Excerpt: And All Day You'll Have Good Luck

From chapter 1, page 12:

Hadrian didn’t bother to take the bus that afternoon. And, though he raced through cleaning the paint off the floor so that he wouldn’t have to see or talk to Ms Fletching, he took his time finishing cleaning his jeans and packing his homework. He then proceeded to walk to his after school job at “The Pet Mart”, doing everything he could think of to keep his mind off of what had just happened before dismissal. Instead, he preoccupied his mind with thoughts of the new litter of puppies that had been born just weeks before. They’d be up for sale soon, and he’d be sad to see them go, but for the moment they were left completely to Hadrian’s care.

Eventually, though, work had to end, and his mind drifted back to school. He decided to skip the bus again, and walk home; maybe the exercise would clear his mind. Besides, there was a short cut that he could take through the city park. It was closer to seven o’clock than six thirty, and all attempts to distract himself were in vain. He eventually settled for just staring at the sidewalk under his feet. Of course, in the mass of grey cement, it was easy for his eye to get caught on that shiny, copper penny.

"Find a penny, pick it up, and all day you’ll have good luck," he thought. "I could use some luck . . ."

He bent to pick it up, and was surprised to see the familiar building on the tails side, replaced with a short writing. He read it quietly to himself, “You have 24 hours. Then, bring it back to spread the luck.”

"Not the cleverest writing in the world," he thought, but he figured it would at least be something interesting to hang on to; it isn’t every day that one comes across such a peculiar cent piece. So he stuck it in his pocket and continued walking.