We watched as the police were talking to Pamela's parents. Both of our hearts were pounding like a drum. Kylie had grabbed my hand and was holding it really tight. We could barely make out what was being said. From where we were, we could clearly make out Pamela's father, and he was not happy at all for being disturbed. Pamela's father was a judge at the municipal court, and was always getting up early. I looked at my phone and was shocked. It was eleven at night. Oh man was I really in trouble I was not only missing, but I had also missed my curfew. We watched as some police officers shined their flash lights into the back yard over the fence. Now how in the world would they know to look for us at Pamela's house?
We both dared not to say a word, but to only use our friendship sign language. We knew each other so well that it was a piece of cake to understand what the other one was meaning to say out loud. Kylie pointed at Pamela's house, then motioned to the police cars, then did a shrug of her shoulders, that only meant that she was trying to figure out just like I was, as to why and how the police officers knew to come to Pamela's house. I shrugged my shoulders. Then an idea hit me. Just as soon as I heard a distinct word from one of the officers that was talking to Pamela's father, "Location" I immediately turned to my phone and sure enough in the top right corner of my screen was the icon for the location. I immediately turned off my cell phone. I took Kylie's phone from her and did the same thing.
"He..y!" I immediately put my hand over her mouth, then put my finger to my lips to signal her to be quiet. I listened very closely trying to pick up anything that was being said. One of the officers who was closer to the fence said loudly enough I guess for all the others one to hear him.
"Signal lost, no location to be reported." I watched as the other officers abandoned the search, one officer shook Pamela's fathers hand. As soon as the last police car had left, and Pamela and her parents and brother went back into the house, I was able to breathe normally. We still had to hunker down in the treehouse, because the commotion of the police officers had gotten Pamela's nosey neighbor interested, and from what we could tell, they were sitting at the window, with binoculars.
I took my hand away from Kylie's mouth realizing that I had still had her mouth covered. I still signaled for her to be really quiet. I wasn't quite sure that the coast was clear, or if they left an officer around.
Kylie looked annoyed at me, and she grabbed her phone to turn it back on. I snatched her phone from her hand.
"Give me back my phone!" she whispered shouted at me.
I looked at her in shock. She seriously had no idea how the police picked up on us being at Pamela's house so quick.
"Our phones are why they came to Pamela's house!" I whispered back.
When Kylie looked at me with more confusion, I explained to her how our cellphones can locate us.
"Well then just turn off the location." She said pointing out.
"It would be great if that is how it worked, but as long as our cellphones are on, they will alert the police to our location. We can't have our phones on at all, if we don't want to get caught." I said laying back down on the blanket.
Kylie, sighed and laid back down. We laid there listening to the sound of the insects. We both had no idea that things were going to get so out of hand.
"What do we do now? Do you think they will give up and stop searching for us?" Kylie asked breaking the silence.
I wished I could reassure her, that thigs were going to be alright, but I couldn't. I really didn't know how far they were going to go. But in my gut, I knew this was far from over. I seriously just wanted to go home. I would face whatever punishment I had coming and endure the grounding. I knew realistically we couldn't stay hidden forever. I didn't know how far Kylie wanted this to go. We were lucky that it there was a two week break from school, otherwise we would have truancy added to the growing pile of offenses. We laid there for what seemed an eternity.
All of a sudden Pamela's head popped up over the ladder. We both got startled for a bit, then relieved when we saw it was her. She brought us some milk and cookies. She climbed up the ladder and sat down handing us each a napkin with two cookies. She then poured some milk from a thermos into two cups.
"Oh, my goodness, I thought mom and dad would never go to sleep! Then the pesky neighbors and their binoculars! You wouldn't believe the night I am having."
I took a bite of cookie.
"Oh, we saw, is everything ok? What happened?"
Pamela sat back against the wall and sighed, Kylie and I waited patiently for her to tell us.
"Mom, dad, and I were sitting in the living room watching a movie, while Noah was finishing up some homework. The doorbell rang, and dad went to open it. Next thing I knew he called me to the front door. I knew it had to do with something with you two. I was so nervous. The police officer informed me and my family that they were looking for you two. They had picked up on your location and it was in the vicinity of our house, so because we go to school together, they wanted to question me. They weren't very nice about questioning me. One officer kept asking me where you were. When I said I didn't know, that we really aren't friends, so there is no reason why you would come here. He got in my face and called me a liar. Then explained to me, that they picked up your location from your cellphones, and it came from our place. Oh, you have no idea how scared I was, that they would investigate further, and find you two. But right then, another officer yelled back that the location was lost. So, they packed up and left. Father was not so happy, he interrogated me something fierce. Then Noah took me aside and told me straight up that if I have anything to do with this, he will whip me so hard, I won't sit for a week!"
Kylie and I looked at each other in shock. We had no idea that Pamela gets spanked, and by her brother.
"So, you get spanked by your brother, not your father?" I asked wiping my mouth with my napkin.
"Yeah, my father is always too busy with court cases, works late a lot. Mother doesn't believe in laying a hand on me. She knows I need spanked every now and then, but she doesn't have the heart to punish me. Noah is a straight up no nonsense person, he won't take no disobedience of any kind. I never tell anyone this, because it is so embarrassing to always be getting in trouble with my brother."
Kylie and I looked at each other smiling, then she nodded her head at me to go ahead.
"Well you are not alone in that department."
"How so?" Pamela asked me with a look of confusion on her face.
"We both, Kylie and I get spanked by our brothers, and they are very strict. That is one reason why Kylie is hiding out away from him."
Pamela looked relieved that she wasn't the only one with the strange predicament of being disciplined by her brother.
Kylie and I told her about the time that we broke the lamp, and neither of us would fess up on who did it.
She looked at us both in shock.
"You never ratted out one another?"
"Nope and boy did we get it big time." I said laughing quietly.
"The confusion on their faces was so funny! They looked so frustrated and didn't know how to react to two girls who wouldn't tell on the other one. Brandon looked like this," Kylie said while looking at us both with the most confused look, we both busted out laughing.
"I told you Kylie that they picked up on our location. We can't use our phones at all."
"Now what about the location still showing the last known place as my house? You know that as long as it continues to show my address as the last known location, they will keep coming back." Pamela said gathering up the thermos to signal that she had to leave.
I thought for a minute and realized that she was right. We needed to throw them off track. We agreed, with Kylie giving in reluctantly that we would get up at first light, walk to the park that is about two miles away, turn our phones back on, and leave them in the park. The location would show the park and not Pamela's house. When Kylie realized that her Iphone 8 was going to be left in the park, she immediately refused!
"No! Hell NO! I just got that phone! We can leave your phone in the park, but not mine!"
"You don't understand! We are both missing! If only one of our cellphones is in the park, and yours is still showing the last known location as Pamela's house, it will do no good. No we both have to put our cellphones in the park!"
Kylie glared at me.
"Or the other option is to just turn them back on right now, and turn ourselves in." I said crossing my arms, glaring back at her.
Kylie looked scared, knowing what awaited her at her house. She reluctantly agreed.
"Gee what I give up, for a spanking!"
"You know it probably wouldn't be a good idea for you two to leave the treehouse, so why don't you give me your cellphones, I will turn them on and place them in the park."
Pamela said.
I immediately agreed knowing that was a better option, I handed Pamela my cellphone and when I saw that Kylie was holding on to hers for dear life, I wrestled with her, until she gave it up and handed it to Pamela.
Kylie groaned loudly that I put my hand over her mouth.
"Shhh!" I whispered shouted.
Pamela left with the promise to bring pancakes after she disposed of our cellphones.
"I'll never see my cellphone again! I will lose all my contacts, pictures, everything, plus that was a birthday gift from my mom!"
"It is a damn piece of plastic, Kylie, now please be quiet and go to bed!"
I was getting so tired of her, and how I was giving up so much for her. She wanted to run away, but not sacrifice things for not getting caught. She made no sense to me. We were already in enough trouble, not only were we in trouble with our brothers, but also the law! And she now wanted to act like a baby?
I sighed in relief when she gave up and laid down. She wasn't the only one losing her phone. I just hoped someone finds it and turns it in. Who was I kidding, no one ever turns in phones anymore. They steal phones. I fell asleep listening to the crickets chirping.
I woke up to the sun shining on me, I rolled over and bumped into something, I opened my eyes and saw Kylie sleeping next to me. It took me a minute to realize where I was, then I remembered. Kylie cheating on test, running away, cops, Pamela, and our cellphones.
"Good morning," I jumped hearing the voice and turned around.
Pamela climbed the ladder, she had a picnic basket in one arm and a thermos in the other. I could immediately smell pancakes.
"Operation cellphones is a go." She said as she laid out our food. Kylie by now had smelled the food and woke up.
"I brought pancakes, bacon, syrup and milk and to drink. It was really hard to get out of the house. Noah has been watching me like a hawk, I don't think he is convinced that you are not here. So, lay low."
We ate in silence, feeling relieved that now our cellphones were going to indicate that we were in the park and not at Pamela's house.