Read Pizza Is the Best Breakfast for Free Online Page B

her.
    â€œWhat’s this for?” she asks, but she squeezes my shoulders right back.
    â€œI am happy to see you,” I tell her.
    â€œWell, that’s a great attitude for a Monday,”Mrs. Spangle replies. “Thanks for the boost, Mandy.”
    I trot off into the cubbies, and Anya is standing in front of mine. I throw my arms around her neck from the back, and I think I tackle her a little bit.
    â€œYou’re choking me!” she calls, but she is laughing about it, so I know I am not really hurting her. I release her, and she spins around.
    â€œHow’s Paige?” she asks.
    â€œUgh,” I answer. “Bossy. Annoying. I would like her to go home now.”
    â€œWho?” Natalie pipes up from behind me, and I do not even mind that she is interrupting, even though I usually do not like people to butt in on my beeswax.
    â€œPaige, my cousin,” I answer.
    â€œI thought you loved her,” Natalie says as she takes off her jacket.
    I shake my head back and forth ferociously. “Not anymore.”
    â€œWhy?” Natalie asks.
    â€œBecause I do not,” I tell her. “But I don’t want to talk about her anymore. I want to talk about the stickers you bought at the teacher store.”
    â€œI didn’t get to go,” Natalie says, and she looks pretty sad about it. “My mom said maybe this week.”
    Before I can agree with Natalie that this is a tragedy, Dennis steps right in between us, which I think is rude.
    â€œI know that you took my glue stick,” he says to me.
    â€œYou don’t know anything, Freckle Face,” I tell him.
    Dennis puts his nose very close to mine, so close that I can smell the hair gel in his Mohawk, and I think he uses way too much.
    â€œJust wait until you see what I glue things withnow, Polka Dot,” Dennis whispers, and he walks out of the cubbies before I can answer.
    â€œWhat’d he say?” Anya asks.
    â€œNothing,” I say. “I’ll take care of him.”
    But thanks to Dennis, I am much less excited to be back at school than I was five minutes ago.
    *  *  *
    Dennis is on his best behavior for the rest of the day, which I think is suspicious. He does not take any of my things or call me any name-calls or bother me one bit. In fact, by the end of the day, Mrs. Spangle announces that Dennis can pick a prize from her treasure box for not getting his initials on the board all day, and he skips off happily to claim his reward.
    And when he smiles at me extra wide on his way back to our group, I then know for sure that he is up to something.
    â€œWhat’d you pick?” I ask.
    â€œNone of your business,” Dennis answers, and he sticks his prize in his desk before I can see.
    â€œCome on, show me,” I say.
    â€œI said, none of your business, Polka Dot,” Dennis repeats, and I am almost happy to hear him call me “Polka Dot,” because at least he is acting normal again.
    I reach into my own desk to pull out my sticker book, just so I have something nice to look at as we pack to go home. I move my fingers around the left side of my desk where the book usually is, but I do not feel it. I pull out all of the folders and books and papers that are on that side and place them on my lap, then I look in between each of them one by one. Nothing.
    Just as I am about to reach inside again and remove everything on the right side of my desk, I catch Dennis watching me.
    Not just watching me—laughing at me.
    â€œLooking for something?” he asks.
    â€œYou took it,” I say.
    â€œI have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dennis responds, so I shoot my hand in the air and wave it in Mrs. Spangle’s direction.
    â€œI wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Dennis says. “Unless you want to talk about what you did with my glue stick.”
    I remove my hand from the air slowly and stare at Dennis. “Give it back,” I