“They aren’t that shiny.”

“…they would look at me and laugh. Not a funny ha-ha laugh, either. It would be one of those laughs that you make when you’re really sad.”

“They’ll never allow it,” Lola said.

“Of course not,” Scarlett said. “We don’t tell them.”

Spencer and Lola looked at each other.

“We did this already,” he said. “In the basement? Remember how it didn’t work? Remember how we got caught? I think if we did it in the lobby, right in front of them, they might notice even more quickly.”

“They aren’t going to be here,” Scarlett said, quickly grabbing the side of Lola’s dresser as it suddenly realized that it was horribly off-balance.

“Where are they going to be?” Lola asked. “They never go anywhere.”

“They’re going to be on vacation,” Scarlett said, shoving one of her sneakers under the short leg.

Spencer was intrigued by this point.

“Vacation?” he said. “Where did you have in mind? Florida? The Alps? Grand Canyon?”

“Nope.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll bite. Where?”

She turned to Lola with a toothpastey smile all of her own.

“Remember how you owe me?” she asked.

The door to the Orchid Suite creaked open, and Marlene poked her head in.

“Oh, Mar…” Lola said. “Now isn’t…”

“I invited her,” Scarlett said.

Marlene proudly took a seat next to Lola. Spencer tried not to look alarmed by this turn of events, and failed miserably.

“This is a big favor,” Scarlett said. “And it involves both you, Lola, and you, Marlene. We need to get Mom and Dad out for a solid twelve hours or more. And the only way I can think to do that is to put them in or on something that they can’t get back from. Like a boat…”

“Chip has a boat,” Marlene said, catching on immediately. “He said he would take me on it.”

“The good ship Chipster,” Spencer said.

“You’re not serious,” Lola replied.

“You wouldn’t have to go,” Scarlett said.

“Well, why else would he take Marlene? And Mom and Dad for that matter?”

“She’s got a point,” Spencer said. “But you love boats, Lo!”

“I actually hate boats. They make me ill.”

“Love, hate…” Spencer said. “Interconnected emotions.”

“And you haven’t puked on a boat since you were twelve,” Scarlett added. “It was on the Circle Line.”

“I remember,” Lola said grimly.

“Chip has a nice boat. Fancy boat,” Spencer went on. “And he did promise Marlene a ride.”

“This is my ex-boyfriend we’re talking about,” she said.

“I know,” Scarlett said. “It’s asking a lot. I’m not asking you to get back together with him…”

“She’s definitely not asking that…” Spencer cut in.

“This is just asking him to take a little boat ride,” Scarlett finished.

“You mean you want me to use him.”

“Stop it,” Spencer said. “You’re making me love you more.”

“Look,” Lola said, squaring off to Spencer, “just because I broke up with him doesn’t mean you can still be mean.”

“Mean? When have I ever been mean?”