The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Lucy, Nana, and Mr. Stoker meet early one morning for a conference. Mr. Stoker says Lucy is a great student, but she doesn’t always finish her work, and he thinks she’s holding back. Nana has promised Lucy not to reveal her math genius, so instead she asks if Lucy is making friends, because the girl might go to a boarding school soon. Mr. Stoker says Lucy will do just fine anywhere. He’s impressed by the work Lucy’s team is doing for the animal shelter.

Nana leaves, and Maddie walks in. She slaps her invitation to Windy’s birthday party onto Lucy’s desk. Maddie attends all of Windy’s birthday parties, and she asks if Lucy’s going. Lucy says yes, and Maddie suggests that Windy would have more fun if Lucy weren’t there. Lucy shrugs, and Maddie sighs: “At least we’ll have someone to clean the bathroom” (205).

After six days, Cutie Pi hasn’t been adopted. They decide to do more publicity.

In math class, Mr. Stoker hands out a pop quiz. On Lucy’s test is an extremely hard problem about finding overlapping areas in an octagon. Lucy can’t figure it out in her head.