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This story follows up on the last one, as Sarah tries to give herself some hiccups. Then, while on a date with her boyfriend, she makes an exciting discovery. Also, Hannah gets one of her frequent cases, and there seem to be plenty of people around to enjoy watching them. Hope you enjoy them too! --The Author
It was a warm, beautiful Sunday afternoon, and the Beloit home was still and quiet. Mr. Beloit was at the home of Mr. Tanner, his business partner, helping him with a new deck he was building. Chris had gone out with Hannah, and Amanda had gone swimming with her friends. That left only Mrs. Beloit and Sarah in the house - Mom was ironing in the basement, while Sarah had just finished cleaning upstairs, leaving a little extra time before she had to get ready for a date with her boyfriend. At this particular moment, she was standing in the kitchen when a thought struck her.
It had been just over a week since they had been out on that trip to the city and Sarah had spent almost the entire day with a most enjoyable (for her, anyway) case of the hiccups - a case which, according to Chris, had been set off by a little unexpected seasoning in her scrambled eggs. Now, as she stood alone in the kitchen, she realized that she might actually be able to give herself the hiccups, just as Chris's little trick inadvertently had, could she only find what her brother had spiced up her food with that morning. She quickly decided it must have been his favorite hot sauce. No one else in the house, not even Dad, could stand it, but Chris would put it on practically anything. Pulling the bottle from a cabinet, she opened it and lightly sniffed at the hot red liquid within. What an odd smell it had! But was that the strange flavor she had noticed that morning last weekend? It couldn't hurt to try it, she decided, so, taking a spoon from the drawer, she started to pour a little bit of the sauce into it. Not quite sure how much to use, she didn't put much in the spoon before lifting it to her lips. After all, if it didn't work, she could always try again with more. Sarah hesitated with the spoon almost touching her tongue. What if this stuff burned her tongue or throat? She was no fan of spicy food and didn't relish the thought of drinking cup after cup of water trying to rid herself of the awful burning she feared it would produce.
"Sarah, I've got some of your clothes here," her mother's voice and approaching footsteps jolted her from her musings regarding the contents of the spoon that was already halfway into her mouth. She quickly - but carefully, not wanting to spill it - removed the sauce-filled spoon just as her mom entered the kitchen.
"What on earth are you doing?" Mrs. Beloit asked, looking at the bottle on the counter and the spoon in her daughter's hand.
"Uhhmm," Sarah hesitated, not sure what to say.
Then Mrs. Beloit remembered Chris's exploits last weekend with the mysteriously over-spiced breakfast. "Don't tell me you're--" she gasped. "You're not trying to give yourself the hiccups, are you?"
"Uh, well, er, yeah," Sarah finally admitted. Needless to say, there was a rather heated conversation, and the hot stuff ended up back in the cabinet, without having a chance to prove its effects on Sarah's body. She was disappointed, but as she started getting ready for her date, she decided she would try again some other time - when Mom wasn't around.
* * * * *
Chris and Hannah had decided to go see a movie. The only question was which movie they would see.
"Which one do you want to watch?" Chris asked as the two walked towards the theatre.
"I've been dying to see that new movie by Hillary Duff," Hannah gushed, "Can we go to that one if they have it, please?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Hillary Duff? Isn't she that stupid Lizzie McGuire girl?"
"Yeah, that's the one," Hannah laughed. "But she's not stupid!"
"Come on, Hannah," Chris practically begged. "There's got to be something better than that on!"
"But I've been wanting to see it for a long time now!"
"Oh, all right," Chris finally gave in. "If you must."
"I must!" Hannah giggled as they reached the doors of the old theatre.
"Can you wait just a minute," Hannah asked after they stepped inside. "I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."
"OK," Chris agreed and Hannah disappeared into the ladies' room.
Some time later, Hannah emerged, a look of dismay written all over her face.
"You sure took long enough," Chris said as she joined him. He quickly noticed her unhappy expression. "What's the matter?"
Hannah frowned. "I can't believe it," she wailed. "I *hic* got the freaking hiccups. *huck* For no reason at a-*hic* all. I haven't even *huck* had them all we-*hic*-ek, since you *huck* made me get them *hic* that day Sarah ha-*hic*-d them. Th-*hic* that means they're go-*hic* gonna last a long *hulk* time. And I can-*huck* can't go into the *huck* movie hiccupping li-*hic* like this."
"Sure you can," Chris said. "If you just keep quiet no one will even have to know. And even if they do, it's not like they would throw you out for having the hiccups."
"I *hic* bet they would, *huck* cause you know I *hic* can't ever keep th-*hic* them quiet," Hannah disagreed. "And I'd *hic* been waiting so l-*huck* long to see this *huck* movie, too!"
Chris would have tried harder to convince her that they could stay, except that he'd never been excited about going to see Hillary Duff's movie in the first place. So he figured it was a convenient way, although an unfortunate one for Hannah, to get out of it! "All right then," he finally agreed. "So where else can we go?"
They eventually decided on going putt-putt golfing, since the course wasn't very far away. "I'm sorry you didn't get to see the movie," Chris said sympathetically as they left the theatre.
"It's *huck* all right," Hannah said. "I should *hic* have known I'd *hic* get the hiccups! *huck* Especially si-*huck* since it's been so *hulk* so long since my l-*huck* last ones. But *hic* putt-putt will b-*huck* be fun, too."
Arriving at the mini-golf course, they were surprised to see Juliana and her dad walking up just as they did. Mr. Davis had been doing his best to keep his word to Juliana and was indeed cleaning himself up and becoming a much better father to his girl. Hannah and the others had noticed some change in Juliana, too, as she was much more bright and cheerful than she had ever been in the past. Always wanting to encourage and befriend the 'new' Mr. Davis, Hannah suggested that they join them. Chris agreed, so they went up and said hello to their friends.
"Oh, hi!" Juliana greeted them. "I thought you two were going to a movie?"
"Well, we were," Hannah explained, "But then *huck* I got the hi-*huck* hiccups, so we *hic* decided to come here i-*huck* instead."
"That's too bad," Mr. Davis said. "Couldn't you just get rid of them?"
"You really *hic* have a lot t-*huck* to learn about *hic* me, don't you?" Hannah laughed. "When I *hic* get the hiccups, *hic* they're permanent! *hic* Can't stop 'em. *hulk*"
"Oh, I see," Mr. Davis replied.
"And maybe *hic* Juliana hasn't told y-*huck* you, but I *hic* get them all th-*huck*-e time, so it's *hic* nothing weird," Hannah continued. "Just *hic* annoying cause I wan-*huck*-ted to see that *hic* movie. I'm *hic* glad we're getting *hic* to see you, th-*huck*-ough."
They all took clubs and balls and began to play, chatting back and forth as they putted. Juliana quickly gained a big lead over the others as she sunk putt after putt.
"Man you're *hic* good," Hannah said, amazed as Juliana's ball rolled in for her second hole-in-one in the first nine holes.
Juliana laughed. "Thanks! I'm just lucky today, I think. But you know, Dad and I have been coming down here kinda often, so I guess maybe all the practice is helping."
"It sure hasn't helped me," Mr. Davis noted as his third putt scuttled around the rim of the hole. He tapped it in for a bogey four. "But I'm glad we've been doing it," he added, putting his arm around Juliana.
"So am I," she agreed, smiling.
* * * * *
Sarah emerged from her room, all ready to go, just as the doorbell rang. Sure enough, it was her boyfriend, Nathaniel. "Ready to go, sweetie?" he asked.
"Yeah, I believe so," Sarah answered. "How do I look?"
"You look--" he paused for a moment. "Simply beautiful, as always."
Sarah giggled and they walked out to his car.
Nathaniel was a good-looking specimen himself, too. Tall, strong, and handsome, he was what many girls would consider their dream guy, in both appearance and personality. Just a couple years older than Sarah, he had known her for a few years, and they had been together as a couple for several months now. He was quite an athletic young man, as well, playing second base for the local double-A minor league baseball team. His dream was to play - even just one game, he always said - in the big leagues; and the way he was progressing, that was a definite possibility.
Tonight was a night off for him, however, and he and Sarah were going to have dinner together. "Where are we going tonight?" Sarah asked.
"Oh, I thought we'd go to- to that new Italian place downtown. I've heard it's pretty g-good," he answered.
"That sounds great," Sarah said. "I've been wanting to go there."
"Yeah, well, I thought we- we'd try it out."
"Great!" Sarah smiled, then looked at Nathan. "You have the hiccups, don't you?"
He laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess I d- do. I've had them off and on today. *hmmk*"
"That's OK, I don't mind. Don't even worry about them," Sarah assured him. "Oh, but I do hope you can get rid of them," she added. "Sorry, I don't always remember to be sympathetic when people have the hiccups. See, I like it when I have them, so I sorta forget that other people can't stand them."
"You enjoy having the hiccups?" Nathan asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I love them," Sarah giggled.
"Really?"
"Well yeah," Sarah repeated. "Is there something wrong with that? I know, I'm weird, but…"
"Oh no," Nathan interrupted, "There's noth- nothing wrong with that at all. It's *uck* it's just that, well, I love the hic- hiccups and I didn't know that you did too. *hmmk*"
Now it was Sarah's turn to be incredulous. "You do?" she asked.
"Yeah, I like it when I have them and I- I think girls with the hiccups are the coolest th-*uck* coolest thing in the world."
"Wow, I didn't know that," Sarah said. "Well if you like girls with the hiccups, you'd sure love to meet my friend Hannah. She gets them like all the time; she's even had them for days on end before."
"That's cool," Nathan said. "You'll have to intro- introduce me to her sometime."
"I'll try to do that," she agreed. "I'm surprised you haven't met her, cause she's my brother's girlfriend."
"Oh really? No, I don't think I've met her."
"She's really sweet. I'm sure you'll meet her sometime. Maybe if you're lucky she'll have the hiccups," Sarah laughed. "But as for me," she continued, "I don't really care that much about other people's having them, but I love having them myself. I guess it's how they bounce me around, I don't really know why. Friday before last when we went on that trip I had them practically all day. That was like the most fun I've had in a long time! But I don't get them that often."
They talked back and forth until they arrived at the restaurant. Nathan's hiccups were quite hard, but generally silent, even when he was talking. There was a little bit of a wait, so they sat together, Nathaniel still hiccupping powerfully every ten seconds or so. "I just can't believe you li- like having the hiccups, too. I've never known anyone else who *hmmk* does."
"Yeah, I do love having them. Hopefully I'll get them for you sometime," she said sweetly, putting her arm around him and hugging him gently.
Finally they were seated. As the waitress took their orders, Nathan kept his hiccups unnoticeable when he spoke. After she left, Sarah asked, "If you like having the hiccups, why do you hide them when you're talking to people?"
"I don't know, I guess I'm k- kinda shy when I have them," Nathan explained.
"Oh," Sarah laughed, "I'm not shy at all. When I get them, everyone knows it. There's no need to hide them."
"I know," Nathan agreed. "But for some reason *hmmk* I just like having them for myself and it's sorta we- weird to be hiccupping in front of people, you know. *hmmk*"
"I guess that's OK," Sarah said. "I hope you don't think it's weird to have them in front of me."
"Nah, I don't," Nathan shrugged. "But I'd like it e- even better if you were the one with them."
"So would I," Sarah laughed. "I gotta say you're cute with them, but I sure do like having them myself better."
Eating quickly erased Nathan's hiccups, so as they walked to the car after finishing, he was hiccup-free. "Hey, can you wait just a minute," Sarah suddenly requested. "I need to get something in the store here."
"No problem," Nathan agreed. "You want me to drive you down there?"
"No, that's OK," Sarah said. "I'll walk; I need the exercise after all that food!"
Walking just across the parking lot, she entered the store. She had decided that since her mom had gone postal over her trying to give herself the hiccups with Chris's hot sauce, she would just get her own! Then she could experiment in her room without having to worry about people bothering her. Quickly finding the right stuff, she paid and put the bottle into her purse so that when she got home she wouldn't be going into the house with a bag from the grocery store.
When she returned to the car, she refused to tell Nathan what she had bought. She figured she'd tell him if it worked, but if it didn't, there was no reason to get his hopes up.
As they waited at a light on the way home, Sarah suddenly noticed Chris and Hannah standing on the sidewalk next to the car, also waiting for the light. They had finished their round of putt-putt, and on the way back Chris had bought them both ice cream. Not surprisingly, Hannah still had the hiccups, and the ice cream had made them a little worse, but not so fast that she couldn't still eat between them.
"Hey, there's my brother and Hannah!" Sarah exclaimed. "Do you mind if I invite them to ride with us?"
"Sure, that's fine," Nathan said.
Sarah rolled down the window. "You want to ride with us?" she asked.
"Yeah, *hic* sure!" Hannah answered. She and Chris climbed into the back seat.
"How was the movie?" Sarah asked as they started back down the street.
"We *hic* couldn't go, *hic* cause I got th-*huck* the hiccups *hic* -- obviously," Hannah laughed. "We *hic* went putt-putt g-*huck* golfing instead."
"Oh, ok," Sarah said. "By the way, I guess I should introduce you all. You've met Chris, right, Nathan?"
"Yeah, I've met him once or twice."
"All right, well this is my friend Hannah," she continued. "And Hannah, this is my boyfriend Nathan."
"Oh *hic* cool, ni-*huck*-ce to meet you *hic* Nathan. I've *hic* heard a lot a-*huck* about you," Hannah said smiling. Then she added, "And *hic* yeah, sorry, *hulk* I've got the h-*huck* hiccups real b-*huck*-ad."
"That's ok," Nathan laughed.
"Yeah, you won't believe this," Sarah said, "but Nathan likes hiccups too, just like you do, Chris."
"Noooo *huck*," Hannah said, a hiccup interrupting her. "You *hic* mean I'm st-*hic*-uck in a car *hic* with three peo-*huck* people who like *hic* hiccups? And *hulk* a dreadful ca-*huck* case of th-*huck*-em?"
They all laughed. "Yeah, I'm afraid that's how it is. I hope you don't mind," Nathan teased.
"That's *hic* OK," Hannah giggled, "People *hic* just can't he-*huck* help but like *hic* everything about m-*huck* me - even *hic* my hiccups!"
"That's right," Chris agreed, hugging his hiccupping girlfriend.
"Well *hic* I'm glad *hulk* I can make y-*hic* you all happ-*huck*-y," Hannah said. "I think *hic* I'll have th-*huck* these for a *hic* while, too. *huck*"
Hannah's incredible hiccups were enough to practically put Nathan in heaven. The only thing that could be finer, he thought, would be if he could see Sarah with them. Little did he know that she had something in her purse that would hopefully help make that happen.
* * * * *
When they arrived home and Nathan and Hannah both left, Sarah went into her bedroom and took the bottle of hot sauce from her purse. She thought about trying it out, but it was pretty late, so she decided it would have to wait. Not long later, she crawled into bed. It had been a wonderful evening, she mused. And Nathan was so sweet; and so handsome, and so - Sarah fell asleep thinking happily about him. She dreamed of getting the hiccups for him. Oh how she would love that!
Nathan went to bed thinking much the same thing. Hannah had been sooo cute with the hiccups, but he just knew Sarah would be even better. Before long, maybe he'd get his chance to find out.
And Hannah went to bed still hiccupping crazily. She knew it would be a long time before they stopped. But regardless of her hiccups, it had still been a nice evening - for her, and indeed, for everyone.