"I vote for FRIDAY!" loudly spoke up Charles.
"I agree," voiced in Kyle.
"Me, too," added Kevin.
"Robert … your vote?" smiled 'dad' Ken.
"Yes, Friday, is better. That way everyone should be allowed to spend the night," agreed Robert.
"OK, which six do you invite and when are you going to tell them?" asked Mr. Ken.
"It's getting late and we need to make some calls," anxiously said Kyle.
"Who do we invite?" asked Kevin.
"Well, you guys can invite all your 6th-grade friends," replied 'Dad Ken'. "That way you'll have all twelve of your friends."
"Robert … who are you going to invite? Charles, you too!" said Mr. Ken.
But before Robert or Charles could say anything a somewhat stressed Kyle quickly spoke up and said, "We don't have their phone numbers and we don't have phones. How can we call everyone?"
Mr. Ken smiled and set his desk phone out on the front edge of his desk and told the twins to use that. Then, he pulled out a quick reference sheet with all their friends' phone numbers on it and told them to start dialing.
"Kevin or Kyle, one of you call Sam and ask him to call Terran, Dominic, and Wyatt. Then you call another lad on the list and ask them to call someone else on the list. You do that until you have all the lads contacted. Also, tell them all to let you know at school tomorrow, if they are going to spend Friday night, here. If they tell you it is too late to ask or they think their parents might not want them to spend the night ask them to have their parents call me at the house tomorrow. Now, one of you get started," explained 'Dad Ken'.
"Robert which six are you going to ask?" directly asked the man.
Robert was already on the phone as his 'dad' talked to the twins. 'Dad' Ken heard the teen tell Eric to do the recall and then get back to him. All Mr. Ken could do was laugh at the way the teenager had his friends set up on some sort of call forwarding and recall list. He thought that was ingenious.
"Charles … oh, I see you are calling a few friends. Just let me know who you ask," chuckled 'dad' Ken.
When Robert finished talking he told his 'dad' that he invited, Eric, of course, Logan, Chuck, Trevor, Brad, and Gordon.
When Charles got off the phone he told his 'dad' that he invited Camm, James, Dylan, David, Cooper, and Richard.
The twins were still making phone calls when Robert came over and asked to see their list and to show them where they left off. Robert then started making calls using his cell phone and found out what the twins problem was. It was the fact that the parents were answering the phone that late at night telling the teen their lads had never spent the night in such a large group and weren't too sure they would allow them.
Robert quickly told them to call Mr. Ken tomorrow, but, so they knew, there would be 7 – 8th graders, 7 – 7th graders and if all the twins' friends could spend the night there would be 14 – 6th graders, counting Kevin and Kyle. The parents said they would think about it and call Mr. Ken tomorrow, then they hung up. Robert continued to help the twins make the calls until all twelve lads, or their parents, were contacted
"'Dad', if Kevin and Kyle's friends can't all come, ahhh, do you think, that ahhh maybe, we could maybe add a few more of our friends?" asked Charles, with a cheeky smile.
Mr. Ken had to inwardly laugh at the pre-teen's way of getting more of his friends to the sleepover. The man told Charles that he wanted to wait until the twins and Robert had contacted all the lads on the list. A few minutes later the final phone call was made.
"'Dad Ken', we told our friends at school today that we were thinking of having a sleepover this weekend, but we didn't know which night. We told our friends to talk to their parents about it, but even still some parents weren't too keen on the idea. I think some of them will call you tomorrow," explained Kevin.
"I think Sam, Terr, Dom, and Wyatt will be able to spend the night, 'Dad'," said Kyle. "And, I think Nicholas and Blake and Grant might be able to, as well. They told us they'd let us know for sure at school. When we see the guys at school tomorrow, 'dad', what time do we tell them to come over for?"
That was a question Mr. Ken hadn't even thought of. Then, he told himself to make a note to talk to Momma Maria tomorrow, so she can have enough breakfast foods ready for him and the boys to cook for their friends the next morning. He never even thought about what to serve the kids if they came for dinner.
"To be honest with you boys … I'd not even thought about feeding your friends tomorrow night. As it is, I'm going to have to talk to Momma about snacks for all of you for tomorrow night and then the midnight snack. Then there is breakfast. What can Momma Maria concoct for your group for Saturday morning? Any of you have any ideas?" honestly asked Mr. Ken.
"'Dad' can you do the pizza thing like you did that one night?" asked Robert.
"Yeah, 'dad', maybe Momma Maria can do cupcakes for tomorrow night and we can have pretzels, chips, and dips for snacks as we skate," suggested Charles. "And maybe you need to ask her to check the soda supply."
The twins were dumbfounded at what they were hearing. They didn't realize there was so much that went into having a bunch of friends over. They took for granted the burgers and hot dogs, but they never considered that you needed lots of snacks and they'd never had a late night swim, so they never had a midnight, or after swim snack, either. This was all new to them and they were amazed they could do all this.
"Boys, it is getting late. Make sure all your homework is done and I'll make a list to talk to Momma about it in the morning. So, it looks like we could have 26 boys here tomorrow night in the ages of 11, 12 and 13. I wonder if I should ask Mr. Wayne to spend the night as well for moral support," laughed 'Dad Ken'.
"Oh, boys, what say we have your friends come over no earlier than 6:30 tomorrow night? That way we can have a quick dinner and they will have hopefully eaten, as well. If Mr. Wayne decides to spend the night I'll ask him to have dinner with us, then, too," added Mr. Ken, before the lads began to walk up the stairs.
The lads all hugged the man before they headed up to their rooms to check on their homework and then get to bed. The twins had a busy day and Kyle was still feeling his tiredness from his broken arm. As he left the Study, Kyle told Mr. Ken that he didn't want a pill, but would send Chief down if his arm started to hurt.
The lads still had their alarm clocks set for an earlier time, so when they came down for breakfast they were back on their original schedule. It was Kyle who told Momma Maria that 'Dad Ken' needed to talk to her about their sleepover that was going to happen tonight. Momma wasn't expecting to hear that, and when she learned there would be about 26 kids, she just went about her business. Mr. Ken knew her silence meant something, so he had to be prepared.
The Cover boys all headed up to the Bus Stop, but when Mr. Ken walked them to the Foyer door he felt a cool breeze and told the boys to come back and put on a light jacket. Charles began to balk, and all 'dad' told him was that if he wasn't careful he'd be wearing a hat too. All four lads came in for a light jacket. Kevin just zipped Kyle's jacket up with his arm inside and the two walked up to catch the bus.
It was late that morning when Lieutenant Matthias called Mr. Ken. The Sheriff's Lieutenant asked if he could stop by to talk to him. Mr. Ken told him anytime that morning would be good. The detective was there thirty minutes later.
"Mr. Ken," began Brandt Matthias, "The Sheriff and I talked about the Parchsons case and we decided since the crimes happened down in Bandera County we talked them into taking over this investigation. We are limited in resources and you yourself know the distance we would be traveling to conduct any type of interviews. You've talked to Bandera County Sheriff Detective Joel Carrier and he is the one who will be the contact point.
"I wanted to come over to tell you this because … well, Detective Carrier may ask you to bring the twins down there, so he can interview them himself. He wants to get his own perspective of the lads and make his own determination as to whether their stories are credible or not."
The whole time the detective was talking, Mr. Ken was getting a bad feeling in his stomach. He didn't like that this other detective was going to make him bring the twins to him when they had school and other plans already in the works. He also didn't like this attitude that the detective was going to make his own determination if what the twins said was credible, or not.
When Matthias was finished explaining what the Sheriff and he were proposing, Mr. Ken asked, "How well do you know this Detective Carrier guy?"
"He's a County Detective like I am," replied Brandt.
"Can I ask why he can't take your investigation notes and go from there? Why would he need me to bring the boys down to him when they have school and are scheduled to do a few things these coming weekends," directly asked Mr. Ken.
Brandt Matthias took a breath to get his bearings and thoughts and said, "Any detectives will want to talk to his witnesses to get the feel for their veracity. There is nothing sinister here, Mr. Ken, the man just wants to interview the boys himself, and I would have done the same things if it were me."
"OK, I can accept that, but … well, I guess I'll have to ask him to ride up here, so the twins don't have to miss any school. It would also be easier for him to drive up here than for me to have to drive them down there. Maybe Sheriff Barnes can talk to his boss and see if that could be arranged. Also, I will want to be there along with the twins' lawyer being present, during any questioning, as we did the last time," finished Mr. Ken, leaving his verbal thoughts hanging.
Lieutenant Matthias wasn't comfortable with what Mr. Ken just told him, but he knew the man to be somewhat of a force in the County and one not to be trifled with. The lieutenant said he would talk to Sheriff Barnes to ask the other Sheriff to have Detective Carrier come up there to interview the twins. The men shook hands and Mr. Ken walked Brandt out through the Foyer door. Mr. Ken went back to his Study and immediately called Bill Jackson, his lawyer, and told him about his talk with Detective Matthias.
Bill forwarded the call to Stewart, since he was there when the detectives initially interviewed the twins. Mr. Ken told the lawyer what just transpired and that he might be needed in the future. Stewart told the owner of The Cove he'd be available whenever he needed him.
Mr. Ken then made another call, but this one was to Wayne Mitchell.
"Hey, Wayne," began Mr. Ken, "How would you like to help chaperone about 30 kids tonight?"
"You've got to be kidding!" quickly replied Wayne.
"Well, this would be something like 'baptism under fire' Wayne. This way you'd get to meet all the twins' friends and get reacquainted with Robert's and Charles' friends, too. The kids will want to go swimming and with you here we both can get in the water and have some fun, as well. So … what do you say?" finished Mr. Ken.
"Ken, I do have to be at work at the new housing development by twelve noon. I work from noon until 5 PM both Saturday's and Sunday's. So, I'll need to be dressed and gone around 11:30 Saturday morning. If that will work for you, then, yes, I'll volunteer. As you said it will give me a chance to meet all the lads and see how they will accept me," replied Wayne.
"Thanks, Wayne, I'll tell Momma to set an extra plate at the dinner table tonight. Come over before six, so Momma won't get upset at your being late," laughed Mr. Ken, and then the two hung up.
Mr. Ken no sooner hung up that The Cove's phone line rang. When he answered it he found it was Amanda Kerns. The woman wanted to talk to Mr. Ken about her boy attending the sleepover. She wanted to know what the lads would be doing and if Isaac would need to bring anything. Mr. Ken told Ananda that the lads would probably ride their skateboards until it got too dark or cold and then they'd have a snack and then they'd go swimming. The swimming concerned the woman and she asked if there would be any lifeguards like he had on the weekends when the boys swam.
Mr. Ken told her that he and Wayne Mitchell would be the chaperones for the evening and would be swimming with the lads to keep an eye on them. Mr. Ken then had to explain who Wayne Mitchell was. In the end, she said she was satisfied he had things under control and would let Isaac spend the night. Mr. Ken asked the woman to bring Isaac over to the house after 6:30, that evening and for the lad to bring his sleeping bag, if he had one, his swimsuit and a change of clothes for the following day. She agreed and then the two hung up.
Ms. Jennison, Ms. Wilks, and Ms. Winnhaus also called to ask about the sleepover. They said they were happy with the arrangements Mr. Ken made for their boys for the sleepover but they wanted to make sure they got all the particulars right. Mr. Ken told the women to have their sons bring a sleeping bag, if they had one, a pillow, if they wanted, a change of clothes along with their skateboards and swimsuits. He told them he'd have snacks for the boys at night and that Momma Maria would have breakfast ready for them in the morning.
Each of the parents said they were a bit skeptical about having so many boys together sleeping over at one time, but they remembered the previous weekends when he had all of those lads over to skate and swim and this really wasn't anything different. The women also asked about the SeaWorld trip. Again, they couldn't understand why the man would want to spend all that money on kids he really didn't know or have any affiliation with. Mr. Ken told them that he was doing that for his 'boys'. He reminded the women the kids were foster boys and they came from broken homes and he wanted to make sure their time with him was memorable. The women hung up with a different understanding of the man.
Janet Stonewell was the last parent to call Mr. Ken. She told Mr. Ken she wanted to know more about Wayne. The woman told him she had talked to some of the other parents, but she wasn't satisfied with what they told her. Mr. Ken then went through who Wayne Mitchell was. He explained how he met the man and that Wayne had recently graduated from college that past spring and wanted to work for Children's Protective Services (CPS). Mr. Ken explained the man didn't have all the courses he needed to work there and was taking them at night.
The owner of The Cove also told Janet Stonewell that Wayne was going to be a semi-permanent fixture around The Cove. He explained how his business interests would be taking him away from The Cove occasionally, and he needed someone to watch over the lads while he was gone.
Mr. Ken also told her he wanted someone his 'boys' liked and respected. He told the woman that Wayne was well known by the Director of CPS and that she had no problem with him being around the lads. It was that last part that brought Janet around to allowing Nathan to attend the sleepover.
The two adults talked about the things Nathan needed to bring and Janet said she'd bring her son over around 6:30 as the man asked. Ms. Stonewell apologized to Mr. Ken if she was bit coarse with him, but she explained she wanted to make sure things were on the up-and-up with Wayne and that now she knew more about him she was happy. Mr. Ken thanked her for calling and getting the straight answers. He told the woman he'd probably see her at the Main Gate when she dropped off Nathan.
Wayne arrived at The Cove by 5 PM. The Cover lads were already home from school, had their after-school snack and were up in their rooms quickly getting their homework done, so they wouldn't have any to do over the weekend. Wayne went up the stairs to claim his en-suite and then he drifted over to the boy's bedrooms to see what they were getting into. The man knocked on Robert's door and Robert looked around to see who was there and then invited Mr. Wayne in.
"I bet you are still enjoying the best bedroom in the house," teased Mr. Wayne.
"Yep, I am, but 'dad's' bedroom is a whole lot nicer," Robert teased back.
The two talked for just a few minutes and then Wayne walked out and knocked on Charles' door and asked if he could come in. Charles said he could and the two talked for a few minutes as Charles continued to work on his assignments.
It was when Mr. Wayne was walking out and had intended to stop at the twins' bedroom that Charles told the man he probably should go with him. Charles told Mr. Wayne that the twins didn't know him, yet, and were going to be a bit reserved around him until they began to like him. Mr. Wayne said he had to agree and the two went to the twins' room.
"Knock, knock, knock," said Mr. Wayne, as he actually knocked on the door frame.
The twins turned around to look to see who was at their bedroom door, and seeing Charles with a man, they figured it was Mr. Wayne, they invited them in. Charles told the twins they met Mr. Wayne at the Picnic, but they never got to know him. The pre-teen told the brothers Mr. Wayne would be there tonight and staying until after breakfast. Charles told them they should try to get to know him while he was here.
Kyle got up and introduced himself to Mr. Wayne and shook his hand. Kevin followed suit. Mr. Wayne smiled at them both and then told them to go finish their homework and that he'd see them at dinner. Mr. Wayne and Charles walked out of the twins' room. Charles went back to his room to finish his school work and Mr. Wayne went downstairs to the Study.
"Well … I talked to the twins … for a few moments, anyway. They were doing their homework and I didn't want to interrupt them too much, but they each did shake my hand. I take that as a start," laughed Wayne.
The lads were downstairs promptly at 5:55 with their hands washed and ready to eat. When the six people walked into the Kitchen Nook for dinner Momma Maria was ready for them. She had crunchy and soft beef tacos, refried beans, rice, salsa and shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, lettuce and homemade guacamole for them to use to top their tacos. For the men, she had iced tea and for the boys, she had very cold milk.
Everyone ate at a good pace. They didn't want to eat so fast they got an upset stomach, but they ate quickly enough that they were all finished by 6:25. They all wanted to be up at the Main Gate when their sleepover friends arrived. Mr. Ken especially wanted the parents to meet the other evening's chaperone, Wayne Mitchell.
The Covers and their guest headed up to the Main Gate and no sooner had they gotten there, that one lad was already being dropped off. It was one of Robert's friends who already knew Mr. Wayne, so they were happy about that. Over the next ten minutes, or so, the rest of the kids scheduled for the sleepover had arrived.
The parents who hadn't met some of the other parents and hadn't met Wayne Mitchell got out of their vehicles in order to meet the other adults, talk and, of course, to meet Mr. Wayne, as the kids knew to call him. The parents began to walk forward to Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne and as they approached, Mr. Ken held up his hands indicating to them he wanted to talk.
"I want to thank you for allowing your sons to attend tonight's sleepover. The man you see next to me is Wayne Mitchell. He is the other chaperone for tonight. I've known Wayne ever since I first moved into Three Finger Cove and we've remained friends ever since. Many of you met Wayne at some of the parties and picnics I've had and have undoubtedly talked to him.
"For the parents of the twin's friends, I want to introduce Wayne to you. The boys call him Mr. Wayne just as they call me Mr. Ken and my Estate Manager Mr. Chris. Wayne is a recent college graduate and is taking additional courses to one day work for CPS. I also want to tell you that Wayne is also going to be my go-to man when I have to be out of town. He'll stand in for me with the boys just as Sheriff's Lieutenant Dan Fischer did this past summer as he recovered from a gunshot wound.
"Wayne will also be going with us to SeaWorld next Saturday. This sleepover will give the lads a chance to get to know Wayne, as the night moves along. Oh, by the way, I do have all the chaperones I need for the SeaWorld trip as we are calling it. Ms. Judy Turner, Dan Fischer, Dan Chassen, he's a teacher at the lads' school, Barbara and John Sullivan, Emma Foster, Frank Longger, Wayne Mitchell and, of course, myself. Frank are you out there?" called out Mr. Ken.
"Yes, Mr. Ken, I'm here," replied Frank Longger
"Frank please come up here and meet the parents of the lads you will be helping chaperone next weekend. Frank is a war veteran and has two young boys, himself. Richard, the older one, is in Charles' class and Ryan who is a 5th grader. The younger lad is also going with us next Saturday and he is taking a new friend, Brant, the youngest son of Barbara and John Sullivan. I personally think that is one of the reasons they volunteered to chaperone, so that way they can keep an eye on both their boys," finished Mr. Ken. There was lots of laughter heard from the parents.
"Parents, when you come to pick up your son's tomorrow morning, please stop in for a cup of coffee. I can give you the nickel tour, so that way you'll have an idea of what your boys tell you they have been doing when they've been over here. That way you can also picture what your son is telling you when he did this or that," laughed Mr. Ken.
Mr. Ken turned around to talk to the lads, but they were all gone. He told the parents the kids must be in hurry to get their bedrolls setup and to get out skating. The owner of The Cove thanked the parents again for letting their child spend the night and said he'd see them in the morning. Everyone went their own way.
When Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne walked down to the house, they could see some of the lads already out using the ramps, so they walked over to watch. To Mr. Ken, some of the younger lads looked a bit dismayed over the big sleepover, so he called Robert and Charles over.
"Boys … you see the younger boys … they look out of sorts. Remember, the twins have no idea what they are supposed to do and how to get their friends settled in. I want both of you to gather up the newer lads up and take them inside and get them all settled," said Mr. Ken, as he directed the older Covers what to do.
"But, 'dad'," started Charles, but he didn't get any further when 'dad' Ken held up his hand for him to stop.
"Boys, help take care of the twin's friends!" sternly said, Mr. Ken.
Robert pulled Charles away and whispered to him they are the Hosts and if they make 'dad' mad he could do something he's never done before. Charles asked his older 'brother' what that would be, but Robert said he didn't know because he never saw Mr. Ken mad. When the teen said that they both burst out laughing.
"Hey, everyone," called out Robert. "We need to set up our bedrolls for the night. The boys who've never been here before, we're going to take you inside and get your bedroll setup for tonight. I know it is early, but after we skate and then swim you'll be glad we have your beds all made up. Now follow me inside and we'll get things established."
All the lads followed Robert inside. They went down to the Great Room and Robert asked where they all wanted to sleep. The older teens said they'd like to use the Theater. The pre-teens said they'd like to be under the stairs. The twins had no idea what was going on so Robert told them they needed to pick a place for them and their friends to sleep. Both Kevin and Kyle had open mouths when Robert told them that. They had no idea what he meant.
It was Sam who went over to Robert and told him he'd take care of it. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne were up along the glass railing and Mr. Ken called down and said, "Robert will explain it to his younger 'brothers' what it all meant. He'll then help the 6th-grade lads to find a place to set up their sleeping bags."
Robert's friends had already gone to the Theater to set up and they didn't hear the tone of voice Mr. Ken had used when he told Robert he would help the 6th-grade boys. Charles was there and he didn't believe he heard his 'dad' say it the way he did. He knew he and Robert had messed up and they needed to fix it fast.
"Yes, 'dad', we'll help the twin's friends," called out Charles, who went and pulled Robert aside.
The two older 'brothers' talked quietly for a few moments and it was Robert who took over the setup duties.
"OK, this is what we usually do. We decide where we want to sleep and set up there. One time a group chose to be near the fireplace. One group took under the stairs. The others just filled in where there was space. Since my friends are going to be in the Theater that leaves lots of space out here in the Great Room for you to set settled.
"Charles and his friends already claimed the area under the stairs, so that leaves you the rest of the Great Room to choose to sleep. Just pick a place and lay out your bedroll and pillow and then leave your overnight bag there too. That way when we change to go swim you know where your swimsuit is. OK, GO! Pick a place and roll out your sleeping bag," said Robert.
Sam and Terran picked to be right next to the fireplace. Dominic and Wyatt choose to be as close to the fireplace as they could be without being in the way. Charles helped some kids move a few furniture pieces to make a big area for four or five kids to set up. Before long everyone had chosen a place. Mr. Ken was proud they got that done, but he wasn't happy he had to be stern with the older lads, since they should have known better. He and Wayne walked back into the Study.
"Robert, I've never seen 'dad' act that way," said Charles.
"I've never seen him that way either, but … I bet he'll let us know later why he acted that way. But, I bet I know the reason, Charles. We had eight new lads here tonight, and the twins had no idea what to do. It was us who should have stepped right up and helped them instead of wanting to be with our friends. Come on. Let's go enjoy being with our friends.
All the lads were outside using their skateboards when Kyle came into the Study with a very sad face. He told 'dad Ken' he didn't know what he could do to have fun. The lad began to leak some tears. Wayne watched as Mr. Ken went over to the lad and grabbed him up and hugged him. The man let the lad cry some on his shoulder and when he thought it was enough he put the boy down.
"Kyle, I think I have something you can do to have fun. You see the video camera on the tripod. What say we go out to the ramps and we tape the lads making mistakes and probably falling down? Then, later, we can watch the funniest ones. Also, when they go swimming, you can videotape them jumping off the rock platform and playing the different water games. Again, we can watch them later. You game?" explained 'Dad Ken'.
Wayne watched Mr. Ken explain the workings of the video Camera and when Kyle said he understood they walked out the Foyer door to head over to the ramps. Mr. Wayne followed. When the man and boy got there Mr. Ken set the camera and tripod up and not saying a word let Kyle begin to record some of the lads using their skateboards.
It wasn't until Kyle giggled out loud that the rest of the boys saw what he was doing. Kyle's friends walked over to him and asked him what he was doing. He showed them on the small screen some of the last skaters making mistakes. They all laughed. That brought over the older lads and they also saw on the small screen what the younger lads were laughing about. Robert just stood back knowing his idea to his 'dad' for Kyle was working out.
It was close to 8:30 PM when Robert spoke up and told everyone he thought it was getting too dark to safely skate even with the outside garage lights on. The boys all stacked their skateboards in the garage and they all walked into the Kitchen Nook for a snack. As they were eating, Chuck asked when they were going to go swimming. That brought out a chorus of, 'Yea', 'Let's go!' and 'What are we waiting for?'
Robert told the boys to stay there as he went to talk to his 'dad'. He asked the twins to follow along so they sort of know what to so the next time they have friends over.
"'Dad', when can we go swimming, and, will you and Mr. Wayne join us?" said Robert, after he was invited into the Study.
"Have all the boys had something to snack on, Robert?" asked Mr. Ken. Then getting the answer he said, "Yes, Mr. Wayne and I will be joining you."
Robert and the twins, with Chief following behind, smiled as they rushed out of the Study to meet back up with all their friends.
"Hey everybody, 'dad said we can go swimming. Let's get our suits on and swim!" called out Robert, as he entered the Kitchen Nook.
Kyle went to get the video camera and tripod and head down to the indoor pool.
Kevin had his friends get their swimsuits out of their overnight bags and follow him to the Men's Locker room. There he had them change. Some of the lads were a bit skittish about getting nude in front of all those older boys, but Sam and Terran helped them get changed without showing too much except their butts. Before long, all the kids were frolicking in the nice waters of The Cove's indoor pool. Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne weren't too far behind.
Kyle set up the video camera on the corner of the pool over near the Woman's Locker room. From there he could get a full shot of the pool and the overhanging rock platform. He knew he was going to get some good splashes of the lads jumping off of it.
Kyle videotaped the lads playing horsey, chicken, Marko Polo, and them diving for stuff on the bottom of the pool. When the lads got tired of doing that they challenged their friends to see who could make the biggest splash. That was what Kyle was really waiting for. The older boys had done that a few times already, so they knew how to go about making a big splash. The much younger kids were somewhat afraid of the height, but a few did jump off, but didn't try to make a splash.
The lads played hard and they even got Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne to play some racing games with them. Kyle got most of it on tape. When it was going on midnight, Mr. Ken told the boys to get out and ready for bed. Robert told them they can sleep in their briefs or boxers or they can put on their pajamas if they brought them.
Some of the eleven-year-olds did bring their pajamas, but when they saw that the majority of the older kids weren't using PJs they decided to see how it felt to sleep in their underwear.
When the kids were set up to sleep, it was Robert who asked, "Who wants a midnight snack?" Everyone's hands went up.
The lads all walked up the stairs and where they were met by Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne. The two adults got out two sheet cakes that Momma Maria bought at either Sam's or Costco, but the kids didn't care as they had something sweet before bed. Mr. Wayne helped cut big pieces of cake and Mr. Ken got out very cold milk to help the lads wash it down. The two adults also had a piece of cake and some milk, too.
It was almost 12:30 when Mr. Ken asked the lads to use the restrooms before getting into their bedrolls. Charles showed the eleven-year-olds the big party restroom under the stairs and told them to use it now and if they got up during the night they could use it then, too. The boys started to get settled and laughed and talked, but it was Kyle who said, "Who wants to watch some funny videos?"
Mr. Ken had set up the video camera to play back some of the big splashes on the big screen TV that Kyle recorded as the lads were swimming. The boys laughed hard and some of them laughed so hard they had tears coming out of their eyes. Mr. Ken allowed Kyle to show videos for about a half hour when the man told the boys the morning will be there sooner than they think.
The lads used the restroom one more time, and before long they were all in their sleeping bags falling asleep.
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