the light
breeze blow into her room. She took a deep breath. It made her feel better. She
had been depressed all afternoon and had left Bumpers early rather than watch
Tony clowning around with Randy, Kevin, and Shane as if nothing had happened
between him and her. He had hardly looked at her, even though she had been
sitting in a booth near his at the fast-food restaurant.
She couldn't understand the attitude of the other girls at
Wakeman. Why didn't they care if they were treated like second-class citizens?
Even her friends in The Fabulous Five didn't think it was such a big deal for
the boys to have a club that girls couldn't join. And Tony. He was usually so
fair. She couldn't believe that he would belong to a club that would exclude anyone.
Tears filled her eyes, and she rubbed them away with the
back of her hand. This was the first real fight she and Tony had had, and it
felt terrible.
Willie was sitting in front of her computer screen typing
when Katie entered her mother's office a short while later. Willie typed a few
more words as Katie picked up Libber, their big yellow cat, who had been lying
against the back of the warm machine.
"How was your day, sweetheart?" her mother asked,
swiveling her chair so that she faced Katie.
"Fine," fibbed Katie. She pointed to a pot of red
and yellow tulips sitting on Willie's desk. "Where did the flowers come
from?"
"Mark sent them. They're beautiful. His note says that
they reminded him of me. Isn't that sweet?"
Katie opened her eyes wide in surprise. Mark was Mr.
Dracovitch, a biology teacher at Wakeman Junior High whom her mother had dated
a few times. He wore a black toupee so he looked like Dracula and kids would
want to be in his class. Everybody except her mother thought he was weird. This
was the first time Mr. Dracovitch had sent Willie flowers.
"I guess it's sweet," Katie mumbled.
"With the weather turning warm, I'd like to plant the
tulips outside where I can see them from the kitchen window," said Willie.
"I'm behind on this darn project though and don't have time."
Katie put Libber down. The cat arched its back and stretched
each of its rear legs out in turn. "I'll plant them for you," Katie
volunteered. She needed something to do to help her forget about her rotten day
at school.
"You will? That would be great." Her mother handed
the potted plants to Katie and said, "Choose a nice sunny place to put
them. I know they'll have a lot better chance of surviving out there than in
here among all my clutter."
Katie took the flowers and found a trowel in the basement.
Next she stood on the back steps and surveyed the yard for a good place to
plant them so her mother could see them from the kitchen window.
She carried the pot to several spots and set it down and
then backed away to check on how well the tulips could be seen from the house.
Finally, she noticed a sunny spot between two roots that extended out from the
big oak tree near the back fence. Someone had built a planter using the roots
for two side sand stones in the front. She hadn't paid much attention to it
before, but it would be the ideal place.
Katie started digging with the trowel, giggling as she
remembered her mother's instructions to plant Mr. Dracovitch's flowers in a
sunny place. Since it had been Mr. Dracovitch, the vampire instructor, who had
sent the flowers, would they live in the sunlight? she wondered.
She had cleared away several inches of dirt when her trowel
struck something hard. She frowned and scraped around it. It was probably a
large rock that she would have to dig out with her hands. Instead, she exposed
a flat, metal surface.
Katie searched for the edges of whatever it was with the
point of the trowel and gradually revealed a square shape. She quickly dug down
around it, and then grabbed it by its sides and pulled it out. She plunked it
down on the grass and brushed the dirt away. What in the world was a metal box
doing buried in their backyard?
CHAPTER 3
The latch on the
breeze blow into her room. She took a deep breath. It made her feel better. She
had been depressed all afternoon and had left Bumpers early rather than watch
Tony clowning around with Randy, Kevin, and Shane as if nothing had happened
between him and her. He had hardly looked at her, even though she had been
sitting in a booth near his at the fast-food restaurant.
She couldn't understand the attitude of the other girls at
Wakeman. Why didn't they care if they were treated like second-class citizens?
Even her friends in The Fabulous Five didn't think it was such a big deal for
the boys to have a club that girls couldn't join. And Tony. He was usually so
fair. She couldn't believe that he would belong to a club that would exclude anyone.
Tears filled her eyes, and she rubbed them away with the
back of her hand. This was the first real fight she and Tony had had, and it
felt terrible.
Willie was sitting in front of her computer screen typing
when Katie entered her mother's office a short while later. Willie typed a few
more words as Katie picked up Libber, their big yellow cat, who had been lying
against the back of the warm machine.
"How was your day, sweetheart?" her mother asked,
swiveling her chair so that she faced Katie.
"Fine," fibbed Katie. She pointed to a pot of red
and yellow tulips sitting on Willie's desk. "Where did the flowers come
from?"
"Mark sent them. They're beautiful. His note says that
they reminded him of me. Isn't that sweet?"
Katie opened her eyes wide in surprise. Mark was Mr.
Dracovitch, a biology teacher at Wakeman Junior High whom her mother had dated
a few times. He wore a black toupee so he looked like Dracula and kids would
want to be in his class. Everybody except her mother thought he was weird. This
was the first time Mr. Dracovitch had sent Willie flowers.
"I guess it's sweet," Katie mumbled.
"With the weather turning warm, I'd like to plant the
tulips outside where I can see them from the kitchen window," said Willie.
"I'm behind on this darn project though and don't have time."
Katie put Libber down. The cat arched its back and stretched
each of its rear legs out in turn. "I'll plant them for you," Katie
volunteered. She needed something to do to help her forget about her rotten day
at school.
"You will? That would be great." Her mother handed
the potted plants to Katie and said, "Choose a nice sunny place to put
them. I know they'll have a lot better chance of surviving out there than in
here among all my clutter."
Katie took the flowers and found a trowel in the basement.
Next she stood on the back steps and surveyed the yard for a good place to
plant them so her mother could see them from the kitchen window.
She carried the pot to several spots and set it down and
then backed away to check on how well the tulips could be seen from the house.
Finally, she noticed a sunny spot between two roots that extended out from the
big oak tree near the back fence. Someone had built a planter using the roots
for two side sand stones in the front. She hadn't paid much attention to it
before, but it would be the ideal place.
Katie started digging with the trowel, giggling as she
remembered her mother's instructions to plant Mr. Dracovitch's flowers in a
sunny place. Since it had been Mr. Dracovitch, the vampire instructor, who had
sent the flowers, would they live in the sunlight? she wondered.
She had cleared away several inches of dirt when her trowel
struck something hard. She frowned and scraped around it. It was probably a
large rock that she would have to dig out with her hands. Instead, she exposed
a flat, metal surface.
Katie searched for the edges of whatever it was with the
point of the trowel and gradually revealed a square shape. She quickly dug down
around it, and then grabbed it by its sides and pulled it out. She plunked it
down on the grass and brushed the dirt away. What in the world was a metal box
doing buried in their backyard?
CHAPTER 3
The latch on the
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