Free A Modern Day Sense and Sensibility: An Adaptation of Jane Austen's Classic by Kaitlin Saunders Page B

only if they were on sale. Maybe you’ll get lucky next time.”
    A half-hour after entering the store, their cart contained milk, bread, lunch meat, cheese, mayo and peanut butter—the essentials. Turning onto the main pathway in pursuit of the registers, Marianne walked to greet them, holding up a frozen sack of edamame for Ellie’s approval.
    “How much is it?” Ellie asked.
    “$2.95,” Marianne answered. Ellie nodded and Marianne threw the sack into the cart.
    “That’s not fair! Why can’t I get something?” Margaret complained, threatening to throw a fit.
    “If you can find something that all of us can share that’s under. . .” Ellie began calculating the cost of the items in the cart on a hand calculator she happened to have in her purse, “. . .$3.19.”
    By then the sisters had reached the checkout and Margaret’s sharp eyes caught sight of the selection of candies being displayed. She grabbed a bag of M&M’s and turned to her eldest sister. “How about this? Please?” Margaret began to plead, “Mom loves M&M’s.”
    “No, it’s
you
who loves M&M’s,” Ellie corrected as she tried to suppress a smirk.
    “But they’re under $3.00!” Margaret sent Ellie a pitiful look.
    Ellie rolled her eyes, “Okay,” she relented, unable to resist that puppy dog expression any longer.

Using some blankets from the car, the four of them had managed to prepare a makeshift bed on the king-size mattress. Placing it flat on the floor, they had layered the blankets on top for extra comfort and were now lying across the mattress like sardines under a loose sheet. The air in the apartment was stagnant and muggy, but fortunately Diane and Ellie had been able to pry open the stiff window just wide enough to allow a slight breeze. Although it was definitely snug, they felt safe being grouped together in their new surroundings.
    Positioning a cold wash cloth on her neck, Marianne tried to silence her mind. She couldn’t seem to get comfortable and the heat in the room was bothering her. Deciding to count to a hundred, the task started to do the trick until Marianne heard a scratching noise. Assuming it was Margaret, her body was tweaked with annoyance. “Stop it, Margaret,” she commanded.
    “It’s not me,” Margaret sleepily defended herself.
    Marianne didn’t bother insisting. Her younger sister was probably just embarrassed at being caught horsing around and didn’t want to fess up. Besides, Marianne was too tired to argue and the noise had stopped—maybe Margaret had gotten the point. Yet, not a moment later, the scratching noise sounded again.
    Marianne sighed, “Whoever is doing that, please stop!” she exclaimed in an irritated tone.
    “I’m not doing it,” Diane answered, half asleep.
    Ellie didn’t answer right away and Marianne started to think maybe it was she who had been goofing around, but that didn’t seem like her older sister at all. Her conclusion was confirmed a moment later when Ellie rolled over and mumbled, “Just go to sleep, Marianne. It’s not any of us.”
    As soon as the words left Ellie’s lips, the four of them froze in a state of panic. If none of them were making the scratching noise, then who was? Sitting up, their eyes darted about the room frantically for any sign of the culprit. Was it a rat? Or worse, a thief?!? When the noise came yet again, it sent them all under the sheet, rattled.
    “I think it’s coming from the door!” Marianne whispered, her voice shaky.
    “Is someone trying to break in?” Margaret whispered back curiously.
    “Shhh!” Ellie hushed her. Margaret’s question was not helping the situation at all.
    When the scratching noise sounded again for the fourth time, they stiffened with fear. The noise was most certainly coming from behind the front door. Terrified, Diane worked up her courage and rose from the bed, slowly putting on her slippers. Following their mother’s example, Marianne and Ellie got up as well while Margaret stayed