A Snitch in the Snob Squad by Julie Anne Peters

head back around. I glanced over at Prairie. She bit her lip and dropped her eyes. On the other side of her,
     Hugh was nodding his head. Kevin leaned around him and smiled at me. Instinctively my hands came together. Then again. I clapped.
    From the front row Ashley turned around and glared. I proffered her a hand gesture I’d learned from Max.
    “That’s not all,” Mr. Krupps said. “This morning she found even more money in her desk. About twice as much as was stolen
     in the first place.”
    I gasped. I wasn’t the only one.
    He added, “And there was another envelope with twenty dollars and an IOU for the rest.”
    My eyes zoomed in on Prairie again. This time she was staring back at me. Lydia twisted around from her desk in front to widen
     her eyes at us. I spun around to catch Max’s reaction. She sat sprawled in her desk, sucking sunflower seeds.
    “So,” Mr. Krupps went on, “I find this all very interesting. Fascinating, in fact. Apparently we’re having a run on Good Samaritans.
     Now, if one of you is the thief, I’m sure we’d all be eternally grateful if you’d return Mrs. Jonas’s money, too. Wouldn’t
     we, Mrs. Jonas?”
    Her cheeks lit up like lanterns.
    “In fact,” Krupps said, “I might even consider forgetting the whole ugly business. This time.” His eyes zeroed in on Max,
     who choked on a sunflower shell. “Think about it,” he barked and headed for the door.
    “Mr. Krupps?” Lydia’s voice stopped him.
    He pivoted in place. “Yes?”
    “Why don’t you give the extra money to Mrs. Jonas? That seems fair.”
    He blinked, like the thought hadn’t occurred to him. “I’ll think about that,” he said. “Thank you for the suggestion. This
     still doesn’t clear you.”
You
, as in Max. He stalked out.
    General mayhem ensued. It took the threat of rescinding recess for the rest of the school year to get us under control. I
     don’t know about anyone else, but I felt fantastic. This was great. Problem solved. Now I could forget I ever suspected my
     friends.
    It was Lydia who had to bring up the one annoying little loose end. We were at lunch, spreading out to eat and share, when
     she said, “Wow, Ms. Milner must’ve gotten back an extra three hundred dollars. Or will with the IOU.” She shook her head.
     “I can’t believe people who didn’t even take the money are returning it.”
    Prairie said, “Maybe they’re trying to protect the real thief.”
    “I doubt it.” Lydia opened her pudding cup.
    “Why?” Prairie said. “Wouldn’t you do that for a friend?”
    Lydia snorted. “It’d have to be a really good friend.”
    It grew quiet, except for the chewing. I guess we were thinking about that. Me especially. Would I cover for a friend? Yes,
     on one condition. I’d have to know which friend it was.

Chapter 17
    Dear Forever Fat Unless I Fast Forever Diary
,
    I’m giving up food. It’s the only way I’ll ever lose weight. I hate my body. If you could see me in shorts, you’d hate my
     body, too. I hate myself more. Especially when I cheat, the way I did after school when I ate a supersize Snickers bar without
     blinking. Why can’t I control myself?
    Minnette says I don’t have to give up all my favorite foods, just eat in moderation. I say she’s whacked, except that’s how
     she lost about a hundred pounds and became a registered dietician. Registered dietician does not even make my list of top
     one hundred career possibilities
.
    Minnette says I have to learn how to control my appetite. But once I start eating, I can’t stop. It’s depressing
.
    That’s not the only thing I’m depressed about. It’s summer and I want to wear shorts. Everyone is, even Ashley. But if Kevin
     Rooney ever saw my thunder thighs, he’d run so far so fast. He might figure out the
J
in my name stands for Jumbo
.
    You’d think keeping Kevin as my boyfriend would be motivation enough to make me stop eating. More than anything in the whole
     wide world I want to