Ally stormed into a den. “Who opened the oven??”
Devin and Johnathan glimpsed at each other.
“Come now,” she said. “I know one of you did it!”
“Did what?!” Devin said.
“Oh, don’t ‘did what’ me!” She gazed at them. “So, neither one of you want to admit it?? Fine, but just so you know: it’s not even done yet! So, I hope you don’t get sick!” She marched through a doorway, and Devin scratched his head.
“‘Not even done yet’?!” he said. “What the heck’s she talkin’ about?!”
Johnathan slid a textbook closer to himself, picked-up a pencil, and shrugged. “No clue. But boy, your sister sure is sensitive about baking.”
“I guess so.” Devin tapped a notepad. “Oh well, back to geometry.” He skimmed the pad and then halted. “Hold on: how did you know she was baking?”
Johnathan scribbled a number on a page. “Huh?”
“You heard me.”
“Oh, because I can smell it…”
“How—she just started?”
Johnathan shrugged. “I can still smell it.”
“Well, do you know what I can smell?” Devin seized Johnathan’s hands and smelled them, and Johnathan snatched them away.
“Hey!” he said. “What are you doing??”
Devin dropped his head and chuckled. “You moron. Why’d you do it?”
Johnathan smelled an index finger and then giggled. “Good grief. Because I was hungry.”
“So, you stuck your finger in brownie batter?” He shook his head. “She’s right: I hope you don’t get—”
Johnathan waved a hand. “Shhhh!”
Devin glimpsed over his shoulder, saw Ally stroll into the den, arms folded, and shoved his nose into his notepad.
“So, that’s the way it’s going to be huh, Devin?” she said. “Sticking-up for your batter-thieving pal no matter what?” She bumped his arm, and Devin dropped this pad.
“Hey, what gives?” he said. “When you asked the first time, I didn’t know what was going on.”
“Okay. So, now that you do?”
Devin rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He pointed across the room. “Johnathan, go sit in a corner.”
Johnathan snickered. “For how long?”
“For an eternity,” Ally said.
“But tomorrow I’ve got a geometry quiz.”
“Yeah, sis, and if he gets another ‘D’ on a geometry quiz, there’s no way his folks will pay his tutor.”
“Who’s his tutor?”
“You’re looking at him.”
Ally’s eyes widened. “Really, Dev: You’re tutoring…him??”
Devin nodded. “Yeah, for two weeks now.”
“Then forget bandit boy, you need to put yourself in a corner.”
Johnathan shook his head. “‘Thief’, ‘bandit’? Devin, why’s she making me sound like a criminal?”
“Because,” she said and slapped hands on her hips. “When you sneak into my kitchen to steal a
taste, that’s what you are!”
“Well, my apologies, but at this point, it’s impossible for me to un-taste it.”
She balled a fist and shook it. “Well, I can at least help you try…”