to Hawaii!”
Noelle stared in shock at Marie for a second and then screamed,
“No way!”
“But there’s a catch,” Marie said. “Aunt Kristine wants us to earn
half the cost of our expenses. She’ll pay the rest.”
“How much will we need to earn?” Noelle asked. After Marie told
her, Noelle whistled. “That’s a lot of
money. Do you think we can do it?”
“I think so,” said Marie. “I’ve
already brainstormed ideas with my
parents. They know people who will
hire us for small jobs—starting with
Mrs. Peterson, the caretaker of that
huge historic house on Maple Street
that’s open for tours.”
The next day, Noelle and Marie went to Maple Street. Mrs.
Peterson agreed to hire them to help clean the mansion before the
tours began. The instant the friends stepped into the foyer of the
elegant home, they realized what a big job cleaning it would be.
“Welcome, girls!” hailed Mrs. Peterson as she tap-tap-tapped
across the glossy floor. “While I’m checking for cleaning materials,
I’ve asked Gwen to show you around. She’s training to be a tour guide
and would like the practice.”
“Hi! I’m Gwen,” the older teen said. She stepped forward and
changed to her tour-guide voice: “Let’s start in the Great Hall,
shall we?”
Gwen opened a door and flipped a switch. Electric lightbulbs on
the chandelier lit up a thousand teardrop-shaped crystals, filling the
room with light. Large chairs, sofas, ornamental tables, and statues
furnished every corner.
“The owners held town meetings, dances, and banquets in this
room. People loved the parties here.”
“I’d have a party every night,” Noelle said to Marie as she ran her
hand along a fireplace mantel. She held up her fingers. “Not much
dust. This should be easy.”
“If we were just dusting this room,” said Marie. “But cleaning this
whole place will take forever.”
Gwen pointed to the staircase. “Artisans hand-
carved this banister. Notice the glass eyes of the
dragons. Aren’t they beautiful?”
“Beautiful and creepy,” Marie whispered to Noelle.
Gwen led the girls through the house. “And here we
have the dining room,” Gwen said. “The family shipped
the table from Italy and the grandfather clock from
France.”
Gwen flipped a switch next to a cabinet, and
suddenly green-and-white china sparkled on the
shelves. “Even the family’s children knew to be careful
with these treasures.”
“I hope we don’t break anything, either. That would
cut into our savings for Hawaii,” Noelle said.
“Good point,” Marie replied. “Maybe we should just
clean things that can’t be knocked over or moved.”
“That leaves the floor,” joked Noelle.
“Imagine yourself gliding into this room for your
first party,” said Gwen, recalling a line in a script she
had obviously worked hard to memorize. “You see this
house—this room—exactly as it was two hundred years ago.”
While the three girls imagined themselves in the past, the only
sound they could hear was a ticking clock.
“We need to go,” said Gwen quickly.
“Why?” asked Marie.
“I need to show you something I’ve never shown to anyone before
today.”
“Where’s Mrs. Peterson?” asked Noelle. “Shouldn’t we get to
work?”
“This is more important.” Gwen led the girls from room to room
until they arrived at a door. “You won’t believe this!”
Slowly Gwen turned the doorknob. She cracked open the door, slid
her hand inside, flipped a switch, and screamed.
“Ah!” yelled Noelle and Marie as bright light poured over shelves
stocked with cleaning supplies. All three laughed.
“Did you enjoy the tour?” Mrs. Peterson asked. She stepped from
a small office into the room with the girls.
“Loved it!” Noelle exclaimed.
“And Gwen’s a great tour guide,” said Marie. “She excites you
about the house. But she did have one small error in her tour script.”
Marie smiled at the teen.
“She did?” asked Mrs. Peterson.
“I
