Page 54 of The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad

“‘Dear Principal Wexler,’” Kyle read aloud. “‘Thank you so much for allowing us to TP your house. I’ve always wanted to be a part of a prank, and I had a wonderful time. If you need help cleaning up, please let me know.’”

Colton groaned as Kyle laughed and kept reading.

“‘I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least offer. You are the best. Sincerely, Sadie Day.’”

When he finished, Kyle turned to me with a grin and said, “Nice penmanship.”

I rolled my eyes. Yes, I’d included a smiley-face at the end, but only the one. That was progress, right?

“You left a note?” Colton asked in disbelief, turning to me.

“Yeah,” I said as he closed his eyes. “What? I wanted Principal Wexler to know how much fun we had. Was that wrong?”

Officer Hilliard still had that amused look on his face. “Were you aware, Miss Day, that the fine for littering in the state of North Carolina is anywhere between $250 and $1,000?”

“No,” I breathed. Holy smokes, that was a lot of cash.

“I didn’t think so,” he said. “No property was damaged, but the TPing is bad enough. Lucky for you all, Wexler has a good sense of humor.”

“But I thought Principal Wexler said it was okay, that he allowed it.”

The officer gave me a pitying look. “He’d have to be a saint to allow something like that.”

“Colton?” I turned to him, a pit of dread opening in my stomach as I saw his dire expression. The implications of my actions were just starting to hit, and I had a feeling I already knew the answer to my next question. “He said it was okay, right?”

Colton just shook his head. “I can’t believe you left a note. Who does that?”

“Oh my God,” I gasped in horror. That meant I’d committed a crime, an actual real crime. I was a criminal. The cops had come to my house, were at our door, and I was having a hard time not freaking out. Kyle put an arm around my shoulders to offer his support, but I hardly felt it.

“Baby, calm down,” Mom said, seeing my distress. “It’ll be okay. What happens now, Officer?”

Colton stepped in front of me before he could answer and said, “I’ll pay the fine, Hilliard. Whatever it is I’ll pay. It was my fault, not Sadie’s. She didn’t know all the details.”

“I gathered that,” Officer Hilliard said blandly.

“But I wanted to do the prank,” I said. I was still miffed at Colton for lying, for withholding vital info, but I’d been just as much a part of last night as he was.

“But I tricked you into it, so it’s my fault,” Colton insisted.

“No,” I said, “Iwas the one who toldyouI wanted to do a prank, so I’m guilty, too.”

Colton shot me a glare. “I’m trying to do the right thing here, Sadie.”

I glared right back. “I don’t need you to stand up for me.”

“Well, I am anyway,” he said and turned back to the officer. “Tell me what the fine is, and I’ll pay it.”

Officer Hilliard seemed like he wanted to laugh but was trying to keep it professional.

“Well Colton,” he said, “as much as I enjoyed that, it looks like there’s no need for your heroics. Wexler’s decided not to press any charges. Like I said, the man was amused by that note. He would like to take Miss Day up on her offer to clean his lawn though.”

“Of course,” I said quickly. “I’d love to.”

Officer Hilliard nodded. “I’m going to need you three kids to come with me.”

“Hold up,” Kyle said, “Just for the record, I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t even there. But I’ll come help”—he shot his brother a smile—”Colt’s not the only hero in the family.”

“Sounds good,” Officer Hilliard said. “More hands will make the work go faster. Follow me, please.” He spoke to my mom. “I’ll bring them back when the job’s done. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.”

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