Free Snowed in Together by Ann Herrick Page A

bother me.
    I guess it was too much for Tiffany too, because suddenly she said, "Look, we're not dead yet. Let's not sit around like a bunch of mummies."
    "Dead? Mummies?" Tony said. "Man, you really know how to lift a guy's spirits."
    Tiffany threw up her hands in exasperation. "I just mean that I'm bored. Let's … let's at least take care of these dirty dishes. They're depressing."
    "Good idea," I said. It was something to keep us occupied for a few minutes, anyway.
    We gathered up all the plates, forks and mugs, loaded them on the carts and took them back to the kitchen in a clattering, crooked line. Once there, we decided to wash and dry them and put them away, then clean up the kitchen, too.
    "We so are desperate for entertainment," Tiffany said, as she wiped off a counter with a towel.
    "You're beautiful when you’re domestic." Tony grinned.
    Tiffany snapped her towel at Tony, but missed.
    Tony snatched the towel, snapped and landed a blow right on her butt.
    "Yike!" Tiffany rubbed her lower region. "That hurt!"
    "Aw, I'm sorry," Tony said. "Should I kiss and make better?"
    "You wish!" Tiffany exclaimed. She tried to look outraged, but a small smile crept across her face.
    "People, people." Ellyce pretended to be stern as she clapped her hands. "Enough!"
    Suddenly there was a loud creak from the direction of the cafeteria.
    "Let's get back to the art room," Cari said, trembling.
    "Yeah," Jeff said. "That's probably the safest place to be right now."
    No one argued or made any jokes. I think we all were kind of worried. We just didn't want to show it.
    Once back in our little corner of the art room, however, everyone started to fidget. The only sound was a duet of snores coming from the direction of Korman and Tenray.
    Finally, Tiffany said, "If I'm going to die, it's not gonna be from boredom. Let's do something."
    "Okay!" Tony wriggled his eyebrows. "Let's make mad, passionate love until we drop from exhaustion?"
    Tiffany put a finger to the side of her head and pretended to think this over, then said, "Maybe later. I was thinking of something more … verbal. I mean, these could be our last hours on earth. We should have a Last Confession."
    "Hold it," Tony said. "First, I'm not planning on these being my last moments--unless, of course, you were serious about 'maybe later.' Second, I think this Last Confession bit falls in the same category as 'What would you do for a million dollars."
    "And what category is that?" Tiffany asked.
    Tony wriggled his eyebrows--they were getting a good workout. "Dangerous."
    "Like, we aren't already in danger, stuck here in the middle of the snowstorm of the century?" Tiffany replied.
    I noticed that the talk of Last Confessions and danger was scaring Cari more than ever. Jeff must've noticed too, because suddenly he raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture and said, "This isn't a Last Confession. It's more entertaining, something I never told anyone before."
    "Oooh, a secret!" Tiffany flashed an eager grin. "We can all share our deepest secrets!"
    I curled my toes. Revealing my deepest secrets was not my idea of fun.
    "Okay," Jeff said. "Here goes. You know the Sheldon Ranch over in Eastern Oregon ?"
    "I've heard of it," Tony said. "There's some kind of ghost story connected with it, isn't there?"
    "Oh, I know!" Tiffany said. "I heard from my next-door neighbor. Back around nineteen hundred, someone discovered there was still gold in a small, old mine on the property. The owner tried to keep it secret, but word got out. One night the owner thought he saw a couple guys sneak in to try to steal some of the gold."
    "Yeah, I remember now," Tony said. "Barking dogs alerted the owner. He sneaked out and fired a shotgun into the entrance of the cave. He meant to just scare the thieves, but there was a cave-in."
    "Thanks for butting in." Tiffany elbowed Tony. "As I was saying, there was a cave-in. The owner tried digging through the debris, but it was too much for him. So the next day he