Read Cassie Comes Through for Free Online

gift. But she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she just shouldn’t trust anyone. She shook her head. “Actually, everything’s fine,” she fibbed. “I’m just worried about my Wish History assignment. Star salutations for understanding what happened in class. I’m really sorry.”
    The teacher nodded. “Now I’d better get back inside and help poor Mica,” she said. “Of course, as you probably already figured out, he’s wishing…”
    â€œFor a mirror so he can begin his daily grooming,” finished Cassie. She could tell by the irritated way he had been preening his whiskers.
    Her teacher smiled. “That he is, the vain little thing!”

    The thought of having forty starmins to herself before her next class put a little bounce in Cassie’s step. She walked down the hall, her footfalls echoing, as she considered her options. She could go to the Lightning Lounge and clear her mind in a meditation room and possibly come up with a clever idea for disposing of Astra and Clover’s flowers. Since those two had had their flowers the longest, she thought that they could certainly put up a fight to keep them. She might have to do some fancy footwork. Or she could steal some time for herself and finish the last chapter of the holo-book she was reading. It was her uncle’s latest thriller, which would definitely relax her. (It wasn’t even available to the public yet, but she was certain it would be another runaway best seller.) She was pretty sure she had the mystery all figured out, but Uncle Andreas often threw a few misleading clues (also known as drifting moonbugs) into his stories, so she was really interested to find out if her hunch was correct. Not wanting to waste any of her free time, she sat on a nearby starmarble bench and pulled out her holo-book.
    The words leapt into the air and she began to read eagerly. Her uncle’s books used IMT, the new Illuminated Manuscript Technology: anytime the reader wanted to see the action unfold, she just needed to push a button and the animated holo-scene would play, with the text read aloud as it happened. It was a thrilling way to experience a story, especially a mystery. She got to a particularly exciting passage and pressed the IMT button.
    She held her breath as Detective Marmaduke Carbuncle stepped out of the shadowy recesses of a dark alley in Starland City. “Hold it right there, NT-96,” he called.
    â€œI…um…This does not compute!” Bot-Bot NT-96 barked. And suddenly it began to go berserk, ramming its metal body against the wall, sparks flying. Detective Carbuncle dove for cover as the Bot-Bot burst into—
    â€œUm, starscuse me?” someone said meekly.
    Cassie turned the book off with an irritated swipe. She turned to the figure that stood in front of her. “Yes?” she said through gritted teeth. There was nothing Cassie hated as much as being interrupted when she was reading.
    â€œUm, hi, Cassie. Sorry for bothering you.”
    Cassie blinked. It was Ophelia. Her bright yellow hair hung on either side of her face in two pigtails. She wore a plain yellow T-shirt and a pair of overalls, which were a little short, so her yellow-and-white-striped socks peeked out. She was so tiny and frail that she made Cassie feel tall, an unfamiliar sensation for her. When she gazed down at the girl, she realized the height difference made her feel motherly and protective.
    â€œOh, hi,” Cassie replied. “I was just talking about you with Leona.”
    The girl’s wide ochre eyes filled with liquid-glitter tears. “Oh, Leona,” she said. “I miss her so much. She was a wonderful roommate.”
    â€œReally?” said Cassie, who imagined that sharing a room with Leona would involve a large amount of appreciative observation. And applause.
    â€œOh, yes,” she breathed. “She was so entertaining! Always putting on such fun