Dangerous Deception Read Free Page B

walk,” Lauren said, “especially if we’re carrying bags of groceries.”
    â€œMy brother got his driver’s license last week,” Jelly Bean said. “He’s always looking for an excuse to drive the car. If I tell my parents I have a load of stuff to take to school for an assignment, they’ll let Chance drive me tomorrow and then, after school, he can take all the food to Sophie’s house.”
    â€œCan we trust Chance to keep quiet about it?” I asked.
    â€œHe never tells our parents anything,” Jelly Bean said, “and there would be no reason to tell his buddies. They’re high-and-mighty juniors who don’t believe it’s possible that sixth graders would do anything of interest to them.”
    By the time recess ended we had a plan. Each of us would try to collect one grocery bag full of food items after school that day. We’d bring our bags to school the next morning, and Jelly Bean would arrange for his brother to pick him up after school. We’d load all our food into Chance’s car, and Jelly Bean and I would ride along to deliver it to Sophie’s house. Chance would drive me home afterward.
    â€œThen what?” said Lauren.
    â€œTomorrow night I’ll write up a report for Mrs. Reed, with a copy for each of you,” I said. I felt satisfied and efficient. We were going to help a girl who really needed assistance, and fulfill our community service assignment at the same time.
    â€œI mean what happens to Sophie after tomorrow?” Lauren said. “The food we collect will probably last only a week or two and then she’ll be right back in the same predicament she’s in now. We need to find a more permanent solution.”
    My satisfaction leaked away. Lauren was right. Our plan for tomorrow was a good one, but it was like pumping air into a bike tire without fixing the leak. Sophie’s family might require help for many weeks, and I couldn’t think of any way to make that happen.
    â€œI wonder if Sophie knows about the food bank,” Hunter said. “Her family could get groceries there.”
    â€œShe might not have transportation to go there, or a way to carry the food home,” said Shoeless.
    â€œMaybe we should go to the food bank,” Abby said. “We can talk to someone there and tell them we know of a family who needs help. We can ask what to do.”
    â€œDoes anyone know where the food bank is?” I asked.
    Heads shook.
    â€œI’ll find out,” Lauren offered. “I’ll learn where it is and when it’s open and how it works.”
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    On the way home from school, I worried about what would happen if our plan wasn’t kept secret. Besides me, five people in my group, plus Mrs. Reed, knew what we were doing. Soon Jelly Bean’s brother would know, too. It would take only one slip of the tongue as someone asked for a donation of food and our project would be uncovered. If that happened, then what? What about Mom’s job? How much trouble would I be in? Rain trickled down the bus windows, making the view as dreary as my mood.
    I had felt fairly confident that we could pull this off when it was a school food drive; doing it on our own was more complicated. If the food bank didn’t work out for Sophie’s family, we would need to collect more food later, but I couldn’t ask my neighbors over and over.
    How would we know if Sophie’s family was okay or if they needed more help? Perhaps instead of leaving the food anonymously I should tell Sophie who I am and how to contact me. But what if her mom called my house and my mom answered? Our community service project hadn’t even started yet and we already had problems.
    When I got home, I pushed my concerns aside. My grandma always says to do what needs to be done today and let tomorrow worry about itself. I found a big cloth tote bag to hold the food I collected. Luckily,