“Save room for dessert? Not a problem,” joked Amanda. Her friends laughed—Amanda had a serious sweet tooth!
“Wow, this chicken is so juicy!” Shawn said after her first bite.
“And I love the sauce. It’s sweet and tangy and the seasonings are just right!” Natasha added.
“I wonder if this place has a cookbook,” Molly mused. “Maybe they’ll give us some recipes for our Dish cookbook!”
Half an hour later, Vicky returned to their table, this time carrying a large bowl of vanilla ice cream and a deep-dish apple pie. “It’s still warm,” Vicky told the girls with a smile. “We just took it out of the oven thirty minutes ago!”
“Mmm. This is delicious,” Amanda sighed. The rest of the girls agreed!
After dinner, Omar came up to the Chef Girls’ table. “Cheng!” he yelled out. “I challenge you to a game of foosball. Meet me in the rec room in five minutes—if you dare.”
“Oh, I’ll be there,” Peichi shot back. “And don’t call me Cheng!”
Two hours and several foosball games later, Mr. Degregorio flicked the lights in the rec room on and off. “Okay, everyone,” he announced. “Lights out is at ten o’clock. It’s time to get bundled up and head back to the cabins.”
Several kids groaned, but Amanda leaned over to her friends and whispered, “Now the really fun part starts—our four-day sleepover party!”
Outside, a nearly full moon shone brightly in the night sky. “Wow!” Peichi exclaimed. “It’s so bright out here from the moon! And there are no streetlights or car lights or anything!”
“Yeah, but it’s awfully dark over there,” Amanda said, shivering as she pointed toward the forest.
“It’s cold, too,” Natasha added. “Let’s run back to the cabin!”
A few minutes later, the girls arrived at their cabin, breathless from running in the cold air.
“All right! Let the sleepover begin!” Amanda cried, jumping onto her bed.
“Let’s get out all of our snacks,” Natasha suggested. “Then we can share during the weekend.” Soon, there was a huge pile of snacks—chips, soda, cookies, juice boxes, apples, and oranges—on the table.
Mrs. Lopez came in then. “My goodness, that’s quite a spread,” she said when she saw the pile of food. She glanced at her watch. “Lights out in thirty minutes, girls. I don’t mind if you talk quietly before bed. Quietly. Good night!”
“Good night, Mrs. Lopez,” chorused everyone.
“Thirty minutes? That doesn’t give us much time for a sleepover,” complained Tessa.
“Not to worry,” Amanda replied. She rummaged in one of her suitcases and pulled out four flashlights and several packages of batteries. “After lights out, we can still have a low-light sleepover! But first things first. Let’s change into our pj’s and get beautiful while there’s still enough light to look in the mirror!”
After the girls had changed into cozy sweats and flannel pajamas, they crowded around the small mirror on the wall.
“You need to take extra-good care of your skin during cold weather,” Amanda said importantly. “I read it in one of Mom’s magazines. Really cold air makes your skin all dry and icky. That’s why I brought all of this stuff!” Amanda dumped her toiletries case onto the bed. Out spilled several small tubes of moisturizer, lotion, and face masks.
“Dry skin is not exactly my problem,” Iris laughed. “More like super-oily pimply skin!”
“Yeah, I’ve been breaking out lately, too,” Peichi complained. “What’s up with that? My skin was really smooth before and now it’s totally gross!”
“Don’t worry, I came prepared,” Amanda joked. “This cream gets rid of zits practically overnight. It works great!”
“Yeah, right. You don’t even have any zits!”
“Exactly,” chuckled Amanda as she tossed the tube of cream to Peichi.
Amanda played dermatologist as she examined each one of her friends’ faces and prescribed a beauty mask for them. Soon, all the girls were giggling as they applied thick layers of goopy mud, seaweed, or honey masks. Even Molly let Amanda convince her to try a mud mask!
“Eeek! This stuff is so slimy!” Peichi squealed as she smeared a drippy seaweed mask onto her face.
“Shhh! Don’t wake up Mrs. Lopez!” Shawn shushed her.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The girls froze.
“Who-who do you think that is?” Elizabeth asked.
Molly shrugged. “I don’t know,” she replied. She walked over to the door.
“Molls, don’t answer it!” Amanda whispered fiercely. “What if it’s, like, an escaped convict or something?”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Oh, puh-lease,” she sighed.
There was another knock, and the girls squealed.
“Hey, be cool. It’s just me, Connor,” came a voice from the other side of the door. The girls giggled with relief.
“I found Natasha’s mom’s wallet on the path,” he said. “But I’m not sure which cabin she’s staying in.”
“Oh, okay,” Molly called out.
She swung open the door just as Amanda squealed, “Molls, no! We’re not even—”
Connor, Omar, and Justin jumped into the room.
“Say cheese!” Omar said in a loud whisper. A flash brightened the room, then the boys raced out the door.
“Ohmigosh! They just took a picture of us! Looking like this!” Amanda shrieked.
“They really, really stink!” Iris exclaimed—but she couldn’t stop laughing.
The girls heard Mrs. Lopez’s door open. “Girls, what’s going on down there?” she called from the top of the steps.
Amanda opened her mouth to reply, but Peichi beat her to it. “Oh, nothing,” she called out. “Sorry we were loud. We’re just going to finish getting ready for bed and go to sleep. Good night!”
“Good night,” Mrs. Lopez called back.
“Peichi! Why didn’t you tell her what those jerks did?” Amanda whispered. “They would have gotten seriously busted!”
“I have a better idea,” Peichi replied slyly. “We’re going to get back at them by getting even—not by telling. Trust me, it will be way more fun!” She switched on her flashlight and turned off the overhead light. “Now, let’s come up with some really wicked, really awesome pranks. We’ll teach them to mess with the girls in Cabin Four!”
Chapter 7
The next morning at breakfast, the Chef Girls were unusually quiet—and extra-tired from staying up late planning pranks. Peichi looked like she was about to fall asleep at the table.
“Look, they just put up today’s Chore Chart,” Amanda said through a yawn. “I’m going to see what we’re doing this morning.” She walked across the room to a group of giggling kids in front of the Chore Chart.
“The hardest chore of all is going to be staying awake,” Iris sighed. “Why did we stay up so late?”
“Don’t worry, it will all be worth it,” Peichi said sleepily. “I can’t wait for Operation Punk the Boys!”
“You look like you can’t wait to go to sleep,” teased Shawn.
Amanda returned and slapped a Polaroid photo on the table. “Those jerks!” she hissed. “They stuck this picture of us up on the Chore Chart! Everyone was laughing at us!”
The girls leaned in to look at the picture. “Ohmigosh!” shrieked Tessa. “Look at all that goop on my face!”
“And my hair is sticking out funny,” moaned Natasha.
“ ‘Someone really needs their beauty sleep,’ ” Peichi read the photo’s caption aloud. “Oh, real funny. I can’t wait to get even with those guys!”
“We will—and look on the bright side,” Molly pointed out. “Amanda took the picture down before anyone else could see it. Hey, what’s our chore for today?”
Amanda wrinkled up her nose. “Ugh—we’re doing farming right after breakfast,” she complained. “We have to report to the barn. I hope it doesn’t stink in there!”
“At least we’ll get the
farming out of the way,” Natasha said practically. “And maybe it won’t be so bad.”
“Yeah, my grandparents used to have a farm in Minnesota,” Elizabeth spoke up. “I would help them out during the summers. It was pretty cool!”
After the girls had finished their breakfasts, they bundled up in their heavy winter gear. On the way to the barn, they ran into Angie and her crew.
“Hey, Shawn! Saw you’re farming today. Have fun in the barn! I bet there are some pigs you could play with. You don’t seem very picky about who you’re friends with!” Angie yelled.
Shawn turned her head so she couldn’t see Angie. Don’t get into it. Keep your mouth shut, she thought over and over.
But Amanda couldn’t resist. “Saw you’re cleaning today. Have fun with that, Angie. You’ll fit right in with the dirt and the muck.”
“You better watch your mouth,” Angie shot back.
“This is insane,” Molly whispered. “Let’s just get out of here.”
The girls walked silently toward the barn. Finally, Shawn spoke. “Amanda, I really appreciate you sticking up for me with Angie. But listen, it’s not worth it. She’ll just go after you.”
“Yeah, and she’s completely evil,” Elizabeth said quietly.
“I know how Angie is,” Amanda replied. “But I get so mad when she treats you like that, Shawn. I can’t help saying something back to her.”
“I know,” Shawn said simply. “But I don’t mind ignoring her. If nobody responds, then she’ll get bored and start picking on someone else.”
“Anyway, let’s forget about her for now,” Molly said. “Hopefully, we won’t see her again for the rest of the day.”
At the barn, Mr. Hudson was waiting for the girls, along with two helpers. “Welcome, ladies!” Mr. Hudson called out. “The other group is already here. This is the animal’s cabin, as we like to call it,” he chuckled. “Come on inside.”
Inside the barn, it took a few moments for the girls’ eyes to adjust to the dim light. It was warm and quiet, except for the soft animal noises, and it smelled like hay and manure.
“Wow! It’s much bigger in here than it looks from the outside!” Peichi exclaimed.
Mr. Hudson chuckled. “We keep a lot of animals in here—six cows, four horses, and eight sheep. There’s a whole flock of chickens in the loft, too.”
“Cool!” said one of the boys from the other group.
“Back in colonial days, settlers relied on their animals for food, warmth, help with farming, transportation, and even clothing. Our animals are the same breeds many settlers had then—Red Devon cows, Leicester Longwool sheep, and Dorking chickens.”
“Dorking chickens?” called one of the guys, laughing.
Mr. Hudson grinned. “I agree—an unfortunate name. Well, let’s begin! This is a pretty large group, so everyone can take turns doing the winter barnyard activities. Let’s number off in threes.”
After everyone had called out a one, two, or three, Mr. Hudson said, “Okay, ones follow Thomas upstairs to collect eggs from the chicken roost. Twos, start shoveling out the stalls and adding fresh hay—Lois will show you where the pitchforks are. And, threes, come with me—we’ll start you off on milking the cows. We’ll switch roles in about thirty minutes.”
“Oh, man,” Amanda whispered to Molly. “I should have known I’d get stuck with the cows!”
“We’ll all have to try the milking eventually,” Molly whispered back. “Go, Manda! You’ll be great!”
Milking the cows wasn’t nearly as gross as Amanda thought it would be. First, Mr. Hudson had her give the cow a bale of fresh hay to munch on. “That keeps her calm,” he explained. Next, Amanda had to wash the cow’s udder with warm water. Then, Mr. Hudson showed her how to milk the cow using gentle pressure. Before she knew it, her tin pail was filled with fresh, creamy milk.
Searching for eggs in the chicken roost was actually fun. “It’s like an Easter egg hunt,” Elizabeth said to Molly. But cleaning out the stalls and filling them with fresh hay was hard work—and smelly, too.
“I had no idea straw could be so heavy,” Peichi grunted as she struggled to lift a pitchfork with a pile of clean straw on it. “This is hard work!”
“It is hard,” Mr. Hudson said. “Colonial farmers started their days well before dawn, and often didn’t get to bed until after dark. There was almost always more work than people to do it.
“All righty, everybody,” Mr. Hudson called to the rest of the group. “It’s twelve-thirty now, so why don’t you all run along and get cleaned up for lunch? You’ve all worked real hard. Have a great time on the slopes!”
After lunch, the Chef Girls couldn’t wait to hit the slopes. They hurried back to their cabin to change into their ski gear.
As they stepped outside, Natasha suddenly turned pale. “Ohmigosh! ” she whispered. “Look at my parents!”
Mr. and Mrs. Ross were approaching Cabin Four, wearing shiny, brand-new ski suits in shocking shades of lime green and bright yellow. Mrs. Ross waved her ski pole in the air and called out, “Yoo-hoo! Natasha! Are you ready to check out the powder on those cool slopes?”
Some students passing by the Rosses started to snicker, but Natasha’s parents didn’t seem to notice.
Natasha winced. “Oh, man, this is so embarrassing,” she moaned.
“I think it’s really sweet that your parents wanted to come on the trip with you,” Elizabeth said.
“Me, too,” Molly said. She glanced at Amanda. “Well, we’re gonna take off for the intermediate slopes. Who wants to come?”
“I will!” said Peichi and Shawn.
“I’m gonna be stuck on the bunny slopes with my parents,” sighed Natasha.
“Don’t worry,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll stick with you.”
“So will I,” announced Iris and Tessa.
“Whoopsie!”
Natasha looked over to see her mother flat on her back in a snowdrift, her arms and legs flailing as Mr. Ross tried to help her out. Mrs. Ross, normally so poised and graceful, was a complete klutz on skis!
Here we go, thought Natasha as she tried not to roll her eyes. It’s going to be a long afternoon.
Shawn, Peichi, and the twins had a blast on the intermediate slopes. It took them a few tries to remember how to walk in skis by sliding each foot forward instead of lifting it—each girl stumbled a bit at first—but before long they were zooming down the mountain.
“This is so great!” Molly yelled as she skied down the slope, making small turns by leaning on one leg, then the other. “I feel like I’m flying!”
“Why haven’t we gone skiing in such a long time?” Amanda asked as she came to a stop at the bottom of the slope by snowplowing—keeping the front of her skis together while sliding the backs of the skis apart to form a V-shape. “We’re gonna have to remind Mom and Dad how much fun this is.”
The twins waited at the bottom of the mountain until Peichi and Shawn had skied down it, then all the girls took the ski lift back up the mountain together. Molly glanced over at the Five Point slope, which the kids were forbidden to ski down. “It doesn’t look so bad over there,” she mused. “I wonder why it’s off-limits.”
“Molls, are you nuts?” Amanda asked. “People can die on really hard slopes.”
Molly shrugged. “I wouldn’t be scared to try it.”
“I’m not scared,” Amanda snapped. “I just think that the intermediate slope is enough.”
“Okay, okay,” Peichi interrupted. “It doesn’t matter, since we can’t try it anyway. Right?”
“Right,” the twins agreed at the same time.
Peichi checked her digital watch. “Hey, it’s already four o’clock,” she said. “Come on, Amanda, we have to get back for Operation Punk the Boys.”
Amanda giggled. “Right! I almost forgot!” She turned to Molly and Shawn. “We have to perform our important mission. See you guys back at the cabin. Come on, Peichi, one more run!” She and Peichi took off down the slope.
/> Molly and Shawn giggled as they remembered the prank Amanda had come up with the night before. “This is gonna be good!” Molly said.
Shawn grinned. “I know. I can’t wait for dinner!”
At the bottom of the slope, Amanda and Peichi told one of the ski instructors that they were cold and tired and wanted to rest before dinner. Then they walked casually to their cabin, trying not to laugh too much on the way.
“Keep an eye out for the chaperones,” Amanda said to Peichi as they entered their cabin. Peichi stood near the front window, watching the trail, as Amanda hurried over to her makeup case. “Found it!” Amanda cried triumphantly, holding up a small tube of nail glue.
“The coast is clear,” Peichi said. “To the lodge!”
The girls walked quickly down the path. Peichi continued to look out for any grown-ups, but the lodge was empty and quiet. The tables had already been set for dinner.
“Fifth table from the front,” Amanda muttered to herself as she unscrewed the cap of the nail g She found the seats where Omar, Connor, and Justin had sat for the past three meals, and quickly glued their napkins, silverware, and plates to the place mats. She looked over her shoulder at Peichi, who gave her the thumbs-up sign. Why quit now? Amanda thought mischievously, loosening the tops of the salt and pepper shakers.
Amanda stood back to admire her work. This is gonna be hysterical! she thought. Then, a strange noise that sounded like an owl caught her attention. She turned around to see Peichi hooting at her.
Amanda frowned and hurried over to Peichi. “What are you doing?” she whispered. “Shhh!”
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