Faking Delinquency [SAMPLE, PUBLISHED]

P h a s e 3 : Gotta Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

“No.”

I shook my head as I planted my feet firmly on the car’s floor, sending an incredulous look in my sister’s direction.  Arabelle smiled devilishly, nodding her head as though that was going to change my mind.  But I wasn’t.  No, not when we were sitting in a parking lot filled with little kids running around.  No.  Just the thought in itself was ridiculous.  And obnoxious.       

I wasn’t going to do it.  No way.

“Yes,” Arabelle replied, smiling brightly.  She threw open her door and hopped out.  “Let’s go!”

I grumbled under my breath, opening my door and stepping outside.  Caroline, who’d been sentenced to the backseat, exited the car as well, crossing her arms over her chest.  “This should be interesting,” she muttered, looking uncomfortable.  She, like me, thought this plan was stupid and shouldn’t be done.

“Come on, Arabelle!” I shrieked, grabbing her arm.  I shot her a pleading look.  “Couldn’t we go to an ice cream place I don’t like?  Like Sandy’s!  I hate Sandy’s.”

Arabelle shook her head, winking at me.  “No,” she drew out, peeling my hand off her arm.  “You’re pretending to be me, aren’t you?  Sandy’s gets my orders right.  Dairy Queen hardly ever does.”

I groaned, slapping my hand to my forehead.  Why did she have to be so literal?  It wasn’t like there was going to be an ice cream place at the delinquent camp.  I was probably going to be deprived of any type of junk food known to humanity.  I’d be stuck eating healthy food like celery, broccoli, and tomatoes.

I froze when a thought crossed my mind: what if I didn’t get to have any peanut butter?

No.  No, no, no.  No!  I was not going to have a peanut-butter-free summer just because my sister didn’t know how to behave.  Nuh-uh.  No way.  It was one thing to take me away from my friends and my free time, but it was a completely different story when peanut butter was involved. 

“Arabelle,” I whined.  “What about my peanut butter rights?  Do they have peanut butter at the camp?”

Arabelle shrugged.  “I don’t know.”  She shot me a comforting look.  “We’ll sneak you some just in case.”

Even though she was suggesting to already be breaking the rules the moment I arrived, the thought of having a stash of peanut butter comforted me.   I sighed, rubbing my arms with my hands and pausing when I caught Caroline staring at me.  “What?”  I asked, my eyebrows rising.

Caroline shook her head, shrugging.  “Nothing, that was just really random.”

I was about to reply, but my voice seemed to have left me.  We’d reached the counter.  The girl taking our order was probably only a year or two older than us.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she went to our school.  Her hair was tied back into small pigtails, hanging loosely from the sides of her head.  She was the definition of innocent-looking with her big brown eyes and child-like face.  I couldn’t act rude to someone like her!

Arabelle ordered her ice cream with a tone that I would have used before stepping back to stand next to me.  She grinned, jabbing me in the ribs and muttering a quick, “Come on, Falice, take your order!”

I grumbled profanities about her under my breath before stepping up to take my order.  I glanced back at Arabelle before taking a deep breath.  “I want a twist with hot fudge drizzled over the top—I mean drizzled.  Don’t drown it.  Instead of a cherry, I want a bunch of peanut butter cops on top, and then I want sprinkles.  In that order.”  I smiled sweetly before stepping away, trying to ignore the tight knot unfurling in my stomach.