Page 46 of Be A Detective, They Said. It’ll Be Fun, They Said

While we walked toward this secret passage, Marty mused out loud, “Hey, Wanda? Do you remember when Nina made fun of us for having Aqua Net in our purses?”

I chuckled, wincing at the small stab of pain in my ribs. “Why, yes, Marty. I do. Didn’t she call us vain girly-girls?”

Nina knocked shoulders with me. “Fine. Gen X to the rescue, but holy shit, Batman, the big news? Aliens are real. You kicked an alien’s ass.”

“We kicked an alien’s ass,” I reminded her, my legs already tired and my ankle aching from the walk down the long hallway.

“A fucking alien!” Nina repeated, wonder and awe in her voice. “How’d you know fire would kill him?”

“Are you ready for this? Alien. I saw it in the movie Alien. Part three, I think. I didn’t know if it would work, but I guess I got lucky.”

“Huh,” Nina said on a chuckle. “Sigourney Weaver and a can of Aqua Net saved the day. Who fucking knew?”

Marty stopped walking for a moment. “You know, if Bigfoot is real, and aliens are real, does that mean Santa Claus is real, too? Because I have some pressing questions about a Barbie Dream House and a Crissy doll I never received for Christmas, thank you very much.”

I tapped her arm, grinning. “Do you mean the Crissy doll that grew hair? Ooooh, I wanted one of those, too!”

Marty nodded with a fond smile. “Uh-huh. Remember, you pulled her hair out of the top of her head?”

“I do!” I squealed.

Nina grunted at us. “Barbie? How unsurprising and predictable.”

“Oh, shut up, Nina,” Marty chirped. “Not everyone wanted GI Joe with the kung fu grip.”

“Hah! Shows what the fuck you know. It was Stretch Armstrong for me. You could stretch that motherfluffer almost five damn feet.”

We both stopped and stared at her for a moment, aghast, before Marty innocently asked, “But here’s the most important question of all—could you braid Stretch’s hair?”

And much laughter was heard.

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