Secret of the Sevens Read Online Free PDF

back to me again. She gives me a half-smile. I nod and slouch in my seat until a voice jolts me to attention.
    â€œMr. Moore!” Professor Solomon bellows from the doorway.
    Cameron hops down as our teacher shuffles in.
    Stooped at the waist, Solomon hobbles turtle-slow toward his desk. Wisps of fine white hair cling to his head like a spiderweb. Brown age spots speckle his face and hands. He leans on his cane, surveying Cameron Moore through wire-rimmed glasses that teeter on the tip of his nose.
    This is my first course with Solomon, and that’s no accident. Senile Solomon is well-known for failing more kids than anyone at Singer. Your chance of getting an A in his class is the statistical equivalent of Haley’s comet flying over Wrigley Field at the exact moment the Cubs clinch the World Series. Not that it matters much to me, but they call him the GPA Killer.
    Solomon’s sunken eyes narrow on Cameron. The room is quieter than the inside of a casket until the old guy slams his cane on the desktop. “If you ever use my desk as your chair again, I’ll use your report card as an invitation to summer school. Are we clear?”
    â€œOf course, sir.” Cameron nods manically. “I apologize.” He rushes for the first open chair.
    Solomon’s eyes scan the dead-silent room.
    â€œExcuse me.” Zack Hunter’s hand creeps up. “Sir?”
    Solomon glares at him over the top of his glasses.
    â€œAs you’re probably aware, sir, this year the Pillars are supposed to meet every Monday in the Board Room in lieu of this class. We have our first meeting this afternoon, in five minutes. We’re eager to get going, if that’s okay.”
    Laney’s eyes and mouth drop simultaneously, like they’re attached to the same anchor.
    â€œI’m aware,” Solomon sniffs, then turns to the rest of us. “Apparently, Mr. Kane feels the Pillars can learn more from meeting with him than they would in my class.” His mouth tightens. “I’ve also been advised that the Pillars are to be excused for numerous field trips and quarterly board meetings.”
    Zack high-fives Cameron, and Professor Solomon points his cane at them. “Just so there’s no misunderstanding, Pillars will be expected to make up everything they miss in class. For instance, you will be expected to read the first two chapters in your textbook tonight and write five pages summarizing the main ideas.” Solomon grumbles something under his breath and waves his hand at the door. “Pillars, you’re excused.”
    The six students grab their backpacks and stroll out, leaving only five of us. Solomon slams the door and growls, “The rest of you, move to the front desks.”
    I follow Emily and park myself in an open seat next to Jose Aguilar, an angry ex-gangbanger. I’ve always wanted to check out his tattoos, but then he glares at me and I end up inspecting my nails instead.
    Solomon rests against the dry-erase board and waits for us to get settled. “This is a class on character and virtue ,” he pronounces. The way he spits it out, you’d think it was a class on terror and intimidation.
    Laney pulls out her textbook and flips to the first page.
    â€œYou may close that, Ms. Shanahan,” he says. “You won’t find today’s lecture in your texts. I’ve decided that if Stephen Kane can veer from the curriculum every Monday, then I can as well.”
    Kollin lifts his hand.
    â€œI know what you’re going to ask, Mr. LeBeau. And no. The non-Pillar students will have no homework tonight. Consider that a bonus assignment I gave the Pillars—for being such excellent students. Now, if we may begin.”
    He points his cane at the Pillar banner hanging next to him. “Mr. Aguilar, what are the six attributes of excellence as defined by Singer’s new Chairman of the Board?”
    Jose reads the list: “Leadership, Pride,