Chapter Two: Getting Started
rated blue star for all ages
Unlike the Wheelers’ stately Manor House, which was perched high on a hill, the Beldens’ white frame house, where several generations of the family had lived, was nestled in a hollow surrounded by trees. By six o’clock, Trixie and Honey were in the cozy Belden kitchen at Crabapple Farm. Trixie was chopping onions and peppers for a salad, and Honey was grating cheese over a steaming dish of lasagne.
“The benefit show really is a good idea,” Trixie said, and Honey nodded, though her expression was slightly dubious.
“I just hope it won’t be too much extra work for Jim and Brian,” she said.
Trixie shrugged. “You heard what Brian said, though if it was me, I’d be worried about the effect of the last six minutes of high school let alone the last six weeks.”
Honey burst out laughing at that. “Trixie Belden, you do just fine in school—algebra notwithstanding, but then I’m just as clueless as you are there. You and I may not have our brothers’ brilliant brains, but we do okay.”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Well, your okay is a whole lot better than my okay, but I guess you’ve got a point, and as for algebra you’re one hundred percent correct, I can’t stand it and it can’t stand me.”
Honey giggled and after a moment Trixie joined in.
“I’m sorry to have pulled you girls away from your plans,” Helen Belden said, removing her jacket as she hurried into the kitchen. “Mrs. Medina was going to pick Bobby up, but at the last minute had car trouble so I had to drop him off instead.”
“It’s no bother at all, Mrs. Belden,” Honey said with a warm smile.
The older woman sniffed the air appreciatively. “That smells delicious, Honey dear,” she said. “Lasagne, one of Brian’s favourites.”
Honey blushed as she slid the lasagne back into the oven, and Trixie grinned impishly.
“That salad looks good too. I see you’ve added avocado. I gather Jim’s staying for dinner as well.”
It was Trixie’s turn to blush, and Mrs. Belden smothered the smile that sprang to her lips. Her husband repeatedly said that the girls were far too young for romance, but she knew they were all sensible and she didn’t think a little romance did any harm
“I hope it’s okay,” Trixie was saying. “Di had to mind the twins and Dan wanted to help Mr. Maypenny, but seeing that Honey was already here…” she trailed off and her mother reached over to tousle her curls.
“Jim is welcome here anytime, like Honey, he’s one of the family. However, I’m not sure whether inviting your best friend to dinner then expecting her to fix it herself is quite in the Belden tradition.”
“Oh, I love it, Mrs. Belden,” Honey cried. “I never get the chance to do this at home. It was really nice of you to let me make whatever I wanted and really sweet of Trixie to let me share her kitchen.”
Trixie offered her mother an angelic smile. “See, Moms, I was just being hospitable. I knew how much Honey wanted to fix dinner; it would have been rude not to let her.”
They all giggled at this, and Honey looked at her watch. “Uh, oh, I’d better fix the garlic bread or this feast won’t be ready on time.”
The talk around the dinner table centred round the benefit show, though Honey’s lasagne and Trixie’s salad featured prominently as well.
“The most important thing is a venue,” Mart said, between mouthfuls. “Until we’ve got that, we can’t set a date or advertise. We could use the school hall, but they’re closing sometime next week, and it probably won’t be ready until almost the end of term.”
Trixie grinned across the table at Honey. Mart might give her a hard time, but once he was on board with a project, he was always a big help.
Peter Belden scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Let me make some enquiries at the bank. You know the old bank building is being turned into a theatre and arts centre?”
Brian nodded. “It should be beautiful too; you showed me the plans, Dad.”
“I can’t think of that place without remembering what happened there,” Helen Belden said with a shiver.
“I’d forgotten about that,” Brian said, a slight frown crossing his face.
“What?” Trixie demanded.
“Nothing,” her mother returned with a shake of her blonde head.
“Well,” Mr. Belden continued, as he reached over to squeeze his wife’s hand. “If the renovations are on schedule it might be suitable.”
“Dad, that would be perfect,” Trixie said, eyes dancing, “I remember those plans too. It’s got a proper stage and stalls and a dress circle. Everything would be really professional.”
“Don’t get too carried away yet, Trixie,” her father warned, and Trixie’s face fell. “I know that most of the work is done, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use it.”
“There’s still plenty of plans we can make.” Jim’s tone was encouraging.
“Di’s already called twice about her soliloquy,” Mart said with a grin. “I think she’s trying to convince the twins that hearing Shakespeare read aloud is just as exciting as hearing Harry Potter, so I might need to go over there later to offer an impartial opinion.”
All of the Bob-Whites and Mr. and Mrs. Belden laughed at this, and Mart flushed.
“You and Jim have quite a task ahead of you,” Mrs. Belden said, passing her daughter the garlic bread.
“Oh, we’re just co-hosting,” Trixie said as she helped herself to a thick crusty slice.
“That’s a huge responsibility,” her mother said. “You’ll need to coordinate the running order, open the show and introduce all of the acts.”
“And you’ll need to be witty, bright and entertaining while you do it,” her father added.
“Oh, woe,” Trixie groaned. “I should have thought of that.” She shot Jim a reproachful glance.
He just grinned and patted her shoulder. “We’ll do fine, Trix. We can write everything down; as co-hosts, folders will just look official.”
“That’s a relief,” Trixie said.
“What will you wear?” Mrs. Belden asked with a faint smile.
“Wear?” Trixie repeated blankly. “Why do we have to wear anything?”
“Well, we are planning a program suitable for all ages, aren’t we?” Mart asked sweetly.
“Funny,” Trixie muttered, wondering if there was some justification for hitting brothers in the head with food utensils. “I mean, we don’t have to get all dressed up. We’re not actually performing in the show.”
“No, but you do set the tone,” Brian said quite seriously. “I think you have to look right.”
Honey nodded. “You don’t have to be fancy, but you do have to look nice and coordinated.”
“Not you too, Honey,” Trixie groaned.
“Let’s leave the specifics for another day,” Jim suggested. “We don’t have to decide everything tonight.”
“No, but we do need to decide who’s doing the dishes,” Mrs. Belden said, blue eyes twinkling.
Honey immediately began to reach for plates, but Brian took them from her with a shake of his dark head. “Not you, young lady, not after you prepared that delectable feast.”
She smiled up at him and Trixie leaned across the table toward him, blinking her blue eyes innocently.
“I suppose you helped too,” Brian said with a grin.
“Oh, Trixie did heaps,” Honey said.
“Okay, so we men will take care of the domestic clean-up, then I promised Regan that with Tom away, Brian would take a quick look at his car.” Jim reached for the empty lasagne dish.
“I might run over to Di’s while you do that,” Mart said.
Jim and Brian exchanged looks, “Oh, go now,” Brian said, “inevitably you’ll complain so much during the clean-up that Jim and I will live to regret it.”
Mart grinned and leapt up.
“I want you all home by nine,” Mrs. Belden said. “It is still a school night.”
The next morning the seven Bob-Whites, all wearing their matching red jackets, slid into the Bob-White station wagon for the ride to school. As Brian backed the car out of the driveway, he applied the brakes, frowned and motioned for them all to be quiet.
“What, what’s wrong?” Trixie, who could never be silent for very long, asked impatiently.
“She sounds terrible,” Brian said, still frowning as he pulled on the hand break.
“Who does?” Trixie demanded with a frown, looking from Di who sat next to her, to Honey who was sitting between Brian and Dan.
Jim, seated on the other side of Trixie, laughed. “The station wagon; he’s talking about the car, Trix.”
Trixie rolled her eyes, “You’re already bad enough about the Queen,” she said referring to Brian’s beloved old jalopy. “Now, you’re getting obsessed with the Bob-White Station wagon.”
Brian turned to glare at her, gently revving the engine as he spoke, “You won’t think that if it breaks down and leaves us stranded without transport.”
“Good point,” Trixie said. “Obsess away.”
The others laughed, and Brian shook his head carefully easing the car out on to Glen Road.
“You don’t really think she’ll break down on the way to school, do you?” Honey asked, looking up at him. “We have a lot to do today.”
“No, Honey, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Brian said. “I just think I’d better take a look over the weekend.”
“When exactly?” Mart demanded from his position at the back of the station wagon. “Moms already asked us to clean out the garage and I am not flying solo on that. Plus, now that the Bob-Whites are back in project mode, we’ll have even more to do, and if we don’t exercise the horses, Regan will get really mad at us, and—”
“Okay, okay,” Jim interjected. “We get it. We’re going to be a little busy this weekend; we’ll just have to schedule our time carefully.”
Trixie smiled at him, thinking that he always knew what to do. As if he knew what she was thinking, Jim gave her hand a quick squeeze.
“Did you come up with something for your piece, Di?” Dan asked.
Diana’s father had dropped her off on his way to the station, and she and Mart had gone over her plans but hadn’t shared the details with their friends. “I think I’ve narrowed it down,” Di said. “Maybe Katherina’s closing speech from Taming of the Shrew, or something from Romeo & Juliet, at least I know that.”
“Romeo and Juliet is so sad,” Honey mused. “It might be nice to have something a little cheerier, or more optimistic.”
“Well,” Di said, slowly. “I did have one other idea.” She and Mart exchanged glances and he nodded.
Her friends, with the exception of designated driver Brian, all turned their heads to look at her.
“I was reading the paper and watching people on TV and I thought maybe, beginning with Miranda’s lines from The Tempest, I could read or perform some of the real life experiences from a few different people, with their permission of course,” she said.
“Great idea, Di,” Jim said
Honey clapped her hands together, and the others grinned.
“‘Oh, brave new world’,” Brian quoted softly, as he pulled into a car spot. “It’s a perfect place to start.”
Trixie and Jim had been elected to speak to the school principal about their tentative plans, and the two hurried toward his office mindful that the bell for their first class was due any minute.
“We wouldn’t be running late if Brian hadn’t stopped to do his engine analysis,” Trixie grumbled.
“That didn’t really hold us up, Trix,” Jim said grinning, “and we’d never have been able to keep the station wagon if Brian wasn’t such a good mechanic.”
“I know,” Trixie admitted. “It just gets annoying having such a conscientious, capable brother.”
“It must be terrible,” Jim agreed, eyes twinkling, as he raised his hand to knock on the principal’s door.
Mr. Stratton greeted the two teenagers warmly and invited them to take the seats on the opposite side of his desk.
“Now,” he said, “I believe you young people have something you wanted to discuss?”
They both nodded and Trixie, as usual, spoke. “We want to help raise money for the hurricane victims,” she said, meeting the older man’s gaze with a serious one of her own. She took a deep breath. “We think a benefit show would be a really good idea, and we’d like your permission to speak at school assembly this afternoon.”
“Of course, Trixie,” he said. “When were you planning on holding the show?”
Jim and Trixie exchanged looks. “We thought two weeks from tomorrow,” Jim said. “We want to raise money as quickly as possible, but we have to allow time for the entrants to rehearse and to publicise the show.”
Mr. Stratton frowned slightly. “You realise I probably can’t offer the school hall for your project? I’m not sure it will be ready by then.”
“We’ve already thought of that, sir,” Jim said
“We think we might have an alternative,” Trixie added, “and even if the hall were ready, we wouldn’t be able to run a rehearsal in it and I think that’s important.”
The principal nodded, “I agree, Miss Belden. I can at least let you use the hall until next Thursday when work begins, that should let you get started with your plans. Now, what else can I do to help?”
When the Bob-Whites were all crowded around a table in the school cafeteria at lunchtime, Trixie quickly filled them in on the good news.
“So, we have a place to sign up acts and a chance to make our announcement,” she said.
“I’ve got some news as well,” Di said flicking her long black hair back from her shoulder. “I spoke to Nick Roberts in art class today, and he said he’d be happy to help with posters.”
“That’s great,” Mart said. “Good thinking, Miss Lynch.”
Di smiled and turned her attention to her salad.
“I myself,” Mart added, have procured the assistance of computer whiz, Gordon, to work on the program.”
“That’s two things I can cross off my list,” Jim said, pulling a folder out of his bag.
“Now, I feel guilty; I haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Honey said, abandoning her mushroom pasta. Brian hooked a dark brow in her direction and she nodded, sliding her plate across to him.
“It hardly seems fair that you get to consume not only your own comestibles but also the remnants of Miss Wheeler’s repast.” Mart grimaced.
“Translated, that means he’s jealous that Honey gives her leftovers to Brian instead of him,” Jim said. “Personally, I think a brother has more reason to resent that than anyone else, especially as I was the former recipient.”
Honey wrinkled her nose at both of them, and Brian smiled broadly as he took another forkful of pasta.
“This brother would starve to death if he relied on his sister for that,” Mart said.
Trixie waved her chicken leg at them all. “Can we please get back on track?”
“I meant to tell you this morning that Mr. Maypenny’s offered to help with any scenery we might need to construct,” Dan said. “‘Regan too,” he added.
“It’s practically organised already,” Trixie said, her blue eyes sparkling.
The boys rolled their eyes. “A slight exaggeration,” Mart said, “but considering from whom it came, it’s not too out there.”
“So, who is going to make the announcement this afternoon?” Dan wanted to know.
There was a brief silence before Trixie said, “Brian can do it; he’s the oldest, plus he’s spoken in public before.”
Brian shook his head. “That’s a terrible reason. You and Jim are co-hosting and co-presidents; you two make far more sense.”
Trixie paled slightly. “I’m not sure I could.”
“You know you’re going to have to get up in front of people on the night,” Dan said reasonably.
“You might as well get some practise in,” Honey added.
“Ambushed and outfoxed,” Jim said with a shake of his red head. “Well, Trix?”
Trixie took a deep breath, “As long as I don’t trip over my own feet and break a leg or something.”
“But, Trix,” Mart said with a grin, “that’s good luck in show business.”
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Author's notes: Thanks to Dana for her making time in her incredibly busy world to edit my story— all things wrong are mine and mine alone.
Trixie Belden et al belong to Random House and not to me (though that hardly seems fair) no profit is being made from these scribblings
