Two Bainbridge Island girls were arrested Thursday for allegedly trying to poison their teacher, police said.

The girls, both 12-year-old students at Sakai Intermediate School, face charges of second degree assault after admitting they applied strawberry lip gloss to their teacher’s coffee cup and water bottle in hopes of provoking an allergic reaction, Deputy Police Chief Mark Duncan said.

“This is a pretty scary story,” Duncan said. “They knew this teacher had this allergy and intentionally tried to make her sick.”

Duncan said other students tried to warn the teacher, but the 58-year-old woman had already been exposed to the allergen.

She experienced an allergic reaction, but finished the day teaching and was back at school on Friday.

According to the police report, the plot was hatched because the girls didn’t want to attend class, and one of them had forgotten to bring to class a signed progress report.

Both girls were emergency expelled from school, according to Bainbridge Island School District officials. A determination regarding their return to school will be made later.

Because they are juveniles, their names were not released. The teacher’s identity also was withheld.