Marcia's mom hurried to Sarah's summerhouse and ran inside. Marcia sat on the couch with her feet up and a damp cloth on her forehead. The rest of the guests sat on the floor and watched, as Marcia moaned and held her stomach. It appeared that she took a wee bit too much ipecac and now suffered from the effects. Her mom looked at her and shook her head.

"Let's get you home, young lady and into bed. Your friends can come with us too." Her mom softly said to Marcia.

"Ooh, mom, I feel like something kicked my stomach," groaned Marcia.

"You will be fine in the morning. We just need to get you home, now." Her mom said. "Let's go girls."

Monica, Naomi and Sabrina said goodbye to the other girls, picked up their stuff and walked out with Marcia and her mother. They climbed into the car and sat glumly as they rode to Marcia's house. Marcia turned and looked at her friends and saw how badly they felt for her. A small smile appeared on her face, which the three girls saw. They grinned at Marcia but kept quiet until they got to the house. Marcia walked slowly into the house dragging her stuff behind her. The other girls followed her and chattered a little on the walkway to the house. Marcia went to her room slowly, after dropping her stuff inside the door. She turned quickly and closed the door, after her friends entered.

Her friends hugged her and chattered loudly, asking how she did it. She put a finger to her lips to quiet them down. There was a knock at the door and her mother entered carrying two plates, one with cookies, the other with crackers. Her dad entered behind her mom and carried a tray of glasses of milk for the girls. They quietly turned and left the room giving the girls privacy. Marcia ate half the crackers and one cookie. The girls finished off the rest and spoke softly to Marcia.

Naomi looked at Marcia and asked, "How did you get so sick, so fast?"

"We all worried that you had gotten some bad food or an allergic reaction to the popcorn," Sabrina added.

Monica sat and listened as Marcia said, "When I went in the bathroom after the popcorn incident, I rummaged through the medicine cabinet. I found many things, but I found a drug, which my mom used when I had a bad stomach. I knew it would make me puke. I just took too much of it and you saw the result."

"Oh no, Sarah really thought you were sick. She felt so bad for playing the pranks on you. Everyone gave you sympathy and chided Sarah. It was so great, but a bit cruel." Monica intoned.

"How will you explain it at school? You know it will be the major topic about the sleepover. You have to come clean about your trick." Naomi pleaded.

"I know, but it seems so much fun to really have Sarah be the butt of a prank gone badly. She did at least deserve that." Marcia shot back.

"Yes she did, but what you did was a little too much and you knew it would happen. That is what really makes it mean and cruel." Naomi shot back.

"Why don't we wait until Monday and find out how others feel about what she did and what happened afterward. If it goes badly against Sarah, I will relent and tell what really happened." Marcia relented quietly.

"That will be fine, I guess." Naomi capitulated.

They agreed that the videos played were great and Pac Man was a lot of fun. After the discussion, Marcia changed the subject and the girls talked about school and Friday when they would be together for the day. There was a quiet knock at the door and Marcia's mom came in to get the empty glasses and plates. While there, she checked Marcia and pronounced her fit and healthy. The girls went into the living room, gathered their sleeping bags and returned to Marcia's room. Marcia would sleep in her bed while the girls spread out on the floor.

"Marcia, why aren't you using your sleeping bag?" Her mother asked.

"It is stuffed with potato chips inside it. It needs to be cleaned, mom." Marcia replied.

Mom left softly and closed the door. The girls watched and waited until the door closed. The girls crawled into their sleeping bags and fell asleep until morning.

Morning came and the girls slept until after 10:00. Mom made them apple cinnamon oatmeal and orange juice and set it out on the kitchen table. The girls dragged their tired bodies out to the kitchen and sat quietly eating their breakfast. Mom watched them and kept them awake eating. The phone rang and the girls' heads popped up wondering who called so early. Marcia's mom answered the phone and spoke to the caller for a few minutes.

"I understand. The girls are here eating breakfast right now. How are the girls who stayed with you last night? That is good. Oh, she wants to talk to Marcia. OK. I will get her now. Good bye and thank you for calling." Mom said.

"Marcia, Sarah is on the phone and wants to talk to you," said her mom.

Marcia slowly stood up, looked at the other girls and walked to the phone, which her mother held. "Hello, this is Marcia," she said quietly and slowly. "I am doing ok, this morning. I feel fine. The girls and I are eating breakfast right now. It was a good party and we liked the videos and the games. I am sorry I got so sick on you. I did not plan on it. We will see you on Monday. Bye."

Marcia hung up the phone, looked away from the table to her mom and walked slowly back to the table with her head down. She slowly sat down and resumed eating her breakfast, without saying a word. The three friends at the table looked at Marcia and at each other. Marcia kept her eyes focused on her cereal and continued eating. All conversation at the table ceased, after the call. The girls finished their breakfast, put their dishes in the sink and walked quietly back to the bedroom. The girls entered the room, closed the door quietly and sat in a circle on the floor. They sat there for a few minutes in silence. They looked like helium filled balloons, which lost their ability to float.

After a few minutes, Naomi spoke, "You had a chance to tell the truth, Marcia. What happened?" Sabrina and Monica turned to Marcia.

"I, umm, I don't know. When Sarah told me she was sorry, I felt as if I won a fight. I could not let her win. I wanted to beat her again. When I hung up, I knew it was wrong and now I feel badly about it." Marcia relented.

"What are you going to do about it, Marcia?" Naomi asked.

Marcia sat there and looked down at her feet, as she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I know we talked about this last night, but I don't want to admit I tricked Sarah." Marcia answered.

Marcia's mom knocked on the door and announced that the girls' mothers waited in the living room for them. The girls stood up, rolled up their sleeping bags and went to their moms. They all said goodbye and Marcia went into the kitchen to help her mom clean up. She dried the dishes and put them on the counter so her mom could put them away.

As they worked together, Marcia asked her mom, "Mom, I have a problem. Do you think I could tell you about it?"

"Sure, sweetheart. You can tell me it." Her mom replied.

"I was not really sick last night. I knew about the pranks as we told you. They gave us popcorn covered with white pepper. I went into the bathroom to drink some water to clear my mouth. While there, I looked for something with which to retaliate. I drank a small bit of ipecac to make me sick. It happened that the puke came, just as I was confronting Sarah about the potato chips in my sleeping bag." Marcia confessed.

Her mom stopped and put the dishes down. She turned to Marcia and said, "What are you going to do about it, Marcia?"

"I should tell her, but I feel that it was alright to retaliate. We talked about it last night and I decided to tell her, but when she said she was sorry, I felt I had beaten her at her own game." Marcia reasoned.

"Now that your friends are not here, why not call Sarah and confess to her what you did. I will talk to her mom so we can smooth anything that happens. You will do it and get it off your chest. How does that sound?" Mom prodded her.

"I will call her. Let's finish these dishes and we can sit together while I talk to her. Thank you, Mom. You are the greatest." Marcia told her mom.

They finished the dishes and put them all away. Marcia took a glass, poured it full of juice and sat at the table. Her mom picked up the phone from its special area, put it on the table and sat down. Her mom dialed the phone and Sarah's mom picked up on the third ring.

"Hello, how are you this morning? I am fine and Marcia has recovered completely. She is sitting here with me. I think she wants to talk to Sarah. Is she available?" Mom said.

Mom handed the phone to Marcia. She spoke, "Sarah, are you there? I need to um tell you something. Promise you won't get mad?"

Sarah replied, "I won't get mad."

"Remember how sick I um got at the sleepover? I um wasn't really sick. I uh um sort of made myself sick." Marcia blurted out.

"Oh, how did you do that?" Sarah haughtily asked.

"When I went in the bathroom, I searched the medicine cabinet for something to make me sick. I found something and took it. That is why I puked all over you." Marcia confessed.

"Yeah, I know. You found the ipecac I placed there for you. I knew you wanted to retaliate. I made sure there was something that would work well for you. You fell into my trap once again. I won again, I got sympathy and you went home with your friends. It went exactly as I planned." Sarah defiantly said as she laughed.

Marcia felt crushed, defeated and beaten at her own game. She said, "Oh, OK you win. Goodbye Sarah." Marcia quietly hung up the phone while Sarah's cackling laugh echoed from the phone.

Marcia folded her arms and lowered her head to the table. The humiliation she felt made her want to cry, but it would not make it better. Instead, she thought, "I have to get Sarah back. She will not win this battle. The war is on and I will win!" Marcia sat up quickly, stood up and went to her room. She had work to do now. Sarah would suffer defeat for this last prank.

Marcia's mom saw the changes as they happened to her daughter. The first was dejection and loss, followed by a deep sadness. After Marcia lowered her head on her arms, a quiet change occurred that scared her mom. Marcia rose more determined with a driven purpose in mind. She looked like a different girl now. It was a look that was not good, a look that came from a hidden evil place.

Sarah was in trouble now. Marcia focused solely on defeating her and making her the laughingstock of the fourth grade if not the whole school. She was going down and down hard. Marcia's sole purpose was to rip Sarah apart, to humiliate her, to hurt her so much that she would disappear from school. She did not care what the cost to her own reputation or friendships. She wanted to only get even and beat Sarah. Now she had the reason to proceed and the impetus to follow through until the end.

Marcia spent the rest of the day in her room. Her mom interrupted her for lunch, but never heard any noise from the room. Marcia was deep in thought, as she spent time making plans to get even with Sarah. When dinnertime arrived, she had made up her mind, that the prank had to be big enough to hurt ho one, but get Sarah in big trouble and maybe expelled.

Thanksgiving Day, Marcia spent with her family and enjoyed being with them and eating a big meal. She pushed all thoughts of school and Sarah out of her head. It was a day of quiet reflection of family and thanks for everything they had. The family sat and watched the parades from New York and Detroit on TV. The men sat around the TV and watched football while the women cooked and prepared the afternoon meal. Marcia helped to set the table and make sure everyone had what he or she needed. It was a nice quiet day for all involved.

Friday arrived dark and overcast, reflective of Marcia's mood. She expected her friends to arrive at noon for lunch and an afternoon and evening of fun. Instead, Marcia felt as if her world would shrink even more. The taunting news from Sarah about the ipecac weighed heavily in Marcia's mind and on her heart. One thought stood at the very front of her mind, "Should she tell her friends about what Sarah did?"

She slowly and half-heartedly picked up her room from her cousins' visit the day before. She had two cousins her own age, but they always left such a mess behind as if they were tornadoes on heels. Clothes and toys lay strewn all over the floor and window sill. She picked up her stuffed animals and placed them back on the shelf above her bed. Her clothes went back in the closet on the hangers and in the drawers. It took an hour, but she had a cleaned room ready for her friends.

Just a little before noon, Monica, Naomi and Sabrina knocked on the front door and waited for Marcia to come answer it. When Marcia opened the door, all the girls squealed in delight as they jumped up and down. The girls ran in the house and went straight to Marcia's room to drop their overnight things. They gathered on her bed and chattered about Thanksgiving Day and what they all did. It was as if they were apart for months and had not talked about their lives.

As they chatted, the girls suddenly stopped and looked at Marcia. They sensed she had something to tell them, but was afraid it was too awful. Monica and Sabrina looked at each other and then at Naomi. Naomi sat up and looked at Marcia.

"What is going on, Marcia?" Naomi asked.

Marcia looked at her friends, as her eyes started to tear up. She put her head down and mumbled something no one heard. When she looked up she said, "I hate Sarah."

Her friends gasped and Naomi continued, "Why do you hate her so much?"

"Tuesday, after you all went home; I chatted with my mom and told her what I did. I felt so badly about not telling Sarah. I had my mom sit beside me as I talked to Sarah." Marcia said as she spoke softly and very slowly. "She told me that she planted the ipecac in the bathroom knowing I would find it and use it to retaliate against her. So she beat me and won again."

Sabrina piped up, "That is so cruel. We need to make her pay."

"Yes, we do and pay badly. She had no right to trick you." Monica chimed up.

Naomi, the serious one, sat there listening to what her friends wanted to do to Sarah. She thought a while longer and finally spoke. "Why do we have to do anything?"

"What do you mean, Naomi?" Marcia asked.

"There is something between you and Sarah that is causing all this anger and fighting. If you keep pushing her, she will beat you again. You will do something worse until one or both of you get hurt or expelled or worse kicked out of school. Do you want that?" Naomi pleaded.

"No, I like the school and I want to stay, but she feels so superior to me and I do not like how she acts. I have to do something." Marcia spewed.

"Let's figure out what we can do to get Sarah back." Sabrina piped up.

Marcia said, "I have thought of a few things, but they may hurt her and that is not good. I want to hurt her reputation not her. That makes it more difficult to get back at her. I will have to think more about what I can do. When I figure it out, I will tell you about it."

A soft knock sounded from the door. It was Marcia's mother telling the girls that lunch was ready. The girls went to the kitchen and sat at the table eating and talking quietly. Talk about Sarah stopped before they left Marcia's room. The girls ate and giggled as Naomi spilled her drink a little. They cleaned it up and when they finished eating, cleaned the table and the dishes. They sat at the table and chatted a little longer. Marcia got the newspaper and looked at the movie page.

"Mom, can we go to the movies later?" Marcia asked.

"Sure, that sounds like a fine idea." Her mom replied.

The girls gave up a small cheer and left the kitchen to wait until it was time to go to the theatre. The problem of Sarah waited until a later time. They would get back at her; it was just a matter of time. Right now, it was movie time.