Grand Theft Safari by Precious McKenzie, Becka Moore Read Free Book Online

saw them. Mom, Dad, Nigel, and Elea. They stood facing us, near the camp. Mom had her hands on her hips. Dad had his arms folded across his chest, with a scowl on his face.
    â€œIt’s too late,” I said, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I took my hands off the steering wheel but, in my dread, I forgot to take my foot off the gas and we plowed into their path. They dove out of the truck’s path, screaming.
    The truck jerked to a stop at the base of a tree. Tomas looked up and over the dashboard.
    â€œUh-oh,” he moaned.
    Dad was at Tomas’s door, yanking him out of the truck by his shirt collar. Mom was at mine, pulling me out of the truck. Elea ran away from all of us, barking like crazy.
    â€œHow dare you take the truck! You are not old enough to drive!” Dad yelled at us.
    â€œYou could have been killed!” Mom screamed. “You could have gotten lost out there! We’d never know where to find you!”
    I knew there was no way we could talk our way out of this one.
    Tomas spoke up. “I wanted to show Marisol the cheetahs.”
    â€œThe what?” Dad asked angrily.
    â€œCheetahs. Nigel and Elea tracked them this morning. I wanted to see them up close before they moved on to a new spot,” Tomas explained.
    Mom relaxed a bit. Dad still looked angry.
    I came to Tomas’s aid. “It’s true. We found them.”
    Dad looked at Nigel.
    Nigel said, “I did track cheetahs this morning. But I didn’t see any.”
    â€œWell, we did,” Tomas said.
    Mom took Dad by the hand and they turned away from us, so we couldn’t hear what they were talking about. Mom waved her hands around as she spoke. Dad shook his head and rubbed his forehead.
    Several long minutes later, Dad turned back to us. He said, “No one was hurt. But neither of you are to go near a steering wheel until you are sixteen years old. Got it?”
    â€œYes sir,” we answered in unison.
    â€œGo to the tent and be quiet until I finishspeaking with your mother,” Dad ordered.
    Tomas and I practically ran to the tent.
    â€œWhat do you think they’ll do?” Tomas asked nervously.
    â€œTie us to a tree and let the ants eat us?” I suggested.
    â€œI’m serious. This is no time to joke,” he said.
    â€œYou should have thought of that before you stole the truck,” I said.
    Our parents left us in our tent for another hour. We couldn’t hear exactly what they were talking about, although we had our ears up against the tent panel the whole time, hoping to catch their conversation.
    Mom came to get us.
    â€œYou may come out now,” she said sternly.
    Tomas and I followed her to the fire pit. “Here it comes,” I whispered to Tomas. He nodded.
    â€œNow, we have two days left at Lake Bogoria. As your punishment, you will spend the next two days collecting flamingo poo with your mother.” Dad smiled like this was the best punishment ever.
    Great, I thought. For the next two days, Tomi and I would climb around the lake’s shore, scrapingup poo and sliding it into glass vials. Wonderful.
    Tomas and I argued for the next two days as we collected the samples. Mom, Dad, and Nigel seemed to think our punishment was amusing. They would check in on us, smirk, then go sit under an umbrella.

Chapter Nine
    GOODBYE AFRICA
    Nigel helped Mom pack the scientific crates and load them on the train in Nairobi. From there, the crates would head to the airport to be shipped back to Mom’s university laboratory in Chicago. We would spend two nights on the coast before returning to Nairobi to catch our plane out.
    Diani Beach, on the coast, was completely different than our time in the interior of Kenya. The town sat on the Indian Ocean. I’d never seen such turquoise waters before. Tomas couldn’t resist it. He rented a snorkel and flippers. He splashed around, cruising just below the surface, watching for exotic fish. Mom and Dad played