Contents

MEGAN

and the

BURGLAR

OWEN JONES

DEDICATION

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

1 DAD MAKES A SUGGESTION

2 THE PICNIC

3 THE BURGLARY

4 THE AFTERMATH

5 WACINHINSHA

GLOSSARY

THE DISALLOWED

Owen Jones

1 MR. LEE’S PREDICAMENT

MEGAN

and the

BURGLAR

A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger and One Scary Mother!

by

OWEN JONES

Copyright © 2014 Owen Jones

Megan and the Burglar

by Owen Jones

Published by

Megan Publishing Services

http://meganthemisconception.com

E-book License Notes

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Other novelettes in the same series:

The Psychic Megan Series

A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger and One Scary Mother!

The Misconception

Megan’s Thirteenth

Megan’s School Trip

Megan’s School Exams

Megan’s Followers

Megan and the Lost Cat

Megan and the Mayoress

Megan Faces Derision

Megan’s Grandparents Visit

Megan’s Father Falls Ill

Megan Goes on Holiday

Megan and the Burglar

Megan and the Cyclist

Megan and the Old Lady

Megan’s Garden

Megan Goes To the Zoo

Megan Goes Hiking

Megan and the W. I. Cookery Competition

Megan Goes Riding

Megan Goes Yachting

Megan at Carnival

Megan at Christmas

DEDICATION

This edition is dedicated to my wife, Pranom Jones,

for making my life as easy as she can. She does a great job of it.

Karma will repay everyone in just kind.

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

Believe not in anything simply because you have heard it,

Believe not in anything simply because it was spoken and rumoured by many,

Believe not in anything simply because it was found written in your religious texts,

Believe not in anything merely on the authority of teachers and elders,

Believe not in traditions because they have been handed down for generations,

But after observation and analysis, if anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, accept it and live up to it.

Gautama Buddha

––

Great Spirit, whose voice is on the wind, hear me.

Let me grow in strength and knowledge.

Make me ever behold the red and purple sunset.

May my hands respect the things you have given me.

Teach me the secrets hidden under every leaf and stone, as you have taught people for ages past.

Let me use my strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy – myself.

Let me always come before you with clean hands and an open heart, that as my Earthly span fades like the sunset, my Spirit shall return to you without shame.

(Based on a traditional Sioux prayer)

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

1 Dad Makes a Suggestion

2 The Picnic

3 The Burglary

4 The Aftermath

5 Wacinhinsha

Glossary

The Disallowed: Chapter One

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks to the artist who did the cover for me, Jackii.

If you want her contact details, just let me know.

1 DAD MAKES A SUGGESTION

One Friday night, while sitting in front of the television watching a late-night horror movie, as they often did, Megan’s father, Robert had an idea.

“What do you say we pack up everything tomorrow, food, blankets, kitchen sink, and go to the woods for the day?”

Megan and her mother, Suzanne, looked at each other with the same expression they might have used if a dog had just spoken to them in English.

“We need more notice than that, Robert!”

“Why, what’s the problem?”

“For a start, I’ll have to get up early and make up a hamper, but tomorrow is the day we stock up on food – the cupboard is bare. If you had suggested it yesterday, I could have got something in.”

“And I have to go to Swimming Club and work for Mrs. Williams every Saturday morning too. It’s too late to cancel at midnight the day before, isn’t it?”

“Yes, all right then. Point, er, points taken… How about Sunday then?”

“Sure, we’ll get all we need tomorrow and do the thing properly.”

“Yes, please, Daddy! I haven’t been to the woods for ages. Which one are you thinking of? Mill Wood?”

“No, I thought we could take a drive out to Arthur’s Forest. It’s not so far and if we start early enough, say seven or eight, we can be there by ten or eleven. It’ll be a nice family outing for us. We haven’t had one for a while, have we?”

“I can’t remember the last time except for our holiday in France… maybe when Nain and Taid came down for the weekend and we went to the beach, but that was only local anyway.”

“OK, shall we do it or not?”

“Do it!” they all shouted.

“OK, we’re doing it by a unanimous vote… Now I’ve gone and lost my place in the film… Has Dracula bitten that girl yet?”

“Yes, Daddy, twenty minutes ago!”

“Oh…”

∞

The next day, they each followed their normal Saturday morning routines. Megan took the bus to her swimming club in the local Leisure Centre, but left after an hour, as usual to go to her Saturday morning job with the mayoress, Mrs. Williams in the Civic Offices across the car park. She worked from ten until twelve, writing about or discussing the problems that teenagers faced in Feyton and the surrounding area. This she did to help Mrs. Williams and her SOS Green Party keep abreast of the issues facing the next generation of voters, although Megan hadn’t realised yet that that was what they were employing her to do.

At this meeting, they discussed whether the clothes that the shops and magazines encouraged young teenage girls such as Megan to wear, were too sexy. Megan thought that some were and that some were downright outrageous, but she pointed out that her parents would never allow her to wear them, even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. Megan promised to write a five-hundred word article on the subject and email it to Mrs. Williams on or before Wednesday, then they locked the office doors and went down to the canteen for lunch.

When they had sat down and ordered, Mrs. Williams tried to help Megan marshal her thoughts about the article, as she often did, because she had a genuine affection for her.

“We discussed clothing in the office, Megan, but what about other aspects of a teenager’s life? Perhaps you should, or just could, consider those too. I’m sure you could write five hundred words on clothing alone, you are a fashion-conscious young woman after all, but what other aspects of your life do you think have been over-, oh, what’s the right word? Sexified? Yes, that will do…”

Megan wasn’t sure, but she bought herself some extra time.

“I’ll just get my pen and pad out to take notes. If I can’t fit this in one article, perhaps I can write a follow-up or two… just a moment, please…”

She rummaged in her rucksack, while she thought quickly. Megan laid the notepad out before her on the table and opened it.

“Mmm, let me see, I suppose lots of teenagers want to dress like pop and film stars… and they dress sexy, don’t they? And the words can be pretty rude as well, can’t they?”

“I don’t know, Megan, I can’t understand them. Not that I listen to pop music any more, but, yes, I suppose they could well be. The women certainly wear very skimpy clothing, and I know that we, the council, has banned some music from our youth centres, because it was too, er, descriptive. So, er, yes, you can add music to your list. Anything else?”

“I suppose if we’re talking about words, then there is a lot of swearing. My mother says that there wasn’t so much swearing on the TV or the streets when she was young. Some of the kids in my class swear every other word, when they’re out of class – they don’t dare do it in there for sure, nor at home, I suppose… so they must just be putting it on… showing off, like.”

“Yes, good, well there you go, you’ve got: overly-sexy clothing, overly-descriptive songs and foul language. That’s quite a bit to be going on with, isn’t it?”

“Mmm, and porno, Mrs. Williams…”

The mayoress almost spat out her teeth as she choked on the tea she was trying to drink. “Porno, Megan?”

“Yes, you know, pornography, Mrs. Williams. People making…”

“Yes, Megan, I have heard of it. Where do teenagers watch that, for Heaven’s Sake?”

“On the Internet. All the boys watch it, and half the girls, on their smart phones. Parents try to lock it out of their home computers, but my friends say that there are ways ‘round that.”

“Do you watch porn, Megan?”

“Me? No, I did a bit once, but it was too embarrassing for me. I couldn’t watch that sort of thing.”

“I’m very glad to hear it. Well, look, don’t mention that in your article this week, or at least not in detail. You could say something like: ‘There are four facets to the problem…’ and then just discuss clothing and we can talk about the other three next Saturday.”

“Ah, good, lunch has arrived. Put that away now, dear, and let’s eat, I don’t know about you but I’m famished.”

When the meal was over, Mrs. Williams was glad to get away for the first time since she had started having Saturday morning lunch with Megan six months before. However, Megan didn’t notice Mrs. Williams’ embarrassment and when they parted company, Megan refused an offer of a lift home, so that she could get some more exercise and walk home past the shops.

When she got there, her parents were still not back from their weekly shopping spree at the Mall, so she put her things away, and phoned her best friend, Jane, to see if she wanted to meet up for a couple of hours.

“Hi, Jane, what are you up to? Do you fancy getting together for a coffee and a chat? Well, you could come here, my parents are out, or we could sit in the Crescent… Yes, it is nice out. I’ve been stuck indoors all morning too, but we’re going for a picnic tomorrow, so it’ll probably rain then. So, the Crescent, is it? Half an hour? See you there.”

Megan showered quickly, as she hadn’t had time in the public baths, put on some clean clothes, and left for the Crescent, which was only in the shopping area at the bottom of her street. If they were lucky, they would find one of the three tables free. She was hoping that there wouldn’t be any boys from her class there or she’d have to think of an excuse for not sitting with them. The truth was that they were just too noisy and it embarrassed her to be seen with them outside school.

Megan arrived first, but then she was expecting to anyway, and she was in luck, there was a table free and there was no-one from school there either. She took her Kindle Fire out of her rucksack and pretended to be reading as she watched the shoppers going in and out of the traditional-style shops. The area was not large, it had no more that twenty establishments on either side of the narrow, old road, and the local traders were making an effort to present an image of shopping as it had been fifty years before as a stunt to attract more custom.

Megan looked down at her T-shirt, shorts and sandals, and didn’t feel as if she were lowering the tone , because she had seen photographs of her mother dressed in a similar style thirty or forty years before. As she scanned the busy pavements, she spotted Jane waving at her from across the road. She waved back in acknowledgement and watched her dodge through the slow-moving traffic to cross over.

“You look fabulous, Jane, but then you always do.”

Jane liked to dress well and had been sent home from school many times for wearing skirts that were too short, or make-up, or perfume. These days, she tried to tone it down a bit, except on the weekends. Her parents didn’t mind, but then Jane was never outrageous, just snappily dressed.

“You look lovely as well, Megs. Your look is clean, virtuous and wholesome… I just like to look a bit tarty, but it’s all show… Or in fact it’s not, I never show anything… you know that…”

Megan nodded in agreement; it was true enough, but her look was sexy, because it looked as if she might at any moment.

“I doubt if my parents would let me wear anything like that, even in five years time!”

“They can’t stop you in five years’ time.”

“Maybe not, but I wouldn’t want to upset them, especially while I’m living in their house.”

“That’s fair enough, Megs, I can understand that. I don’t want to upset my parents either, and I don’t, because they don’t mind me dressing like this. I keep within the limits too, just like you, it’s just that mine are a lot further out that yours, that’s all.”

“Yes, for sure… miles! Anyway, I don’t mind… I really don’t. What do you want to drink? A cappuccino and a slice of cake, or a huge ice cream?”

“Mmm, coffee and cake, please, Megs. Are you buying?”

“I can do, I got paid this morning and it’s burning a hole in my pocket.”

The friends saw each other every day in school and often went cycling or walking together on the weekend, but this was a divergence from normal and they both enjoyed it. They sat there trying to look elegant, peering into the windows of the slow-moving cars passing by and waving at the people they knew. After an hour, Megan’s parents passed and her mother wound down the window.

“You both look very chic, very Continental, sitting there drinking coffee under that parasol, but Megan, don’t forget that we’ll be out all day tomorrow, so unless you want to take your homework with you, you’ll have to do it today.”

“Yes, Mam, OK, I won’t be long.”

“Wow! You can’t even sit here, a few hundred yards from your house and drink a cup of coffee on a Saturday afternoon with your closest girlfriend… Your mother is something else, isn’t she?”

Megan raised her eyebrows and tensed her lips into a straight line. “They just want the best for me, I suppose, and she is right about the homework. Have you done yours yet?”

“Most of it… I did it this morning.”

“Yes, well, I was out working this morning. You can’t have everything, can you? I love my swimming lessons and my job with the mayor.”

“I should say so! You get at lest five times more money than anyone in our class. Wages and pocket money, I’d swap with you any time, anybody would!”

“I know, I’m not grumbling, but between that and writing articles and my homework, I never seem to get any time to myself anymore, and when I do, I feel guilty that I’m not spending it with my parents like I used to.”

“That’s called growing up and getting a life, Megs. They have to learn to cut you more slack as well.”

The two girls sat in silence, the atmosphere crashing down around them, until Jane said:

“Having another? On me… I’ve got enough, if we don’t have any cake.”

Megan nodded and they hugged in solidarity. They took a long time to drink that last cup of coffee; it got stone-cold, but they were making a protest.

When they were done, Jane walked her friend to her front door as she lived just a little further up the road.

“Go get ‘em, girl,” she encouraged as Megan opened the door with her latch key.

“Thanks, Jane, you’re a real pal. I won’t see you tomorrow, but I’ll give you a ring.”

Jane leaned over, squeezed her friend’s shoulders, and gave her a near-miss kiss on the cheek because of her lipstick, like she’d seen adults do.

Megan waved her friend off and then went inside with a heavy heart made heavier by the feeling that she was a prisoner in her mother’s gaol.

“I’m home!” she shouted, and added under her breath, “Are you satisfied now?” Then she ran up the stairs making lots of noise with Grrr in pursuit and without waiting for a reply.

2 THE PICNIC

When Megan woke up the following morning, the world and her own problems did not seem so bad after all. She could hear her parents, or her mother, at least, pottering about in the kitchen below. She went down in her pyjamas.

“So, you’re awake then at last, little Miss Huffy? I hope you’ve got out of bed on the right side today. We’re only doing this for you, you know. It would be easier for us to spend all day sitting in front of the TV on our one day off in the week! But no, we are taking you out.”

“Yes, Mam, thanks, I do appreciate it really. Where’s Dad?”

“Yes, well, just so long as you do. He’s out the front, checking the car. You can’t go out there dressed like that! Put your dressing gown on first, someone will see you?”

“Yes, Mam, can I give you a hand with something or are we having breakfast before we leave? Grrr was swirling around her legs giving her confidence, but Megan did not want to be a nuisance.

“We’ve had ours, just some toast, cereals and a cup of tea, but I’ll get you something more substantial, if you want.”

“No, cornflakes and toast will be fine, thanks. I’ll go and get my dressing gown.” She clattered up the stairs and annoyance showed on her mother’s face as she put the bread under the grill.

She came down a minute later, ignored Suzanne’s call and went out to see her father.

“Morning, Dad, how long have we got?”

“As soon as you and your mother are ready we can leave. Have you have had breakfast yet?”

“No, I’m going in for it now, and you?”

“I’ve had all I want. I’d like to be leaving within the hour or we may get stuck in traffic and frankly, it won’t be worth going then.”

“OK, I’ll be ready, and I’ll try to give Mam a hand too. See you soon.”

“Take the vacuum cleaner with you and put it under the stairs for me, please.”

He pushed the automatic flex rewinder with his foot as Megan pulled the plug out of the wall socket, then she took the appliance into the house and put it away.

“Megan, where have you been? I put your breakfast on the table ten minutes ago. If it’s cold you’ve got no-one to blame but yourself. I called you twice.”

“Yes, I know, Mam. I was putting the vacuum away for Dad. Don’t worry about it, this is fine. Do you want a hand with anything when I’m finished?”

“You can dry the dishes, while I take a shower, then you can shower while I get dressed and then we’re ready to go, I think.”

Megan looked at her mother’s aura while she did the dishes. She was in a flap again, as she usually was when she had to do anything in a hurry. The colours suggested that she was anxious, even a little confused, but they couldn’t tell her what had made her that way – it was just trying to think of a dozen things at once, thought Megan, she was not used to it anymore, not since she had lost her job in the Health Service, where she had been an Administration Co-ordination Officer. Megan only had a vague notion of what that might entail.

She bolted her food so that she could help out, since she wanted to get under way as much as her father did. Her mother would probably be glad to get in the car where she could relax too. Twenty-five minutes later, Robert was easing the Volvo out into the middle of the quiet, narrow street. Megan was full of anticipation and Suzanne was putting her make-up on in the vanity mirror while worrying about which vital piece of equipment she could have left behind.

“Does anyone want to sing a song?” asked Robert cheerfully.

Suzanne didn’t even react, she was still going through a checklist in her mind, while applying lipstick.

“Not me, Dad. I’ve brought my laptop so I can write Mrs. Williams’ article during the journey.”

“OK, darling, we’ll just put the radio on quietly for your Mam and me. What’s the essay on? Anything interesting?”

“Yes, sex, porn and swearing…” she replied mischievously. It elicited the required response. Her mother’s head span around and they both cried at once:

“What did you say?”

“Don’t get all aeriated now, it’s not what you think. Mrs. Williams is concerned about the over sexification of young girls, swearing in popular music and the availability of pornography on the Internet. She asked me to write an article about what I know on the subjects… how it affects me and my friends, like.”

“And how does it affect you?” asked Suzanne.

“Not much, but it does a lot of the people I know. All the boys and half the girls watch porn and there’s swearing everywhere, isn’t there? Mrs. Williams says that the way pop singers dress influences teen fashion and that it’s a disgrace.”

“Good for Mrs. Williams,” said her father, “you make sure you listen to her.”

“Yes,” echoed her mother, “you do that.”

At that point, Megan wished that she hadn’t tried to wind her parents up and tried to let it blow over by opening her laptop and starting a new Word document, but she could hear her mother still talking about it.

“We should have a serious talk to Megan when we get home. We need to get to the bottom of this, or I’m going to phone the school and Mrs. Williams tomorrow to find out what’s going on. More than half the school watching pornography all the time indeed! What is this world coming to?”

Megan was pretending not to be listening, but she was wishing that she hadn’t said anything, especially since she had known that her mother was on edge and stressed out. She had been stupid not to take that into account, but she vowed never to fly in the face of what she knew in the future. As so often happened, her father tried to come to her rescue and soothe his wife’s anxiety.