay, yes it was wet, after all I'd only been changed once since leaving the school, five hours before.

The plane ride to Chicago was really fun, but those tiny on-board restrooms are not fun and very cramped when you try to squeeze two people in. I got to sit by the window, so I could watch outside as the world flew past. Ellen was in the middle seat and Kimberley in the aisle seat. Mr. Black was one row up, on the other side of the aisle, next to a very large woman with bad gas; I don't think he enjoyed sitting there at all.

We had to wait at the Chicago airport for about an hour before boarding the connecting flight. The flight to Quebec seemed to take forever, although it was only three hours. But we’d already been on a plane for four hours, which made the second flight seem longer. I don’t know if I’d have made it, if we didn’t have that break in Chicago.

At the airport in Quebec we had to wait in another line, this time it was customs. Ellen was first; they asked her lots of questions and wanted to see her passport. It was at that moment that I got a little nervous … I didn't have a passport. I subsequently tried to hide behind Ellen.

The customs agent smiled at me and asked how old I was. I didn't want to say anything, slipping farther behind Ellen. She apologized, explaining that I'm very shy around people I don't know. When the agent asked for my passport I thought I was going to be in big trouble. To my surprise, and relief, Mr. Black produced one from his computer bag.

'I didn't know I had a passport,” was my initial shocked thoughts, then I became curious. “Wait a second, doesn't a passport have your picture, when did they take my picture? Isn’t there some paperwork involved with a passport? Shouldn’t I have had to sign something? Where did they get mine? Can the school do this? Wait, they must be able to get us passports, with all the traveling they do. But, is this one in my name or Sally’s? How involved is the S. P. A.? I really need to do some more research when I get home.' My last thoughts made me tingle with excitement.

After returning my passport to Mr. Black, they talked to Kimberley for a couple of minutes and then asked for her passport, which Mr. Black also produced. A few minutes later, we’d cleared customs. Ellen, Kimberly and I followed the colored line on the floor to baggage claim, where we found our bags. Mr. Black had gone to the rental car place. We met him there as he was signing the paperwork and was given the keys to a nice car. After what seemed like ages we were FINALLY on our way to the hotel.

The first thing I wanted, after getting to our room, was to get into a dry diaper! Kimberley and I had worked out a signal so I could tell her when I needed to be changed. While we were at the Manor I hadn't spent more than a few minutes wet or messy. Traveling, while it was fun, was a pain in the butt or rather a pain on my butt. There hadn’t always been a private place where we could change my pull up when I needed to.

'If this keeps up I'm going to need more from Dr. Harris than help retraining muscles. Imagine, me having to explain diaper rash to the nurses or Mary Beth; now that will be embarrassing.'

After my needs were taken care of and we were settled into our suite, Mr. Black called us together to fill us in on the rest the details.

"Now that we're here, one of our people will contact Jean-Paul to finalize the details of the exchange. Unless we hear differently, the two of you will join Sally and Arabelle in the large restroom just outside the hotel's main ballroom, at 1830 hours. The ballroom is where the costume party is being held. The restroom is public, but it has several handicapped stalls, one is extra large. Once the girls arrive, the four of you will use the handicapped stall as a changing room to exchange costumes. Some of our people will be in the restroom to escort Sally and Arabelle out of the hotel. Kimberley, Arabelle will give you the keycard for their room, that's where you'll find Jean-Paul and Suzette. Any questions?"

"We change costumes?" I nervously inquired. I'd assumed that we would just be wearing the same costumes.

"I'm sorry, but yes. Suzette couldn't tell us exactly what the girls would be wearing, so we couldn't duplicate their costumes. For the deception to be successful you'll need to exchange costumes. We'll have as many of our people in and around the restroom as we can to make sure you're all protected."

"What about our PDAs?" Kimberley wondered.

"Neither of the girls have PDAs, so I'm afraid you'll have to leave yours with Ellen."

'I already knew that part. Tell me something I don't know.'

Mr. Black continued, "Arabelle, however, does have a cell phone that she always has with her, for emergencies. I have one for you; it's the same model, but with a few modifications." He removed a phone from his computer bag; turned it on and handed it to Kimberley.

"Cool! My first cell phone," she exclaimed, acting as excited as any normal teenager would, accompanied by chuckles from the adults in the room.

'What's she getting excited about? She knows that the new PDAs have phones built into them.'

"It’s only on loan, I want it back after this is over. Remember; don't confuse this one with Arabelle's when you’re exchanging her bag for your basket. This phone has some features that hers doesn't."

"Like what?" Kimberley wondered aloud.

"There's a secondary transmitter installed, so we will know where you are, all the time. Even if the phone is turned off the secondary transmitter will still be active. Also there's a scanner that will detect wireless listening devices."

"A bug sniffer?" I asked with surprise.

"Pretty much, it will detect the most common listening devices. There wasn't much space in there to work with. You activate the scanner by dialing one, ten times. If it detects anything you’ll see an arrow on the screen. It will point towards the left or right, or straight ahead, guiding you to the device."

Mr. Black pulled something small out of his bag and tossed it to me. Then he showed Kimberley how to use the transmitter detector, which accurately found the device in my hand.

"Okay, but why should I need that?"

"We know that the security team watching the girls doesn't always play by the rules. We don't know if they bug their rooms or not. We’re just trying to cover all the bases. Be sure you don't mix up phones when you're exchanging bags with Arabelle."

"Exchanging bags?" Kimberley asked.

"Yes, bags. Arabelle carries a diaper bag that's about twelve inches square. It's a red and gold pattern in Chinese silk. That's so she has someplace for Sally's things, that doesn't look like a diaper bag. The basket we've got for you to carry goes with your costume, a wicker basket with a red checkerboard tablecloth liner."

"What's my costume?"

There was a long pause while Ellen and Mr. Black looked at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, to a two-year-old, Ellen answered Kimberley's question, "Almira Gulch."

"WHAT? I'm the WITCH? Sally isn't going to like holding hands with the witch, even if she is her big sister."

"Oh, no. Almira isn't a witch, just a nasty old spinster," Ellen added.

"Besides, the only other option we came up with, where there was something to carry Sally's needed items, was an eighteen-hundred’s gold miner," Mr. Black continued, defending their choice of costume.

“How about Aunt Em with a picnic basket?” Kimberley asked sarcastically.

"What my costume?" I nervously asked.

Ellen jumping on that question without a moment’s hesitation, "Oh, I think you're going to love your costume. It's a long gown made of pink satin, covered in a sheer lace, with full puffy sleeves. And to top it off there's a lovely jeweled crown."

"Sound like princess dress."

"A very lovely princess dress, you always make such a lovely princess," she added.

"But I Munchkin," I complained.

"Of course you are, a Munchkin Princess."

"I never see Munchkin Princess."

"Just because you haven't seen a Munchkin Princess, doesn't mean there couldn't be one or two, does it?"

"Guess not. Me make good princess?"

"What a silly question," Kimberley giggled. "You have been and will always make a beautiful princess."

"Still not sure. Never hear of Munchkin Princess."

"Well, I'm afraid the only other option would be to dress you as a member of the Lullaby League; those dresses are pretty short. I don't know if that dress would completely cover your pull up?" Ellen offered.

Sally might have enjoyed being in a short dress for a change, and she wouldn't care about her diaper showing. As for me, I took a couple of moments to think about my options, before I stood and pulled my dress up, revealing my knees. Looking at my gangly legs and knees, I shook my head and let go of my dress. As my dress fell back into place, around my ankles, I looked up.

"Things to member. Cute tongue, keep in mouth ... Ukky boy knees, keep hidden," I said sarcastically, while pointing towards my knees. This broke everyone up, not that I’d planned it that way. "I like to be princess," I continued with a smile.

Kimberley and I went back to our room, and quickly changed into our costumes. We soon found ourselves sitting around with nothing to do but wait; not one of my better qualities. Kimberley was playing the part of a typical teenager, listening to some music while she waited. I was glad that before we left the Manor I’d created a secure directory on the hotel’s server. I’d uploaded the DVDs of Sally, I linked in via my PDA and spent our waiting time reviewing and preparing.

Ellen knocked on the door frame, "It's time to go, are you two ready?"

Fifteen seconds later, all evidence of my directory was gone. As I left the bedroom, I tried to show that I wasn’t nervous, "Guess me ready. Time to play now?"

"Not yet," Mr. Black replied. "You don't want to attract the attention of the security team. Once you and Sally change costumes, you can dance and play as much as you want."

"Good thing. I saved lots of en-o-gees. Need to let them out."

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Mr. Black admitted three people in costume, whom he introduced as school helpers. "I thought you should all meet. That way, if there's a problem, you will know who to contact, and trust. In any event, this is Jacqueline, Abigail, and-"

"And Regina," I interrupted, almost dropping out of character. "Saaaweee," I overly exaggerated my apology, for interrupting, again.

Mr. Black glared at me for a moment before he continued, "Correct ... However, the only one that Sally knows is Jacqueline. She and Regina will be in the restroom to escort Arabelle and Sally to safety. Abigail will be outside the restroom. Kimberley, she'll call your cell phone to let you know when Sally and Arabelle are ready to make the exchange. Does anyone have any questions?” He paused and looked at each of us, "No? All right, time for you two to give Ellen your PDAs. One last item that we’ve recently been informed of, Sally wears a necklace. It’s a gold medallion with an angel engraved on it. It was given to her by their pastor after her accident, for good luck. I'm told she never takes it off."

"I not see in DVDs," I stated.

"I didn't see it either, but Suzette has assured us it’s there, under Sally’s dress," he added, presenting me with a silver chain supporting the medallion.

Kimberley took the necklace and put it on me, as I kept my hair out of the way. Tucking the chain and medallion under my dress, I looked up and smiled, "There go, all gone."

"I think that covers everything, time to be on our way. Good luck to us all," Mr. Black concluded as he opened the door.

Kimberley held out her hand and asked me, "Are you ready to go to a real party?"

I smiled and nodded, as I ignored her reference to Titanic and took her hand. I felt like we needed Beca, Lizzy and Mary Beth, singing an intro for us as we walked out the door and down the hall to the elevator. The carpet was yellow and we were after all 'Off to see the Wizard.'

The ride in the elevator, down to the ballroom, was fairly fast. In no time at all we were being pushed through the main entrance to the ballroom by a horde of people in a variety of costumes, all of which seemed to tower over me. The ballroom was huge. The volume of noise produced by all those people combined with the music coming from somewhere, or was it everywhere, was deafening.

I'd only been scared a few times in my life, I mean really scared. This wasn’t a top of the list scared, but it was without a doubt in the top ten. At that moment I think I would have rather faced Black Bart or my Dad rather than that swirling mass of humanity. My only recourse was to grab hold onto Kimberley and hang on. And hang on I did; with both hands, as if my life depended on it.

Kimberley must have thought I was trying to pinch her hand off at the wrist, because she leaned down and called out, "What's the matter?"

"Me scaryfied," I yelled, trying to be heard.

"You're scared ... Of what?" she asked, dropping to one knee so we were at the same level.

"Being mashed. So many big people. Me so little."

"You're right about one thing; there are lots of big people. Do you think Sally will be scared to be here?"

"Umm, no."

"So why should you be scared?"

"Cuz I know, should be!"

Kimberley chuckled in reply, "Come on Munchkin, relax and enjoy the party.” She paused to take a breath, and then continued, “You can trust me, I'll keep track of you, and I'll keep you in one piece."

"OK, I try re-lax an have fun," I agreed.

We started wondering around, the huge ballroom, looking at the different exhibits. There were a lot of people dressed up in Wizard of Oz costumes, but the Harry Potter fans and the Pirates of the Caribbean crews’ seemed to be battling for top honors; or perhaps it was planned as a hostile takeover?

We'd been looking around for about half an hour when I thought I heard a faint beeping coming from Kimberley's basket. ‘That must be some ringer, to be heard over all this noise.’ Tugging on her arm, to get her attention, I put my free hand up to my ear, as if I were holding a phone. Kimberley got the message and quickly retrieved her phone. After a very few words, Kimberley pulled me back the way we’d come. I assumed the call was from Abigail, letting us know that everything was ready for the exchange.

As we made our way towards the entrance, the crowed thinned out a little. Kimberley leaned down to my level and said, “I think we should go the bathroom before we get too involved in the party. What do you think?”

I nodded my agreement and acknowledgment. It wasn’t what Kimberley had said but the way she’d said it that confirmed my suspicion about the phone call.

As quickly as we could, we made our way towards the main ballroom entrance, and our appointment with destiny.

There were quite a few people milling about outside the restrooms. Abigail made no notice of us as we approached, save for a slight nod of her head and a wink. Inside we found a large facility, laid out like a giant U. There were two long aisles with stalls, with sinks and mirrors across the bottom of the U. There were lots of people down the first row of stalls and a 'Closed for Cleaning' sign before the second. Regina was standing in front of a sink, in a maid's uniform, cleaning the mirror. When she saw us, she pointed us down the back row of stalls. Slipping around the closed sign we turned the corner to see Jacqueline standing at the end of the row, holding a mop. As we approached she smiled and knocked on the door of a large stall.

"Yes?" Someone asked timidly.

"They’re here," Jacqueline replied softly.

"All right, we’re ready."

The door, slowly, swung open and we went in. Behind the door, almost trying to hide behind it, were our twins; well … sort of.

Arabelle seemed to be more nervous about what was going to happen than we were. Sally was acting fidgety, probably because she'd been cooped up for more than a few minutes.

"Hello Arabelle, I'm Kimberley," she introduced herself with a smile, as she stepped forward, offering her hand.

Arabelle seemed to relax a bit as she shook hands. "Hi. This is-"

"Hello Sally, I is the Munchkin," I greeted, stepping forward.

Sally looked up at Arabelle, "Huh, I thought me was the Munchkin?"

"But of course you are. You're my special Munchkin, Sally," Arabelle answered.

"And this is our special Munchkin, Matilda," Kimberley added.

Sally looked at me intently, while holding onto Arabelle, for security. "You look like me."

I moved a bit closer. "You talk like me."

"I a Munchkin," Sally countered, with a smile and more confidence.

"I a Munchkin too. Me a Munchkin princess," I added with pride.

Sally looked at my questioningly, then up at Arabelle. "Munchkins have princess?"

Arabelle knew that changing costumes would have to be something Sally wanted, and she caught on quickly, "But of course. It's a very special thing to be a Munchkin princess. Do you think you would like to be a Munchkin princess, Sally?"

Sally looked at me for a moment before answering, “Yes, I like be princess. I like princess dress. How me be princess?"

"Well ... You have to be a special person," Kimberley stared.

"Me special. Mamma says Sally special. That right, Bellie?" Sally asked, looking to Arabelle to confirm what she'd said.

"Yes Sally, Mamma says you're very special," she confirmed with a smile.

"You have to dance good," I continued with the improvised princess qualifications.

"I dance real good," Sally replied with a smile, spinning around.

"And most important," Kimberley turned serious. "You have to find a princess that thinks you're special enough, that she will give you her crown for a day."

Sally looked at me sadly, "You think me special nuff? You let me wear your crown?"

"I not know ... Do you give good huggies?"

"The best!" she exclaimed. Smiling, she threw her arms around me.

'Oh my stars, Mary Beth could take lessons from this girl. I've never been hugged like this before. I may have a cracked rib or two.'

"That is mighty fine hugging," I squeaked. "You win my crown."

Sally released me, and I gratefully sucked in a fresh supply of air. I had a hard time getting my crown to stay in place, because she simply could not stand still.

Once Sally was crowned I asked, "Do you have princess dress? New princess must wear princess dress, all day."

To that point in my short life I'd never seen anyone looking so sad. I quickly put my arm around Sally and made the ultimate sacrifice, for a princess anyway. "Tell you what. Cuz you new princess, I let you wear my dress."

'How do people change emotions so fast? First I'm getting the stuffing hugged out of me. Two shakes of a puppy dog’s tail latter I'm wiping up tears. The next thing I know I'm being destuffified again. Geeze.'

Ten minutes later, the costume exchange had been completed and Sally and Arabelle, that is Kimberley and I, were back in the ballroom to party. Not to mention the show we were putting on for a few selected observers. At the appointed time we left the ballroom and went to our room. We needed to get ready to have dinner with Jean-Paul and Suzette; Mamma and Papa.

The rooms turned out to be a two-bedroom suite. As we entered Kimberley motioned for me to laugh, sing, and dance around, while she scanned the rooms for listening devices. She found one in what obviously was our room, one in Jean-Paul and Suzette's room, and two in the common room. She even found one in the bathroom.

‘Those security guys weren't taking any chances.’

After communicating with Mr. Black via a few text messages, for instructions, Kimberley left the devices where they were.

‘It made sense, after all, we didn’t want anyone to know we aren’t who we appeared to be.’

After Kimberley had put away her phone/scanner, she turned on the television and selected an all cartoon network for me, well, Sally. Turning the volume up pretty loud, Kimberley sat in a chair as far away from the mikes as possible and waved for me to join her. She pulled me onto her lap so we could discuss our situation without being overheard.

We had just settled in when the door opened and in walked Jean-Paul and Suzette. Knowing that someone would be listening, I started yelling, "Mamma, Mamma, Mamma," as I scrambled down and ran to hug Suzette, exactly as I'd seen Sally do many times, on the DVDs.

Jean-Paul appeared to be in shock, standing motionless just inside the door.

Suzette dropped into the nearest chair and opened her arms to catch me, "How's my little Munchkin?" Realizing that I shouldn’t be her Munchkin, she held me at arm’s length. With a questioning look on her face, she looked me over, from top to bottom.

A moment later, Jean-Paul came out of his trance. Closing the door he questioned, "Arabelle?"

Kimberley answered, just as she should have, "Yes Pappa? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. What happened? You were supposed to meet with the ameri-"

Kimberley interrupted Jean-Paul by waving her hands and then holding one finger to her lips. Next she pointed to the two listening devices she'd found and then cupped her ears with her hands.

Both Jean-Paul and Suzette had looks of fear on their faces, as the realized what Kimberley meant.

There was suddenly a loud knock on the door. Jean-Paul, being the closest to the door, looked through the peep hole before shaking his head.

The knock was repeated, with more intensity. Reluctantly, Jean-Paul opened the door, admitting two rather large men.

"Frances, what are you and Logan doing here?" Jean Paul demanded.

"Good evening Dr. Moreau, Mrs. Moreau. I trust you're enjoying your stay in Quebec, as well as the party. However, I'm afraid I must ask you and ... these two girls, stay in your rooms for the time being.”

"What do you mean stay in our rooms?" Jean-Paul asked. "We were just on our way to dinner."

"Something has come up, and I'm afraid I can't allow that," Frances continued. "Until it’s time to leave for the airport, two days from now, the four of you will have to remain here."

* * * To Be Continued * * *

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