Secret-S Society

The clock struck 9:31 pm

Everyone of the 4  members of the Secret-S Society sat nervously in their seats.

They were in an old storage room on the ground floor of the HomeAway Residence.

They had been meeting in this fashion for over six months now without a hiccup. Something was up.

“I knew this was a bad idea from the start.” John said throwing an invisible curve ball against the opposite wall to him. John was a retired first baseman for the Platinum Backs.

“Be patient John. We ain’t tryina steal bases here. I am sure they will be here anytime now.” Lerret said blowing on a fresh coat of polish on her pinky finger. Lerret was John’s twin sister; and his antagonizer.

“Well they better get here soon or they’re both out!” Susan snapped. Susan was the time-keeper, secretary, sergeant at arms- and whatever other title holder there was  that no one would readily claim. She wrote something frantically inside her ledger.

“It’s only been a minute. I bet they…” Nan started but was cut off.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. It wasn’t an ordinary knock. No. it was a series of five rasps that made a rhythmical tune.

“It’s them!” John said jumping from his seat and running to the door.

“Who goes there?” he asked.

“The bald eagle with it’s prey.” Came a croaky voice from the other side.

A big grin spread across John’s face; not so much for the response, mind you, but simply because he loved the door game.

The door opened and Mitchell stepped in. He wasn’t alone.

“This is Daniel everyone.” Mitch proclaimed beaming. Mitchell was the goffer-guy. He ran the errands and brought back the reports.

He had a noticeable bald plate which he felt gave him the esteem and agility of a bald eagle.

John, Susan, Lerret and Nan all looked the stranger over from head to toe. He was new. They had noticed him in the corridors and the TV hall all week but this was the first up-close encounter.

Daniel wasn’t tall but he wasn’t short either. He had thick salt and pepper curly hair that protruded from the back and sides of a cap he pulled low over his forehead. He wore baggy clothes and stood with hands stuck deep in his pockets.

“Welcome Daniel.” Nan finally said. Nan was the president of the Society-S. She was older than all the others in the room but no one could tell. She had dyed her hair black since her 40^th birthday and it was rumored that she never had a gray hair follicle because she simply never gave one the chance to develop. She also had a few body jobs and she insisted on wearing heels everywhere, even to bed.

Daniel looked them all over too; then he nodded.

“Did you bring it?” Susan asked now addressing Mitchell.

“Of course I did.” Mitchell almost snapped.

“What took you so long? You’re two minutes off clock.” Lerret asked still blowing her nail polish dry. Lerret was a retired movie star- or so she often bragged. It was true that she had made appearances in several television commercials but it was usually her hands or torso that was used to advertise the products. That did not stop Lerret from having photo shoots and glamor pages designed to high light her fame.

“The che.. che..chef moved the Almonds to the b..b.. back of the pantry. I didn’t know. I had to..ttt..to look harder for them. Then…” Mitchell tried to explain. He stammered profusely when he was being accosted.

“What do you need almonds for? It’s not like you have teeth.” Daniel said.

“That’s why we soak them in milk for an hour or two silly. Where? Where did you guys get him from? I have doubts already?” Lerret said blowing on another nail.

Daniel was unperturbed.

“That’s enough everyone. Shall we please sit and get this meeting going then?” Nan said trying to bring some order to the room.

Everyone shuffled into their seats. Daniel noted there were two seats available; one beside Lerret and the other beside Nan. He took the seat beside Nan.

“I now call this meeting to order.” Nan said sharply tapping a gavel on the table top in the center of the seated society members.

Daniel’s eyes narrowed and fixated on the gavel; it was plastic.

“Seriously?” he asked.

“My grandson brought it for me and I am not one to turn my nose up at a gift…and well, it’s functional and…” Nan tried to explain.

“We get it. Can we move on?” John said. He was on the edge of his seat about to throw another curve ball. Lerret gave him a look that made him change his mind. Still he fidgeted in his seat.

“Let’s move it along.” Susan said with an exasperated sigh.

Mitchell had laid the tray with the milk soaked almond and he was dipping for the first one.

“Why didn’t you bring spoons idiot?” Lerret asked rolling her eyes at his thoughtlessness. It wasn’t the first time he had forgotten. Mitchell was often accosted for his memory- or rather lack of it.

“Ahem…” Nan cleared her throat with extra effort. “We have called this special meeting of the S-Secret Society to determine the eligibility of our new potential member. We will…”

“Wait! Who said I want to be a part of your secrets society?” Daniel suddenly said.

“Secrets? It’s Secret-S, thank you very much. This clearly is not a good fit.” Lerret scoffed and started a new layer of pink nail polish on her nails.

“Why the extra S?” Daniel asked. He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t really care but curiosity still snipped at him.

“Secret.” John said

“I mean the ‘S’ after Secret.” Daniel said getting visibly annoyed now.

“The ‘S’ is for Secret. It’s a Secret- Secret Society. You Imbecile.” Susan said rolling her eyes and forming fists with her hands.

“Yall ain’t serious.” Daniel said. “Looks like it’s time for me to go.” He said getting up.

“Wait a minute! Just wait. We haven’t even called the meeting to order yet. You don’t even know what it’s all about yet.” Nan pleaded.

Daniel looked at Nan. There was something well-meaning in her eyes. Despite the feelings-or rather lack of them, that was developing for the others.

He said down-reluctantly.

“Let’s go over this month’s activities then.” Nan said. Hoping this time they could make some progress.

Susan cleared her throat. Flipped the pages of her journal with much flair.

“Ahem. So, for the past three months Gunter Riley in room 204 has been rather sad and depressed. He has missed the Tuesday throw-back tango lessons that he loves so much and has been declining his favorite choco pudding desert for nearly three weeks now.”

“What was the diagnosis? Nan asked.

“It seems his family had been unable to visit him for over three months now. It seems Gunter’s son lost his job and the family was bogged down in bills and preparing for a long move. They were afraid they could no longer afford the HomeAway fee for Gunter. They didn’t want him to know. Seems to be taking a toll on the bugger.” Lerret said applying a fresh coat of polish.

“And how was the situation resolved?” Nan asked.

“Well you see, you see…” John started excitedly, “I was able to call up a few of my buddies from the Platinum Backs, one of them has a lumber business and they’re looking to hire. We got Gunter’s son all hooked up. Family doesn’t have to move; Gunter gets to stay.” John completed with another invisible ball pitch. “Home run! ” He shouted.

“SSHhhh you idiot!” Lerret shouted at him.

Daniel looked from Lerret to John then to Nan. He was about to get up again but Nan motioned to Susan to carry on.

“Ahem. Sophia Styles in room 210 has been so depressed she hasn’t left her bed in fourteen days. The bed sores are starting to set in.” Susan completed.

“What was the diagnosis? Nan asked

“She had an accident with her favorite vase. It fell and broke while she was transplanting a new row of flowers on her ledger garden. She took it real hard.”

“And how was the situation resolved?” Nan asked.

“Well, I studied art as a minor to Agriculture. So I had some good ideas about mosaics. I showed Sophia how she could patch up that old vase and give it and her garden a new personality.” Mitchell said smiling. He reached for another milk soaked almond. Lerret turned her nose up.

Daniel wasn’t trying to get up again but his face was expressionless.

Nan urged Susan to carry on.

“Ahem. Ms. Green in room 299 has been in a hysterical way for the past two months. She has been accused of stealing from the kitchen the evidence being pies, cakes and cookies found in hidden spots in her room. She denies it vehemently.”

“What was the diagnosis? Nan asked

“Well, Ms. Greene has a sweet problem- pun intended.” John said standing and doing a dance to high light his wit. He stopped when he saw the look in Lerret’s eye. “ But she is a diabetic so they aren’t the best thing for her. It seems she has been sleep walking at night and …well, stealing and stashing.” John said.

“And how was the situation resolved?” Nan asked.

“I had a chat with the chef. We ordered some diabetic recipe books and now Ms. Greene doesn’t have to feel guilty anymore. She can enjoy all her favorites now.” Mitchell smiled.

Everyone smiled. There was a silence in the room-brief silence.

“I don’t get it.” Daniel finally said.

“What part exactly?” Nan asked.

“Why the 2 ‘S’s in the name? Why is it a secret –Secret Society?”

Everyone starred at Daniel.

“Strike out huh?” John said.

“I told you.” Lerret said waving a hand in the air to encourage the polish to dry.

“Did you hear a word we said?” Susan asked in a very flustered tone.

“Wha..what’s y..your problem m..mm…man?” Mitchell stuttered.

Nan was quiet. She didn’t understand what was happening.

“Man, are you daft?” Susan couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Gunter was missing his family. We helped them sort out their problem so they could be together. Sophia broke a vase that she loved and that made her depressed. We showed her how to turn that broken vase into a mosaic and now she has a new hobby-and she is happy. Ms. Greene was subconsciously tormented because she could not enjoy her favorite treats. We found a way for her to enjoy them once again.” Susan was huffing now and just short of snorting fire from her nostrils.

“We are a secret group of people that do Secret things to make life better and more pleasant for our fellow residents here at HomeAway.” Susan heaved the last words through clenched teeth.

Daniel folded his arms and took in a deep breath. He looked from John to Lerret to Mitchell and lingered on Susan before finally resting his attention on Nan.

“Ok, I’m in.”

The End