Atomic recess

Parents' night

"No more amazing than last year. When they went headhunting in the Amazon." Replies Gretchen.

"Or the year before that, when they went hang-gliding off of Mount Everest." Said Vince.

"You know, it's kind of strange that Spinelli's parents are always busy on parents' night." TJ said putting his sandwich down.

"That's cause she's making the whole thing up." Mikey told them.

"What?" Asked Vince.

"Well think about it, every year since kindergarten, Spinelli's came up with weirder and weirder excuses. And sometimes she can't keep her stories straight."

"No, that's ridiculous." Said TJ.

"Hey, you guys hear." Said a random third grader that came up to their table. "Spinellis mum and dad are gonna be the first parents on the space shuttle."

"See what I mean?" Mikey said after the kid left.

"But it doesn't even make any sense, I mean, why would Spinelli lie about her parents?" Asked Gretchen.

"Don't ask me, I never met 'em." Gus said, eating his sandwich.

"Neither have I!"

"Me neither." Said TJ. "The only one of us that probably has is Dede, but she always runs when we try to ask her about them."

"But TJ, you live right down the street from Spinelli." Said Vince. "How come you've never met her parents?"

"I don't know. He dads car's gone every morning before we go to school and she never even talks about her mum."

"There's something weird going on here you guys."

"Yeah, and we got to get to the bottom of it."

"But, how TJ?" Asked Gus.

"The best way is the sneaky way. A steak out."

That evening, by the time the street lights came on, the group of five can be seen dotted around Spinelli's house, Vince was hiding behind a car looking through some binoculars. "Hey, Teej, you see anything yet?" He asked into the walkie talkie.

"Negatory, Vince. How about you Gretchen?" TJ answered hiding in a dog's house.

"Nothing back here Teej." Replied Gretchen hiding behind a bush before the back door opens up. "Wait a minute, I think I see something." Gretchen then put on her night vision goggles. "A person."

"Who is it, Gretchen?"

"I can't tell from here. How about you Gus?"

"It's too dark." Gus says from up a tree. "But whoever it is, they're heading for the garage."

"Heads up, Mikey, he's coming your way." TJ warned Mikey who was hiding in a bin. When the person got to the bins and lifted the lid, it was revealed to be Spinelli as she screamed at seeing Mikey hiding there.

"Hi Spinelli." Mikey greets.

"What are you doing in there?" Spinelli demands.

"Uh...sitting?"

"Well, get out of there. And you, Gus, get out of that tree." Spinelli turned to point up at him before turning to Gretchen in the bush. "And, Gretchen, get out of that bush, and all you guys, just leave me alone, ok? Leave me alone!" Spinelli ran back into her house, slamming the door shut.

"Well, so much for the sneaky approach." TJ said as he and the others walked up to the bin Mikey was starting to climb out of. "From now on, we gotta be direct. Tomorrow after school, we're going in. Somehow, someway, we're going in."