You Can't Come in Here! by P.J. Night

“Even the birds don’t set their alarm clocks for this early.”
    Over breakfast, Emily ran through the checklist ofstuff she had to do that day. “Let’s see—decorate the home theater, set up trays and bowls for munchies, go with Mom to pick up the pizza and ice cream.”
    Emily’s mom drove her to several stores. By the time they got back, Hannah and Ethan had shown up to help with the preparations.
    â€œI am so excited that this is really happening!” Hannah cried, hugging Emily.
    â€œSo we have to turn this house into a jungle?” Ethan asked as he stepped inside and looked around.
    â€œNot a jungle, Ethan,” Emily said, giving him a hug. He returned a halfhearted pat on Emily’s back. “A forest. And not the whole house, just the home theater downstairs.”
    â€œHello, Hannah, Ethan!” Emily’s mom said, stepping into the entryway. “Thank you so much for coming over to help Emily.”
    â€œNo problem, Mrs. Hunter,” Hannah said. “The three of us cooked up this idea together, and we’re going to see it through as a team.”
    â€œI came up with an idea for eating really gross food,” Ethan said proudly. Then his expression soured. “But the girls voted it down.”
    â€œThat’s a shame, Ethan,” Emily’s dad said, joining the group. “I know that’s always my favorite part of camping out.”
    â€œWhen did you ever camp out, Dad?” Emily asked skeptically.
    â€œOne time in college, when I locked my keys in my car and had to spend the night in a parking lot,” Mr. Hunter said defensively.
    â€œThat’s what I figured,” Emily said, heading for the door leading down to the basement. “We’ve got work to do! See ya later, Dad.”
    â€œHave fun making your jungle,” Mr. Hunter said.
    â€œDad! It’s a forest!”
    Hannah and Ethan followed Emily downstairs and they got right to work. In keeping with the theme of camping out, they took branches from trees that had recently been trimmed and hung them from the ceiling with clear fishing wire. They placed a few large potted plants around the room to act as the bushes. Emily then placed her collection of stuffed animals in and around the potted plants. The indoor wildlife included assorted bunnies, cats, and a polar bear.
    â€œSo, give me the details of what happened with Drewand Vicky,” Hannah said as she carefully placed a stuffed cougar into a tall plant to make it look as if the cougar was hiding as it stalked its prey.
    â€œYou know, Hannah, I don’t really know,” Emily said, feeling bad about continuing her fib. Maybe one day she would tell her friends the whole story. Or maybe not. What she did know was that if she told the whole story to them now, it would be all they could think about, and that would ruin the party for them. “I think it has a lot to do with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Strig refused to allow Drew and Vicky to come to the party. They had no interest in meeting my mom and dad. But the thing that made me realize that Drew and Vicky were just not worth all the trouble was the fact that they couldn’t have cared less that they wouldn’t be coming to the party. In fact, it seemed to me that they didn’t care about whether or not we were even friends.”
    â€œAnd who needs friends like that?” Ethan added as he placed the stuffed polar bear on the couch. “Especially when you have great friends like us who come over and help you set up a forest—er, complete with a polar bear.”
    Emily giggled. “Thanks, Ethan,” she said. “You guysare real friends. You’d never do anything to make me feel bad.”
    A short while later the decorating was all finished.
    â€œThis looks amazing!” Emily said, glancing around her former home theater and current private campground. “Thank you, guys, so much for