"Damn it!" Alec exclaimed as he watched the ladder fall. He glanced at his sister. "Mind showing us where your secret entrance is to the second floor?"
Alyssa sighed and said, "There is a door leading to the balcony. It has a separate stairwell that goes down to the ground. Sorry, Dad. I use it on days when I am running late for school."
Dad nodded and smirked. "Oh yes... I've known about that one all along
. Never used it myself, because it's a bit small for me, but... I guess I'll have to now!"
The trio headed out the balcony, where Alyssa led the way down. Alec followed without much trouble; however, Dad almost got stuck when he tried to squeeze through, In the end, he managed it - but only just.
"That was a tight fit
", Dad remarked. "But now, would one of you please like to help me put the ladder back where it belongs?"
"Sure," Alec said and he put the ladder back where it belongs, while Alyssa continued through the secret entrance. She tried her hardest not to let on how amused she was by her father nearly getting stuck.
Alec on the other hand was worried this could be used against them in some way.
"Well, we might want to fasten the ladder down in some way," Dad suggested. "Does anybody have any rope or anything?"
Alec shook his head, and then Dad turned to Alyssa. "You don't have a secret stash anywhere, do you
?"
Alyssa shot him a grin and said, "Coming right up." She hurried off and returned several minutes later with the rope. "Here you go, Dad."
"Nice job, Sis," Alec said with a proud smile.
Dad was rather gobsmacked. "Okay... where did you get that from
? And, more to the point, why do you even
have rope in the first place? Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining or anything - but it's a rather odd thing for a teenager to be stashing..."
"I got it from Megan. She gave it to me after her and Jess's last pool party. She had it stashed in her barn." Alyssa said. "Her dad kept it there for emergencies."
"interesting," Alec said.
Dad was even more confused by that explanation.
"Well, maybe we should give it back to Megan's dad, whenever we can?" he suggested. "After all, it sounds like he wanted it there... who knows if he's going through an emergency tonight as well
?"
"Only if that Bitch is still harassing her," Alyssa said and chuckled.
"Lyss, do you really think Mr. Reynolds won't notice it's gone?" Alec asked her.
She shrugged. "I can give it back to her in the next few days."
"If we
survive the next few days, that is," Dad snorted. "But I guess we'd best keep positive... after all, I expect Lyss has some kind of secret five-star panic shelter that she never told us about
! Or if not, it might be time for us to build one
."