His First Ever YaYa Sisterhood Slumber Party
The Real Reason Erik Just Had to Kill Joseph Bouquet

by Steven Pentecost

I watched from behind a screen-covered hidden passage. There they were. The ballerinas in the dormitory having their first ever YaYa sisterhood slumber party and things were about to go all wrong. Primarily because that no account scene shifter, Joseph Bouquet, conned the girls into inviting him on the pretense that he would be their protective adopted brother…and they so needed protecting.

Initially everyone at the affair acted nice, but when the party turned to talking about guys they wanted to date, things got all weird for Joseph. Sorelli was the subject opener - talking about Monsieur So-and-So from the past and how tall and handsome he was. Joseph immediately objected, on the grounds that the conversation was not suitable for the YaYa sisterhoods’ first ever sleep over. The girls looked at each other and then at him. Joseph thought they were supportive of his stance by the confused looks on their faces. Sorelli, one of the principle dancers in the corps de ballet and the hostess (the affair was held in her quarters), was polite and changed the conversation to other things.

Much to Joseph mistaken relief. I say mistaken because when she said the subject was changed, the little ballerinas all grumbled over the subject ever having come up in the first place. At that point, Joseph suggested they move on to pillow fighting (seeing as how he had an assured advantage in the sport), but he didn’t think they heard him because they just stared blankly at him, then asked everyone else for their ideas.

Meg suggested they paint their toenails, but again, Joseph was lost to the program, wondering who does that kind of thing at a slumber party. He jumped up and demanded they do something else, assertively mentioning that such things were just not done at these sleep over affairs. He believed he had them on his side because they shot him sharp stares that said, “We are so glad you are here to keep the party in order.”

Staring at him with a look he would never forget, La Sorelli mentioned that perhaps they should do something everyone wanted to participate in. Joseph was certain she supported his stance by the way she worded it. That’s when my sweet Christine jumped up and said gleefully, “I know, let’s do each others hair!”

For some reason Joseph couldn’t fathom, they all stared at him as if they were expecting him to object for some off-the-wall reason. Sorelli was perhaps a little over-bearing at this point, but she said that they shouldn’t do that either. Silently she lifted her finger to point at Joseph’s short thinning wisps of hair. While Joseph appreciated the effort to keep him included, she might have been more prudent to leave off the commencing laughter…which was unfortunately followed by the rest of the YaYa’s in the sisterhood.

Joseph tried once more to float the idea of a pillow fight, but again they apparently did not hear him. He was baffled as to how they could stare at him with a look of support but not hear him when he was talking directly to them. Little Jammes, the girl with the forget-me-not-eyes and rose-red cheeks, suddenly came up with the idea of sharing made-up secrets with one another. Joseph was obviously relieved. Finally an activity that he could participate in, but the activity took an unexpected abrupt halt as soon as he started talking about Jack O’Lantern faces all afire in the basements and the skeletal presence of the Phantom roaming about. Christine wisely drove the discussion off topic when she started talking about face powder compacts and eyeliners. “That stuff is good for dressing up in costume for the stage, but no defense against the Opera Ghost,” declared Joseph. His third offer for a pillow fight still received no response.

He tried to rouse one to the surface by jumping up and down on Sorelli's couch with a cushion, but all that got him was a stern warning and the mention that he would have to pay for reupholstering expenses. He glumly resigned himself to sitting back down with pillow in hand.

“We have to get this party started somehow,” he declared. “Poor Sorelli went through so much trouble to try and provide a good time for me and all you girls. I don’t want the sleep over to fail because one bad idea after another has been presented. I hate to say this, but the next time a bad idea starts out of someone’s mouth, I’ll have to take the lead and be entertainment coordinator!”

That’s when Meg stood up and said they should start talking about feelings. Joseph knew this was another bad slumber party idea, but decided to bide his time for a moment. When he saw the first tissue come out, he assumed he’d waited too long, erroneously thinking THEY WERE BORED TO TEARS!! He immediately implemented his plan and smacked Christine in the face with a pillow as she was drying her eyes with a linen handkerchief. She took to the idea quickly enough, but went a little far as she hit his jaw with a closed fist - sending him straight to the floor.

Gasping for breath, he tried to tell her she was supposed to be using a pillow. But before he could get his full wind back, several of the girls threw him out the door and into the hallway. “Hey, you jokers have locked the door with me outside in my pajamas!” His ungracious hollering grated my nerves no end. Laughing, he had the gall to knock on the door for five minutes straight. Assuming they had forgotten he was out there…or, as he ventured to ask, “Are we playing hide and go seek one?” Overall, he was up for the sport and decreed from the hallway that letting him back in would make for a decidedly better party. “Hey, I think that you’ve finally came up with a good idea for the program!” The laughter began almost immediately and he stayed locked outside.

The final straw arrived when he screamed like a shrew, “All right, I get to host the next party!!” My Punjab lasso found its new home in a mere matter of seconds.

The End

READER COMMENTS

I laughed once again at another of Mr. Pentecost's stories. I loved let's paint each other's toenails, and let's do each other's hair. So typical, but I especially liked when Joseph smacks Christine with the pillow and the return fist in his face. You got another laugh out of me. Thank you, agian.
J. M. McMahon

Steven, you and your imagination never cease to amaze me. I've never been to a sleep over and now I'm jealous.
Etienne