the pencil box

THE PENCIL BOX Nobody liked Jane. As soon as Emily Sweet found that copy of Anne of Green Gables—a three-hundred-page-long book! —in Jane’s faded purple kindergarten backpack, that was it. Any hope Jane had for a normal life, for swing on the swings, for making a life long friend, someone to share secrets and giggles with, someone to teeter totter with, was over, because nobody likes the smart girl. Nobody likes someone who …

…back with both hands…the moment he started bringing the ax down, strength sprang up in him.” Jane smiled for the second time that day. She copied down the words and put the paper into the box. It still glowed with overflowing energy. “The blood gushed as from an overturned glass…” Alone in the room, Jane had to smile. Crime and Punishment was her favorite book. Now she could finish it for the third time.