Chapter 1: Shake Sneak

Dean: 16
Sam & Kate: 12

Dina's Diner had all the same red booths and stool-lined counters that any diner did. But Dina's Diner boasted about having the best shakes in the world. The. Whole. World.

"I don't know, Sammy," Dean said, tired of this conversation. Next to me, he held up his menu to try to redirect Sam's attention to ordering food. (I didn't need to be redirected. I knew what food I was getting.)

Across the booth, Sam frowned. "It's supposed to be one of the best-made summer camps in the nation, Dean! If I go, I'll get to learn and experience real science firsthand! It's—"

"Sam, I don't know why you're hounding me on this," Dean said as he dropped his menu down. "I'm not the one that'll have to fork over the four hundred. Pitch your speech to Dad."

"But Dad will—"

"Hiya, hons!" Her nametag read Betsy, and she was a middle-aged, redhead waitress with a sincere smile. She pulled a pen from her hair, a notepad from her apron, and asked jollily, "What can I get ya?"

"I'll get the chocolate shake," I announced, sliding my menu across the table and towards her.

Without looking away from his own menu, Dean slid my menu back to me. "No, she won't." He threw me a look. "You've been running on nothing but m&m's and Crackerjacks for two days. Order something real."

I frowned. My oldest brother could be such a killjoy sometimes. "Dean, they have the best shakes in the whole world." I pointed to the bold statement on the menu that said so.

"And I'm the world's best brother," Dead said dryly. He stabbed my menu with a finger. "Order something real." He looked up to the waitress and asked for a double cheeseburger and fries. "What do you want, Sam?"

"To go to that science camp," Sam grumbled, glaring down at his menu.

The sympathetic waitress turned back to me. "Did you decide on somethin', hon?"

Uh… I looked down at my menu. "I guess chicken tenders… and a chocolate shake."

Dean handed off our two menus and gave the waitress a grin. "Forget the shake. Just the burger, fries, and tenders will do." He turned back to Sam and ignored my pointed scowl. "What are you getting, Sam?"

Sam's angry eyes snapped up to Dean. "Why can't you just ask Dad about the camp?"

"I never said I wouldn't," Dean defended, growing his own glower. "And why can't you just go read in the library over the summer like the rest of the nerds, huh?"

Sam glared, dropped his menu, and jumped out of the booth. He stomped away as Dean blew out a breath and rolled his eyes.

"Sam!" Dean called out. "Sammy! Come on, don't be like this!" The bell over the door rang, signaling Sam had exited the diner. Dean quickly got up, threw me an order to stay there, and then jogged after my melodramatic twin.

Betsy, bless her heart, was watching my brothers' theatrical departures with a look of concern. "Are those boys gonna be alright?"

I waved off her concern. Ever since we'd turned twelve last month, Sam found something to get upset over daily. "They're fine. Now, I have money." I pulled out a small wad of seven one's. "And it's all yours if you get me that shake." I raised a suggestive eyebrow and scooted the money closer to her.


By the time my brothers had their heart-to-heart and came back into the diner, I was seven dollars poorer. I sipped on my shake, three-fourths of the way through it, when Dean stalked up to the table with angry, disbelieving eyes. Worth it.

"What the hell, Katie?" Dean demanded as I continued drinking innocently. "I told you no shakes!" Sam watched me with an impressed look as he sat back down at the booth.

"I used my own money, Dean," I said in lieu of a response to that. I took another drink.

Dean snatched the shake right out of my mouth, holding it up with an incredulous look. "So what? Your sugar-addiction is killing you, Kate!"

I leaned back, pretty content with myself. "That was the world's best chocolate shake, and I know what it tastes like. I can die happy."

Dean shoved the shake onto the table but away from me. "Good," he said as he plopped down beside me, "because I'm going to kill you when we get back to the motel."

Betsy appeared, sheepishly handing out the burger, fries, and chicken tenders. "Sorry, honey. She gave me the saddest look, and I just about melted." (Or she really wanted my seven dollars.) She turned to Sam. "Anything I can get for you, sweetie?"

Sam ordered a chicken burger, and Betsy scurried off to get it for him "in a jiff."

Dean shoved my chicken tenders towards me. "Eat." He took a large bite of his double cheeseburger.

I didn't move towards the chicken. "I'm full." I really was; the world's best shake filled me up.

Dean froze mid-bite before slowly turning to glare at me. He stayed silent, but his eyes promised that I had better started chewing or else.

Meekly, I picked up a tender and started shredding it. I slowly ate the chicken.

Betsy popped out with Sam's chicken in no time, making me wonder if they just heated up precooked food. Maybe they used their kitchen space to research how to make the best shakes.

As Sam bit into his burger, he told me, "I can't believe you ordered that shake."

Still tearing apart my chicken, I threw him an unimpressed look. "I can't believe you seriously want to go to summer camp."

With a mystified grin, Sam shook his head and continued eating.

"Yeah, Kate's a real rule-breaker," Dean commented dryly as he reached the end of his burger. "And she's gonna get to do extra chores for the next two weeks as a reward." He smirked.

Twwwwoooooo weeeeeeeeekkkssss… I slumped against the seat and groaned. I stuffed a piece of my chicken into my mouth as I bitterly eyed the shake on the table.

Then again, I'd been lucky enough to taste the world's best shake. Two weeks of chores seemed like a fair trade-off for knowing its glory.