Escape to Hawaii
Once, in New Orleans, in 1962, there were 7 kids who did not go to school. The kid’s names were Jeremy, Elizabeth, Jezebel, Micah, Valerie, Luis, Dorothy, and a friend that was an orphan named Anna. On a normal Monday morning, the 7 kids were sitting on their grandma’s front porch all snacking on island-shaped sugar cookies that their grandma had made. All of them wanted to go to Hawaii someday. When all of them were finished snacking on the delicious cookies, they went inside. Their grandma was not in the house! All of them searched around and yelled her name but got no answer or never found her! After an hour of searching, Dorothy found a letter taped to the fridge. It read:
Dear kids,
I have gone shopping at the store to buy more cookies and milk. Take good care of the house while I’m gone.
Love, Grandma Smith
P.S. Call me and tell me if you want regular milk or soy milk.
Dorothy grabbed her phone and dialed: 801-677-9444 Four hums came before Grandma answered her phone.
When Grandma answered her phone, Dorothy said, “Hi Grandma, it’s Dorothy and we would all like soy milk.”
Grandma said, “Ok sweetheart, soy milk it is, oh, and do you want Farms or Angel’s?”
“Angel’s is fine.” Answered Dorothy, “Love you, bye.”
“Bye sweetie.”
Then Grandma hung up. In 2 hours grandma came back and all the kids left. All the kids went to their bedrooms, very tired, and all of them fell asleep. The next morning, when Dorothy and Elizabeth woke up at the same time, Micah and Luis were already making French toast. Luis served all of them a plate and in the middle of when they were eating, Luis got an idea. All the kids could tell that since Luis’ face got really red when he had an idea. Valerie was very confused, so she asked
“Luis, what are you thinking about?”
Luis said nothing. Valerie just continued eating her French toast. Finally, Luis answered,
“We should go to Hawaii.”
Valerie’s mouth dropped wide open.
“What did you just say?” asked Valerie, very surprised.
“We should go to Hawaii.” said Luis, less energetic.
Valerie then said, “You’re kidding. You’re crazy! I mean, we don’t even know how to get there.”
“I do.” said Luis.
Micah interrupted their conversation, “Luis, I think you might be taking this too easy. We don’t have the money to get the plane tickets.”
Luis held up a wad of dollars. “Guess how much this is.” he asked.
. “What, 20 dollars?” guessed Micah.
“Nope. 200,000 dollars!”
Everyone was so surprised to see how much money Luis had. “How did you get all that money?!” asked Valerie, very surprised.
“I found a wallet on the ground without an ID in it, so I picked it up and put it in my pocket.” answered Luis.
Dorothy was the least impressed, “Anybody could just find a wallet.”
Luis ignored her, since everybody else was impressed. After breakfast, they all went for a morning stroll. Luis left the wallet home since he didn’t want anybody to steal it from him. The walk was a half an hour long, so they stopped to take breaks now and then. Finally, they got to the park. Jezebel didn’t play because she had a scabbed leg and the doctor said not to let it touch anything. So, Jezebel was on the look-out for kidnappers. Sometimes the kids noticed that she was a bit sad that she couldn’t play, but they just kept on playing. On the way back there wasn’t very much talking, since they were really excited about the money that Luis had found. All of them were so excited to go see Honolulu! When they got home, Elizabeth got out some popcorn and Jeremy got out the microwave. They put it in the microwave while Micah turned on the TV. They watched television until their eyes got tired, and then there was a knock on the door. Jezebel answered it, as always, and nobody was there.
She took one step outside and then Anna jumped out, “BOO!”
Jezebel jumped back and landed on the couch. “Hi Anna. You scared me.” said Jezebel, breathing heavily.
“Hello, um, you left your doll in the orphanage last week.”
“Oh, thank you!” said Jezebel, relieved.
“Well, bye.” said Anna.
“Bye.” answered Jezebel, and she closed the door.
“Phew, I’m glad you found your doll. Now I can play video games instead of helping you find it.” said Jeremy, while Jezebel sat down again.
She got settled into a fluffy pillow and relaxed. The next day, Dorothy and Valerie found Luis on the computer, buying flight tickets. Dorothy tried to be unnoticed, but Valerie grabbed her hand and dragged her to the computer.
“What are you doing?” asked Valerie strictly.
“I’m ordering flight tickets, what does it look like I’m doing?” answered Luis.
“Give me the computer.” Said Valerie, very angry.
“No.” replied Luis.
“Give me the computer, now!” yelled Valerie, and pushed Luis off the chair.
Dorothy looked scared. She didn’t like it when people got mad. Luis got back up really annoyed by Valerie, but let her do what she was doing on the computer.
“Wait a minute,” said Valerie “these tickets cost 300 dollars and we have 200,000 dollars!”
“Yeah, I know.” said Luis.
“Continue what you’re doing.” said Valerie with a smile, and left the room.
15 minutes later, Elizabeth came down, with Valerie, and whispered to Valerie, “What’s he doing?”
“He is ordering flight tickets.” answered Valerie.
“And, done.” Said Luis. Luis got up out of his chair and told Elizabeth and Valerie to go upstairs and tell everybody to pack their bags.
Dorothy got happy again and went upstairs to pack. They both nodded, and went upstairs. About 20 minutes later, all 7 kids came down with 2 or 3 suitcases and bags. They all got outside and saw the ice cream man and they told him to take them to the airport in his truck. They did not know how long it took, since they were too distracted by the smell of ice cream. The ride was free, and as soon as the truck parked and got their bags out of the truck, they were running as fast as they could toward the airport. They got to the desk, and had asked for the next flight to Honolulu, Hawaii. The woman was lazy, and did not care about their age, so she said it was a half an hour away, and went back to reading her magazine. They went to get some lunch at Subway, and got to the seats at section 29 of flights, and relaxed and enjoyed their sandwiches. At 8:30 a.m. , it was time for their flight. Luis got the tickets out of his pocket and handed them to the lady. Then, they all entered the plane. Jeremy and Luis sat in a pair of seats, Micah and Dorothy in another, and Elizabeth, Jezebel, and Valerie sat in a 3 pair. When the drink lady came over, they all asked for orange juice, and watched an episode of The Simpsons. For dinner, they got chicken and salad, got lemonade for a beverage, and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. After that, they watched an episode of The Nanny. The episode made them all fall asleep, and when they woke up, it was 20 minutes before they landed. They quickly got their gum, just in case. Micah and Dorothy looked in a joke book because Dorothy had promised Micah that they would read some jokes in the flight. Elizabeth, Jezebel, and Valerie got out a president book and studied Ulysses S. Grant. 20 minutes later, they all plopped some gum in their mouths and plugged their ears. They waited for 12 people to get to the exit of the plane. When they got out, there were much more stores and shops than they saw at their airport. Micah really wanted to go to the candy store first, but all the others wanted something healthy to eat. They all went to a Chinese food place called Pei Wei. Jezebel got Chow Mein and so did Valerie. For some reason, all the boys got some chicken with teriyaki sauce. Dorothy and Elizabeth shared some duck with pineapple and then they all went to the candy store. After they all finished having some caramel apples and strawberry lollipops, they went to find a van to take them to a hotel. They got in a purple van, and got driven to the Marriot Hotel. They paid the money that the ride was worth, and as soon as they got into the hotel, they acted like food critics. Elizabeth took the room key, and they were led up to room 234. The hotel manager explained that the hotel was very expensive unless you were polite and appropriate.
After five minutes of being in the hotel room, Micah said, “Can we go out to dinner, I’m starving!”
Micah started to sob for his hunger. “Fine, fine,” said Dorothy, “we can go out to dinner.”
They all left the hotel and went to a pizza and pasta place called Zak’s. They went back to the hotel, and went to bed. Back in New Orleans, the 7 kid’s grandma was crying for her grandkid’s disappearance. Anna the orphan, was really upset about the disappearance. The orphanage owner, Mrs. Barkley, didn’t care a bit about the girl’s friend’s disappearance. Anna decided to go to Hawaii, since she knew that was where they were, and find her 7 friends. She packed her bags secretly and when it was her day off, she ran to the city to find a ride to the airport. The next morning in Hawaii, Luis and Micah were having breakfast downstairs. Dorothy and Elizabeth went down to join them, but Jezebel and Valerie wanted to stay upstairs and finish the today’s crossword puzzle. Jeremy was downstairs getting the info on how much the bill would cost. Jeremy was very disappointed and upset about how much the bill would cost. He decided to get some cookies before he went back to the hotel. He thought that might calm him down. When Luis and Micah got back from breakfast and Jeremy got back from getting information on the bill, they all got ready for the day. The people that didn’t go to breakfast weren’t really hungry, except for Jeremy. He was starving! He had to wait 3 hours for lunch. The smell of bread and delicious foods passed by and Jeremy got more and more hungry. Finally, after 3 hours, they got to a place for lunch called Happy Grill. Luis and Micah shared a pizza and all the girls got tortilla soup. Jeremy got 4 grilled cheese sandwiches and ate them all. Now he was much more satisfied.
When they all got back to the hotel, acting like food critics, saying “Oh, that garlic bread was so spicy!” or, “I agree that all that shrimp could give you a sore throat!”
Jeremy was silent, empty of amusement. As they got to the elevator, they all started to giggle. Jeremy was still as silent as a mouse.
When they got back to the hotel, Elizabeth asked Jeremy, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Answered Jeremy.
Still, Elizabeth knew that Jeremy was upset. “Let me guess, the bill for the hotel.” Guessed Elizabeth, knowing it was the right answer.
“How did you know?!”asked Jeremy, surprised.
“I do a bit of spying myself.” Answered Elizabeth. “How much does the bill cost?”she asked.
“19,000 dollars.” he answered.
“Whoa, that’s a lot, but I’m sure we will figure out something.”
Jeremy smiled, happy to be sure he could get more money.
Back at the airport in New Orleans, Anna was sipping on a milkshake. A voice said from the microphone, “Next flight to Hawaii in 5 minutes.”
Anna was full of hope that she would find her friends. Five minutes later, Anna was starting to board her flight. She gave her tickets to the lady, and went down the hall to the entrance of the plane. She was too hopeful and worried that she didn’t eat or drink anything. The plane took off and Anna, really tired, fell asleep. Back in Hawaii, Jeremy was feeling normal again and they weren’t really hungry so they didn’t have dinner that night. After a good sleep, they all went downstairs to get some breakfast. Elizabeth and Luis had some oatmeal and Jeremy and Dorothy had an omelet. Micah and Valerie had some hash browns with toast on the side. After breakfast, they got dressed and ready for the day. As soon as they got outside, a Chinese man grabbed Elizabeth’s arm and everybody gasped.
“Help! Help! A kidnapper!” yelled Luis.
“Take it easy.” Said the Chinese man. “I am Lin Yu Chun. I have come to be your guardian.”
He let go of Elizabeth’s arm and the kids looked a little bit confused. They were just all silent except for Elizabeth.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I will explain later. Where are we going?”
“For a walk around the beach.” Answered Elizabeth.
“ Oh, great!” exclaimed Lin Yu Chun, “I love morning walks!”
All 8 of them walked around the beach, when they were supposed to be up in the hotel relaxing. Micah got a little tear in his eye when the sand stung the blister on his foot, but he didn’t cry. For some reason, Jeremy had a big grin on his face. The kids couldn’t possibly see anything great about this guy. They didn’t want an adult ruining the fun of Hawaii.
When they got back to the hotel, Lin Yu Chun said, “I am going to get a snack. You go to the hotel room.”
When they got back to the room, Valerie asked Jeremy, “Why are you so happy?”
“Don’t you see what we can do with this Chinese guy? We could get him to pay the hotel bill.”
Jeremy grinned. Elizabeth started to worry with angina.
Valerie asked back, “How much does the hotel bill cost?”
“19,000 dollars.” Answered Jeremy.
“How is he going to get us that much money?” asked Valerie, surprised with the cost.
“Good point, I guess we will just have to give him a reason to.” Said Jeremy, thinking for a reason.
Valerie rolled her eyes and just sat on the couch and watched TV. 5 minutes later, Lin Yu Chun was knocking on the door. Elizabeth opened it and saw him eating a sugar donut.
He said, “I would like all of you to go outside and go to the park. Then I want you to come back inside and clean your rooms.”
The kids ignored him a bit.
Then he said, “Chop, chop. You heard me.”
“Fine.” Said the kids, acting very tired.
They went out the door, down the stairs, out the front door, and into the playground. After playing for 10 minutes, they went in the front door, up the stairs, into the door, and into their rooms. It took an hour for them to clean. The kids were so tired. It hurt their back when they bent down to pick up something since they were tired.
After they were done cleaning, Jeremy went up to Lin Yu Chun and said, “Hey, Lin Yu Chun, can you pay our hotel bill for us?”
“Well what do you think guardians are for?” said Lin Yu Chun. “How much is the hotel bill?” he asked.
“19,000 dollars.” Answered Jeremy. His face looked kind of nervous.
“Oh, well that is a cheap price for a hotel bill.”
Jeremy looked kind of confused. What Chinese man from Hawaii thinks 19,000 dollars is cheap. But he was the only Chinese man in Hawaii. Jeremy just turned around and went downstairs to get a smoothie without permission. Luis and Micah were playing tic-tac-toe in the corner of the room. Elizabeth, Dorothy, and Jezebel were watching TV while Valerie was checking her email. Then the day just continued to be a regular day. Back at the plane, Anna was still awake, full of hope. It was 20 minutes until the plane landed. Anna was starving and thirsty but she didn’t dare eat or drink anything.
10 minutes later, a lady from the plane came by and asked Anna if she was OK. Anna answered, “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you don’t need any beverage of some sort. You look dehydrated.”
“I’m really good.” she answered.
“Well, alright.” answered the flight lady.
Soon, the flight landed, and Anna stepped out the plane and found Elizabeth’s doll sitting on a chair in the airport! Anna grabbed it and ran out to catch a ride. Back in Hawaii, Dorothy and Elizabeth were looking online to see how to make 19,000 dollars.
Jeremy came in and asked, “What are you guys doing?”
“Looking how to make money.” they answered.
“Guys, I asked Lin Yu Chun if he would give us the money and he says yes.”
“Yeah, well he might change his mind.” they said.
“Fine, go on with your little money-making business.” And then he went out of the room.
Later, Lin Yu Chun came in the room.
“What are you girls doing?” he asked.
“Looking how to make money.”
“Girls, girls, do not worry about the hotel bill. I’ve got it all taken care of.”
“Really, OK fine. We will stop.”
And the girls shut the computer and walked out of the room. Lin Yu Chun opened up to the computer and went to the website to get some money. He was very poor. He lied to the kids to make them happy. He really didn’t have 19,000 dollars. Jeremy walked down the hallway and saw Lin Yu Chun trying to find some money. Jeremy wasn’t surprised. He knew that a Chinese man in Hawaii couldn’t have that much money. He just grinned and walked away and didn’t tell anybody. The next day, Lin Yu Chun was very strict about the kids waking up early. This was confusing. Since 2 days ago he was very nice. Now he only yelled at the kids. Micah was getting a little bit sad of the Lin Yu Chun. He just didn’t talk and did what he said. He knew this was a dream. Elizabeth wasn’t confused at all. She was very angry. Jeremy was silent. He knew how Lin Yu Chun was angry. He had caught a glimpse of him when he looked at him on the computer. Jeremy was just smiling and giggling at everything he said.
After breakfast, Elizabeth got up and said madly, “What is your problem. Yesterday and the day before you were fine. Now, did you forget to take your medication or something?”
“Stop talking!” he yelled.
Elizabeth turned around and walked to Jeremy. “Why is he so mean now?” she asked.
“It’s a secret.” whispered Jeremy.
Lin Yu Chun didn’t give them any baths or let them watch TV. He didn’t give them any lunch or dinner and they went to bed starving. Back at the airport, Anna was trying to catch a ride. She held on to Elizabeth’s doll very tight. Soon, instead of a van, a white Rolls-Royse pulled up to the side of the parking lot. Anna jumped in. Anna told the driver to go to the Marriot Hotel and drive as quickly as he could. It took a half an hour to get to the Marriot Hotel, including the time they stopped at red lights. When they stopped, Anna yanked the door open, paid the driver really quickly, and ran toward the hotel. She opened the front door, walked into the hotel, and said that the people who lived in room 234 paid for her. She just picked the easiest number she could think of for the room. She told her to go to the 2nd floor and the 34th room. She was calming down a bit after catching her breath and running a bit slower. Finally, Anna got to room 234. She knocked on the door and Lin Yu Chun opened it.
“Who are you?” she asked, looking surprised.
“I am Lin Yu Chun. Are you looking for somebody?”
“Yes.” she answered. “I am looking for 7 kids that might live here.” Anna said, hoping that they lived here.
“Oh yes, come in.”
Anna came in and saw all her friends sitting on the couch.
“Hi guys!” she said, happy to see them.
Elizabeth ran up to Anna and said, “Anna, is that you?”
“Yes it is, oh, and guess what I got you.”
“What?” she asked.
“Your doll!”
“What?! Well where did you find it?” asked Elizabeth.
“ I found it at the airport!” answered Anna.
“Wow!” said Elizabeth.
Then Elizabeth saw Lin Yu Chun on the computer.
Jeremy saw too and said, “Got you.”
And he pressed a button on a remote that opened the ceiling and a big net fell out and caught Lin Yu Chun.
“You never had the money to pay our hotel bill. You tried to make us happy. You were a scam. I know all this because I saw you on the computer trying to earn some money.” said Jeremy.
“Dorothy, call the cops.” he said.
Dorothy grabbed the phone and dialed 911 and told the cops everything. Soon, the cops arrived and arrested Lin Yu Chun. The cops were so nice that they paid the hotel bill. Now, that all the kid’s troubles were gone, they all decided to go back to New Orleans. They took a flight back and returned to their grandma and ate all the chocolate chip cookies that she had gotten them. Their grandma was so happy! Their life was clear of problems and they lived a happy life.
