B005N8ZFUO EBOK by David Lubar Page B

words to the bottom of my list. After I’d looked at everything I could find in the encyclopedia, I took those new words and went back to the computer. This time, I actually found two books listed.
    As much as I hate to admit it, I was starting to have fun in the
library. If I told the guys that I was enjoying myself, I’d be kidded without mercy. They’d probably start calling me Bookman or Wordboy, or something like that. I certainly wasn’t a brain, and I didn’t think of myself as the kind of kid who studies stuff or learns things just for fun, but this was almost as good as a game.
    And I’d done it all by myself. I’d gone in there with little more than a suspicion, and ended up learning a lot more than I’d expected. As I sat back in the chair at the library, thinking about all I’d read and what I suspected, I realized there was an easy way to get the proof I needed. And I could do it before the end of the day.

MILKING THE MOMENT
    I was in the library so long, I missed lunch. I guess the bell rang, but I didn’t pay any attention to it. So I had to wait until dinner to spring my trap. It was tough keeping quiet. The guys would be blown away when I told them what I’d figured out. It was all so amazingly incredible. I caught up with them in line. Lucky hadn’t come back from his weekend with his dad, so it was just Flinch, Torchie, Cheater, and me.
    When we brought our trays out from the food line, I grabbed a seat next to Flinch. This was perfect. All I needed was a distraction.
    That came quickly enough. I noticed Torchie’s napkin was on fire. It wasn’t a big blaze—the edge was lightly smoldering. “Fire,” I said, just loud enough so Flinch looked at Torchie’s tray. I reached out and smothered the fire with my right hand. As I leaned across the table, I knocked over my milk with my left hand.
    Before the carton even landed on its side, Flinch jumped out of his seat. At that point, he still wasn’t looking in my direction.
    “Hey, careful,” he said as the milk glugged out of the open lip of the carton and splashed over the spot where his butt had just been resting.
    “Wow. I’m sorry,” I said. I mopped up the chair with a handful of extra napkins I had on my tray. I knew I’d need them, so I’d grabbed a whole bunch. It was hard to keep from grinning. But I wasn’t grinning over spilled milk, I was grinning over the proof I’d hoped to find. As I’d expected, Flinch was bone dry—not a drop had touched him.
    “What’s so funny?” he asked.
    “I’ll tell you later,” I whispered. This was great. I was dying to tell them right there, but I didn’t want anyone at the other tables to hear. “It’s a secret. I’ll explain when we get back to the room.”
    “I can’t wait to hear this,” Flinch said.
    “Hear what?” Torchie asked.
    “Later,” I said.
    Cheater gave me an odd look. I had a feeling he already knew what I was going to talk about. Even so, he didn’t say anything. None of the others had a clue yet. But that would change after dinner.
    As I finished my meal, I thought about how thrilled they’d be to hear the truth.
    “Okay,” Torchie said after we’d had gathered in the room. “What’s this big mystery?”
    That was a good choice of words. I felt like the detective at the end of a mystery movie, when he’s gathered all the suspects together and is about to explain everything. I stood up and pointed at Cheater. “Why are you at this school?”
    “You know why,” he said. “They think I cheat on tests.”
    “Do you cheat?”
    “No. I don’t need to cheat. I’m smart. Ask me anything. Anything at all.”
    “I know you’re smart,” I told Cheater. “What about you? Why are you here?” I asked, pointing to Flinch.
    “I’m kind of jumpy,” he said. “I guess I get distracted a lot. It messes up my grades. According to my teachers, I’m a disruptive influence in the classroom. ”
    “And we all know why Torchie is here,” I said. “But