Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying.

Sammy finds Ms. Pilson’s English class, Mr. Tiller’s math class, and Mr. Holgartner’s history class dull. At lunch, she starts to tell Marissa about what happened at the Heavenly Hotel, but Heather interrupts their conversation to ask Marissa for lunch money. Heather knows that the McKenzes are wealthy, and Marissa doesn’t want a repeat of sixth grade, when other students constantly asked her for money. When Sammy tells Heather to leave them alone, she pricks Sammy with a pin and tells Marissa, “You gotta dump the deadweight if you want to get anywhere around here” (33). Sammy punches Heather in the nose, which begins bleeding heavily. Mr. Caan, the vice principal, takes Sammy to his office and gives her a lecture. She tries to explain that Heather bullied her the whole day, but he says that no one saw that. He takes Sammy to the “Reflection Room” and leaves her to think about her choices. She spends her time confined there fuming that Heather isn’t being punished and thinking that she would like to punch her again.

An hour later, Mr. Caan brings Sammy back to his office and says that he’s had a strange conversation with her mother.