"Sorry Nancy." Jenny mumbled.

"Well," Nancy took a bite of her apple, "you should be. Now will you let me go to the dance with Jeb?"

"No way!"

"Then I guess you really aren't sorry are you?"

"I'm sorry for being rude and that's all."

"Oh, you'll be sorry for a lot more."

"Is that a threat?"

"I guess you will have to find out won't you?"

Jenny walked away. She wanted to punch Nancy so bad, but she knew Aunt Laura would not accept that-especially as an apology.

Nancy smirked and then noticed Cassandra sitting near a shrub.

"Hey Cassandra." Nancy said with a sweet tone.

"Hi." Cassandra wondered what Nancy wanted. The only time Nancy would talk to her is when she wanted to copy her homework.

"Cassandra I was wondering if you would help me with something."

"I am not letting you copy my homework if that's what you mean."

"Oh, no, that is not what I mean at all. I wanted you to help me get back at someone:

"Who?"

"Jenny."

"I can't do that Nancy. Jenny is my cousin, sort of."

"Yeah but she has been really mean to me. And if you help I will give you a dollar."

"A dollar is an awful lot, but Jenny is so nice to me."

:"Yeah, but she is not nice to me. We would be doing her a favor anyway. She hates Jeb you know.""

"No she doesn't!

"Yeah she does. She always talks to Carrie about what a pest he is. So I figured we could be doing her a favor by telling Jeb for her. That way she wouldn't have to herself.

"I don't know. That sounds kind of odd."

"Oh, please Cassandra. If you help me you will be my best friend forever."

"Really, your best friend?"

"Yeah, and I will give you candy anytime you want and I will never copy homework from you or steal that bat from you at recess ever again."

Cassandra thought about Nancy's deal for a minute. She wanted Nancy to be nice to her more than anything and if this is what it took then she would help out. "Okay," she said, "I guess I could help. What do you need me to do?"

"Can you copy people's handwriting pretty good?"

"I guess so."

"Great. Get out a piece of paper and I will tell you what to write."

Jeb sat in the middle of the field welding his knife. As he looked up upon the setting sun he noticed someone walking towards him. He squinted his eyes to see who it was.

"Oh no, it's Nancy." He grumbled. "But what is Cassandra doing with her?"

"Oh, Jeb!" Nancy ran towards him. "Jeb what are you doing?"

"Welding. What are you doing here?"

"Well, it was such a nice evening I thought I would go for a walk and Cassandra felt like joining me."

"Okay, go walk then."

"Would you like to go with us?"

"No."

Nancy looked insulted. "Well, Jeb I might as well ask you something since I am here and all. I was wondering if you wanted to go the dance with me."

"I am going with Jenny."

"You are?"

"Yeah, and she told me you were up to something."

"I'm not up to anything. Okay, I'll admit I was, but then I thought about it and I figured since you both like each other I might as well let you two go together, honest. But then I found out…well I probably shouldn't tell you."

"Found out what?" Jeb was curious.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything…"

"Nancy, just tell me!"

"Well, Jenny doesn't really like you. She feels sorry for you, that is the only reason she hangs out with you."

"Nancy you are just bluffing because you like me."

"I know it makes sense to think that, but it really is true. Look at this note she wrote to Cassandra." Nancy held out a piece of paper.

Jeb snatched the paper and read the note.

The note read:

Cassandra,

I am so confused. Jeb really wants to go to the dance with me, but I really don't want to go with him. He is nice, but he can be so annoying sometimes. I feel sorry for him, but I just wish he would get out of my life. What should I do?

Your Friend, Jenny

He looked up at Cassandra. "Is that true?"

"Yes, awfully true." Cassandra crossed her fingers behind her back. "Sorry, Jeb."

"Well, I guess if it is written in Jenny's handwriting what you all are saying is the truth. Nancy, if it means that much to you I will go to the dance with you."

Nancy's face lit up. "Really? Thanks Jeb!" She reached down and gave him a hug.

Great, Jeb thought, what did you get yourself into now? But he wasn't too worried about it because he was to hurt by Jenny's note.

The door opened. "Cassandra where have you been?" Caroline asked gazing up at the door.

"I went for a walk." She answered.

"You went on a walk all by yourself?"

"No, M'am, with Nancy. I'm really tired I think I will go to my room. Good night!"

Cassandra ran up the stairs. All the Ingalls kids gave each other strange looks. Why was Cassandra hanging out with Nancy? They thought. Carrie knew something was wrong, but she wasn't sure what.

"Hey Jeb!" Jenny shouted from down the street.

"You're such a hypocrite Jenny Wilder!" Jeb yelled as he ran away.

Jenny didn't know what he meant. She shrugged it off figuring he was nervous about something. Jeb always acted strange when he was nervous.

"Oh, Jenny!" Jenny looked behind her. It was Nancy calling from the mercantile steps.

Jenny walked over. "Yes?"

"I forgive you."

"Forgive me?"

"Yeah, for not letting me go to the dance with Jeb."

"Oh, thanks. I'm glad you are over the whole thing."

"Well I hope you get over the whole thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Jeb isn't going to the dance with you."

"He's not? Then who is he going with?

"Me dummy. And there is nothing you can do about it. I told you I would get you back and I did. He hates you now. Well, see you at school!" Nancy smiled and headed to the school house.

Jenny's first instinct was to run and hit her, but she couldn't-not on the street anyway. No, she would wait and get her back in a way that was more subtle, yet hurtful. This was not like Jenny to think such thoughts, but she had never been so angry in her life.

"I can't belive it!" Carrie yelled. "What a jerk!"

"I know. But I wonder what she told him?" Jenny wondered as she pushed Carrie on the swing.

"Not that."

"Then what?"

"Well, last night Cassandra came home and she was acting all weird. She said she had gone on a walk with Nancy. So she must know something!"

"That's not like her."

"No, but it's like Nancy to trick her."

"Yeah. Let's go find out."

"Cassandra Ingalls!" Carrie scolded as she confronted Cassandra behind the school house.

"What?" Cassandra bit into a piece of licorice.

"Don't what me! By the way, where did you get that licorice?"

"I-I-found it on the ground."

"I bet Nancy gave it to you."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because we know she did something awful and used you."

"Well she didn't use me! She is my friend!"

Carrie smacked her sister on the head. "Duh, she used you! Do you think she really wants to be anybody's friend? And no offense, but if she did, it wouldn't be you."

"Thanks a lot."

"I am just telling you the truth. Now she really hurt Jenny and we need to know what happened."

"She hurt Jenny? But I thought…"

"Thought what?"

"Nevermind. Besides, if I tell you Nancy will get back at me so bad."

"Fine, don't tell us. But I guess I will have to tell Ma that it wasn't the wind that broke Grandma's vase."

Carrie started to walk away. "Wait!" Cassandra yelled. "I will tell you. But you didn't hear it from me."

Cassandra told them everything. Jenny was so upset. She had to get back at Nancy for this. She just had to. Laura had told Jenny all the things she had done to Nellie, so why couldn't Jenny do the same thing?

That night, after supper Jenny did some scheming.

"Aunt Laura?" She asked as she scrubbed a dish.

"Yes?" Laura was tired.

"Tell me one of those stories about you tricking Nellie."

"Oh Jenny, I am so tired, maybe some other time."

"Please." Jenny begged. "I could really use a good laugh right about now."

Laura sighed. "Well once," she started to chuckle. "Once Nellie went on a date with Almanzo and I got really jealous. So I said I would make them a special supper. And instead of putting cinnamon on the chicken I put on cyanine pepper."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I got in so much trouble for that. So don't think of doing anything similar."

"Oh I won't." Jenny hid the smirk from her aunt.

Are you sure this is okay?" Carrie asked.

"It's fine." Jenny reassured her cousin.

"I remember when Laura did kind of the same thing to Nellie."

"That is where I got the idea from."

"You mean Laura gave you permission to do this?"

"No, just an idea that she is unaware of."

"It's not toxic, right Jenny?" Cassandra wondered.

"No. A couple drops of costar oil never killed anyone; made them cringe a bit maybe."

"You know," Carrie pointed out, "Nancy has looked awfully pale and almost sick like sense we moved to De Smet."

"I've noticed that too." Cassandra agreed.

"Me too." Jenny laughed. "I guess the coaster oil will do her some good then, huh?"

The girls approached the pile of lunch pails in the schoolyard.

"Which thermos is Nancy's?" Carrie asked.

"Well, only Nancy and Wendy carry thermoses. I know Nancy brings tea everyday. So let me take a sip to see which one is tea. But before I do that, Cassandra since you are such good friends with Nancy, go distract her."

"Okay." Cassandra ran off in the direction of Nancy.

Jenny took a sip out of one of the thermoses. "This is Nancy's. And the tea is good. I am going to take one more sip."

"Well don't drink too much or she will notice."

"Okay." Jenny poured a half tea spoon of coaster oil in the tea. She shook the thermos to make sure the oil spread throughout the tea.

The girl's could not wait until lunch time. Finally it came. They sat in there corner, but watched Nancy very close. After a few minutes Nancy took a sip of her tea. She quickly spit it out.

"Who did this?" She demanded.

Carrie, Cassandra, and Jenny all laughed.

Nancy looked in their direction. "It was you Jenny Wilder wasn't it?" Tears started to form in Nancy's eyes.

"Just a little thing called pay back Nancy. Oh, and I forgive you!"

Nancy's face turned bright red and she ran off. Everyone was laughing-all except for Jenny.

"Jenny, why aren't you laughing?" Carrie asked.

"Because, I think there is something wrong with her. I don't know. Tell Miss Tuley I will be back as soon as I can."

Jenny ran after Nancy. She called for Nancy, but that only made Nancy run faster. Finally Nancy ran out of breath and sat down. Her face was pale and she was shaking.

"Nancy. I am sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry, really."

Nancy started to cry harder. "I know. I am not mad at that. It's just…I can't tell you Jenny. I know I was mean to you and I deserve what you did to me, but there is a reason I had to ask Jeb to the dance."

"Nancy, you can tell me. I won't get mad."

"Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"I promise."

"Jenny, I am dying."

Jenny felt queasy. "No you aren't. You are lying."

"No, for once I'm not lying. I am not allowed to tell anyone about my sickness so I just thought the only way I would get Jeb to go to the dance with me is if I was mean. Everyone would expect me to do something like that. But I don't want people to remember me as mean."

"Why can't you tell anyone?"

Nancy clutched her fists. "Because Mother is so heartbroken and distraught. She is in denial and doesn't want anyone to know. If people knew, they would talk to her about it and she doesn't want to talk. She sends me to school everyday like normal, pretending everything is okay."

"Oh, Nancy!"

"My dream was to go on one date with Jeb before I die."

Jenny started to cry. "Well, what is it that you have?"

"I Forget the name. It slowly kills you. If you are strong and healthy, despite the disease, you might live longer.. I found out about this right before we moved here."

There was a long silence.

"Jenny, how did you know which thermos was mine?"

"I took a sip from the thermos to see if it was tea or not. Luckily, yours was the first one I sipped. Actually, I took two sips."

"Oh, no. I was afraid of that."

Jenny became panicky. "Why?"

"My disease is contagious. I drank out of that thermos before I came to school."

"So you think I am going to catch the disease and die?"

"I don't know. The doctor said the disease can be caught by any form of bacteria, so probably."

"Well you know what we have to do then."

"What?"

"Make the best of today. There is no use in crying about it, so let's go walk around the fields and wade in the lake."

"Really? That sounds like so much fun!"

"Okay then. Let's go!"

Jenny moved her mashed potatoes around with her fork.

"Aren't you hungry Jenny?" Laura asked.

"No M'am."

"What's a matter? You look like someone just died." Mr. Edwards joked.

The Wilders tried to have Mr. Edwards over for supper at least once a week.

"Jenny, tell us what's wrong. Is it Nancy? Has she been mean?" Laura wanted to know what was wrong. It wasn't often they saw Jenny in such a fowl mood.

Jenny pushed her plate away and put her head on the table. She was trying to be brave, but just couldn't any longer. She didn't want to scare her family, but she had to tell them.

Laura and Almanzo looked at each other with a puzzled glare.

"Well, I best be going. Thank you Laura for dinner." Mr. Edwards got up from the table.

"No." A shaky voice came from the table. "Mr. Edwards you stay for this."

He sat back down.

Jenny lifted her face. It was bright red and stained with tears. "It's all my fault." She gasped for words. "I wanted to get back at Nancy for hurting me." Jenny felt her stutter that resulted from when she had almost drowned a few years ago come back. "I didn't know which thermos was hers. I sipped it and poured in castor oil. And then she got mad. So I felt bad and I knew something wasn't right. I ran after her. And well, I promised I wouldn't say what was wrong."

Everyone else at the table was confused. They did not know the whole story.

Jenny paused, and then slowly continued. "I have to tell because it concerns you. The thing is, Nancy is dying, and so, so am I."

"What?" Laura was still confused. Surely she didn't hear Jenny right.

"That's right." Jenny wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt.. "Nancy has been sick ever since we left Walnut Grove. Mrs. Oleson is in denial, so Nancy isn't allowed to tell anyone she is sick. I guess it is contagious by bacteria. And when I took a sip of her drink I became infected. There is no cure."

Laura, Almanzo, and Mr. Edwards were all shocked.

"What is the name of her illness Jenny?" Almanzo asked.

"She doesn't remember."

"Manly, do you think Nancy could be making up this whole thing?"

"I don't know, but I am about to find out."