SVT Super Chiller #7: The Haunted Burial Ground
I remember reading this book and thinking...what the fuck!! It is quite boring, so be warned. It was a library book, and I bought it after the library thought it was too old or tatty to stay on the shelves. It's OK i suppose; we have a one-plot character who is actually the main character (apart from the twins, obviously). Also, in the honoured theme of Sweet Valley, this takes places at Halloween in an alternate universe, as there is another SVT Super Chiller, Evil Elizabeth, which also takes places at Halloween.
Anyway, on with the book....
Starting with the cover (my apologies for the size, a bigger version can be found here for anybody who is interested). I have this cover on my version of the book; it shows the twins at the top, and then an array of items related to the story, i.e. the skull, some feathers and so on. Nothing really much to snark at on these covers :( I know there is an alternate cover out there but the pics I found were too dark to really make much out. All I can say is that the items on this cover are appropriate to the story.
This book takes place in Sweet Valley. Amy is rarely mentioned, not enough to be considered part of the story, so this continues with the Super Chiller theme of fucking her off!
We start with Jessica. She is biking home at dusk from Lila's. Her mom had rang earlier to ask if she wanted Steven to come and meet her, as she was worried about Jess riding home in the dark. Jessica was like "no, Mom, its only 4 blocks away, and I'm, like, TWELVE!". Good parenting from Alice, for a change! But anyway, so we have Jessica riding her bike home. As she turns the corner, she hears a squeaking noise behind her, like another bike. As she continues to ride home, the noise follows her. She gets a bit nervous and begins to pedal faster, and, looking behind her, she can see through the gloom that it is another bike rider ( guess her eyes had been miraculously cured by then). She continues to speed up, and the rider seems as if he is drawing closer. She draws onto Calico Drive, and, looking back again, she sees that the rider is in fact a tall man................and a headless one at that! Oh noes!! She panics, and bumps up the curb near her house. Throwing her bike to the floor, she begins to run towards her house. The figure also comes up the curb after her, but doesn't quite make it, and falls off it's bike. Jessica hears a strange noise coming from the figure, almost like....laughing! She realises it is in fact Steven, wrapped up in a massive coat. She stomps over and demands he comes out, when she realises two figures are in there instead. Thinking it is Joe Howell, she demands he comes out as well. In fact, the second person is Scott, who is the lead singer of popular High school band The Skeletons (do they only play at Halloween)? Jessica recognises him as posters advertising the band have been put up around town. The Unicorns all think Scott is the cutest boy, like, ever (well, until next week). Jessica is instantly nice to him, especially when he apologises for scaring her, and compliments her by saying she's the bravest thirteen year old girl he's ever met. Thirteen. Wow! Steven, guffawing, says she is twelve, much to Jessica's disgust!
Jessica goes up to Elizabeth's room and tells her about the prank. Liz is sympathetic, as expected. Then Jessica starts gushing about Scott, to which Liz thinks the usual stock description - so alike in appearance yet so different, best friends....etc etc! Why is it usually Liz who thinks it and not Jessica? Jessica is jealous Liz got to spend time with Scott, as he was at the Wakefields before they went to scare Jessica. Liz then asks Jessica about the girl she saw hanging round with her in school that day, the new girl. This is Kala (we never learn her second name, as she is a one-plot character). Kala is a native-American descendant, and is into "educational TV" according Jessica, who obviously doesn't consider her very cool at all (in other words, perfect Liz friend material). Elizabeth asks Jessica if Janet was sick today, as she signed up to be a volunteer bricklayer at Houses for the Homeless, which is a charity organization Liz is part of (and gives students extra credit, which could be why Janet volunteered) but she never showed. Jess thinks Janet maybe doesn't care about the extra credit, and she wonders why Liz does, as she has an A Average anyway.
At the end of school the next day, Elizabeth is in the bathroom getting changed to go and help at Houses for the Homeless (thereafter known as HH). As she steps out into the hallway, she hears someone sobbing, and a moaning sound. Going round the lockers, she sees Kala sobbing at the figure of Jake Hamilton who is prostrated on the floor, with a rubber axe sticking out of his back. He is slowly crawling along the corridor, leaving a bloody trail behind him, moaning "heeelp me". Liz quickly steps over to him and grabs the axe, which she throws away. It is of course rubber. Jake is disappointed; she could have at least pretended to be scared. Bruce and Aaron appear, laughing (bruce is again hanging round with younger kids, geek)! Seeing Kala is still terrified, she makes a joke of it, by saying (and I will quote verbatim as this made me laugh)
"Elizabeth Wakefield took an axe
and gave Jake Hamilton forty whacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave Bruce and Aaron forty-one".
The boys then run off, still laughing. Kala stops crying, and Liz introduces herself. She tells Kala that the boys play jokes on everyone and not to take it personally, though Kala still thinks they were picking on her. Kala tells Liz she wants to trace her Native-American heritage, as she saw a documentary on TV and wants to do the same (cue Jessica's 'educational TV' remark). Liz tells Kala about HH, and Kala immediately thinks it's a great idea, especially as the guy who runs it is called Jack Whitefeather, and he is Native-American too. Kala (without asking permission or getting changed or anything) goes with Liz to volunteer at HH.
Kala meets Jack Whitefeather, and they discuss Native-American ancestry. Liz whitewashes a wall with Maria and Amy (yes, she is mentioned occasionally) and Kala joins them after a while looking a bit more cheery. Has Jack Whitefeather been doing inappropriate things in the manager's office? Hmm!
Cut to Jessica. She is walking home when she bumps into Steven, Joe and Scott. Steven tries to embarrass her, but Scott is really nice. The boys are discussing music, and she asks Scott whether he would ever play at a middle school party. Steven & Joe take the piss, but Scott says it doesn't matter what age the kids are, it's the venue that is important. They like it to be unique. Scott then tells everyone he has been learning the melody to "Monster Ball" which is a song just out by Melody Powers and Jonny Buck, Jessica's two favourite singers, ever! She says she knows all the lyrics, and hints they could sing together. Scott jokingly agrees, then gets taken off by Steven and Joe, who are bored with talking to Jessica. She is frustrated, but then comes up with the marvellous idea of having a costume party, (that's PARTY for anyone who didn't realise SVers have to have at least one party every book) to celebrate Halloween. And of course the Skeletons could play, and she could do a duet with Scott, which would make all the Unicorns jealous! Love Jessica's reasoning of things!
When she gets home, she tells Liz her bright idea. Liz says the Unicorns won't want to hold a costume party; it will be too childish for them. Jessica is stressy and stomps out. She dresses up in an old dress Mrs Wakefield gave them for their dressing up box, thinking it makes her look at least fourteen (if Mrs W gave it to them for dressing up, surely it would be too big)?
The next day, sure enough, the Unicorns disagree. They have an image to uphold, after all!! Jessica argues her case; she says the costumes don't have to be dumb and childish, they can all dress up as models or singers. Eventually people start to agree, and they need to decide on a venue. Jessica thinks they should hold it somewhere spooky; after all the Skeletons like venues that are 'different'. She doesn't tell them about the Skeletons though; Scott hasn't agreed yet. After some general scheming, they think of a property with Fowler Construction written on it, so obviously it is owned by Lila's dad. He gives Lila everything, so an old house shouldn't be too difficult, should it!
Wrong! Lila's daddy refuses to let them have the house. It is unsafe, and due for ripping down. Lila whines, and he offers to rent the entire skating rink out for them, or let them have it at Fowler Crest. Jessica realises she has seen an old shack on Sleepy Hollow Road (very, err, convenient name for the plot) with Fowler Construction on the sign. They ask if they can borrow that, too!! Mr Fowler is reluctant, as it is just a derelict one roomed shack. However, it apparently isn't unsafe, as the Unicorns volunteer to 'do it up' and he lets them. He is considerably swayed by Janet telling him she has lots of construction experience through working with HH, to which he is very impressed. He doesn't know she hasn't attended any sessions, after all.Eventually he agrees they can have the shack for their party, on the proviso they are good neighbours to the old couple living nearby, and don't throw rubbish in their garden or anything.He clearly doesn't know the Unicorns.
They have a sleepover that night at Jessica's (where else). Liz has invited Kala to stay the night, not realising the Unicorn's were staying too. Liz and Kala have spent the night playing cards in Liz's room. The Unicorn's are making a lot of noise, which makes their little sleepover seem quite lonely and formal :-(! Jess comes up and invites them to come downstairs; the Unicorns have an Ouija board and they want to see if there are any ghosts at the shack on Sleepy Hollow Road. This is a very outdated reference I think; I can't imagine any parents being happy with their kids reading about Ouija boards today because of all the stigma attached to them. Bad, bad parenting on the behalf of the Wakefield parents, too, after all they wouldn't want their daughters being taken over by any ghosts (again), and think that the flu is again virulent, would they! Tut tut!!v When they go down, Janet takes the piss out of Kala's earrings (she doesn't like Kala because she is a nerd and also because she was talking to Denny Jacobson at school that day - Janet's crush). asking if Kala dresses up for Halloween every day (the earrings are made of Native-American style feathers). Kala is upset but doesn't say anything.
They set up the board and start to 'play'. The marker starts to write....'stay away'. Everyone accuses each other but eventually Ellen is found out to be the culprit. Ellen whines that clearing up the shack will be a lot of hard and dirty work, and Jessica only wants a party so she will get attention. How true that is, Ellen! Liz helps Jessica out by saying all the Unicorns will get attention, and she offers to help out of they can donate the shack to the Nature Club Scouts afterwards, which are in someway connected to HH. The Unicorns agree (not that it is their decision, as it belongs to Mr Fowler, but hey).
Jessica is annoyed; she wants to create a spooky feeling to help people get excited about the party, so she suggests a seance. Janet bossily decides to be the medium; after all she is the head of the Unicorns (I wonder what she grew up to be). Jessica is pissed, after all it is her house, but she doesn't dare argue with Janet. All the girls sit round the table (they must have a big table) and hold hands. Jessica places her knee strategically under the table, ready to bump it for dramatic effect. Jessica goes to bump the table but Ellen catches her out. The girls all start arguing, and Liz notices Kala seems to have fallen asleep. They start again, and Janet pleads the spirits to hear her question - "did anyone die on Sleepy Hollow Road". An eerie voice replies that she died there, and the girls should stay away as it is a bad place. When asked her name, the 'spirit' replies, "uh, Kelly Brooks". A famous actress is called Kelly Brooks, and Jessica realises Ellen is faking it. They are all arguing again when Kala interrupts in a monotonous voice, unlike her own - "Do not disturb the old ones". Liz notices Kala still has her eyes tightly shut. The girls are a bit spooked out, especially when Kala doesn't wake up afterwards. Suddenly, Mrs Wakefield appears. She tells them all to shut up, and go to bed. Kala semi-wakes up, but doesn't remember anything.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the Unicorns are all in the den in their sleeping bags. They are gossiping when suddenly Lila screams that she has seen a skeleton at the window. They all look and see two skeletons on the lawn. They start screaming, and Liz comes running down the stairs (Kala is still asleep, and the Wakefield parents are either suddenly deaf or don't care). She looks out the window and is a bit scared, but then realises the skeletons are in fact wearing high-top sneakers.Meh! She goes outside, to the Unicorns' horror, and turns the hose on. She calls to whoever it is dressed up to come out, or they'll get soaked. Out come Bruce and Jake. The Unicorns all gather round and pretend they weren't scared, and Jessica invites them in for hot chocolate. I'd have thought Lizzie would object to this but she doesn't.
I'd just like to digress for a moment. Firstly, is Liz an idiot? Weirdos are prancing around the lawn in the middle of the night in skeleton suits and she goes out there, on her own, and threatens them with that deadliest of deadly weapons, a hose!! What is they were high school kids. Or drunks? Or murderers! Idiot!!!!
Second: surely, even though the Wakefield parents have crap parenting skills, they would object to two (older) boys being in the house in the middle of the night. What would Jess and Liz have done if they had been caught. My dad would have gone nuts!!!
Anyways, back to the story. The boys come in for hot chocolate (?? - very manly -??). Jessica nonchalantly mentions the party they are planning, and the boys are all excited cos they get to dress up. Suddenly, Kala comes downstairs looking like she is in a sort of trance. She intone, "The old ones are resting. Please do not disturb their rest". The boys think she means Mr & Mrs Wakefield, and they scarper pretty quickly. Elizabeth escorts Kala out the room, who appears as if she is sleeptalking/sleepwalking. Janet accuses her of being a faker as they leave the room. Kala crawls straight into bed without even undressing, but Liz can't sleep; she is spooked by Kala's performance earlier on, as she doesn't think Kala was faking it.
The next day, (Saturday) the Unicorns have all gone home apart from Mandy, who is helping to tidy up, and Kala. Kala still says she can't remember anything from the card playing onwards.
Later on that day, Jessica thinks she had better ask Scott to play for the party. The fact he might say no doesn't appear to have crossed her mind. She follows Steven, Joe and Scott across town, where she stalker-like waits for them outside a music store. She wants to talk to Scott on his own, as she thinks Steven and Joe will take the piss (correct)! However, she can't get close to him because he invites Steven and Joe for a sleepover -cum-jamming session at his house ( I wonder what goes on there, ladies and gentlemen)!
Meanwhile, Liz and Kala have got up to look at the property on Sleepy Hollow Road. It is basically a shack surrounded by woods and a creek. They are quite shocked by how much work there is, but you know Liz, she loves a challenge. Kala tells her how, in her sleep, she dreamt a bat came and told her to tell the others to leave the place alone. As they are looking, the rest of the Unicorns turn up, minus Jessica. She has said she will meet them there. Janet is again nasty to Kala. A scream suddenly comes from the direction of the woods and out runs Jessica. She says she was exploring, and found a natural cave. Upon going in (silly girl) she got attacked by a horde of bats. They chased her through the woods. A lone bat appears and dives at Janet. The Unicorns are shrieking, but Liz remains calm. Kala confides to Liz in confidence that when Jessica mentioned the bats, she imagined the bat from her dream setting on Janet, and it happened. She feels guilty. Gag me! Go Kala, in my opinion!!!!!!!! Ellen uses this opportunity again to whine about how much work is going to be involved, and the Unicorns all start to agree. Jessica, in a desperate attempt to keep their interest, says how Jake & Bruce will have told everyone by now (I thought Caroline was the school gossip, not Bruce and Jake). The Unicorns still seem skeptical, so she blurts out she has booked the Skeletons to play at the party. Wow! Suddenly the Unicorns are hooked on the idea. Uh-oh - Jessica still hasn't asked Scott - she's gonna be in big trouble now if he says no!
Liz goes to HH to tell Jack Whitefeather that she will be taking a break from helping as she is helping at the shack instead; but it is a good cause as it's for the Nature Scouts in the end, remember! He tells her is going out of town.
They start cleaning up the lot. Liz and Kala are these on their own at first, and a man from Fowler Construction shows up and tells them the date for the construction has been brought forward to just after the party, so the shack will be ripped down and the lot dug up to make way for an office block.
Jessica is again off trying to talk to Scott. The Unicorns have got bin bags with pumpkins on, in honour of Halloween. Whatever! I do wonder where they get the money from to finance these parties; is Mr F paying for it? There are millions of tin cans and rusty bumpers to be picked up, apparently. As a point, none of them have protective clothing or lights. And obviously mobile phones weren't around so if any of them get in trouble, it's on the bikes to get help! Anyways, they carry on, bagging up cans, leaves, wrappers etc. They have arranged with the local trash collectors to pick up the rubbish. The collectors arrive and start loading the bags into the rubbish lorry. Ellen has got a full bag, and goes to dump it with the others. She screams; one of the bin bags is moving around - obviously it has to be a ghost, not a joke or anything ~rolls eyes~. Anyways, Logical Lizzie comes and opens the sack...inside is Jake Hamilton. He's pleased he scared Ellen. He asks where Bruce and Aaron are; they were all with him when they got in the bags (I'm puzzled - how did they manage to get in the bags and tie them up without help)? All the bags have been collected, and the binmen have left. Oh Noes!!! Bruce and Aaron must be in with the rubbish bags in the bin-lorry. They all chase after it (not sure why they ALL had to go) and when they catch up they tell the bin-men what has happened. They are fucked off, obviously, but as the boys could suffocate they start ripping open the full bags of rubbish. No boys! They get to the last two bags of rubbish, and everyone expects Bruce and Aaron's lifeless bodies to roll out, but they are not there! Jake is white and shaking. Wouldn't the bin men have noticed the weight picking up two bodies? Wouldn't the bags have split? The bin-men are royally pissed off....they think it was a practical joke! Thanks to them, they have to pick all the rubbish up, losing an hour or so of their day. They tell the kids not to bother using them again, but to take their rubbish to the local tip, 4 miles away. Liz feels bad (doesn't she always) but she is convinced Jake wasn't messing around. Jessica and Kala arrive, on Jessica's bike. They all go back to the lot and lo and behold, two bags are sitting in the clearing. Jake opens them and guess who are inside. . . Bruce and Aaron. I can't imagine Bruce ever climbing into a rubbish bag but I suppose you learn something new everyday! Jake asks them why they moved; the original plan was to all scare Ellen at once. They say they didn't move themselves; someone picked the bags up and carried them away. They say they heard voices saying, "leave the old ones to their rest". Then they got carried back. Hmm! Nobody confesses to doing it.
Later that day, Liz and Kala sit down to eat lunch. Liz scrabbles in the dirt with her fingers (for some reason - I think it's supposed to be idly) and finds an old arrowhead. Kala identifies it as a Native-American arrowhead! The plot is thickening, boys & girls! Kala tells Liz also in her dreams were a bear and an eagle.
All week they clean up the lot. The boys at school have heard about Kala's dreams and give loads of attention, which really really pisses the Unicorns off!!! Come the next Saturday, they are again clearing. Kala isn't there; she thinks she is coming down with the flu. Ah, that damn flu that changes who you are! Neither is Jess, she is again stalking Scott. They have started clearing the shack now, and as usual the Unicorns are bickering. Mandy and Janet have a row over what reinforcements to use to hold the place up - Mandy wants to use Sheetrock but Janet, drawing on her wealth of experience of construction, refuses to use it. Tamara also upsets Liz by not being upset when a birds egg accidentally falls on the ground and breaks, and by chucking their rubbish bags over the fence into the old people's garden, even though Lila says technically it's her dad's land, as he has bought the old couple out so he can develop their land. Jess has asked Liz to try to diffuse any arguments they might have, in case they all give up, so Liz starts humming the Monster Ball song. This distracts them completely (love their attention span as well). Ellen screams (again - she sure is gullible) that she has seen a bear, and they all run off. Turns out she was actually scared of a tree stump. D'oh! As they stand discussing it, Elizabeth sees the shadow of a bird fly over, which looks suspiciously like an eagle. Hmm, both the eagle and the bat have made an appearance now, just like Kala's dream, and Ellen supposedly saw a bear. Kala turns up, and Liz tells her abut the sightings. Kala says she slept all morning, and dreamed the animals told her to warn the others that the 'old ones' should not be disturbed. Janet overhears and takes the piss again. Poor Kala, no wonder she only stayed around for one book, she got stuck in cheesy storyline hell! Liz isn't sure what to believe; she wonders if Kala is making things up because she enjoys the attention she gets.
Ellen goes to the creek to wash her hands, and comes back screaming that there is a skull in the water. I wonder if she had a sore throat by the end of the day! Somehow, she seems genuinely scared this time, and (Saint) Elizabeth goes and has a look. She looks into the creek and feels the world tilting away from her. There in the water is sat a skull. Ugh! She picks it up, and whilst the Unicorns are freaked, they think it will be great publicity for the party. Typical Unicorns.
The next day, Liz agrees to help Jessica to snare Scott into singing for the party, as she is getting increasingly frantic that she will be caught out in a lie. They stalk follow Steven and Scott into town and sit on a bench hidden behind a big newspaper whilst spying on them. Steven doesn't show any signs of budging from Scott's side (is he gay?) so Liz takes matters into her own hands. She runs across the road and pretends to bump into them as she comes out of a grocery shop. She tells Steven their mom asked her to pick up a bag of charcoal, but it's too heavy to carry, so can he carry it home? He says ask the delivery boy. She says he is sick. Steven suggests asking them to hold it, and he will pick it up later, or their dad will. Liz can't think of anything to say to this (how about, they won't) and she sees Steven and Scott are about to walk off, so she screws up her face as if in great pain and pretends she has a cramp. A horrible, horrible cramp! Steven has no choice but to take her home on his bicycle, as she 'can't' walk, so she goes off with him, feeling like a prize idiot, while Jessica goes over to talk to Scott.
He thinks she is Liz, but then realises it's Jessica. He pays her a compliment, saying how old she looks for thirteen, and there's no Steven around to remind him otherwise this time :-)! She asks him if he wants to play at the party, well, when i say 'ask' I mean, tries to manipulate him by asking if he is too chicken to play at a venue where a real life skull has been found. He says he'll play on two conditions:
1) She spends a night at the shack
2) She agrees to sing a duet with him at the party
Jessica is of course in seventh heaven. Of course she'll sing with him! As for #1, well, he never said she had to sleep there alone........No she doesn't cheekily ask Scott to stay there with her (wasn't the pornstar-mustache guy in SVH#5: All Night Long called Scott)? She arranges a sleepover with the Unicorns and Liz, AMY and Maria. Kala is ill, presumably with that damned flu. She hasn't been in school for the last couple days. Jess tells the Unicorns the sleepover is prove they aren't chicken; she obviously can't tell them she hasn't finalised the deal with the Skeletons yet.
They hold the sleepover that very night (they must all not have lives) and their parents all let them! Great parenting skills, Sweet Valley parents!! Anyway, off they go to the shack. They toast marshmallows (universal sleepover thing, even in Britain, when there is a bonfire) and everything is fun and unscary like. They go to sleep and sleep soundly, until....the door slams open. Predictably, Ellen screams. Framed in the doorway is Kala. She is in some sort of trance, and intones, "the old ones do not appreciate you disturbing their rest. You must stop disturbing them". Liz asks to come in and get warm (??) and she replies, "you don't believe me. The old ones told me that, too". Then she disappears. Everyone is, understandably, freaked!! Liz wants to leave, but Jess won't let her, she thinks if Liz leaves everyone will and she will lose the bet with Scott. So Liz stays, as we all knew she would!
In the morning, everyone leaves. Jess goes home and rings Scott; he is impressed they stayed the whole night and flirts with her on the phone. He finally agrees to play, reminding Jessica she has to sing a duet with him. Swoon!!
Elizabeth, meanwhile, goes to Kala's. Kala says she doesn't remember anything, but she does remember the 'old ones' telling her Liz doesn't believe her. Liz says she does believe something weird is going on, and suggests going up to the shack to look around. They go and find a large amount of Native-American arrowheads, and a pottery vase with the bear, bat and eagle on it. Liz is 100% convinced by this that the shack is in fact on top of an ancient Native-American burial ground, and Kala has been the medium through which the spirits of the dead Native-Americans buried there have been passing their messages on as the 'old ones'.They don't want to be dug up; they want to rest in peace. Liz decides they should try to stop the construction going ahead.
They go to the construction site, and try to talk to the foreman. He doesn't believe their tale of woe (I wonder why) and orders the security guards to escort the W-E-I-R-D-O-S off the premises. Elizabeth is determined; this twelve year old girl will make them stop the construction after all. She goes straight to the top!! Mr Fowler it is!
They go to Mr's Fowlers office but get stopped by the receptionist. When they explain what they want, she tries to make them leave, but Liz yells that she knows Mr Fowler's daughter. It isn't what you know, Liz, it's who you know. Jessica has been trying to explain this to you for a while now!! Hmm, the receptionist is suspicious, and quizzes Elizabeth on Mr Fowler's daughter's name. Liz gets it right, obviously, and she tells them to go and wait upstairs.
They wait for about two hours to see Mr Fowler. When he does call them in, he shows them the nice office block he has planned for the area, with stone benches near the creek and plenty of woodland. He also tells them that the development will bring lots of growth to the area, and employment, and is good for the community. Elizabeth tries to explain, but for once she knows when it is hopeless! They leave,discouraged, and not entirely sure what to do next.
The next day is the day of the party. Jessica and the Unicorns are getting ready for the party, and Liz is trying to talk to Lila about getting the construction stopped. This is to no avail, which I would think would be obvious, but Liz tries anyway. She wants to talk to Mr Fowler again, but Lila tells her he is driving to LA. Liz doesn't fancy trying to ring him whilst he is driving, so has to give it up.
The Unicorn's, in spite of their vow to be glamourous for the party, are wearing a multitude of outfits, including Belinda dressed up as the Tin Wooman from The Wizard of Oz! Hmm, very glam! Liz goes to Kala's, but Kala doesn't want to offend the 'old ones' by going to the party. She does, however, lend Liz some authentic Native-American clothing, such as beaded mocassins and a woven cloak. Liz hopes that by wearing the clothes she will appease them (though I thought they minded the construction, not the party), but she wants to go to keep an eye on Jessica. Bleugh!
The party: Everything is going really well; everyone's having a blast, rocking on down!! The skull has been hung on a tree outside the shack (very respectful - raises eyebrow-). It comes time for Jessica's duet with Scott, and they take centrestage. As the music grows louder, Elizabeth notices that the pottery vase, which she placed on a table (and she didn't expect it to get broken at a party?) is shaking, and then she realises the walls are shaking. She thinks it is her imagination, until Amy points at the walls. She tries to tell everyone, but the music is deafening! As she watches in horror, the vase falls, and she can't save it in time! It smashes to the floor!!!!As Jessica and Scott reach the last note, they compete for who can hold it the longest. Jessica wins and pumps her fist in the air! Then someone yells that the shack is falling down, and everyone rushes out, just as the place collapses. Miraculously, no-one is hurt!! They all escape, and as they are looking back at the ruins, two skeletal figures walk down the path nearby. One is headless. As they walk down the road, they stop by the tree where the skull is hung, and the headless one reaches up and fits the skull onto it's shoulders. I kid you not. This is where I started laughing at the whole book!! Anyway, the kids all start accusing each other but when they unmask, it is none of them...........They take the party to Lila's and carry on there.
The next day, Liz, Kala, Jack Whitefeather and Mr Fowler are at the lot. They rang Jack, and he rang Mr Fowler and convinced him it was really a burial ground. So Mr Fowler has come all the way back from LA on the word of a bloke he has never met, and two twelve year olds. Jack has shown him a pot like the one that got smashed, and now he is convinced. The office idea has been scrapped, and instead they will rebuild a proper Nature Scouts Clubhouse on the lot. Yay!!! Go Mr Fowler!!! He turns to Kala and asks if the 'old ones' approve. She says they do, and she does too!!! Then they see an eagle disappearing into the distance.
The End!!!
Arghh!! This book is possibly the worst Super Chiller out of them all,with the possible exception of "The Ghost in the Graveyard". Ugh!! It has to have the lamest plotline, and relies so heavily on coincidence it's unbelievable - Kala so happened to be around when they were going to work on the lot, the fact she is so heavily into Native-American folklore, how Steven just happens to be friends with Scott (who is another one of those one-plot characters I think). Meh!!!!!
Anyway, on with the book....
Starting with the cover (my apologies for the size, a bigger version can be found here for anybody who is interested). I have this cover on my version of the book; it shows the twins at the top, and then an array of items related to the story, i.e. the skull, some feathers and so on. Nothing really much to snark at on these covers :( I know there is an alternate cover out there but the pics I found were too dark to really make much out. All I can say is that the items on this cover are appropriate to the story.
This book takes place in Sweet Valley. Amy is rarely mentioned, not enough to be considered part of the story, so this continues with the Super Chiller theme of fucking her off!
We start with Jessica. She is biking home at dusk from Lila's. Her mom had rang earlier to ask if she wanted Steven to come and meet her, as she was worried about Jess riding home in the dark. Jessica was like "no, Mom, its only 4 blocks away, and I'm, like, TWELVE!". Good parenting from Alice, for a change! But anyway, so we have Jessica riding her bike home. As she turns the corner, she hears a squeaking noise behind her, like another bike. As she continues to ride home, the noise follows her. She gets a bit nervous and begins to pedal faster, and, looking behind her, she can see through the gloom that it is another bike rider ( guess her eyes had been miraculously cured by then). She continues to speed up, and the rider seems as if he is drawing closer. She draws onto Calico Drive, and, looking back again, she sees that the rider is in fact a tall man................and a headless one at that! Oh noes!! She panics, and bumps up the curb near her house. Throwing her bike to the floor, she begins to run towards her house. The figure also comes up the curb after her, but doesn't quite make it, and falls off it's bike. Jessica hears a strange noise coming from the figure, almost like....laughing! She realises it is in fact Steven, wrapped up in a massive coat. She stomps over and demands he comes out, when she realises two figures are in there instead. Thinking it is Joe Howell, she demands he comes out as well. In fact, the second person is Scott, who is the lead singer of popular High school band The Skeletons (do they only play at Halloween)? Jessica recognises him as posters advertising the band have been put up around town. The Unicorns all think Scott is the cutest boy, like, ever (well, until next week). Jessica is instantly nice to him, especially when he apologises for scaring her, and compliments her by saying she's the bravest thirteen year old girl he's ever met. Thirteen. Wow! Steven, guffawing, says she is twelve, much to Jessica's disgust!
Jessica goes up to Elizabeth's room and tells her about the prank. Liz is sympathetic, as expected. Then Jessica starts gushing about Scott, to which Liz thinks the usual stock description - so alike in appearance yet so different, best friends....etc etc! Why is it usually Liz who thinks it and not Jessica? Jessica is jealous Liz got to spend time with Scott, as he was at the Wakefields before they went to scare Jessica. Liz then asks Jessica about the girl she saw hanging round with her in school that day, the new girl. This is Kala (we never learn her second name, as she is a one-plot character). Kala is a native-American descendant, and is into "educational TV" according Jessica, who obviously doesn't consider her very cool at all (in other words, perfect Liz friend material). Elizabeth asks Jessica if Janet was sick today, as she signed up to be a volunteer bricklayer at Houses for the Homeless, which is a charity organization Liz is part of (and gives students extra credit, which could be why Janet volunteered) but she never showed. Jess thinks Janet maybe doesn't care about the extra credit, and she wonders why Liz does, as she has an A Average anyway.
At the end of school the next day, Elizabeth is in the bathroom getting changed to go and help at Houses for the Homeless (thereafter known as HH). As she steps out into the hallway, she hears someone sobbing, and a moaning sound. Going round the lockers, she sees Kala sobbing at the figure of Jake Hamilton who is prostrated on the floor, with a rubber axe sticking out of his back. He is slowly crawling along the corridor, leaving a bloody trail behind him, moaning "heeelp me". Liz quickly steps over to him and grabs the axe, which she throws away. It is of course rubber. Jake is disappointed; she could have at least pretended to be scared. Bruce and Aaron appear, laughing (bruce is again hanging round with younger kids, geek)! Seeing Kala is still terrified, she makes a joke of it, by saying (and I will quote verbatim as this made me laugh)
"Elizabeth Wakefield took an axe
and gave Jake Hamilton forty whacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave Bruce and Aaron forty-one".
The boys then run off, still laughing. Kala stops crying, and Liz introduces herself. She tells Kala that the boys play jokes on everyone and not to take it personally, though Kala still thinks they were picking on her. Kala tells Liz she wants to trace her Native-American heritage, as she saw a documentary on TV and wants to do the same (cue Jessica's 'educational TV' remark). Liz tells Kala about HH, and Kala immediately thinks it's a great idea, especially as the guy who runs it is called Jack Whitefeather, and he is Native-American too. Kala (without asking permission or getting changed or anything) goes with Liz to volunteer at HH.
Kala meets Jack Whitefeather, and they discuss Native-American ancestry. Liz whitewashes a wall with Maria and Amy (yes, she is mentioned occasionally) and Kala joins them after a while looking a bit more cheery. Has Jack Whitefeather been doing inappropriate things in the manager's office? Hmm!
Cut to Jessica. She is walking home when she bumps into Steven, Joe and Scott. Steven tries to embarrass her, but Scott is really nice. The boys are discussing music, and she asks Scott whether he would ever play at a middle school party. Steven & Joe take the piss, but Scott says it doesn't matter what age the kids are, it's the venue that is important. They like it to be unique. Scott then tells everyone he has been learning the melody to "Monster Ball" which is a song just out by Melody Powers and Jonny Buck, Jessica's two favourite singers, ever! She says she knows all the lyrics, and hints they could sing together. Scott jokingly agrees, then gets taken off by Steven and Joe, who are bored with talking to Jessica. She is frustrated, but then comes up with the marvellous idea of having a costume party, (that's PARTY for anyone who didn't realise SVers have to have at least one party every book) to celebrate Halloween. And of course the Skeletons could play, and she could do a duet with Scott, which would make all the Unicorns jealous! Love Jessica's reasoning of things!
When she gets home, she tells Liz her bright idea. Liz says the Unicorns won't want to hold a costume party; it will be too childish for them. Jessica is stressy and stomps out. She dresses up in an old dress Mrs Wakefield gave them for their dressing up box, thinking it makes her look at least fourteen (if Mrs W gave it to them for dressing up, surely it would be too big)?
The next day, sure enough, the Unicorns disagree. They have an image to uphold, after all!! Jessica argues her case; she says the costumes don't have to be dumb and childish, they can all dress up as models or singers. Eventually people start to agree, and they need to decide on a venue. Jessica thinks they should hold it somewhere spooky; after all the Skeletons like venues that are 'different'. She doesn't tell them about the Skeletons though; Scott hasn't agreed yet. After some general scheming, they think of a property with Fowler Construction written on it, so obviously it is owned by Lila's dad. He gives Lila everything, so an old house shouldn't be too difficult, should it!
Wrong! Lila's daddy refuses to let them have the house. It is unsafe, and due for ripping down. Lila whines, and he offers to rent the entire skating rink out for them, or let them have it at Fowler Crest. Jessica realises she has seen an old shack on Sleepy Hollow Road (very, err, convenient name for the plot) with Fowler Construction on the sign. They ask if they can borrow that, too!! Mr Fowler is reluctant, as it is just a derelict one roomed shack. However, it apparently isn't unsafe, as the Unicorns volunteer to 'do it up' and he lets them. He is considerably swayed by Janet telling him she has lots of construction experience through working with HH, to which he is very impressed. He doesn't know she hasn't attended any sessions, after all.Eventually he agrees they can have the shack for their party, on the proviso they are good neighbours to the old couple living nearby, and don't throw rubbish in their garden or anything.He clearly doesn't know the Unicorns.
They have a sleepover that night at Jessica's (where else). Liz has invited Kala to stay the night, not realising the Unicorn's were staying too. Liz and Kala have spent the night playing cards in Liz's room. The Unicorn's are making a lot of noise, which makes their little sleepover seem quite lonely and formal :-(! Jess comes up and invites them to come downstairs; the Unicorns have an Ouija board and they want to see if there are any ghosts at the shack on Sleepy Hollow Road. This is a very outdated reference I think; I can't imagine any parents being happy with their kids reading about Ouija boards today because of all the stigma attached to them. Bad, bad parenting on the behalf of the Wakefield parents, too, after all they wouldn't want their daughters being taken over by any ghosts (again), and think that the flu is again virulent, would they! Tut tut!!v When they go down, Janet takes the piss out of Kala's earrings (she doesn't like Kala because she is a nerd and also because she was talking to Denny Jacobson at school that day - Janet's crush). asking if Kala dresses up for Halloween every day (the earrings are made of Native-American style feathers). Kala is upset but doesn't say anything.
They set up the board and start to 'play'. The marker starts to write....'stay away'. Everyone accuses each other but eventually Ellen is found out to be the culprit. Ellen whines that clearing up the shack will be a lot of hard and dirty work, and Jessica only wants a party so she will get attention. How true that is, Ellen! Liz helps Jessica out by saying all the Unicorns will get attention, and she offers to help out of they can donate the shack to the Nature Club Scouts afterwards, which are in someway connected to HH. The Unicorns agree (not that it is their decision, as it belongs to Mr Fowler, but hey).
Jessica is annoyed; she wants to create a spooky feeling to help people get excited about the party, so she suggests a seance. Janet bossily decides to be the medium; after all she is the head of the Unicorns (I wonder what she grew up to be). Jessica is pissed, after all it is her house, but she doesn't dare argue with Janet. All the girls sit round the table (they must have a big table) and hold hands. Jessica places her knee strategically under the table, ready to bump it for dramatic effect. Jessica goes to bump the table but Ellen catches her out. The girls all start arguing, and Liz notices Kala seems to have fallen asleep. They start again, and Janet pleads the spirits to hear her question - "did anyone die on Sleepy Hollow Road". An eerie voice replies that she died there, and the girls should stay away as it is a bad place. When asked her name, the 'spirit' replies, "uh, Kelly Brooks". A famous actress is called Kelly Brooks, and Jessica realises Ellen is faking it. They are all arguing again when Kala interrupts in a monotonous voice, unlike her own - "Do not disturb the old ones". Liz notices Kala still has her eyes tightly shut. The girls are a bit spooked out, especially when Kala doesn't wake up afterwards. Suddenly, Mrs Wakefield appears. She tells them all to shut up, and go to bed. Kala semi-wakes up, but doesn't remember anything.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the Unicorns are all in the den in their sleeping bags. They are gossiping when suddenly Lila screams that she has seen a skeleton at the window. They all look and see two skeletons on the lawn. They start screaming, and Liz comes running down the stairs (Kala is still asleep, and the Wakefield parents are either suddenly deaf or don't care). She looks out the window and is a bit scared, but then realises the skeletons are in fact wearing high-top sneakers.Meh! She goes outside, to the Unicorns' horror, and turns the hose on. She calls to whoever it is dressed up to come out, or they'll get soaked. Out come Bruce and Jake. The Unicorns all gather round and pretend they weren't scared, and Jessica invites them in for hot chocolate. I'd have thought Lizzie would object to this but she doesn't.
I'd just like to digress for a moment. Firstly, is Liz an idiot? Weirdos are prancing around the lawn in the middle of the night in skeleton suits and she goes out there, on her own, and threatens them with that deadliest of deadly weapons, a hose!! What is they were high school kids. Or drunks? Or murderers! Idiot!!!!
Second: surely, even though the Wakefield parents have crap parenting skills, they would object to two (older) boys being in the house in the middle of the night. What would Jess and Liz have done if they had been caught. My dad would have gone nuts!!!
Anyways, back to the story. The boys come in for hot chocolate (?? - very manly -??). Jessica nonchalantly mentions the party they are planning, and the boys are all excited cos they get to dress up. Suddenly, Kala comes downstairs looking like she is in a sort of trance. She intone, "The old ones are resting. Please do not disturb their rest". The boys think she means Mr & Mrs Wakefield, and they scarper pretty quickly. Elizabeth escorts Kala out the room, who appears as if she is sleeptalking/sleepwalking. Janet accuses her of being a faker as they leave the room. Kala crawls straight into bed without even undressing, but Liz can't sleep; she is spooked by Kala's performance earlier on, as she doesn't think Kala was faking it.
The next day, (Saturday) the Unicorns have all gone home apart from Mandy, who is helping to tidy up, and Kala. Kala still says she can't remember anything from the card playing onwards.
Later on that day, Jessica thinks she had better ask Scott to play for the party. The fact he might say no doesn't appear to have crossed her mind. She follows Steven, Joe and Scott across town, where she stalker-like waits for them outside a music store. She wants to talk to Scott on his own, as she thinks Steven and Joe will take the piss (correct)! However, she can't get close to him because he invites Steven and Joe for a sleepover -cum-jamming session at his house ( I wonder what goes on there, ladies and gentlemen)!
Meanwhile, Liz and Kala have got up to look at the property on Sleepy Hollow Road. It is basically a shack surrounded by woods and a creek. They are quite shocked by how much work there is, but you know Liz, she loves a challenge. Kala tells her how, in her sleep, she dreamt a bat came and told her to tell the others to leave the place alone. As they are looking, the rest of the Unicorns turn up, minus Jessica. She has said she will meet them there. Janet is again nasty to Kala. A scream suddenly comes from the direction of the woods and out runs Jessica. She says she was exploring, and found a natural cave. Upon going in (silly girl) she got attacked by a horde of bats. They chased her through the woods. A lone bat appears and dives at Janet. The Unicorns are shrieking, but Liz remains calm. Kala confides to Liz in confidence that when Jessica mentioned the bats, she imagined the bat from her dream setting on Janet, and it happened. She feels guilty. Gag me! Go Kala, in my opinion!!!!!!!! Ellen uses this opportunity again to whine about how much work is going to be involved, and the Unicorns all start to agree. Jessica, in a desperate attempt to keep their interest, says how Jake & Bruce will have told everyone by now (I thought Caroline was the school gossip, not Bruce and Jake). The Unicorns still seem skeptical, so she blurts out she has booked the Skeletons to play at the party. Wow! Suddenly the Unicorns are hooked on the idea. Uh-oh - Jessica still hasn't asked Scott - she's gonna be in big trouble now if he says no!
Liz goes to HH to tell Jack Whitefeather that she will be taking a break from helping as she is helping at the shack instead; but it is a good cause as it's for the Nature Scouts in the end, remember! He tells her is going out of town.
They start cleaning up the lot. Liz and Kala are these on their own at first, and a man from Fowler Construction shows up and tells them the date for the construction has been brought forward to just after the party, so the shack will be ripped down and the lot dug up to make way for an office block.
Jessica is again off trying to talk to Scott. The Unicorns have got bin bags with pumpkins on, in honour of Halloween. Whatever! I do wonder where they get the money from to finance these parties; is Mr F paying for it? There are millions of tin cans and rusty bumpers to be picked up, apparently. As a point, none of them have protective clothing or lights. And obviously mobile phones weren't around so if any of them get in trouble, it's on the bikes to get help! Anyways, they carry on, bagging up cans, leaves, wrappers etc. They have arranged with the local trash collectors to pick up the rubbish. The collectors arrive and start loading the bags into the rubbish lorry. Ellen has got a full bag, and goes to dump it with the others. She screams; one of the bin bags is moving around - obviously it has to be a ghost, not a joke or anything ~rolls eyes~. Anyways, Logical Lizzie comes and opens the sack...inside is Jake Hamilton. He's pleased he scared Ellen. He asks where Bruce and Aaron are; they were all with him when they got in the bags (I'm puzzled - how did they manage to get in the bags and tie them up without help)? All the bags have been collected, and the binmen have left. Oh Noes!!! Bruce and Aaron must be in with the rubbish bags in the bin-lorry. They all chase after it (not sure why they ALL had to go) and when they catch up they tell the bin-men what has happened. They are fucked off, obviously, but as the boys could suffocate they start ripping open the full bags of rubbish. No boys! They get to the last two bags of rubbish, and everyone expects Bruce and Aaron's lifeless bodies to roll out, but they are not there! Jake is white and shaking. Wouldn't the bin men have noticed the weight picking up two bodies? Wouldn't the bags have split? The bin-men are royally pissed off....they think it was a practical joke! Thanks to them, they have to pick all the rubbish up, losing an hour or so of their day. They tell the kids not to bother using them again, but to take their rubbish to the local tip, 4 miles away. Liz feels bad (doesn't she always) but she is convinced Jake wasn't messing around. Jessica and Kala arrive, on Jessica's bike. They all go back to the lot and lo and behold, two bags are sitting in the clearing. Jake opens them and guess who are inside. . . Bruce and Aaron. I can't imagine Bruce ever climbing into a rubbish bag but I suppose you learn something new everyday! Jake asks them why they moved; the original plan was to all scare Ellen at once. They say they didn't move themselves; someone picked the bags up and carried them away. They say they heard voices saying, "leave the old ones to their rest". Then they got carried back. Hmm! Nobody confesses to doing it.
Later that day, Liz and Kala sit down to eat lunch. Liz scrabbles in the dirt with her fingers (for some reason - I think it's supposed to be idly) and finds an old arrowhead. Kala identifies it as a Native-American arrowhead! The plot is thickening, boys & girls! Kala tells Liz also in her dreams were a bear and an eagle.
All week they clean up the lot. The boys at school have heard about Kala's dreams and give loads of attention, which really really pisses the Unicorns off!!! Come the next Saturday, they are again clearing. Kala isn't there; she thinks she is coming down with the flu. Ah, that damn flu that changes who you are! Neither is Jess, she is again stalking Scott. They have started clearing the shack now, and as usual the Unicorns are bickering. Mandy and Janet have a row over what reinforcements to use to hold the place up - Mandy wants to use Sheetrock but Janet, drawing on her wealth of experience of construction, refuses to use it. Tamara also upsets Liz by not being upset when a birds egg accidentally falls on the ground and breaks, and by chucking their rubbish bags over the fence into the old people's garden, even though Lila says technically it's her dad's land, as he has bought the old couple out so he can develop their land. Jess has asked Liz to try to diffuse any arguments they might have, in case they all give up, so Liz starts humming the Monster Ball song. This distracts them completely (love their attention span as well). Ellen screams (again - she sure is gullible) that she has seen a bear, and they all run off. Turns out she was actually scared of a tree stump. D'oh! As they stand discussing it, Elizabeth sees the shadow of a bird fly over, which looks suspiciously like an eagle. Hmm, both the eagle and the bat have made an appearance now, just like Kala's dream, and Ellen supposedly saw a bear. Kala turns up, and Liz tells her abut the sightings. Kala says she slept all morning, and dreamed the animals told her to warn the others that the 'old ones' should not be disturbed. Janet overhears and takes the piss again. Poor Kala, no wonder she only stayed around for one book, she got stuck in cheesy storyline hell! Liz isn't sure what to believe; she wonders if Kala is making things up because she enjoys the attention she gets.
Ellen goes to the creek to wash her hands, and comes back screaming that there is a skull in the water. I wonder if she had a sore throat by the end of the day! Somehow, she seems genuinely scared this time, and (Saint) Elizabeth goes and has a look. She looks into the creek and feels the world tilting away from her. There in the water is sat a skull. Ugh! She picks it up, and whilst the Unicorns are freaked, they think it will be great publicity for the party. Typical Unicorns.
The next day, Liz agrees to help Jessica to snare Scott into singing for the party, as she is getting increasingly frantic that she will be caught out in a lie. They stalk follow Steven and Scott into town and sit on a bench hidden behind a big newspaper whilst spying on them. Steven doesn't show any signs of budging from Scott's side (is he gay?) so Liz takes matters into her own hands. She runs across the road and pretends to bump into them as she comes out of a grocery shop. She tells Steven their mom asked her to pick up a bag of charcoal, but it's too heavy to carry, so can he carry it home? He says ask the delivery boy. She says he is sick. Steven suggests asking them to hold it, and he will pick it up later, or their dad will. Liz can't think of anything to say to this (how about, they won't) and she sees Steven and Scott are about to walk off, so she screws up her face as if in great pain and pretends she has a cramp. A horrible, horrible cramp! Steven has no choice but to take her home on his bicycle, as she 'can't' walk, so she goes off with him, feeling like a prize idiot, while Jessica goes over to talk to Scott.
He thinks she is Liz, but then realises it's Jessica. He pays her a compliment, saying how old she looks for thirteen, and there's no Steven around to remind him otherwise this time :-)! She asks him if he wants to play at the party, well, when i say 'ask' I mean, tries to manipulate him by asking if he is too chicken to play at a venue where a real life skull has been found. He says he'll play on two conditions:
1) She spends a night at the shack
2) She agrees to sing a duet with him at the party
Jessica is of course in seventh heaven. Of course she'll sing with him! As for #1, well, he never said she had to sleep there alone........No she doesn't cheekily ask Scott to stay there with her (wasn't the pornstar-mustache guy in SVH#5: All Night Long called Scott)? She arranges a sleepover with the Unicorns and Liz, AMY and Maria. Kala is ill, presumably with that damned flu. She hasn't been in school for the last couple days. Jess tells the Unicorns the sleepover is prove they aren't chicken; she obviously can't tell them she hasn't finalised the deal with the Skeletons yet.
They hold the sleepover that very night (they must all not have lives) and their parents all let them! Great parenting skills, Sweet Valley parents!! Anyway, off they go to the shack. They toast marshmallows (universal sleepover thing, even in Britain, when there is a bonfire) and everything is fun and unscary like. They go to sleep and sleep soundly, until....the door slams open. Predictably, Ellen screams. Framed in the doorway is Kala. She is in some sort of trance, and intones, "the old ones do not appreciate you disturbing their rest. You must stop disturbing them". Liz asks to come in and get warm (??) and she replies, "you don't believe me. The old ones told me that, too". Then she disappears. Everyone is, understandably, freaked!! Liz wants to leave, but Jess won't let her, she thinks if Liz leaves everyone will and she will lose the bet with Scott. So Liz stays, as we all knew she would!
In the morning, everyone leaves. Jess goes home and rings Scott; he is impressed they stayed the whole night and flirts with her on the phone. He finally agrees to play, reminding Jessica she has to sing a duet with him. Swoon!!
Elizabeth, meanwhile, goes to Kala's. Kala says she doesn't remember anything, but she does remember the 'old ones' telling her Liz doesn't believe her. Liz says she does believe something weird is going on, and suggests going up to the shack to look around. They go and find a large amount of Native-American arrowheads, and a pottery vase with the bear, bat and eagle on it. Liz is 100% convinced by this that the shack is in fact on top of an ancient Native-American burial ground, and Kala has been the medium through which the spirits of the dead Native-Americans buried there have been passing their messages on as the 'old ones'.They don't want to be dug up; they want to rest in peace. Liz decides they should try to stop the construction going ahead.
They go to the construction site, and try to talk to the foreman. He doesn't believe their tale of woe (I wonder why) and orders the security guards to escort the W-E-I-R-D-O-S off the premises. Elizabeth is determined; this twelve year old girl will make them stop the construction after all. She goes straight to the top!! Mr Fowler it is!
They go to Mr's Fowlers office but get stopped by the receptionist. When they explain what they want, she tries to make them leave, but Liz yells that she knows Mr Fowler's daughter. It isn't what you know, Liz, it's who you know. Jessica has been trying to explain this to you for a while now!! Hmm, the receptionist is suspicious, and quizzes Elizabeth on Mr Fowler's daughter's name. Liz gets it right, obviously, and she tells them to go and wait upstairs.
They wait for about two hours to see Mr Fowler. When he does call them in, he shows them the nice office block he has planned for the area, with stone benches near the creek and plenty of woodland. He also tells them that the development will bring lots of growth to the area, and employment, and is good for the community. Elizabeth tries to explain, but for once she knows when it is hopeless! They leave,discouraged, and not entirely sure what to do next.
The next day is the day of the party. Jessica and the Unicorns are getting ready for the party, and Liz is trying to talk to Lila about getting the construction stopped. This is to no avail, which I would think would be obvious, but Liz tries anyway. She wants to talk to Mr Fowler again, but Lila tells her he is driving to LA. Liz doesn't fancy trying to ring him whilst he is driving, so has to give it up.
The Unicorn's, in spite of their vow to be glamourous for the party, are wearing a multitude of outfits, including Belinda dressed up as the Tin Wooman from The Wizard of Oz! Hmm, very glam! Liz goes to Kala's, but Kala doesn't want to offend the 'old ones' by going to the party. She does, however, lend Liz some authentic Native-American clothing, such as beaded mocassins and a woven cloak. Liz hopes that by wearing the clothes she will appease them (though I thought they minded the construction, not the party), but she wants to go to keep an eye on Jessica. Bleugh!
The party: Everything is going really well; everyone's having a blast, rocking on down!! The skull has been hung on a tree outside the shack (very respectful - raises eyebrow-). It comes time for Jessica's duet with Scott, and they take centrestage. As the music grows louder, Elizabeth notices that the pottery vase, which she placed on a table (and she didn't expect it to get broken at a party?) is shaking, and then she realises the walls are shaking. She thinks it is her imagination, until Amy points at the walls. She tries to tell everyone, but the music is deafening! As she watches in horror, the vase falls, and she can't save it in time! It smashes to the floor!!!!As Jessica and Scott reach the last note, they compete for who can hold it the longest. Jessica wins and pumps her fist in the air! Then someone yells that the shack is falling down, and everyone rushes out, just as the place collapses. Miraculously, no-one is hurt!! They all escape, and as they are looking back at the ruins, two skeletal figures walk down the path nearby. One is headless. As they walk down the road, they stop by the tree where the skull is hung, and the headless one reaches up and fits the skull onto it's shoulders. I kid you not. This is where I started laughing at the whole book!! Anyway, the kids all start accusing each other but when they unmask, it is none of them...........They take the party to Lila's and carry on there.
The next day, Liz, Kala, Jack Whitefeather and Mr Fowler are at the lot. They rang Jack, and he rang Mr Fowler and convinced him it was really a burial ground. So Mr Fowler has come all the way back from LA on the word of a bloke he has never met, and two twelve year olds. Jack has shown him a pot like the one that got smashed, and now he is convinced. The office idea has been scrapped, and instead they will rebuild a proper Nature Scouts Clubhouse on the lot. Yay!!! Go Mr Fowler!!! He turns to Kala and asks if the 'old ones' approve. She says they do, and she does too!!! Then they see an eagle disappearing into the distance.
The End!!!
Arghh!! This book is possibly the worst Super Chiller out of them all,with the possible exception of "The Ghost in the Graveyard". Ugh!! It has to have the lamest plotline, and relies so heavily on coincidence it's unbelievable - Kala so happened to be around when they were going to work on the lot, the fact she is so heavily into Native-American folklore, how Steven just happens to be friends with Scott (who is another one of those one-plot characters I think). Meh!!!!!