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perma-frown tattoo). “Well done, my girl. Very well done. It appears I shall have some interesting reading this evening.” Then, with a wave of her fossilized hand, she dismissed TJ.
    The two girls left the room. Already TJ could feel the weight of guilt about what she’d done. It was so great she barely heard Elizabeth as they headed down the hall.
    “That’s incredible,” Elizabeth was saying. “A 20-page book report.”
    “Yeah,” TJ mumbled.
    “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, TD?”
    TJ looked up. “Hm?” Then shaking her head, she answered, “No, not really.”
    “Oh yeah, really . It’s like every time you do something, it’s weird and mysterious.”
    TJ laughed nervously—the type of laugh that’s just a little too long and just a little too high . . . and just a little too suspicious.
    Elizabeth lowered her voice. “You’re not like some witch or something, are you? I mean some of this stuff could be right out of a Hairy Potty book.”
    “Me?” Another laugh, a little longer, a little higher, as they turned the corner and approached TJ’s locker. “I’m just your average, run-of-the-mill girl from Missouri.”
    “Missouri? Is that like a state or something?”
    TJ looked at her.
    “I mean, it’s not like a code name for some alien spaceship, is it?”
    “Trust me,” TJ said as they arrived at her locker and she dialed the combination, “there’s absolutely nothing special about me.” Without looking, she opened her locker door and slipped off her backpack.
    “Oh, really?” Elizabeth said.
    “Really. I’m just your average, all-American girl.”
    “Who just happens to have a boy stuffed in her locker?”
    TJ turned to her locker and gasped. Elizabeth was right. There was a boy inside! But not just any boy. This kid looked like he was wearing clothes right out of the 18th century.
    “Who . . . who are you?” TJ stuttered.
    “I’m Jim Hawkins,” he said, touching the brim of his hat. “Cabin boy on the good ship Hispaniola .”
    TJ blinked. Jim Hawkins was the cabin boy in Treasure Island ! No way! It couldn’t be!
    “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can find Long John Silver, would you?”
    Without a word, TJ slammed the locker shut. She turned to Elizabeth and gave a nervous giggle.
    Elizabeth shook her head. “Those clothes are sooo out of fashion.”
    TJ nodded.
    “So who is he?” Elizabeth asked.
    “Uh, um, Jim. My cousin. He’s visiting.”
    The boy began

    from inside the locker.
    “Miss? . . . Excuse me, miss?”
    “Your cousin?” Elizabeth asked skeptically.
    “Right. Cousin Jimmy. He wanted to check out my school.”

    “Excuse me . . . miss?”
    “So . . . ,” TJ said, trying to shout over the noise. “What say we grab some lunch? I’m starved.”

    Without another word, she turned and quickly headed down the hall.
    Fortunately, Elizabeth followed, staying glued to her side. Unfortunately, she still had a couple more questions to ask.
    QUESTION #1:
    “So if your cousin wants to see the school, how come he’s locked in your locker?”
    TJ shrugged. “He’s just weird that way.”
    Elizabeth nodded and got around to
    QUESTION #2:
    “So . . . does that make him a witch, too—or just a sorcerer?”

    The only good thing about sitting at the cool kids’ table with Elizabeth and Hesper Breakahart was Chad Steel. It’s not that she liked Chad or anything. I mean, other than him being the hottest guy in school and one of the sweetest boys she’d ever met, she never gave him a second thought.
    A first thought, yes. Every five or six seconds, you bet. But nothing more.
    They were simply neighbors who occasionally spoke to each other (whenever she could remember how to speak in front of him) or gave nods when they passed each other in the hall (whenever she could remember how to walk in front of him).
    Besides, he was already spoken for by Hesper Breakahart. And after the way TJ embarrassed Hesper last week, it was important that TJ