Dangerous Deception Read Free

please,” Mrs. Reed said.
    Jelly Bean and Shoeless picked up right where they had left off the day before.
    â€œFirst choice,” said Shoeless, “is an after-school pizza party for the hungriest group in Cedar Hill. Us.”
    â€œSecond choice,” said Jelly Bean, “would be if we go to Dairy Queen instead of getting pizza.”
    â€œWe are not doing any project that feeds us,” Lauren said.
    â€œThis is supposed to be something to benefit the community,” Abby said.
    â€œThere are kids in Cedar Hill who are really hungry,” I said. “They are the ones we need to help.”
    â€œI’m really hungry,” said Shoeless. He wiggled his ears up and down, as if that would prove how emaciated he was.
    â€œSo am I,” said Jelly Bean. “If a Hunger Meter could measure how empty my stomach is, I would hold the world’s record.”
    â€œGive me a break,” said Abby.
    â€œYou guys are lame,” said Hunter.
    â€œYeah?” said Jelly Bean. “Well, let’s hear one of you come up with a good community service project.”
    â€œI have one,” I said as I took Sophie’s contest entry out of my backpack, “but before I tell you what it is, you have to promise to keep it a secret.”
    â€œWe’re going undercover for a drug sting!” said Shoeless. “Hoo-ha! I’ve always wanted to be a plainclothes detective.”
    â€œIt isn’t a drug sting,” I said.
    â€œIf it’s your idea, it must involve chocolate,” said Hunter. “I saw you eat three cupcakes at lunch yesterday.”
    â€œI forgot to bring a lunch, and I didn’t want to get sick from eating Gag Casserole,” I said. I wanted to add that what I eat is none of his business, but I didn’t.
    â€œSo, what’s the project?” asked Jelly Bean.
    â€œYou won’t tell anyone?”
    Curiosity prompted them all to agree to keep the secret, so I read Sophie’s entry out loud. For once, Shoeless and Jelly Bean had no smart remarks.
    â€œWow,” Abby said. “That girl sounds desperate.”
    â€œHer little sister cries herself to sleep because she’s so hungry,” Hunter said, as if he had to say it out loud in order to believe it.
    â€œThis project will be simple,” said Jelly Bean. “All we have to do is mail the entry to one of the TV stations. They’ll read it on the air and a couple of hundred people will send a bunch of food and money. Problem solved.”
    â€œThat would work, except for one thing,” I said. “As I said, the contest entry has to remain a secret. We can’t tell anyone about it.”
    â€œWhat’s the big deal about keeping quiet?” Shoeless asked. “This is one of those stories that TV announcers love. It’s a tearjerker when they read it on the air, and then two days later they can say what generous viewers they have, and take credit for solving Sophie’s problem.”
    â€œIt’s against the contest rules for Dunbar’s to show the entries to anyone else,” I said. “If we go public with this, my mom gets fired.”
    â€œWe have a major problem,” said Hunter.
    Mrs. Reed interrupted by announcing, “You have five more minutes to decide on your first choice for a project.”
    â€œWe can’t tell her, either,” I said.
    â€œWhy not?” said Abby. “We could show her Sophie’s entry, and explain why we have to keep it secret, and ask if we can have a food drive. We can call it something generic like ‘Food for Hungry Children’ so that Mrs. Reed is the only one besides our group who knows where the food will go.”
    â€œThat might work,” I said, wishing I’d thought of it myself.
    â€œLet’s try it,” said Lauren.
    â€œYes,” said Hunter. “The worst that can happen is she’ll say no and then we’ll have to think of a different