Off the Wall by P.J. Night

in the basement, next to the bathrooms,” said Lucy. “Which reminds me that—”
    â€œWhich reminds me that we don’t have any money,” said Jane.
    â€œPeople can’t starve to death in a few hours, can they?” said Megan anxiously. “Because suddenly I’m starting to feel faint.”
    She tottered over to the fountain in the center of the lobby. It had been turned off for the night. Megan plunked herself down on its edge in a swooning kind of way. Then she dipped the tips of her fingers in the water and patted her face dramatically.
    â€œThat’s a little better,” she said in a weak voice as she dipped her hand again.
    â€œI guess it’s too late to tell her how germy the water probably is,” Lucy murmured to Jane.
    Abruptly, Megan sat up straight. “Hey, look! There are a lot of coins at the bottom of this fountain! Couldn’t we borrow a few for the vending machine? We could pay the money back tomorrow. I, for one, swear I will.”
    â€œYes! Great idea, Megan,” said Lucy. “Everyone try to get quarters.”
    Splashing their hands in the cool water revived the girls, and sharing an activity cheered them up. Besides, there were tons of quarters on the pool’s tiled floor.
    â€œEight quarters each ought to be enough,” said Lucy. “This is fun! It’s like panning for gold.”
    â€œOr harvesting pearls,” Jane agreed happily.
    When they’d collected enough change, the girls headed down to the basement. Five gleaming vending machines were waiting for them at the bottom of the staircase. The machines must have been freshly stocked—they were jammed with candy, drinks, and snacks.
    â€œThank goodness they have peanuts,” said Megan, “because I definitely need some protein.”
    â€œWhat’s a peanut butter cup?” asked Jane as she stared at the candy display.
    â€œYou don’t know what a peanut butter cup is? That’s like not knowing what a shoe is!” said Megan.
    â€œMy mom never has any candy,” said Jane. “Are they worth getting?”
    Lucy and Megan assured her that they were.
    â€œWhat are you going to get, Daria?” asked Lucy. But Daria didn’t answer. In fact, she wasn’t with the three girls anymore.
    â€œI think she’s in the” —Megan paused before mouthing the last word— “bathroom.”
    Lucy slid down the wall to sit on the floor. She opened her candy bar and took a bite. “We can eat while we wait for her.”
    But when they’d finished their snacks, Daria still hadn’t come out of the bathroom.
    â€œI don’t want to bother her,” said Lucy. “She might be, you know, busy. But maybe I’d better go in there and make sure she’s all right.”
    Megan swallowed her last handful of peanuts and nodded. “Good idea. She may have passed out from hunger in there. It happens to people.”
    Lucy headed into the bathroom—and almost immediately came out again. “Daria’s not in there,” she said in a puzzled voice.
    â€œAre you sure?” asked Jane.
    â€œYes, of course. There are only three stalls in there, and she’s not in any of them.”
    â€œIs there a window?” asked Megan. “Maybe she felt so faint from hunger that she opened the window to get some fresh air.”
    â€œAnd then did what?” asked Lucy. “Climbed out the window to get even fresher air? Anyway, there isn’t a window. We’re in the basement, remember?”
    â€œI’m trying to remember if Daria even came downstairs with us,” said Jane thoughtfully. “She said she was hungry. But did either of you notice whether she actually came down to the basement?”
    Silence.
    â€œI don’t think she did,” said Lucy finally. “She walked to the stairs with us. I do know that. But when we got to the vending machines, I was only thinking