Page 41 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

Both men stared at her. That wasn’t exactly the answer either had expected. Even though he’d been pretty sure, the confirmation still hurt. “Why?” he asked.

Heaven shrugged. “It seemed fair. I’ve been eating sprouts all week, even though I was with you all day when the trouble happened.” She pointed at Angel. “And I’d already told Sadie I wasn’t going to be part of the strike anyhow. Hayleigh did too, since her classes were too important to skip, but she’s still had to have her least favorite thing for dinner every night.”

“It’s just a serving of vegetables, Heaven. It’s not like you’ve all been tortured over it. Even when no one is in trouble, we still have Brussels sprouts for dinner sometimes.” Derek shook his head, sighing.

“Once in a while is not the same as every night. Besides, that isn’t the point. It was unfair, and I thought this would even things out.”

Angel cleared his throat. “So, this was the surprise you were working on, chiquita?”

She didn’t look at him as she answered, “Yes.” There was a hint of guilt there.

“Sir,” he said, correcting her with a firmness in his tone.

“Yes, Sir,” she repeated. There was no sass, but no apology in the words either.

Something in her expression, and in the way she looked at the nearest table and then away quickly, made him think there might be more to the prank. A gut sense told him that he was missing something. He focused in on one Little who was happily eating a sprout without even the slightest wince. He wondered…

“Heaven, is there anything else you need to confess?” he asked.

Her mouth dropped in surprise, but she snapped it shut quickly. “Isn’t this enough? I mean… I thought it was a pretty good prank for my first one.”

There was that deflection again. She didn’t really answer his question; she just asked one in return that made it seem like she was answering.

Derek apparently noticed too. “Heaven Leigh… let’s try this again, and this time you will answer the question. Is there something else you need to tell us?”

Heaven Leigh frowned. Her mouth stayed closed, and she didn’t reply. That was all Angel needed, to realize she was hiding something.

“Heaven Leigh, I expect an answer. You’re digging yourself a hole, young lady. I—”

The happy Littles, eating their sprouts without one complaint gave Angel enough of a hint about what it was. He touched the owner’s arm. “Hold on, Derek. I think I have an idea about what’s going on.”

Angel moved over to the closest table with Littles who were still eating. He leaned in, said, “Excuse me, niño. I’m going to steal one of those,” and then plucked a Brussels sprout off the plate.

The Little boy protested, which only made Angel more suspicious. He straightened as he held it up to examine it. The second he picked it up he realized something was wrong. It looked right, but it didn’t feel right. When he broke it in half, the truth became clear.

He was impressed. Really, incredibly impressed as he looked over the outside shell. If he hadn’t seen the evidence with his own eyes, he would never have believed it was really cake and chocolate. Realistic… he shook his head, that didn’t begin to describe the art involved.

Angel held out his hand, with the broken faux sprout, as he turned back to Derek and Heaven. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this kind of sprout before. Have you?”

Heaven gulped and closed her eyes. Derek frowned and held out his hand so Angel could dump the cake into it. “This is… actually very clever, Heaven. I’ve seen your work in pictures, but up close it’s impressive.” He didn’t sound annoyed as much as curious.

“T-thanks, Master Derek,” she said as she shifted her feet nervously. “Does this mean I’m not in trouble?” There was a hopeful note to the question.

Derek snorted. “No. Who else was involved in this?”

“No one. It was all me. I didn’t even tell anyone what I was doing,” she said without even a little hedging.

He examined the sprout for a few more seconds and shook his head. “Well, it would have been nice if you’d used your talents to make people happy, instead of…” He waved a hand at the occupants of the cafeteria.

“The Littles are all very happy, Sir.” She even dared to grin at him.

“But I’m not. And I’m fairly sure no one who bit into a raw Brussels sprout is thrilled either.”

“Oh, um… yeah. Well, can’t please everyone, I guess.” She inched back a foot or so, but Angel moved to intercept, stepping behind her to block the escape route—just in case.

Derek raised his voice to be heard across the room. “Excuse me, please pardon the interruption. Heaven Leigh has something to say about the… mistake regarding the cake pops.” He shot her a look, waiting.

Her face flamed bright red and she looked down at her feet, mumbling, “Um… sorry.”

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