Free Poisoned by Kristi Holl Page B

you mentioned Rosa’s clothes and her beautiful black hair several times. We all envy others’ looks sometimes, but work hard to be satisfied with how God made you. You’re beautiful — in God’s eyes as well as mine. Try to really believe this truth: a gentle, peaceful spirit is more becoming at any age than any clothing you could wear
    or any hairstyle. “The Lord does not look at the things [human beings look] at. [People] look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Don’t let the world dictate how you feel about yourself.
    Jeri reread the email, then closed it. At gut level, she knew her mom was right, but sometimes it was so hard. God might look at her heart, but
people
looked at the outside. If they didn’t like what they saw, would they bother getting to know her heart? What was wrong with having a good heart
and
a great “outside"? Surely she could have both, couldn’t she? Yes, she wanted to please God, but she wanted to look pleasing to others too. She sighed. If only it didn’t matter to her.
    But since knowing Dallas, it
did
matter.
    A lot.
    Jeri spent the rest of the school day with her busy mind going from one problem to another — and missing half of what her teachers said. She wanted to figure out what was going on in the dorm. Ms. Carter seemed content to blame a virus, but some of the girls acted like Abby was guilty of poisoning people. Jeri figured she had moved up to the number-one-suspect position herself after Emily caught her snooping in the kitchen. She had to get rid of the cloud of suspicion that floated over them.
    Throughout the day, Jeri brainstormed ways to spice up her accidental food poisoning report, but nothing worthwhile came to her. Time was critical, or that slick chick Sierra Sedgewick would win the media fair competition with her dad’s photos. Talk about unfair!
    It wasn’t until Friday’s last class that an idea occurred to Jeri that just might trap the culprit. Suddenly alert and focused, she considered her plan from all angles.
    Yes.
It ought to work. But to be effective, she couldn’t tell anyone her plan.
    On Friday nights, Hampton House ordered food from the pizzeria to be delivered at six. The girls ate pizza and then played cards or board games. Winners of the friendly competitions received coupons from the house mothers for things like “one hour of video games” or “one-hour extension of lights out.” It’d be a perfect night to try her plan.
    That evening Jeri waited at the front door until the pizza was delivered and paid for by Ms. Carter. She guarded it till supper, then was careful to eat from all three pizza boxes: pepperoni, Hawaiian, and beef. Half an hour into the
UNO
competition, she pressed on her stomach and tried to look ill.
    No one noticed.
    A few minutes later, she grabbed her stomach and groaned. Jumping up, she dashed to the first-floor bathroom. She slammed the door, made some barfing noises, and flushed the toilet twice. Ms. Carter was outside the bathroom when she opened the door, with Abby and Rosa behind her.
    “Oh dear,” Ms. Carter said, putting her arm around Jeri’s waist. “Looks like you’ve caught the bug too.” She felt Jeri’s forehead, and Jeri tried to look weak. “No fever. That’s a good sign. We’d better get you to bed.”
    “But I’m okay now.”
    “Are you sure?” Ms. Carter said. “Miss Barbara could sit with you upstairs.”
    “No. Really. I’d rather finish the game. I was winning.” Going upstairs would wreck her plan. Jeri padded back into the living room, where the girls looked at her. Trying not to be obvious, Jeri glanced at each girl. Did anyone look shocked that she was sick? The poisoner would know the pizza hadn’t been tampered with, so she’d guess that Jeri was pretending. Would she give herself away?
    “Does anyone else feel sick?” Jeri asked. “I think there’s something wrong with the pizza.”
    The girls looked at each other and Ms.