Hollowbush Mystery Players

WELCOME TO HOLLOWBUSH

Laughing, he writes across it, “To my friend Brownie. From your partner, Nicholas Nichols.”

As the audience applauds, Nicholas Nichols and his cast mates take their bows. They have just finished performing the annual play that the drama club puts on to mark the end of the school year. The curtain unfolds and slowly falls to the floor. The cast members proudly congratulate each other for a job well done. It is chaos as everyone scatters off in different directions, eager to begin the summer break. It has been a long academic year, and they all have worked hard. A few months free of homework and vacations to take is all that matters now. After arriving home, Nicholas is busy finishing up packing for his big day tomorrow. He will be spending the summer with his great-aunt and -uncle in Hollowbush, Pennsylvania. They write a lot and talk on the phone, but he doesn’t see them that often since his parents, Bill and Donna Nichols, moved the family to Ohio for a job advancement for his father. “There, that’s the last of it. I’m done,” Nicholas confidently proclaims as he slams shut the suitcase.

Acting a little skeptical, his mother says, “You might want to double-check and make sure. It seems like that was pretty quick.”

Rolling his eyes, he says, “Mom, relax, I have everything under control.” The following morning Nicholas springs up out of bed at the sound of the alarm going off. He gets dressed, runs a comb quickly through his dark, wavy hair and races to the kitchen, where Donna is sipping on a cup of coffee.

“We will have to leave soon to allow time to check-in before the bus leaves. Now are you sure that you have everything?”

In between his crunching spoonfuls of cereal, he says, “Mom, I told you the packing is taken care of, no problem.” The phone rings. It is his father wanting to talk to Nicholas. Donna hands it to him and motions to Nicholas that she is going to start loading the car and will be wanting to get going shortly. He speaks for a couple of minutes, and after hanging up, goes to get his things. The car horn beeps. He looks out the window and sees his mother backing out of the garage. The kitchen door swings open, and he wheels out his luggage, heading for the trunk.

“Do you need help with that?” Donna yells from inside the vehicle.

“No, I’ve got it.” The lid closes and he slides into the front seat. They begin to pull out of the driveway. “Mom, stop!” he says. “I forgot my book to read on the bus.” His mom puts the breaks on, and they sit still for a moment as she turns and looks at Nicholas with surprise.

“I’m all ready, huh?” she says. “Everything is under control, no problem.”

Hating the fact that he did this, he says, “Okay, okay, don’t rub it in.”

She laughs as he rushes back into the house. They arrive at the bus station and proceed inside to check Nicholas in at the front counter. The lady takes his bags, places them on a cart, stamps his ticket, and points to the door that leads to the waiting buses. Donna walks out to see him off, and after finding the correct bus, she kisses his cheek and reminds him to call when he gets there. Nicholas waves as he steps up into the bus, turning toward the driver to hand in his ticket. The man punches a hole in it and gives it back to Nicholas.

“You’re all set, young man, seat number one, right behind me. Enjoy the ride.” Smiling, Nicholas puts the ticket inside a pocket on his backpack.