Fay had two strong but competing instincts. The first was to lead Yellow Tooth and his mangy band as far from her house and family as she possibly could, like a bird drawing a predator away from its nest. On the other hand, if she were a spider she\u2019d trap them in her web. Where else but in her own house did she know the territory so well?<\/p>\n
\n\tFay felt more like a spider than a bird, so at the crossroads of Hogan and Clover Streets, she took a speedy right, heading straight for the yellow bungalow at the end of the block.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe paused before stepping onto the front porch and turned around with a dramatic flourish.
\n\t\u201cThis is the home of Lyle LaFarge,\u201d she announced importantly. \u201cCreator of the the toasty-oat goodness of Jolly Rogers, and the spicy crunch of Cinnamon Rogers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWho cares about him Toots,\u201d hooted Scratchy, \u201cwhere\u2019s the vittles?\u201d The other pirates jeered in agreement.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNaturally,\u201d Fay continued, ignoring the interruption, \u201cMr. LaFarge is constantly working to improve the crunchy goodness of Jolly Rogers cereal, so naturally, he has plenty of boxes on hand to experiment with.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe want FOOD!\u201d yelled Larko, from the back of the jostling pirate mob.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat I\u2019m about to give you is better than food,\u201d said Fay, trying hard not to look at Barnaby lest he be encouraged to open his mouth. She did not need interference from Hootsman as she set the stage for her spiderweb.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think you\u2019ve flapped yer\u2019 mouth for long enough Missy,\u201d growled Yellow Tooth. \u201cTime to show what yer\u2019 good for. Whar\u2019 be the Jolly Rogers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIf you\u2019ll follow me inside quietly,\u201d said Fay. \u201cBecause if Mr. LaFarge is adding just the right amount of crunch, or just the right touch of cinnamon…you don\u2019t want to mess him up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis oughta\u2019 be good,\u201d said Barnaby with a smirk. \u201cWhat\u2019s today\u2019s special flavor? Snail snot?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFay turned and glared at him, her finger pointed accusatorially. \u201cIT just might be,\u201d she said, \u201cif we throw off his concentration with comments like that Hootsman. But I want to feed my mates right!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFay entered the house in an exaggerated tiptoe, followed by Barnaby who mimicked her step, his face contorted by a goony grin. To Fay\u2019s great amazement the pirates followed without their usual rude clamor, until someone shrieked.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt was Tilly, who was standing in the kitchen doorway with Lynette on her hip.
\n\t\u201cI knew it was true!\u201d said Tilly accusingly. \u201cYou did join the pirates!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAw, we already knew that,\u201d said Skipper, switching on the television. \u201cLook at this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tOn the screen a reporter, standing in front of Fipple\u2019s Florist, poked her microphone at Judy Fipple\u2019s father Horace Fipple. \n\t\u201cChildren joining criminal gangs?\u201d<\/em> answered Mr. Fipple. \u201cThis behavior is completely inappropriate. My daughter would never do that. I\u2019d question the child-rearing methods of those parents. Yes I would…oh…and we\u2019re running a special on petunias–two for one low price!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSee?\u201d said Skipper. \u201cNow you\u2019re in really big trouble. Mom and Dad already got called to school to talk about you using Mr. Squibbly\u2019s intercom without permission or something.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFay!\u201d scolded Tilly. \u201cHow could you bring them here? They\u2019re so not hot!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe twelve pirates turned toward Tilly as a group and said \u201cRrrrrrrrg!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cUggy yuck!\u201d said Lynette.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFOOD!\u201d yelled the pirates, who were shoving each other, and completely filled the LaFarge\u2019s living room.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was just getting to that,\u201d replied Fay. \u201cSkipper, you know where Dad keeps the special boxes of Jolly Rogers?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSkipper looked a little confused. \u201cThe special boxes?\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe special<\/em> ones,\u201d repeated Fay. \u201cThe ones Dad makes extra delicious<\/em> with his flavor testing kit?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOh yeah, the flavor testing kit we\u2019re not allowed to touch,\u201d said Skipper with a growing smile. \u201cThe extra delicious<\/em> Jolly Rogers. They\u2019re in the basement.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d said Fay. \u201cRight next to the flavor testing kit.<\/em> Would you check just to make sure they really are extra<\/em> delicious?\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou bet,\u201d said Skipper. He disappeared down the stairs.<\/p>\n \n\tYellow Tooth focused a narrow gaze on Fay. \u201cI hope,\u201d he said ominously, \u201cyou\u2019re plannin\u2019 to feed us missy. And soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFOOD!\u201d yelled the other pirates.<\/p>\n \n\tSeveral minutes later, Skipper\u2019s voice rang from below. \u201cYum! This cereal is EXTRA delicious!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMaties,\u201d said Fay, \u201cLet\u2019s chow down.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fay had two strong but competing instincts. The first was to lead Yellow Tooth and his mangy band as far from her house and family as she possibly could, like a bird drawing a predator away from its nest. On the other hand, if she were a spider she\u2019d trap them in her web. Where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":193,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192\/revisions\/193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\t\u201cWhat\u2019s your reaction to reports that the outlaws have recruited local schoolchildren into their ranks?\u201d<\/em> asked the reporter.<\/p>\n