Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

"Seriously, Thomas. Maybe we should try someplace else."

Breaking into Billings was one thing. Breaking into the housemother's locked apartment upped their

misdemeanor to a felony.

"Where else are we going to go?" Thomas asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ariana bit her lip. For a moment she considered just calling Headmaster Cox, telling him they were here. But

then she thought about the assembly of the day before-how he'd said there'd be no exceptions. She realized

with a heavy sigh that she and Thomas had already broken too many rules. Thomas was right. There was

nowhere. The other remaining students were using the cafeteria, so pilfering food from the kitchen was not an

option.

"Before you answer, allow me to show you one of Chez Lattimer's most tempting features." He reached for

the thermostat dial on the wall and turned. "Wait for it...." The sound of the ancient pipes screeching in the

wall made Ariana jump.

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"Heat!" she said happily. She felt as if her bones had been frozen for days.

"Heat," Thomas confirmed.

"This Chez Lattimer is growing on me." Ariana walked over to the tiny kitchen area and sat down on one of

stools at the counter. "So, what are your specials?"

Thomas shrugged as he stepped onto the white linoleum floor. 'Tour guess is as good as mine." He opened a

few cabinets. "Let's see. On the menu today, we have brown rice, pancake mix, or Metamucil."

"Wow. Everything sounds so good," Ariana deadpanned. "Surprise me."

"Pancakes it is."

Thomas rooted around the kitchen until he found the requisite ingredients, plus measuring cups, a griddle, and

a bowl. He laid it all out on the counter and got to work.

"You know how to cook?" Ariana smiled. She liked the idea that she was learning something new about him.

"How hard is it to follow directions?" he replied.

Ariana watched as he measured the mix in a dry measuring cup and the oil and milk in a liquid measuring

cup. A boy would only know the difference if he'd cooked before-Thomas was trying to hide the fact that he

knew what he was doing.

"So you've never made these before," she challenged.

His back to her, Thomas paused in his stirring. "Okay, fine. You caught me," he said over his shoulder. "I can