10
Trouble Is Brewing

After the horrible day when Lily ate Lavina’s sandwich, Lily checked her lunch carefully before she started to school. She wanted to be sure she knew exactly what was in it before she left for school.

During lunch, Lily was happy to see that her sandwich looked just the same as it had that morning. The mysterious sandwich switch was soon forgotten.

But something else had been switched. Lily’s apple slices were missing. In her lunch box were several store-bought cookies. This time, Lily was wiser. She didn’t eat a single cookie, though she loved store-bought cookies and this kind was her favorite. Malinda’s head popped up and she looked around the room. “Someone took my cookies and left these apple slices.”

Lily quickly gave the cookies to Malinda and took her own apple slices back to her desk.

Teacher Rhoda saw the exchange. “Who is taking food out of lunch boxes again?” Nobody answered her.

“I’m sure it was Lily,” Effie said. “Her family is poor. She never has good food and always wants to eat other children’s food.”

Lily felt her face grow warm. It was true. Lily and Joseph rarely had store-bought treats in their lunches. And she did wish her friends would share their treats with her. But she had never, ever thought of stealing anyone’s lunch.

“Did you take the cookies, Lily?” Teacher Rhoda asked in a sad voice.

“No, I didn’t,” Lily said. Her voice sounded wobbly. Her cheeks were burning. She was sure everyone would think she looked and sounded guilty. And she wasn’t!

Teacher Rhoda’s chin was firm, but her eyes were far from certain. When Lily put her lunch box on the shelf, Teacher Rhoda stopped her before she ran out the door. “Do you have any idea how those cookies got into your lunch box? Any idea at all?”

“No, I don’t,” Lily said.

“Lily, you must know that lying is almost as bad as stealing.”

“But I’m not lying,” Lily said. Why didn’t Teacher Rhoda believe her?

“Why would someone else exchange food in your lunch box?”

“I don’t know,” Lily said miserably.

Teacher Rhoda didn’t seem to know what to say. “Try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

But how?! Lily wanted to ask. She went outside but recess had been spoiled for her. The entire day had been spoiled for her. How awful that no one believed she was telling the truth! She almost always told the truth.

At suppertime, Lily didn’t want to eat very much. When Papa asked her what was wrong, she told him how someone had put Malinda’s cookies into her lunch box and her apple slices into Malinda’s lunch box.

Papa and Mama exchanged a look. A very worried look.

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Weeks passed. Three more times, someone else’s food turned up in Lily’s lunch box. It was always store-bought food and always from a different child’s lunch. Teacher Rhoda asked each student if he or she knew who was exchanging the food. No one knew. If they knew, they weren’t telling. Lily was sure they were all blaming her. Even Cousin Hannah and Beth, her best friends, had started to treat her differently. They didn’t always include her in recess games or ask her to sit with them or share secrets with her. More and more, Lily sat alone and read books during lunch and recess.

School was no longer a fun place to be. Lily wished she could just stay home.