So that Blair and I could be best friends again.

So that I could save my sister.

She’d forget all about ballet if we were famous comic book writers. I could fix it. I could fix it all. Even my dad knew how important “that comic thing” was to Blair. Her smile after the Joffrey meltdown, when I passed Planet Pirates back to her—it reminded me that anything was possible. But I needed Joanna Creech’s help to do it.

This was my only chance. When I’d googled Dr. Lacamoire, Joanna’s name had come up over and over again. They’d been working together for years. She wasn’t any old editor—she was one of the best. She had edited almost one hundred other books, and a bunch had gone on to be New York Times bestsellers. She had a fancy office in a real skyscraper. Even her picture made me want to work with her. She had a tight bun, dangly earrings, and her eyes seemed to say I got this.

She probably got eighty emails a day from aspiring writers who thought they’d written the next Harry Potter. Billions of people think they’re good enough to have books in Barnes & Noble. But I wasn’t dumb, no matter what Jade thought. I knew I needed someone to knock on her door for me first.

“Don’t say another word,” said Dr. Lacamoire, holding up a hand. “It’s done.”

“But, Leo—”

“Simone, for heaven’s sake, Jo is one phone call away. It’s an easy trade-off for the return of my telescope.”

Simone stared at me, eyebrows narrowed. She didn’t trust me. Fine. Maybe she shouldn’t.

I never said I was perfect. That was Blair.

“Then I know how to help,” I said. “The eclipse.”

It would be hard to pull off. Nearly impossible, really. Dad and I had been talking about the eclipse ever since it had been announced. We’d ordered our glasses, made plans, and counted down the days. Everyone was expecting me to be at the viewing party. But the whole town would be distracted, and Dr. Lacamoire could easily be visible. While residents and tourists alike were focused on the day becoming night, I would dig up the time capsule and retrieve the Star-Gazer Twelve.

“That could be perfect,” he mused. “No one will be at the library then?”

“No way. This eclipse is the biggest thing that’s ever happened here. Everyone will be on Main Street,” I assured him.

“Will that be enough time?” asked Simone. “Eclipses aren’t long. A couple of minutes, tops.”

“Sure. But people will be on Main Street all day. There’s a big viewing party. Trust me, nobody’s going to be at the library. I doubt Harriet will even open it up that day. Especially if I go digging when the eclipse is taking place. It would take me, like, thirty minutes. Tops.”

Simone nodded thoughtfully. “It could work.”

“It has to work,” Dr. Lacamoire reminded her.

“It might be hard for me to sneak away from my dad,” I admitted. “But I can do it. You’ll get your telescope. I’ll get my introduction.”