Artifacts Read Online Free

thinking.”
    “Do you know what I’m thinking?” Mouth asked.
    Crunch closed his eyes and his brows furrowed. Then his eyes popped open. “Nope.”
    “Don’t you think that’s a little strange?” Mouth asked.
    “What’s a little strange?”
    “That five new kids suddenly show up and nobody knew they were coming,” Mouth said. “Coach Butt-Kiss would be all over those Grumpkins for the football team.”
    “How long have they been here?” Korie asked.
    “They’ve been in town a few days,” Crunch said. “Today’s actually their first day in school.”
    “We should go over and meet them,” Tank said. “Make them feel like they’re welcome.”
    “Yeah, that sounds good,” I said.
    When I looked over to the table, the Cafeteria Monitor, Mr. Smeethington, was leaning on the table, jabbering away. They were ignoring him completely.
    I smiled. “Hey, I like them already.”
    Smeethington has always kept an eye on us but left us alone.
    A little man with an odd, hourglass-shaped head, shoulder-length white hair, although the top of his head is bald, and thick, black eyebrows. He is a bumbling, blustery man who seems to be afraid of nothing … except we found out one night that he really doesn’t like shadows.
    “What could Smeethington be saying to them that takes this long?” I asked.
    “I don’t know,” Korie said, “but they’re completely ignoring him.”
    “He seems to be talking to them like they’re old friends,” Tank said.
    “They’re not that old.” Mouth laughed.
    “And Smeethington doesn’t have any friends,” I said.
    We talked about it for a few more minutes, popping our heads up every so often to make sure they were still there.
    Finally, they all stood up at once and dropped their skateboards to the floor, leaving Smeethington standing by himself. He watched silently as they glided out of the cafeteria.
    “Did you just see them leave?” I asked.
    “I barely saw them come in,” Mouth said, continuing to eat his lunch.
    “How come they get to ride their skateboards in the cafeteria?” Tank said. “I tried to put mine in my locker one time and he had a fit. He called it a ‘rolling deathtrap.’”
    “Yeah,” Mouth agreed. “He didn’t say a thing to them.”
    “Did you see the clothes they were wearing?” Korie asked.
    “It looked like their mom forgot what year we’re in.” Mouth laughed.
    “Hey,” I said, defending them. “Crunch said they’re okay. That’s good enough for me.”
    “Me, too,” Korie piped in.
    “Of course, you too.” Mouth laughed. “It’s like you guys share the same brain.”
    “You’re awful,” Korie said.
    “Yeah, I agree,” Mouth said. “As far as those new kids are concerned, let’s keep an eye on them. If they’re hiding anything, it won’t be too long before something shows up … especially with those two giant Grumpkins.”
    “Does that work for everybody else?” I asked.
    “Works for me,” Crunch said.
    I looked at Crunch. “You can’t spill your guts every time you see them.”
    “It was one time,” Crunch defended himself. “Look, next time I won’t say a word …”
    Mouth laughed. “Then they’ll think you’re just an idiot.”
    “Nerts,” Crunch said and then stopped talking.
    “If they’re just trying to fit in … then Crunch found himself some new friends,” Korie said. “If they’re trying to fit in—with intent—we need to know that, too.”
    “Okay, then,” I said. “We’ll meet after school.”
    We all went our separate ways for the rest of the afternoon.
    By the time the last bell rang, we were ready to hear what Bartholomew had to say.

Chapter Four
     
     
    Classroom doors flung open and hundreds of kids spilled out into the hallway. Each of us stayed as close to the wall as we could, looking for either an opening or for the others. Tank and Mouth came like storm troopers down the hall with Tank flinging kids out of the way so he and Mouth had nothing or no one slowing