A Peek into The New Diary {Excerpt}

Today I decided to post an excerpt of The New Diary. This is my personal favorite scene … and one of the author’s favorites, too!

“I could use that piece of angel food cake left over from supper,” Carol agreed. She opened the door, and started for the kitchen.
“Carol! Wait!” Pete hissed, causing Carol to turn around.
“What?”
“We need to have a plan. In case those People catch us,” Pete’s whisper turned mysterious and mischievous.
Ethel giggled, and Pete shushed her.
“We need to be very quiet. Any unnecessary noise will bring the People in here, and ruin the raid,” Pete cautioned.
“If we’re going on a raid, we need to have code names,” advised Margaret, joining in the game.
“Okay, well, that’s easy. I’m Crackum. And Pete’s Pete,” Carol said. Crackum was Carol’s old nickname.
“Pete’s not a code name,” replied Pete. “I’ll be Repeat.”
Pete’s sisters burst into giggles. “Shh! You’ll wake the People!” Pete hissed. But Carol could tell that Pete was trying to hide a smile.
Maggie also saw the hidden grin, and renewed her laughter, and so Carol and Ethel laughed again. All the giggling finally made Pete laugh, which brought fresh rounds of mirth.
When the girls finally sobered, Pete resumed her instructions.
“Okay, I’m taking roll call. Captain Repeat?” Pete looked around, and said “Here.”
Ethel snorted, but the rest were able to refrain from laughing while Ethel regained her composure.
“Crackum?”
“Right here, in front of you,” replied Carol.
Margaret burst into giggles, and the girls were helpless with laughter for another two minutes.
Finally, Pete cleared her throat. “Peg?”
“If that’s my code name, I’m here,” Maggie replied.
“Snooks?”
At the mention of her nickname, Ethel stepped forward and saluted. “Here, Captain Repeat.”
“All right, here’s the plan. We enter the kitchen on tip-toe. This is how you walk on tip-toe.” Pete demonstrated. “Then, Captain Repeat- Oh, that’s me!- silently opens the pantry. She takes out the food, and gives it to Crackum. Meanwhile, Peg and Snooks find silverware and plates. Is that clear?” Pete then added, “And one more thing: no loud talking or laughing.”
Carol, Maggie, and Ethel immediately disobeyed the last rule by laughing. It was another five minutes before they executed the plan.
“Wait, we forgot an important detail,” Maggie said. “What food shall we take?”
“Well, Crackum wanted angel food cake, and I want raisin bread,” Pete replied. “Do you want anything else?”
“Nope, not really.”
So they put the plan into action. The girls tiptoed into the kitchen. Carol tried hard not to laugh, as she followed Captain Repeat to the pantry in the dark. She was sure Maggie and Ethel were also forcing themselves to keep silent. Carol was glad for the dark; she couldn’t see the others’ faces.
“Crackum?” Pete felt for Carol’s hands, and then shoved a loaf of bread into them. Then she hissed, “Peg? Snooks? Have you finished your mission?”
Margaret’s whisper came through the dark kitchen. “With all due respect, Captain… I can’t find the silverware drawer.”
Carol couldn’t hold it back. She burst into giggles, and laughed so hard, tears streamed down her face.
Of course, Maggie and Ethel had been on the verge of laughing, too, so they soon fell to the floor, laughing and gasping for air.
Carol heard Pete gasp like a real captain might do when a mission failed, but she succumbed to the humor of the situation, and laughed right along with them.
But then, a lamp light moved toward the kitchen. Mother’s oil lamp lit up the kitchen, and she skeptically viewed the howling girls. “What is going on in here?” she exclaimed.
Pete regained her composure first, so she tried to explain. The giggling of her sisters interrupted her many times.
“You see,” she said, “We were hungry, and wanted some food.”
Snorts from Ethel and Carol brought frowns from Pete. Margaret still lay on the floor catching her breath.
“And you didn’t bring a light because…?” Mother inquired.
“That would have been too easy, I suppose,” Carol said. She quickly added, “It’s all Pete’s fault, Mother.”
“I see,” Mother shook her head wearily. “Well, did you find everything you wanted in the dark?”
“No, because Margaret couldn’t find-” Carol broke off, as Margaret and Ethel started laughing; it was contagious.
Pete tried. “She couldn’t find the-” and she failed.
Mother folded her arms. She failed to see the humor, so Margaret hurried to finish the sentence. “I couldn’t find the silverware!” she burst out, before she convulsed into more giggles.
Mother shook her head, and left them to find the silverware in the lighted kitchen.
The girls ate their fill, then went to bed. In spite of the darkness in the house, Carol found a lamp, and wrote the events of the day in her diary. She smiled and chuckled, not too loud for she didn’t want to disturb Maggie, as she recalled their silly antics, just an hour ago.

Excited to read it? Add it on Goodreads here!

– T h e  S c h e d u l e –

Wednesday the 1st
-Kellyn Roth @ Reveries Reviews (kick-off/author interview)
Friday the 3rd
-Megan @ A Barefoot Gal (author interview)
-Kellyn Roth @ Reveries (excerpt)
Saturday the 4th
-Kellyn Roth @ Reveries Reviews (review)
-Angela R. Watts @ The Peculiar Messenger (review/author interview)
–Anika Joy @ Anika’s Avenue (review/author interview)

Thanks for reading and God bless,
~Kellyn Roth