Three…two…one. The shrill ring pierces throughout Snowcrest High School, sending the last few students scurrying to their first-period classes. The hall is as vacant as the library-sponsored Don’t Forget to Read During the Summer popcorn-and-punch party last May. By that I mean no one’s out here except for Mrs. Leonard (the librarian) and moi. Um, yeah. I was there. But only ’cause I was trying to fix up our school’s And Literacy For All chapter prez with her crush. Neither of whom showed up. Which explains why Mrs. Leonard thinks I’m some sort of superdevout bookworm who just loves volunteering in the periodicals section. I can already tell that my locker placement—right next to the library—is going to prove problematic. Hoping she doesn’t notice me (and heaven forbid venture over for a chitchat) I pretend to be searching for something in my locker. Only it’s the first day of school, so besides a tiny magnetic mirror, a tube of Kiss & Tell lip gloss, and my reserve of loose-leaf paper, the locker’s empty.
