Bones Read Online Free Page B

strict, and we have to wear uniforms and stuff, but everybody is nice.”
    â€œKeeping your grades up?”
    â€œI am,” I say with a smile. “You know me—solid B student.”
    â€œYou’ll do fine,” Mom says. “As soon as you find something that interests you.” She walks back to the sink and begins washing the baking tools. “I’m so glad you brought Annabel with you. She’s a lovely girl, and that makes you a lucky boy.”
    â€œI have to go,” I say, standing up. The last thing I want is for Mom to ask too many questions. “I promised I’d email a couple of friends about the dig.”
    On the way to my room, I look out over the field. Darren’s truck is parked at the far end, but there’s no sign of Annabel.

Chapter Five
    Annabel returns to the farmhouse in the late afternoon and is chattering with excitement about the dig. “They’ve finished plastering the top of the big fossil. They should be able to turn all three pieces tomorrow and plaster the bottoms. The day after, they’ll be ready to move them back to the museum. It means working on Sunday, but Dr. Bob doesn’t want to leave them exposed longer than necessary.”
    I’m trying to hide my worry about her and the pirate guy and act cool.
    â€œDoes he think they might get stolen?” I ask.
    â€œI think so. The pieces are not huge—three or four guys could move the biggest one—and it’s downhill to the end of the track where you can park a truck.”
    â€œCan’t he leave a guard on it?” I say.
    â€œI doubt Dr. Bob’s budget would cover hiring a security company.”
    â€œMaybe a summer student could camp there and keep an eye on it.”
    â€œThat’s an idea,” Annabel says. “I’ll mention it to Greg and see what he thinks.”
    â€œWho’s Greg?” I ask, although I’m sure I know the answer. This is not the way I wanted the conversation to go.
    â€œThe guy with the pirate bandanna. Though everyone calls him Jack Sparrow. When they do, he always replies, ‘ Captain Jack Sparrow,’ like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean .”
    â€œI know. I’ve seen the movie,” I say, bitterness creeping into my voice.
    Annabel looks at me oddly and then goes on. “Anyway, he’s interesting. His blog is cool—some great shots of the dig and the stages of the fossil being prepared. He says there’s going to be a barbecue down by the Red Deer River tomorrow night. Want to go?”
    â€œDid the creepy guy in the red truck show up at the dig?” I ask, desperate to change the subject. I need time to think.
    â€œDarren? Yeah. You think he’s creepy? He found the dinosaur in the first place. Apparently, he’s quite the amateur fossil collector. He sells samples to some of the rock shops in town.”
    â€œJust as well he didn’t try and sell this one,” I say.
    â€œLuckily, he recognized its importance and went to Dr. Bob.”
    Darren being smart enough to recognize a fossil’s importance strikes me as unlikely, but I don’t say that. “He thinks the fossil’s an alien.”
    Annabel laughs. It’s a sound I normally find captivating, but not in my present mood. “He mentioned that,” she says. “Greg says it’s because Darren comes from a town called St. Paul in northern Alberta. Apparently, they have a UFO landing site there.”
    I stare at Annabel. I don’t know what to say. Here is the most rational person in the world, cheerfully talking about UFO landing sites.
    â€œI don’t believe in UFO ,” she says when she sees my look. “But, like Dr. Bob says, you have to keep an open mind. Do you want to go and wander round town tomorrow? There’s a huge T. rex by the river. You can climb up inside and look out its mouth.”
    â€œSure.” I shrug. “But we left the bikes