Natalie's Secret #1
Page 14
“I know. It’s like they’re asking us to steal it,” Jenna replied, hugging the bag to her.
“Okay, let’s go,” Chelsea said.
Crouching low below the windows, Jenna and Chelsea made their way around the side of the mess hall to the front. Mud splattered Jenna’s sneakers, and rain dripped from her hood onto her nose. When they reached the door, Chelsea peeked inside and quickly jumped back.
“The CITs are still setting the tables,” she informed Jenna.
“Count to ten and check again,” Jenna said.
Together, they counted up to ten Mississippis, then Chelsea checked.
“Okay! They’re all back in the kitchen. It’s now or never,” Chelsea said.
They locked eyes, filled with excitement. Then Jenna nodded. “Go!”
Jenna and Chelsea ran into the mess hall, right over to Adam’s table. There were three sets of plastic salt and pepper shakers, and Jenna grabbed them all up while Chelsea slid under the table. Jenna joined her and opened the salt bottles while Chelsea ripped open the bag of sugar. They sat, cross-legged and facing each other. That was when Jenna noticed a snag in the plan.
“What do I do with the salt?” Jenna whispered, her heart pounding wildly.
“Oh, God! Why didn’t we think of that?” Chelsea asked.
Jenna looked around and was hit with an idea. “My pockets!”
“Nice!” Chelsea replied.
Quickly, Jenna emptied all three salt shakers into her jacket pockets. Chelsea grabbed the bottles one by one and dipped them into the sugar bag to fill them.
“This is gonna be so great,” Chelsea said with a snicker.
“I know!” Jenna whispered back.
Just as Jenna was replacing all the shaker tops, they heard the door from the kitchen bang open.
Jenna froze, a chill of fear sliding over her from head to toe. Chelsea grabbed her hand. Their palms were both covered in sweat—or maybe it was just rain. Either way, Jenna could practically hear her friend’s heart beating.
“You were supposed to make sure all the glasses from lunch got cleaned!” someone scolded. “What are we supposed to do with ten dozen dirty glasses?”
“Whatever. It’s too late now. Don’t say anything and no one will notice,” another voice answered.
Jenna and Chelsea both stuck out their tongues. So much for drinking any bug juice tonight. The two sets of feet clomped right by their table and out the front door.
“That was close,” Chelsea said.
Jenna nodded. “Let’s get out of here.”
They checked first to make sure the coast was clear, then quickly replaced all the salt and pepper shakers on Adam’s table. It was all Jenna could do to keep from laughing out loud as they raced out the front door and turned their steps toward the nurse’s cabin.
“Omigosh! This is going to be so funny!” Chelsea cried, dumping the rest of the sugar in the nearest garbage can.
Jenna shook the salt out of her pockets and it rained down, disappearing into the grass. “I know! Beef Stroganoff is bad enough, but beef Stroganoff with sugar? Gag me!”
“Come on! We have to get to the nurse’s station and tell her I was sick, but the fresh air cured me,” Chelsea said. “There’s no way I’m missing this!”
They grabbed hands and ran for the nurse’s station to cover their tracks in case Julie followed up with Nurse Helen later. Jenna could barely wait to get to dinner. So much for Adam thinking she couldn’t pull a prank on him. He had no idea what was about to hit him!
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Jenna’s Dilemma
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