The Thief in the Treehouse - Short Story

Confrontation

The next day, after school, instead of walking back to Roxy's house calmly and casually as usual, the trio was sprinting as fast as they could. They had to see if anything was damaged! Once they turned the corner and ran another twenty-five feet or so, they dashed behind Roxy's house and burst through the gate, just like Major did the previous day. Caleb climbed up into the treehouse, Roxy close behind, while Leah stopped to close the gate. Then she, too, climbed the wooden ladder into the treehouse and helped her friends who were already rooting through every nook of their precious little home.

Thankfully, the project had been untouched, but other things definitely weren't.

Just as Leah opened the door of the mini-fridge, she cried, "Some of our drinks are missing!"

Caleb pointed out, rummaging through the snack box, "And so are some of our snacks!"

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted her!" Roxy yelled, stamping her foot on the wooden floor. It made the treehouse shudder. "What should we do?" Leah placed a firm hand on her friend's shoulder, quietly placating her.

Caleb stood up and closed the lid of the snack box. He narrowed his eyes and grumbled, "She probably smuggled them in the bag she brought. We should confront her about it."

Leah gave a small nod in agreement. "Yes. She should know she doesn't have free reign in our treehouse." She placed her hands on her hips, adopting a rather scary look.

Roxy's hair fell around her face as she looked down at the floor, noticeably upset. "I shouldn't have invited her over here," she said quietly. She then sank into a cushion on the floor.

Leah put an arm over Roxy's shoulders and said, "There's no time for that. It could've been worse, and we can always buy more food if we do enough chores. We can't change the past, so let's not mope around about it and change the future instead!"

Roxy looked up. "You're right, thank you, Leah."

Aisling arrived pretty soon. Once everyone got the supplies set up, the three asked Aisling about the stolen items.

Aisling's eyes widened. That was the strongest expression she showed them on her face the whole time they'd known her. "Stolen items? I never stole anything! I know how special this place is to you guys!"

Caleb looked skeptical as a tenseness filled the air around the four. "I heard things like this have happened before, so I find that hard to believe," he replied, narrowing his eyes. Leah and Roxy nodded with the same look on their faces.

Aisling's mouth fell open in pure disbelief. Her eyes no longer glinted with surprise, but with anger. "You-you believe those rumors?" Her hands curled into fists at her sides, knuckles whitening. 

The trio looked at each other, perplexed and angry. Is this a manipulative trick she uses?

"You mean it's not true?" inquired Leah. She was pretty doubtful as she tugged on the ruffles of her skirt. She wondered what Aisling would say to that.

Aisling shook her head, sending her hair flying around her head like a snowstorm. "You shouldn't believe rumors unless there is proof they are true. But of course you guys would jump to conclusions!"

Roxy was skeptical, too. Aisling didn't have feelings on her face, so she wondered if she was telling the truth or hiding it. "What about when you ripped up Greg's math worksheet?" she challenged. "Or when you ruined Isla's relationship with Jordan?" The air in the treehouse tightened even more as the argument got worse. The distant birdsong stopped, as if the birds who were singing were trying to listen in on what was happening.

Aisling blinked, then her eyebrows drew together with an unidentifiable emotion. "I did not do that! Greg hated me because I kept telling him the answers he wrote were incorrect (which they were). He told me that he would get his revenge, but I was only trying to help him. He tore his own worksheet right before my eyes and framed me for doing it to get me into trouble and separate me from him! He could've just asked to be put in another group!