Alaska Adventure Read Online Free Page A

on,” she urged, swallowing hard.
    “I’ll cut to the chase. Cassie, Dr. Wells wants you to be part of his research team this summer.”
    It was Cassie who finally broke the long, heavy silence that followed Professor Davis’s announcement.
    “You’re joking, right? You’re just trying to scare me into taking school more seriously. Or ... or maybe into thinking about transferring to another college. Or—”
    “I’m not joking, Cassie. This is a wonderful opportunity. Your mother and I have made a mistake in babying you. Of course, we love having you here all the time, but in the long run we’re not doing you much of a service. You’ve never been off on your own, learning to take care of yourself. It’s high time you spread your wings a little. And this is the perfect way.”
    “But—but I don’t know anything about biology!” Cassie’s mind raced as she struggled to come up with a convincing argument why this plan of her father’s was absurd. “And Alaska’s so far away. And—and—”
    “Ethan and I discussed all that. He understands that you’re not a budding scientist. He’s willing to teach you whatever you need to know. What’s even more valuable to him are your other traits. He knows you’re conscientious and responsible and hardworking....”
    For the second time in the past few minutes, Cassie stopped listening. She was off in another world. But this time, it wasn’t one of colors and shapes. It was one of mosquitoes and bears, wet feet and aching muscles. She pictured herself in an untamed wilderness, thousands of miles away from home. She saw a girl who was tired, lonely, uncomfortable, and more than a little scared.
    She was tempted to protest, to rack her brain until she came up with a way of getting her father to change his mind. But the determination in his voice told her it was no use. And if she knew anything at all about her mother, she could be certain she felt exactly the same way.
    The decision had been made ... and there was no going back. Like it or not, she was going to Alaska. Somehow, even knowing that her best friend was going with her wasn’t enough to keep a hard knot from forming in the pit of her stomach—a knot Cassie suspected wouldn’t go away until after she’d come back home to Mountainville at the end of the summer.
     

Chapter Three
     
    “Dr. Ethan Wells. Department of Biology.”
    Mariah Burke read the words on the plaque aloud, her voice dripping with disdain even though there was no one around to hear. In fact, as she stood outside the door at the end of an undistinguished pale gray cinder-block hallway in the deserted basement of the Life Sciences building, her books balanced casually on one hip, she could have been the only creature in the world.
    The only living creature, at least. Lining the corridor were large glass cases displaying endless varieties of insects, butterflies, and reptiles—all of them dead. Mariah had barely given them a glance as she’d come down the hall, her reluctance about this mission reflected in the slowness of her pace.
    Yes, this was the place. She hesitated a moment longer. Then, letting out a sigh, she rapped on the door.
    “Come in,” answered a deep voice from within.
    Here goes, thought Mariah. She paused for a moment, smoothing her long black hair, hanging down her back in thick waves. Then she threw open the door and strode inside.
    Her first impression was that she’d stepped into an enclave of complete chaos. The metal shelving that lined two of the walls was covered with cheerful clutter, not only books and journals and stacks of papers, but also rocks, fossils, and the types of specimens she’d breezed past in the display cases. The large metal desk was similarly covered with disheveled piles of books and papers. A computer was pushed off to one side.
    Hanging over the desk, next to a bulletin board covered with photographs, newspaper articles, and Post-its with telephone numbers scrawled across them, was