By the Way

No good deed ever goes unpunished... and I will always make the lie come true...
Here's the scenario...
Last week, one of my students asks me if I have ever read (Insert random book title here). She insists that it is one of the best books ever written, and after reading the first chapter, I will surely understand the latest craze and be hooked for life.
So of course, not wanting to let the little girl down, I accept her challenge and she leaves me her book for the day.

I sit down to lunch with the book in hand and attempt to keep my word by starting the first few pages.

I soon realize I have been given an epic tale, of Lord of the Rings proportions that is all about cats.
I make it through the first part, learning all about the secret ways of the warring cat people, their leaders and rituals...
At that point I was torn away, and vowed to finish it after school...

Of course I lost track of time and soon found the student standing in front of me the following day, inquiring how I had enjoyed my preview of one of her favorite things.
I mentioned that I was right in the middle of a chapter and that I needed another day to finish where I left of...
In reality, I had put the book down in my room and it had magically disappeared...
So she agreed to give me another day...

After spending two days tearing my room apart and seeing her hope dwindle as she asked when she would get to continue reading her new book... I realized that it had probably walked out the door with one of my other students. Not wanting to let her down, I only had a few hours to make the lie come true and produce a new copy. But the issue was that I didn't even know the name of the book... Only that there was a picture of a cat on the cover... Not much to go on.

This lead me to Borders in the middle of the night, searching the isles of the children's section for this illusive book that I had only seen for a matter of moments, once upon a time.

I then come to find that this cat book was actually part of a forty book series. Super... Why not make things more challenging by setting the room on fire... add a little more excitement to the search...

So here I am, looking through a bookshelf that had no less than 200 cat books on the shelves, searching every book in the series, scanning the first few pages for any reference to the "medicine cat" which was the only thing I could remember from the whole thing.
But at least I was not alone in my search...
I was soon spotted by the Borders Troll, who after hearing my story, decided to tell me one of her own... She went on to help me by telling me the titles of all of her favorite books and how excited she was about the upcoming Harry Potter films... I asked her if she had ever read (Random Cat Series). She said that she had never taken the time, but that her manager might have...
I had to pretend to be listening to her fascinating stories while scanning each page. (So I guess we did find a way to make my task more difficult...)
In the end, I stumbled upon the last copy through pure luck.
I get to the counter where the cashier inquires if I would like to donate a book to a child for $5, I smile and tell him I already am.
The next day, I peel the sticker off the back, hand it to my student as she walks in the door, and pretended I found it in my desk...