"Get back here!" Fern blurted. "Damn it, Penny!"

Penny giggled, disappearing into the dark hallway without another word.

Fern jumped up. She ran to her closet and tore through her clothes, searching frantically for her bathrobe. It was nowhere! She wanted to scream. Then she realized that not only was Penny not wearing a bathrobe, Penny wasn't even wearing a nightgown. Penny was as naked as a Playboy centerfold.

Christ, I'm losing my mind! Fern thought. Losing my mind! She spun around and charged blindly into the dark hallway.

The hallway was longer than she had ever realized. She felt her way along the walls, stumbling in the darkness. She got to the stairway and began to feel her way down, clinging to the railing. The stairway and the downstairs were black. It was the darkest night she had ever seen.

At the bottom of the stairs, she turned and tiptoed through the living room, stumbling against a chair and nearly breaking her neck. She was sure Penny had put the chair in her path on purpose.

The door that led into the short hallway to her parents' bedroom was open. She knew immediately that Penny was down the hallway. Her parents always closed that hallway door when they went to bed. She stepped through the doorway and looked down the hall.

A light was on in her parents' bedroom. It shone out into the hall. Penny stood next to the bedroom door, peering inside. As if she had heard Fern, she turned around and motioned for Fern to come closer. Fern crept down the hall, trembling and holding her breath.

She wanted to grab Penny by the hair and drag her out of there. The nerve of Penny!

Spying on Fern's very own parents in their bedroom.

Penny turned again as Fern came near. In the dim light, Fern could see an absolutely wicked smirk on Penny's face. Fern scowled at her, but Penny ignored her and turned back toward the door, peeking into the bedroom.