Free Breaking News by Rachel Wise Page A

too dangerous to look at them in school and risk exposing my identity. I opened each letter, and they all sounded like they could have been written by the same person.
    Dear Know-It-All,
    Help! I’ve been cursed! I can’t find my assignment pad anywhere.
    -Looking for Luck
    Dear Know-It-All,
    Everything’s been going wrong since Mr. Cougar’s paw was broken. I don’t know what to do. My dad yelled at me for my messy room. I’m so cursed!
    â€”My Life’s a Mess
    Dear Know-It-All,
    How long do curses last? Because I need the Cougar Curse to end right away. I have a math test next week and I don’t want to fail another one.
    -Math Cursed
    I looked at the Dear Know-It-All e-mails that Mr. Trigg had screened for me, and theyweren’t any better. It was bad enough that Michael was giving me a hard time with the cougar story. I thought Dear Know-It-All might be the easy assignment this time around. I was obviously mistaken.

    Michael looked a little more like his old self the next day at school.
    â€œHey, Pasty,” he greeted me. “Did you hear the big news?”
    â€œNope, what happened?” I asked.
    â€œI told Coach Dixon about the cost of fixing Mr. Cougar,” Michael explained, “and that the school wouldn’t be able to afford it. He had a great idea.”
    â€œWhat was it?” I asked.
    â€œThe team’s going to try to raise some of the money ourselves,” Michael answered. “We’re going to have a fund-raiser.”
    â€œThat is a great idea,” I agreed. “How are you going to raise the money?”
    â€œWe thought a car wash would be fun,” Michael said. “We can do it in the school parking lot. Coachsaid he’d even let us count it as a practice.”
    â€œDo what in the school parking lot?” Hailey asked.
    Michael and I hadn’t even seen her coming. Anthony Wright was by Hailey’s side. Great timing, BFF—just when Michael Lawrence was beginning to seem like his old self for a minute.
    â€œHi, Anthony!” I said cheerfully. “Don’t you and Hailey have some important school business to conduct?”
    â€œHi, Samantha,” Anthony replied. “Actually, we do. Mr. Pfeiffer said that he wanted to talk to us about an important issue.”
    â€œIt’s probably Mr. Cougar,” Michael told them. “The school can’t afford to fix him. But the football team wants to have a car wash in the parking lot to raise money for the repairs. We won’t get it all, but at least it will be a start.”
    â€œI like it,” Anthony said. “I’ll let Mr. Pfeiffer know that you have the support of the student government.”
    â€œI like it too,” Hailey agreed. “I just wonder if there’s a way to get more students involved. TheCougar Curse doesn’t just affect the football team, after all.”
    â€œHailey’s right,” I said. “I know a lot of other kids who’d like the curse to end.”
    â€œWhat about a bake sale?” Anthony suggested.
    â€œPerfect, partner,” said Hailey. “Sam, we can make your Mom’s Delish Dream Bars! I can smell them now!”
    â€œRelax, Hailey,” I said. “We don’t even know if Mr. Pfeiffer will approve any of this yet.”
    Hailey gets a bit out of control when it comes to sugary snacks. Her mom’s a bit of a health-food nut, and Hailey’s dessert options usually consisted of a choice between fruit salad or trail mix.
    â€œI don’t think Mr. Pfeiffer will have an objection,” Anthony said. “Hailey and I will bring it up to him in our meeting later. I’ll let you both know if he gives it a green light.”
    â€œThanks. I appreciate it,” Michael said. “I’d do anything to stop the Cougar Curse.”
    â€œI’d do anything to get a bite of a dream bar.” Hailey laughed.
    â€œWell, I’d like to get a bite of a