The morning went by so fast, I just don’t know where the time went. And then we had lunch. We ate chicken noodle soup with no chicken it it, but lots of noodles, and salmon-salad sandwiches; not bad. We had jello for dessert, and milk.
Kerry had the bright idea of trying to bang his jello out of the dessert dish upside down on the table with a rock. Well, the jello didn’t want to come out, and Kerry bashed a little too hard, and there was one dish written off.
When Mr. Farraday told him he was stupid to have done it, and wrecked a dish, Kerry only said the dish was cheap or else it wouldn’t have broken. No one can win an argument with Kerry; he’s got all the final answers.
We just had time for one more round of games up on the courts, then we had to go down to our cabins and pack our stuff. Boy, we had stuff thrown around just everywhere, like we didn’t put our clothes away like we were supposed to, and we didn’t sweep out the cabin every day like we were told to, or anything.
Some of the other kids in a few of the other cabins did, though. Some kids even went to the trouble of sweeping the dirt pathways leading up to their cabins, every morning. Guess they’ll make good housewives, or something.
We had some trouble sorting things out. Like what belonged to whom, and stuff. But we finally did manage to get it all figured out. Then Sally discovered that one of her favourite sweaters was missing, and she said one of us must have taken it.
“Boy, are you kidding?” Diane told her. “What for would one of us take your lousy sweater?”
“The reason is obvious”, Sally said, glaring at us. “You all of you, wear cheap rags, and you’re jealous-mad of my good clothes. Now, I’d like to have my sweater returned, thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear you so polite for a change, like 'thank you' and all, but I repeat, none of us would care to wear something that you’ve worn.”
“Look, who took it?” Sally said, turning to each of in succession.
We all shrugged. It was true, why would one of us take one of her rags, anyway? Anyway, what right did she have, accusing us of being thieves?
“Hey”, I said to her. “You didn’t hear me accusing you of stealing my money that went missing, did you? Where do you get off, calling any of us thieves?”
“I’m very glad”, she said icily, “that you can call a spade a spade. Thieves, that’s just what you are.”
“It takes one to know one, as I always say”" I told her, and looked back at her just as mean as she was looking at me. “Soon’s you give me back my money, I’ll give you back your sweater.”
“There, see!” she practically screeched, and stood there, real stupid, pointing a long witch-finger at me. “I knew it, I knew it! She’s a thief! That’s the kind of person she is!”
“Don’t be so damn stupid”, Jennifer T said to her, laughing. “I know Jen, and she’s just putting you on. And you deserve it, too.”
“Oh, is that so! Well, let me tell you something, Miss Smart-Ass, I’m going to march right over to Mr. Henderson and let him know there’s been a conspiracy here between you-all, and you’ve stolen my sweater. I’ll just bet Jen-ass didn’t lose any money at all! It was just a ploy to throw the finger of suspicion off her for any future thefts. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that missing camera is in with her stuff, and I’m going to tell Mr. Henderson that, too!”
And she meant it, I guess, because she stomped off out of the cabin, and went straight on up the pathway in the direction of Mr. Henderson’s cabin. Laura stood there, looking awfully embarrassed, and we looked at her like it was all her fault. She shrugged her shoulders.
“It is your fault, you know. You brought her here”, Diane said to her.
“Look, she had nowhere else to go. Anyway, if I hadn’t brought her, Mr. Henderson would’ve probably come over with her.”
“I take it”, I said to Laura, “that you don’t believe I stole anything of dear Sally’s?”
“Oh, come on Jen”, she said. And she started fidgeting: “What do you think I am, anyway?”
“A friend of your friend’s”, I said, really mean. But then I felt sorry, and I kind of smiled to let her know I didn’t really blame her.
“Gee”, Donna said, giggling. “I hope she’s careful going up that path. We sure wouldn’t want her to trip over anything and break her neck.”
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