3 Hic-Trouble!

3 Hic-Trouble! When Violet and Leon got to class, they took their seats. Then Violet slipped Sprite inside her desk. She made sure no one saw him. "Hic. Are you all right?" Violet whispered.

Sprite stretched out on top of Violet's box of pencils. "There's not much to do here," Sprite whispered back. "But that's okay. I've got to think about how to trick Bogey Bill." Sprite took a tiny book from his bag. The Book of Tricks. The book told how to trick the escaped pixies. "Good luck. Hic!" Violet said. Suddenly, Violet got goose bumps on her arms. She shivered. Is Bogey Bill here? she wondered.

Before she could get up and look for him, the bell rang. Their teacher, Ms. Rose, took attendance. Violet liked Ms. Rose. She always wore bright colors. And she smiled a lot. But today Ms. Rose wasn't smiling. She looked nervous. She tapped her fingers on the desk. "Leon, can you please go to the supply closet for me?" Ms. Rose asked. Leon looked scared. He stared at the closet door. He didn't move.

"Ms. Rose, do I have to?" Leon asked. "Is something wrong?" the teacher asked. "Uh, no," Leon said. He looked pale. "I—I just don't want to." Ms. Rose smiled nervously. "Who would like to open the closet door for me?" No one in the class answered. They all looked scared. Even Violet was scared, but she didn't know why.

Ms. Rose took a deep breath. "I guess I'll do it myself, then," she said. Ms. Rose walked to the closet. She grabbed the doorknob. Violet turned her head. She couldn't look. None of the kids in class could look, either. Ms. Rose slowly turned the knob. She opened the door. Then she smiled. "See, class?" she said. "Nothing to be scared of." Violet turned around. There was nothing in the closet but paper and paint.

Ms. Rose picked up some orange and black paper. "Today we will make Halloween decorations," the teacher told the class. She started to pass out the paper. Halloween decorations? Violet thought. She gasped. Bogey Bill must be near! He made us all feel afraid of the closet. And somehow he has made Ms. Rose think it's Halloween! Violet raised her hand. "Um, Ms. Rose, it's not Hallo-hic! Hic!" "Violet Briggs has the hiccups!" Evan Peters chanted. Ms. Rose frowned. "It's not nice to tease, Evan. Please apologize to Violet." Evan rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Violet. Hic!" Some of the kids giggled.