Chapter 1 Maddie stepped through the door of the tiny cottage and saw seven small beds lined up side by side There were seven teeny chairs around the dinner table seven petite coat hooks on the back of the door and seven shrimpy wardrobes filled with seven miniature mining hats and pocket-sized pickaxes She twirled around in her beautiful dress humming a happy song It was a dream come true for her She was Snow White standing in the dwarfs cottage Maddie they need you in makeup Mrs Greenberg said Be right there Maddie replied It was the dress rehearsal of the school’s production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs It was also the first time Maddie had ever snagged the lead in a play Good thing her friend Tasha wasn’t jealous like the Wicked Queen the part she was playing Maddie approached her stepmother Carol who had volunteered to do the makeup for the show For the first time Maddie got a glimpse at how Tasha was going to look in the scene where the Queen disguises herself as an old beggar woman She barely recognized her friend with her rotten teeth crooked nose and lumpy skin What do you think Snow White Carol asked Maddie Does she look wicked enough for you I want to go hide in the woods already Maddie said Where’d you get all this makeup Well they didn’t have the budget for the professional stuff so I improvised The lumpy skin is just oatmeal The rotten teeth come from chewing gum I dyed black And the nose is papier mâché Maddie your stepmother is a crafting genius Tasha said I know Maddie replied She thought of all the cool things Carol had done for her
like making her Belle costume for Halloween or transforming their living room into a desert oasis for her Aladdin-themed birthday party She’d helped build a beautiful set too Still something about this production nagged at Maddie I was just thinking she said Wouldn’t it make sense if Snow White made herself ugly Huh Tasha said Well the Wicked Queen wants to kill her for being beautiful But Snow White’s not vain She should just eat some fried food let her skin break out Then the queen would leave her alone right Tasha shrugged But that’s not how the story goes Maddie couldn’t stop herself though And what happened to the huntsman If he really wanted to help Snow White shouldn’t he have told the King what the Queen was trying to do I mean Snow White has a dad right I know my dad would notice if I ran away to live with seven strangers because my stepmom was trying to kill me Well I get a little annoyed when you don’t clean your room Carol said with a smile But I’ve never considered murder Sorry Maddie said I don’t know why I keep thinking about these things Maybe you miss your stepbrother after all Carol replied He always had a lot to say about fairy tales You do sound like him Tasha agreed Don’t say that Maddie insisted The very thought that she was becoming like Holden made her blood boil He’d been gone for the last week and it was pure bliss for her For his birthday Carol got him a plane ticket so he could visit his dad in Germany He wouldn’t be back until after the show was done Ugh if he were here he’d be going on nonstop about everything that was wrong with Snow White Come to think of it that probably was why Maddie kept obsessing over the plot holes herself I do wish he could be here to see the show Carol said Tasha nearly fell over at the thought Are you kidding Yeah no offense Maddie added I know he’s your son But he does not like fairy
tales Or plays Carol shook her head gently Well he may not admit it but I’m sure he’d enjoy seeing his stepsister as Snow White No way Maddie assured her She sat down in the makeup chair and as Carol applied foundation to her face she began to wonder what Holden was up to in Germany He’d probably found a million new things to complain about Holden was literally holding on for his life The uneasy grip of his arms around his dad’s waist was the only thing keeping him from flying off the motorcycle and going splat on the Autobahn a crazy German highway with no speed limit They weaved between lanes past weird European cars as a majestic wooded valley unfolded below them far down the side of a sharp unforgiving cliff Holden peeked around his dad’s side just long enough to get a look at the speedometer 110 Whoa Germany was awesome A few minutes later they arrived at his dad’s favorite spot an outdoor restaurant Tons of German people sat at long tables in a grove of trees and the whole place smelled like pine and salty meats His dad took him to the counter to place their order and Holden decided to play it cool Guten Morgen my good man he said to the cashier Eine chicken nuggets por favor The cashier broke out laughing Holden’s dad chuckled along with him He spoke to the cashier in German to explain his son What Holden asked He could feel his face turning bright red Well let’s see his dad replied You said good morning for starters and it’s 8 p m Then you ordered chicken nuggets and they only serve sausage At least you were polite and said please although in Spanish Guess my German is nein good His dad grabbed their food then led him to a couple of open seats I can’t believe we were just going 110 miles an hour on your motorcycle Holden said
