The Girl Under the Stone
In the forgotten corners of the world, where the earth was still rough and untamed, lived a girl named Petra. Petra was not like the other children who lived in bright, airy houses. Petra lived under a colossal, ancient stone—a boulder so large it was said to be a piece of a fallen mountain. This was her home, her kingdom of damp earth and shadows.
Petra was a creature of habit, and her most important habit was hunger. She was always hungry. The earth under the stone provided little, and Petra had developed a keen, almost magical sense for where the best food could be found.
Once a week, when the sun was highest and the village school bell rang, Petra would emerge. She would dust herself off, her eyes already fixed on the schoolhouse. She didn't go for lessons, or friends, or learning. Petra went for lunch. She was the Pick Me Bick Back, the girl who only came out to take.
The Feast of Others
The schoolhouse was a place of noise and color, a stark contrast to Petra’s quiet, grey world. When the lunch bell rang, the chaos began, and Petra was in her element. She moved like a shadow, silent and swift, her eyes scanning the tables for the most delicious treats.
Today, she targeted a boy named Finn, who had a magnificent, layered sandwich. Finn was distracted, telling a long story about a mythical beast. *Snatch!* The sandwich was gone, replaced by a crumb.
Petra didn't just take a bite; she took the whole thing. She would move from table to table, sampling a piece of cake here, a handful of grapes there, always careful not to be caught in the act. The other children often complained, "My apple disappeared!" or "Who ate my crust?" But no one ever saw the Pick Me Bick Back in action.
Ms. Elara, the teacher, often wondered about the missing food. She suspected a mischievous squirrel or perhaps a very hungry mouse. She never suspected the quiet, strange girl who only appeared during the lunch hour.
The Snitch's Secret Weapon
Petra had a second, equally important habit: snitching. It was her way of ensuring her continued access to the school's bounty. If she was ever suspected of taking food, she needed a distraction, a way to shift the blame.
She had mastered the art of the dramatic whisper.
One day, a girl named Lily accused Petra of taking her last cookie. Petra immediately turned to Ms. Elara, her eyes wide with false concern. "Ms. Elara," she whispered loudly, "I saw Thomas drawing on the wall with a crayon! A big, blue scribble!"
Thomas, who was actually just tying his shoe, was immediately called to the front. While Ms. Elara dealt with the 'scribble incident,' Petra quickly finished Lily's cookie.
She snitched on everything: who was whispering during reading time, who forgot their homework, who accidentally dropped a pencil. She was the ultimate informant, always ready to trade a piece of gossip for a moment of distraction. Ms. Elara, though sometimes annoyed by the constant reports, found Petra strangely useful for keeping order.
The Missing Cake Catastrophe
The biggest event of the week was always Friday: birthday cake day. Today, it was for young Barnaby, and his mother had baked a magnificent, three-layered chocolate cake. It sat proudly on the serving table, waiting for the afternoon celebration.
Petra saw the cake and felt a hunger she had never known. It was a mythological hunger, a craving for something truly grand.
During the morning recess, while Ms. Elara was outside supervising the swings, Petra struck. She didn't just take a slice; she took the entire cake. She managed to devour the whole thing, hiding the evidence—the empty plate and crumbs—under the teacher's large, unused globe.
When Ms. Elara returned, the cake was gone. Silence fell over the classroom. "Where is Barnaby's birthday cake?" Ms. Elara asked, her voice trembling.
Panic rose in Petra. This was too big. She needed a legendary snitch to cover this crime.
The Great Snitch and the Truth
Petra knew she couldn't blame Thomas for this. She needed a scapegoat worthy of a missing three-layered cake.
"Ms. Elara," Petra declared, pointing dramatically towards the window, "I saw it! A giant, winged shadow! It swooped down and took the cake! It must have been the legendary Grumble-Guts of the North!"
Ms. Elara sighed. She had heard many of Petra's wild stories, but this one was too much. "Petra," she said gently, "the Grumble-Guts of the North is a myth, and we are on the south side of the village."
Then, Ms. Elara noticed something small and brown sticking out from under Petra's tunic. It was a napkin, heavily stained with chocolate frosting.
"Petra," Ms. Elara said, holding up the napkin. "Did the Grumble-Guts leave this behind?"
Petra’s face fell. Her cunning mask cracked. She realized that all her snitching and stealing had led to this moment. She was caught, not by a clever trap, but by a simple, messy napkin. The truth, like the chocolate, was sticky and hard to hide.
A New Kind of Hunger
Ms. Elara didn't punish Petra harshly. Instead, she sat the girl down and talked about the difference between taking and sharing, and the difference between truth and snitching.
"Petra," Ms. Elara said, "you are hungry, yes. But there are many kinds of hunger. There is the hunger for food, and the hunger for knowledge, and the hunger for friendship."
Petra confessed everything, even about living under the big stone. Ms. Elara, understanding the girl's difficult life, made a deal. Petra could come to school every day, not just for lunch, but for lessons. And if she was honest, the school would make sure she had a proper meal.
The next day, Petra came to school early. She still felt a pang of hunger, but this time, it wasn't just for Finn's sandwich. She sat at a desk, opened a book, and started to read. The words were strange and wonderful, filling her mind with new ideas.
Petra still had to learn how to be a good friend, and she still sometimes felt the urge to snitch. But now, she was learning to feed a different kind of hunger—a hunger for belonging. The Pick Me Bick Back was slowly becoming just Petra, the girl who was finally ready to step out from under the shadow of the stone.