Jennifer watched as her mother carefully counted the money from the cash register and filled out the morning’s bank deposit slip. It was the first week of summer vacation, and Jennifer was finally getting the chance to work a real job. Mom and Dad had agreed to let her work part-time at the family diner to earn enough money to buy the new computer she wanted. Jennifer was in charge of cleaning the tables after people finished eating. She worked hard and tried to do a good job to show her parents that they had made a good decision. She wished she could do more than just clean up, but her mother said she was too young to take orders or cook meals.

“It must be taking your father longer than he expected,” Mom said, glancing at the door. Normally Mom would walk across the street to the bank and deposit the money right away. But Dad had taken their car in for some repair work that morning and wasn’t back yet. “I guess I’ll just have to take this money to the bank later,” Mom said, walking into her office. She locked the money in a small lockbox in the desk drawer and put the key into her apron pocket.

“I can take it for you, Mom,” Jennifer said, trying to be as helpful as possible.

“That’s O.K.,” Mom said. “I need you to do just what you’re doing.”

Jennifer frowned. She knew that her mother didn’t trust her with the money. “The bank’s right across the street,” she muttered.

“Oh, no!” Mom said after refilling a customer’s coffee cup. “We’re almost out of coffee, and the supply truck won’t get here for another hour.” She looked at her watch nervously. “Jennifer,” she said, reaching into her apron pocket and taking out some folded money, “will you go across the street to Fred’s Market and buy a can of coffee?”

“Sure,” Jennifer said, taking the money from her mother. She went back to the office to grab her jacket while Mom resumed waiting on customers. As Jennifer was putting the money into her pocket, she saw the key to the lockbox tucked between the folded dollar bills. Jennifer remembered the bank deposit in the desk drawer. She knew it was ready to take to the bank. “I’ll surprise Mom and take the deposit to the bank on my way to the market,” she thought. “Then she’ll see that I can be trusted.” She took the key, unlocked the lockbox, and took out the bank bag. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she headed out the door.

“O.K. Thanks, Jennifer,” Mom called after her.

Jennifer walked across the street to the bank. “I should put the money in the bank first,” she said to herself. But when she opened the bank door, she saw a long line. “Maybe there won’t be as many people after I go to the market,” she thought. She walked next door to the market and found the coffee aisle. As she grabbed a can of coffee, she set the bank bag down and reached into her pocket to get the money for her purchase. Jennifer counted the dollar bills out as she walked toward the front of the store. Then she went up to the cashier and paid for the coffee.

“Thanks, honey,” Mom said when Jennifer walked into the diner. “Why don’t you open the can and make a pot of coffee? Do you remember how?”

“Sure!” Jennifer said. She could see that Mom was busy, and it felt good to be helping out. Just as she was starting the pot of coffee, her father returned.

“Hi, Dad,” Jennifer said.

“Frank,” Mom said as Dad walked into the diner, “can you take the money to the bank before you get started? It’s in the desk drawer.” Jennifer felt her stomach drop. The bank deposit! Her heart raced. What had she done with the bank deposit?

“I don’t see it,” Dad called a moment later from the office.

“Well, I put it right there,” Mom said, walking back to the office. After frantically searching the office, she sighed. “Somebody must have sneaked in here and taken it while I was busy with customers and Jennifer was at the store.”

“We should call the police,” Dad said.

“Mom, Dad,” Jennifer said hesitantly as she approached them, “I lost the bank deposit.”

 “What?” Mom asked, puzzled. Jennifer explained as quickly as she could. “You must have left it at the market,” Mom said. “Let’s go look. Maybe someone turned it in.” Jennifer and Mom dashed across the street to Fred’s Market and asked the manager if anyone had turned in a bank bag. No one had. Then they retraced Jennifer’s steps through the store. Finally Jennifer spotted the bank bag lying on the floor, under the edge of a shelf.

“Mom,” Jennifer said, “I found it!”

Mom opened the bag nervously. “Well,” she said, frowning, “the money is gone.” Jennifer hung her head. “But the checks and the credit card receipts are still here, so it’s not a total loss.” Jennifer felt terrible. She went with her mother to the bank to deposit the checks. Then they went back to the diner and explained everything to her father.

“I just wanted to show you and Mom that I could do more than wipe tables,” Jennifer finished.

“Jennifer,” Dad said, “I know you were trying to help, but that doesn’t excuse what you’ve done.”

“I guess you don’t want me to work here anymore,” she said softly, her face burning red. Jennifer felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t even look at her parents.

“On the contrary,” Dad said. “You need to work to reimburse the diner for the money you lost. And after you’ve paid your debt, you might still be able to save enough for that new computer.”