Karen plopped down on her bed.  Laura nudged her feet to make her move, then sat beside her.  Both girls stared at the heaping pile of candy at the foot of the bed.

“So . . .” Laura said.  “The party’s over, Sheila won, and she also got Matt.”

Karen laughed, almost a sob.  “But we got a big bowl of candy!”

Laura squeezed Karen’s hand, giving her a sympathetic smile.  She leaned forward and grabbed a Dum Dum from the candy bowl and stood it up like a person. 

“Hi,” she squeaked.  “My name is Sheila, and I’m a thief.  I steal men and prizes and all your friends.”

Karen picked out a Kit Kat and stood it up.  “I’m Matt,” she said, deepening her voice.  “But you can’t steal me, ’cause Karen’s already eaten me!”  She ripped the package open and popped in the candy bar.

“Oh, no!” the Sheila Dum-Dum squeaked.  “Don’t eat my candy!”

Laura tossed aside the sucker and grabbed a baggie of Skittles.  “Watch this, Sheila,” she said.  She opened the bag and poured all the Skittle into her mouth.

“Oh, no!”  Karen said in the squeaky voice.  “You’ve eaten my rainbow!”  She laughed and popped in a Midnight Milky Way.

Laura dug into the bowl and got out all the Whoppers.  “You stay out of my candy!” she squeaked.  “Or I’ll fire up my cannon!”  She began throwing the Whoppers at Karen.

Karen caught the first two in her mouth, but the third caught her on the nose. 

“Hey, no fair!” she said.  She began ripping open candy and throwing it at Laura.  “Whoever eats the most of Sheila’s candy wins!  The loser cleans up.”