Miss Valentine might be a dedicated and beloved high school literature teacher, but she sure was no master craftsman. The tin cookie box was simply sealed first with hot glue and then in layers of tapes. And the only reason Joyce Barnhardt did not pry it open by force after she took it home was that she too, just like Stephanie and the rest of the class, adored old fun goofy Miss Valentine. It may be hard to believe and contrary to common belief, but truth is, Joyce Barnhardt was not born an evil Skank. She was just an unhappy teenage girl extremely jealous of Stephanie Plum. Joyce hated—and still does, mind you—Stephanie for having a caring, if not constantly nagging, mother. She hated Stephanie for having a father who always came home on time for dinner. She hated Stephanie for having so many friends around her. She hated Stephanie for always, always having the spotlight and everyone's attention. And most of all, Joyce hated Stephanie for being the one Joe Morelli wrote about on the public bathroom walls. If she couldn't make the boy she always wanted smile or even look at her, no one else could have his attention. No one.

So it didn't take long for Joyce to decide to steal the box. She then chose not to damage it or throw it away, and kept it hidden in her closet. Sometimes, when the night was too dark or life was too much, she would take it out of its hiding place, held it close to her lonely heart and pretended she was Miss V's favorite student, and thus its rightful owner. And then the mere thought of the desperate, sorrowful look on Stephanie Plum's face that day would bring the needed smile to Joyce's too pale tear-stricken face and grant her a good night's sleep.

But of course, Stephanie, poor Joyce's much-hated enemy, is oblivious to all of these. And both she and Mary Lou frowned in confusion the moment they managed to open the tin cookie box and saw the piece of paper lying inside.

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What the heck is that?

~End of Kiss 12: Let the Fun Begin~