Hardly had the jeep screeched to stop when a bunch of eight, boisterous teenagers spilled out of it and frantically hurried into the woods.
“Ah! Freedom!” Amy exclaimed, overexcited. Raising the flask of coffee, she addressed, “Cheers to our first feast!”
“Hip-hip hurrah!” The companions buzzed, smiling ear to ear.
Under a mammoth, shady tree, they assembled in a gossipy circle.
“What’s for lunch today?” A curious Julie massaged her tummy. “I’m already hungry.”
“You’re always so,” ridiculed Lily with a wink.
“Lily,” Amy pitched in with a subtle, precautionary tone, “we’re here to gobble and dance like there’s no tomorrow. Now don’t fuel a fight. I’ll reveal the list of delicacies we’ve brought along.” Pinching a flimsy list out of her pocket, she read, “Cookies by Lily, muffins by Sherry, ham sandwiches by -”
“Ham sandwiches?” Julie cut her short. Her puffy eyes, glistened in delight.
“Yes, I’ve brought a basket full of those,” Amy grinned at Julie. “Now let’s dance and kindle our appetites!”
Like a carefree lot, they quaked their waists and tossed their hands in air. “Boohoo!” Julie screamed in boundless joy and yanked Amy by her ponytail.
“Ouch! That hurts,” she retorted.
“I’ll go and get some water,” Julie huffed.
“Sure.” Amy flipped her hair and resumed her moves.
[A few minutes later]
“Julie’s missing!” Lily shouted at the top of her voice. “And so is my basket of sandwiches,” added Amy with a fallen face.
The rest, stood stupefied. “Now what? Will our parents ever allow us to enjoy all by ourselves?” Someone foolishly enquired from the bunch.
“You idiot! Rush to find Julie first!” Amy rebuked. “My dear sandwiches,” she frowned, almost at the edge of wailing.
The seven mates, having employed themselves as investigators, tiptoed through a barely existent path, mindful of the various toothed and fanged enemies who might snack on them.
“JULIEEEE!!!” They corroded their voices and peered with searching eyes.
“Wait! We’ve to split,” Amy halted. “Lily,” she grimly suggested, “you’ll form two groups with three in each.”
“And you, Amy?” Lily couldn’t help questioning.
“I’ll track the smell of my sandwiches and drag her by the collar. She’s definitely where my sandwiches are!” Amy stomped on the ground. The crowd dispersed.
Amy sniffed like a rabbit and continued with measured steps.
“Go away, you nasty chunks!” A familiar voice popped up nearby.
Amy slowed down to trace its source. She unclenched her jaw and flattened her brows, “Here I come!” She inched forward, aiming at a tree, behind which she could perceive the peeping rim of her beloved sandwich basket.
“You thief!” Amy tugged the shoulder of the suspect. There she was, Julie, caught red-handed.
“You cheater!” Julie recoiled and hurled the basket at Amy. “Are these your sandwiches?”
Amy stood still with a gaping mouth. Barely, the titbits of bread-edges and shrivelled lettuce were scattered like sediments. She helplessly asked, “You ate it all?”
“They did.” Julie gloomily pointed at a scurrying mass of rats.
***
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This is an entry for Five00-9, #Vintage. Find all the entries here: https://writers.artoonsinn.com/category/five00/five00-9/
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