Read Online The Ghost of Fossil Glen by Cynthia DeFelice - Free Book Online Page A

on, Allie,” said Joey. “Let’s hear it.”
    â€œYeah, Allie. Read,” other voices urged.
    â€œYou don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Mr. Henry repeated.
    â€œIt’s okay,” said Allie. She looked around at her classmates. Most of them were regarding her with great interest. Dub was grinning encouragingly. She glanced toward Karen and was immediately sorry. Karen’s arms were folded across her chest and she mouthed the words, “Teacher’s pet.”
    Allie looked away and, reluctantly, began to read. “‘I am L.’ The words appeared, mysteriously, on the opening page of my journal. I sat down to write and there they were. But that is not the beginning of the story.”
    Allie continued reading until she came to the end: “‘Who is L? I plan to find out.’”
    There was a brief silence before the class broke into spontaneous applause. All except for Pam, who was looking at Karen, and Karen, who was staring off into space with a bored expression on her face.
    â€œCool story, Al,” said Brad.
    Other voices echoed, “Yeah.”
    â€œWhat’s going to happen next?” asked Trisha.
    â€œWho cares,” Allie heard Karen mutter.
    â€œI don’t know,” said Allie. Boy, was that the truth!
    Mr. Henry was beaming at her. “Thanks, Allie. I enjoyed it even more the second time. After hearing that example of imaginative writing, I hope all of you will cut loose in your journals and express yourselves as freely as you like.
    â€œBut now please put your journals away and let’s head down to the library,” Mr. Henry said. “I talked with Mrs. Foster about your interest in Fossil Glen and she had a terrific idea. She suggested that we alternate field-study trips to the glen with research trips to the library. She’s all set to help you find answers to the questions we raised yesterday. So get your pencils and notebooks and let’s go.”
    As they walked through the hall to the library, Mr. Henry fell into step beside Allie. “I hope I didn’t put you on the spot, Allie,” he said. “I really wanted the rest of the class to hear your work.”
    Allie shook her head. “It’s okay,” she said. “I didn’t mind.” They walked a few steps in silence. Then Allie said, “Mr. Henry?”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œDo you think anything like that could really happen?”
    â€œDo you mean something like what happened in your story?” asked Mr. Henry.
    â€œYes.”
    Mr. Henry looked into Allie’s face for a moment before answering carefully. “I think this, Allie: The world is a very complex, interesting place. Sometimes things happen that we don’t understand. It doesn’t mean there isn’t an explanation. We simply haven’t found it yet.”
    Allie thought about that. It made sense.
    â€œWhy do you ask?” said Mr. Henry. He wasn’t making fun of her; he looked serious, as if he really wanted to know.
    For a second she thought about confiding in Mr. Henry. Then she remembered her parents’ conversation the evening before. If they talked to Mr. Henry…
    No, she’d better keep quiet. For now. They were approaching the library door, anyway. “Oh, I don’t know,” she answered. “I just wondered.”
    â€œWell, keep wondering,” said Mr. Henry with a smile. “That’s how we learn.”
    They walked into the library. As usual, it was a busy place, filled with children choosing books, watching filmstrips, listening to cassettes, working on projects, and clicking away on the computers. Mrs. Foster, the librarian, was everywhere at once, it seemed, answering questions and offering advice on how to find things. There was a table piled high with materials she had gathered for Allie’s class.
    â€œMr. Henry tells me you want to know everything ,” she said with a smile.