I also see two containers of whole wheat noodles.

I grab the boxes of noodles and dump them in the garbage. No noodles, no casserole, right?

“I still don’t hear that blender, slowpoke!” the witch shouts.

“On it!” I say.

I reach up and take the blender out from the cabinet. I toss the food inside and throw in some ice. Now what?

Oh, look. There’s a helpful button on the blender that says BLEND.

I put the top on the blender and press the button. Whirr! Whirr-whirr!

“Excellent, girlie!” the witch shouts over the noise.

“One healthy smoothie, coming right up!”

I take off the top of the blender. It actually looks pretty. Green and sparkly. I pour three glasses and one little bowl for Prince.

“Ready!” I say. I hand out the smoothies.

Jonah takes a sip and makes a gagging face. “Can we add some ketchup to this?”

“Absolutely not. Ketchup is pure sugar,” Patty says. “I don’t hear you drinking!”

Maybe Jonah could pretend to drink the smoothie and dump it somewhere? She’s practically blind. But where?

I look around the cage. There’s a bale of hay in the back. Is that a pail next to it?

It is!

I point to the pail and mime a spilling out motion.

Jonah’s eyes light up. He rushes over and quickly pours the green drink into the pail.

He comes back over to the bars of the cage. “YUM!” he says. “This is the best smoothie I’ve ever had!”

“I think he’ll need at least a few days of healthy food before he’s ready to be eaten,” I say. I’ll have to sneak him some food so he doesn’t starve, but I can do that. Hopefully, I’ll figure out how to get us out of here faster than that.

“A few days?” Patty says. “No way. Let’s speed that up. Let’s give him one smoothie every hour for the next five hours or so. That should do it. Then we’ll cook him.”

“I don’t think that’s enough time to —” I begin.

“I think it is,” she snaps.

Okay, then. I have five hours to figure out how to escape. I gulp.

Then I take a sip of the kale/carrot smoothie.

Ketchup wouldn’t be the worst thing.

The witch’s house is quiet. Jonah is still sitting in the cage, looking grouchy. Prince is still keeping watch outside the rails, his smoothie bowl untouched.

The witch is sitting in her rocking chair, counting her jewels. Well, squinting at them while counting them.

I try not to look at my watch, but I can’t help it. It’s almost nine o’clock in the morning back in Smithville. NINE O’CLOCK! What is happening at home? Have my parents called the police? School has started!

I have to get out of here. But I can’t leave when Jonah is trapped in the cage. Although maybe if I sneak out I can get help?