image

Stop, Book Thief!

A miracle!

I sat in homeroom for fifteen minutes, and NOTHING horrible happened.

Mr. Grank didn’t even mention my hair, which made me wonder if he’s color-blind. It would definitely explain some of his outfits.

image

Then the bell rang for first period. It was about time for something horrible to happen, right? I was three steps from the door when Mini-Miller swiped my book right out from under my arm.

“That’s what you get for walking so slow, Peg Leg.” He grinned his dumb grin at me.

“Do you even read?”

Mini-Miller shrugged his enormous shoulders. “No.”

I planted my hands on my hips. “So, what are you going to do with a copy of The Book Thief?”

Mini-Miller snorted. “Duh,” he said. “Sell it on eBay.”

Great. Mini-Miller will probably be the next Internet millionaire, thanks to me.

image

I sighed and watched Mini-Miller lope down the hallway. I couldn’t believe my copy of The Book Thief was stolen by a real book thief. Could this day get any worse?

Yes, it could!

Because just at the moment Mini-Miller turned the corner, Mrs. Stricker swooped past him going in the other direction—toward me.

The minute she saw my hair, her face lit up. I could tell I’d just made her day. Not in a good way.

“Green hair, Rafe Khatchadorian’s SISTER?!” she screeched. “That’s a violation of our dress code! I’ll see you in detention!”

And she took off down the hallway, gleefully passing out a stack of brand-new HVMS Code of Conduct booklets.