A Snitch in the Snob Squad Read Online Free

was deafening until Mr. Krupps slammed his fist into the nearest desk. “I will
not
tolerate criminal activity here at Montrose. I run a clean school. Safe and secure, for students and teachers. No one leaves
     this room until we clear this matter up.”
    Geez, what did he expect? A public confession? Get real.
    “Daddy?” Ashley raised a tentative hand.
    Oh, figures, I thought. To the list of stuck-up, spoiled, and snotty, we were about to add snitch.
    “I don’t know if it means anything,” she said in a sickly sweet voice, “but a bunch of people were hanging around Mrs. Jonas’s
     desk this morning while she was out taking a phone call. Including Max.”
    My head whipped around to catch Max’s reaction.
    It was, in a word, nuclear. “I was handing in assignments,” Max snarled.
    “Hey, I was there,” I volunteered. “She didn’t do anything—” I stopped short. Of course, I wasn’t focusing on anyone’s activities
     besides Kevin’s.
    “I just thought I’d mention it.” Ashley shrugged.
    I’ll kill her, I thought. If Max doesn’t get to her first.
    Lydia piped up, “Could it have happened before school?”
    Mr. Krupps queried Mrs. Jonas. “It could have,” she admitted. “I cashed my check last night, and my purse was in my desk all
     day.”
    A slow smile spread across Lydia’s lips. “I was in the room before school and Ashley and Melanie were in here, supposedly
     working on a project.”
    Ashley twisted in her seat. She was so fat, her desk moved with her. “You were here, too.”
    “Not as long as you,” Lydia shot back.
    Melanie said, “Max was here when me and Ashley got here. Remember that, Ash?”
    Ashley’s beady eyes gleamed. “Now that you mention it, I do.”
    “I came in to feed the fish,” Max growled. “Like I always do.”
    Always? She never told us that. I knew she got to school before my bus arrived, but I thought it was to check out a basketball
     before the boys snagged them all.
    “Maxine, to the office,” Mr. Krupps ordered.
    She didn’t budge.
    “Now!” he bellowed, aiming an index finger at the door.
    “Hold on.” Mrs. Jonas stepped forward. “Max does have permission to feed…” At Mr. Krupps’s glare, her voice trailed off.
    He said, “Everyone is a suspect until we get this cleared up. Maxine, I’ll talk to you first.” He wrenched open the door and
     waited for Max.
    She slammed her desk shut and stood. The floor trembled as she stomped past. At the front, she paused at Melanie’s desk. Deliberately,
     she plopped her leg atop it and shoved her foot at Melanie. Melanie impaled herself against the seat slats.
    “Get a good look,” Max said. “This is your face.”
    “McFarland!” Mr. Krupps warned.
    She flew past him out the door. He had to hustle to catch up. Mrs. Jonas stared out the windows past them. We all did. My
     blood boiled. Everyone always assumes Max is guilty.
    So why did I feel guilty? Maybe because if the theft occurred during the time I was room monitor, this whole fiasco was my
     fault.
    We stopped in the office after lunch to see Max, figuring she got in-school suspension just for being born, but she wasn’t
     there. Which worried me.
    As I was hustling to catch my bus after school, I just caught the tail end of a conversation Ashley and Melanie were having
     on the front steps. Ashley, who was braiding Melanie’s hair, said, “Yeah, and my dad says anyone who carries around a lot
     of cash deserves to be robbed.”
    My jaw cracked the stoop. I thought, She did it. Ashley Krupps stole that money. A slow smile creased my lips. Well, well,
     well. What would her father say when he found out his precious little angel was a thief? No way he could let something that
     serious slide. Another thought barreled through my brain: Now all we have to do is prove it.

Chapter 4
    Dear Dopey Food Diary,
    After school I ate three Oreo cookies. If I didn’t have to write it down, I would’ve eaten a whole row. But since I