Then, we trooped into the house for a lunch of balogna and cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. As we were finishing, we heard a knock at the door. A minute later my mom walked into the kitchen shielding someone behind her.

          “Looks like you boys have an extra pair of helping hands.” My mom smiled and stepped to one side, revealing Charlie.

          “You guys don’t think you’re shutting me out of the club, do you?” Charlie smirked.

          “No, Charlie,” I said. “I thought you were grounded today for not picking up your room.”

          “Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But my dad let me off the hook after I cleaned it." She paused, lifting her eyes to the ceiling. "I must be crazy. I just finish cleaning my room, and I come over here to help clean some more. You guys finished feeding your faces and ready to get to work?”

          “Oh, yes,” answered my mom. “They’re all fueled up and rearin’ to go. And if these three give you a hard time, just let me know. Us girls have to stick together.”

          “Thanks, Mrs. Carr. But I think I can handle this group.” She punctuated her words by smacking her right fist into her palm.

          “I bet you can, young lady.” My mom chortled.

          With Charlie’s organized approach and extra pair of hands, we finished hauling out the rest of the junk within an hour.

          Bear started to sit down for a rest in the middle of the doorway. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” demanded Charlie.

          “We’re finished, aren’t we?” Bear asked. We all threw her puzzled looks.

          “We may be finished hauling out the trash, but that doesn’t mean this place is fit to live in. It still needs a real cleaning.” Bear rolled his eyes. “Nathan,” Charlie continued, “we need some cleaning solution, scrub brushes, and buckets of water.”

          “Aye, aye, sir.” I gave her a mock salute and retrieved what she wanted. After another hour of scrubbing and wiping, the shed finally passed the Charlie inspection.

          “Now, the gang has a clubhouse to feel proud of,” she announced. The rest of us nodded, proud of our restoration job – she did have a point about cleaning the shed. We just needed some lawn chairs to sit in and some posters on the walls for a final touch.

          Suddenly, Bear started pacing back and forth, looking in every corner of the shed. “Did anyone notice a brown, paper bag sitting in that corner?” he asked. He pointed to where he’d left his treasure trove of magazines.

          “Yeah, I did,” Charlie answered.

          “Wh-wh-what happened to it?” Bear managed to stutter, his eyes wide with concern.

          “Well, it was only part full, so I filled it up the rest of the way with trash and threw into the back of the pickup. I can find it, if you need it,” she volunteered.

          “Uh, uh, no thanks, Charlie. It was just filled with junk.” A sheepish expression covered The Bear’s face. I looked at Jason and he looked at me. It took all of our willpower to keep from rolling around the floor in laughter. Charlie’s head cocked to one side with a curious expression. She knew we were hiding something, but, to her credit, she didn’t ask any questions.

          After that, they went home, knowing we’d done a good job. Tired but happy, Charlie and Jason headed off with a spring in their steps. Bear, on the other hand, shuffled off, shaking his head at what might have been. As for me, I walked to the enclosed back porch, wiped off a couple of lawn chairs that we hadn’t used yet, and carried them to the new clubhouse. Sitting in one, with my legs propped up in the other, I admired our work, looked at the partial view of the mountain out the front door, wondering what adventures waited for us.