Sabrina the Schemer

by Karen Rispin

  "Is there oathing now?" I asked uneasily. I was remembering the men I'd seen go to the pastor's house.

  Kristi shrugged. "I don't know. People have gotten kicked out of the country before for talking about it. So shut up about it, OK?"

  "Shhh!" Joan hissed. Amy and Muthoni were coming over with their trays. Everybody shut up. Muthoni wasn't like us—outsiders just watching what was going on. Her family was stuck in the middle of it.

  "Come on, hurry!" Joan said, getting up from the table. "You guys are going to be late for school."

  At recess Lisa had to stay in to finish some math. I was headed for the swings with Muthoni when Thomas suddenly blocked our path.

  "Aren't your parents going to take you home, too?" he said, jeering at Muthoni. "You're half Luo."

  He stood there in our way looking obnoxious. Suddenly I was furious. All the frustration and anger I felt about Sabrina and everything aimed itself straight at Thomas. "

  Thomas Njerogi!" I yelled. "What are you, anyway? A recording? You just keep bugging and bugging Muthoni about her parents. What happened? Did somebody put a message on your empty brain over vacation so all you can do is play it back? Stop it, and get out of our way!"

  Instead of getting out of the way he stepped closer to Muthoni. "Maybe it's not so safe for you in Kikuyu country," he said.

  Muthoni took off running. I spun on Thomas and shoved him as hard as I could. He fell down.

  "Hey!" a voice said. Cheddy was standing right there looking at me like I was a witch. I took off after Muthoni. I found her crouched under the cedar hedge, crying. I sat down beside her because I wasn't sure what to do. My whole body felt hot and shaky and horrible from getting mad. Why did I have to go and do that right in front of Cheddy? I bit my lip, then looked at Muthoni. Nobody had told me I was in danger like they'd told her. I watched her shoulders shake as she sobbed.

  "Thomas was probably making things up," I said finally.

  Muthoni just shook her head. "People are mad at my father. Even my uncles. It's because he says we shouldn't try to just make our own tribe rich and important. We should think of what's good for the whole country. I'm scared!"

  Amy and Lisa both ran up just then.

  "Mr. George said you have detention for fighting, Anika," Lisa said indignantly. "I tried to tell him it wasn't your fault. He wouldn't even listen. He said—" She made her voice singsongy. "'If you lose your temper, it's always your own fault.'"

  I swallowed hard. It was the same thing Mom always said. I could just about hear her voice in my head. "Nobody can make you lose your temper. You do that yourself" I could still see Cheddy's eyes staring at me. He'd probably never be my friend again.

  "What's wrong, Muthoni?" Amy said, crouching down by her friend.

  "I'm scared!" she blurted, and she explained about her dad and what Thomas had said.

  "I think we ought to tell!" Lisa said. "The grown-ups could make sure Muthoni was safe from any jerks who want to hurt her to get at her dad."

  "No! No!" Muthoni said desperately. "Please don't tell."

  "We'll guard her then!" I said.

  The three of us agreed just as the bell rang and we had to run for class.

  I couldn't believe it the next day when Cheddy actually kicked the soccer ball to me at recess. Later, he ended up next to me when we were waiting for someone to bring the ball back in.

  "I thought you'd hate me for pushing Thomas," I blurted.

  "He was being a jerk," Cheddy said. "Still—"

  "I told him I'm sorry," I interrupted. "Mr. George made me, but I would have anyway."

  He shrugged, caught the ball under his foot, and headed for the far goal.

  For a couple of weeks, Amy, Lisa, and I stuck with Muthoni. Nothing happened. Gradually we quit doing it.

  Sabrina kept on picking at me. She stuck an old banana skin in my bed once, and stuff like that. It didn't bother me much because almost everybody was on my side. She was left out of the fort. I shoved those verses about loving your enemies out of my head. I didn't want to have to worry about Sabrina. At least she had Esther.

  Nobody except Lisa bugged Esther. Lisa said if Esther was enough of a wimp to let Sabrina push her around, then she deserved the hassle. I thought about the time Esther had stood up for my cousin Tianna, and I squirmed. I didn't say anything to Lisa, though.

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  Chapter Four

  I came in from working on the fort to get some chow one Saturday. Mom and Daddy sent up chow for my sister, Sandy, and me quite often.

  Sabrina was huddled on her bed. I stood in the door for a second, watching her. She looked so unhappy.

  Suddenly I realized I couldn't remember Sabrina ever getting chow from home. On my way out, I dropped a chocolate chip cookie on her bed. She hurled the cookie after me, hitting me in the back.

  "Keep your stupid cookie! I don't want to die of Anikat poison!" she yelled.

  I whirled, threw it straight back at her, and slammed the door. I stood there shaking. I'd gone and lost my temper again. Right when I was trying to do something right. For a second I thought about trying to say sorry to Sabrina. But it wouldn't work, I thought, and I sighed.

  "Hey, you guys," Muthoni was saying when I got back outside. "Let's have a party this afternoon in the fort."

  Everybody started talking at once about how we should do it.

  "We can get gobble-gobbles and seeds from the wattle trees!" Joan said. Lisa made a face.

  "Everybody who has chow has to bring it," Kristi said, looking straight at me.

  She wanted to get at my cookies. I didn't care—it felt good to be included. Until Lisa came last year, sometimes they let me do stuff with them and sometimes they didn't. Now they let me come. They were even on my side about Sabrina. So what if they ate all my chocolate chip cookies?

  "Hey, I know!" Amy said in an excited voice. "That loquat tree up behind the dorm—the loquats are mostly ripe. Muthoni and I were eating some yesterday. We could pick them!"

  "Aren't they the Jacksons'?" Joan asked nervously.

  "It's outside the hedge," Kristi said. "They never said we couldn't pick them."

  "Come on! Let's go!" Muthoni said. We all took off for the loquat tree.

  "No eating!" Muthoni said, climbing quickly.

  "What are we going to put them in?" Amy asked with her hands full of the bright yellow fruit.

  "Hey, I know," Kristi said after a second. "I could borrow Sabrina's big popcorn bowl. I'll go get it."

  "OK," Muthoni said. She twisted around to look at the rest of us. "We can just put them in our shirts until Kristi comes back with the bowl. Kristi, don't tell her Anika's here or she won't let you!"

  "I'm not that stupid," Kristi said, sliding the last few feet out of the tree.

  A few seconds later she was back. I slid down awkwardly, holding onto my shirt. Everybody crowded around Kristi, letting go of shirttails so that loquats poured into the bowl. We kept at it until the big bowl was full, then we started eating loquats.

  I rubbed the fuzz off of one and popped it into my mouth. Its warm flesh tasted kind of like sweet cherries. Spitting out the big brown shiny seeds, I reached for another.

  "Lunchtime!" Mrs. Jackson's voice carried all the way to the loquat tree. Kristi took the loquats into the dorm and we headed uphill toward the dining hall.

  After lunch Lisa and I walked down the hill slowly behind the others.

  "Shhh!" Muthoni said as soon as we walked into the dorm. She was with a bunch of kids clustered outside the Jacksons' door, listening. She motioned frantically for us to come and hear.

  "Sabrina," Mrs. Jackson was saying. "I'm confiscating these loquats. You and your friends must be sick of them in any case. I looked and there is not a single ripe loquat left on that tree. You had no business stripping it of fruit without asking permission. I'd been planning to make jam."

  "But, Mrs. Jackson—,"Sabrina blurted, then stopped. Sabrina was a boarding-school kid from
way back. She knew tattling on somebody was worse than anything. She wouldn't tell, not on Kristi, anyway.

  Mrs. Jackson's voice came again from farther off. Sabrina followed her, and we couldn't hear what they were saying.

  "I said that was the Jacksons' tree, but you guys wouldn't listen," Joan said.

  Kristi gave her an irritated look.

  Amy said slowly, "We should tell Mrs. Jackson that we did it."

  Lisa threw back her head and said, "I think Sabrina deserves anything she gets for being such a dweeb to Anika."

  There was an uneasy silence. The verse about being kind to your enemies was going round and round in my head again. Finally I said, "Look, maybe if I tell she won't be so mad at me anymore."

  My mouth was dry. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I could hear Mrs. Jackson's footsteps coming.

  The door opened, and Mrs. Jackson was looking at us. Sabrina was behind her. "Um," I blurted, "Sabrina didn't pick those loquats. We did."

  "I told them!" Joan said. "I told them it was your tree."

  While Joan was talking, Sabrina pushed past Mrs. Jackson. Hugging her empty popcorn bowl, she shoved past us and headed for our room.

  I bit my lip and shifted from one foot to the other.

  "Did Sabrina ask you to pick them for her?" Mrs. Jackson asked.

  "No, we just borrowed her bowl to put them in," Muthoni said, then hurried to explain. "See, it was for a party at the fort. We thought it was OK since the tree was outside your hedge and you never told us not to."

  Mrs. Jackson sighed. "I see," she said. "It looks as though I owe Sabrina an apology." She went on, "How about if we share these loquats half and half. That way I'll have some for jam and you'll have some for your party. Wait here."

  A second later she handed me a smaller blue bowl full of loquats. "I'd like the bowl back when you're done. In the future, please don't pick the fruit from any of the trees around the house without asking first"

  We nodded and Amy called, "Thanks, Mrs. Jackson!" Muthoni took the loquats, and we headed down the hall in a clump.

  "Ma Jackson's not so bad," Kristi said. "She even shared—"

  Crash! Sabrina's bowl whizzed by my head and shattered on the wall. Joan screamed.

  Sabrina was standing in the doorway to our room. Her hands were on her hips. She tossed her hair out of her face and yelled, "Anika Scott, you set me up! You wanted me to get in trouble with Mrs. Jackson. Now you made me break my bowl. I hate you! I don't know why your stupid parents waste their time sending you chow!"

  The last words sounded like she was trying not to cry. She whirled and slammed the door.

  There was a second of dead silence. Lisa snorted and said, "See, I told you she deserved anything she got."

  "What was that bit about chow?" Kristi asked. "She acts like she's gone right out of her head."

  "Anika gets the most chow of anybody," Joan said. "Sabrina never gets any. I noticed. Her parents hardly ever come to visit, either. Even when they do come they only give her popcorn, or maybe money."

  "So?" Lisa asked.

  "Come on," Muthoni said, heading for the door. "Forget Sabrina. Let's have our party."

  "I can't believe it!" Joan said as soon as we were out the door. "Sabrina busted her own popcorn bowl. Now she won't even be able to make popcorn. She's weird!"

  "She's worse than that!" Lisa said. "She's a mega-geek-head."

  Listening to them talk made me feel odd. I mean, I was glad they were on my side, but still, Sabrina had sounded so miserable. I knew what it felt like to be left out.

  "Let's eat," I said, trying to change the subject. "I put my cookies out in the fort before we went to lunch. First come, first served." I ran for the fort and everybody came after me. Laughing, we tumbled through the narrow doorway.

  The inside of the fort smelled of warm earth and spicy black wattle bark. Sunlight came through tiny holes and made bright spots on the dirt floor. I pulled the top off my cookie tin with a jerk. Everybody crowded around.

  "No!" Muthoni said. "We have to sit down in a circle because it's a party. It's not just a pig-out. Amy, you go get a banana leaf for a tablecloth, then we can eat."

  A few minutes later we were arranging all the food neatly on the huge banana leaf. The stem of the five-foot-long leaf was oozing where Amy had pulled it off the plant. Its shiny surface felt cool under my hand when I put the cookies down on it. The cookies and loquats looked nice arranged on the bright green leaf.

  "You know what?" Kristi asked, looking up from making neat pyramids of loquats. "Esther went home this morning."

  "Why?" Muthoni asked. "She doesn't have to worry about the o—" Muthoni stopped herself suddenly. I was pretty sure she'd started to say oathing. I was surprised she was still thinking about it. I frowned. That meant Muthoni was still worried.

  Joan gave her a funny look. "The oh?" she asked. Muthoni shook her head, frowning, and said,

  "Nothing."

  "Why is Esther leaving?" Amy asked.

  "Because she can't stand hanging around with megageek-head anymore," Lisa snapped.

  "Would you guys shut up and listen?" Kristi said. "Esther is leaving because her parents are going on furlough, that's all."

  "Maybe being by herself will make Sabrina wise up," I said.

  "Don't count on it," Lisa said. "I don't see why you keep standing up for her. She's horrible to you."

  I shrugged.

  Muthoni said, "Like I said before, forget Sabrina. Let's eat."

  It was a great afternoon, but every now and then I would suddenly remember Sabrina all by herself.

  I was pulling my pajama top over my head that night when a huge commotion in the other room made me pause. I yanked my pajama top on and ran to see what was happening. I hopped up and down to see over Lisa's shoulder. She'd gotten there first and was standing in the doorway. I could hear excited voices. Kristi was yelling something about money.

  "Move!" Sabrina said, shoving past me and into Lisa. Lisa moved, but she moved to block the doorway. With a hard wiggle Sabrina got through. We crowded into the room after her.

  Kristi was standing in the middle of the room with a brown wallet in her hand. "See, it's gone!" she said, holding the wallet open. "I had two hundred shillings in here this morning. Somebody stole my money!" The last part came out really loud. Kristi was so mad she was shaking.

  "So why don't we make a search?" Sabrina asked. "We could look through everybody's drawers for it."

  "Hey, great idea!" Kristi said. "If anybody won't let us look, we'll know they took it. Come on."

  A second later, most of the drawers in that room were open. Amy stood up from digging through Joan's drawer. "Wouldn't the person probably hide it outside or somewhere anyway?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be kind of dumb—"

  "Come on you guys," Sabrina said, interrupting Amy. "Help me look in the other room."

  A bunch of kids went with her, and Lisa and I followed. That's when I saw the Jacksons' door open.

  "What's going on?" Mr. Jackson asked, coming into the hallway.

  "Somebody stole Kristi's money," Lisa said over her shoulder. "We're looking for it."

  He followed us into our room. Sabrina already had my second drawer open. She was pitching stuff out onto the floor.

  "Hey!" I said. "You don't have to make a mess."

  "What's the matter? Don't you want your drawers searched?" she taunted, without pausing or looking up.

  "She never said that!" Lisa cut in furiously.

  Sabrina wasn't listening. She was holding up a handful of money. Suddenly there was a dead silence in the room. Everybody turned and stared at me. My skin prickled. Goose bumps stood up on my arms. They thought I was a thief.

  My mouth opened, but nothing came out. No words would come for me to explain that they were wrong. I didn't put that money there.

  "Sabrina, you put that money there yourself!" Lisa yelled, making me jump. "That's why you wanted us to search so bad. You're the thief!" />
  Sabrina stuck her chin in the air and tossed her long blonde hair. "It's not me that's a thief, Lisa Barnes. It's your precious friend Anika Scott! She's bad just like her pagan brother. Her parents come visit and give her chow, and she still steals."

  By now the kids from the other room were crowded in behind Mr. Jackson. All of them were staring, wide-eyed.

  "OK, that's enough!" Mr. Jackson cut in. "It's bedtime. We'll deal with this tomorrow. Now get to bed. Sabrina, give me that money, please."

  "Hey! It's my money," Kristi said as Mr. Jackson started to leave the room. "Mr. Jackson!"

  He paused and looked at her. "How do we know it isn't Anika's money?"

  "I didn't have any," I blurted.

  He held open his hand. "Are you sure this is yours?"

  Kristi nodded wildly. "See, the twenty-shilling note has cocoa on it from where it got spilled on."

  He gave it to her and left.

  "Come on," Lisa said, motioning for us to follow her to the bathroom. I hung back and grabbed Kristi's arm. She shrugged me off, frowning. My face got hot, but I came after her babbling, "I didn't take your money, Kristi. Really, I didn't!"

  She wouldn't look at me. I stopped and stood still. My stomach hurt.

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  Chapter Five

  Numbly I stood in the hall, staring at the shut bathroom door. All the kids in the dorm were in there talking about me. They all thought I was a thief. Sabrina had found Kristi's money in my drawer.

  The door popped open, making me jump. Lisa stuck her head out and said, "Come on, Anika!"

  My brain was too mixed up to think. I just did what she said. Everybody was huddled around the sinks talking at once. When I came in, they shut up and stared at me. I whirled and started to leave. Tears stung my eyes. Lisa grabbed my arm. She faced the rest of the kids with her chin up.

  "If Anika really took the money, she would have said it was hers!" Lisa said. "You guys are being really stupid. Think about it. You know Sabrina hates Anika. The whole search was her idea. She was just trying to get Anika in trouble."