Fabulous Five 025 - The Fabulous Five Minus One Read Online Free Page B

sea
water, the water in the cells of your body, and how the location of water
thousands of years ago determined where and how people live today."
    Curtis Trowbridge pushed his black horn-rimmed glasses up on
his nose with one finger and raised his hand. "You mean we'll go back in
time to find out about today, like they did in the movie Back to the Future ? "
    "You might say that." Mr. Bell chuckled.
    Dekeisha Adams raised her hand. "How many hours a week
will we be in this class, and will we still have time to do our other homework?"
    "I can answer that," said Mrs. Brenner. "You'll
attend the PEAK class three times a week during what would be your normal study
period. We'll be monitoring your workloads to make sure that you can keep up
with your other classes.
    "Mr. Dracovitch here will be your PEAK instructor. It's
going to require a lot of preparation on his part. If you need assistance that
he can't provide, he'll find a teacher who can help. Now, if there are no other
questions, I'll turn the meeting over to him."
    The kids started whispering as the dramatic-looking Mr.
Dracovitch walked around to the front of the table. Christie couldn't help
wondering what he looked like without his toupee. He had been dating Katie's
mother recently, and Katie said that his hair was actually blond.
    "There's not a lot more I can add to what's been said,
except that I'm looking forward to being your teacher. The class will be small,
which means that I can give you each as much individual time as you need. If
you have any questions, either during or outside of class, don't hesitate to
come to me with them. Here," he said, picking up a stack of papers from
the table and starting to pass them out, "is an outline of our first
subject. We'll be meeting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The classroom is
noted on the paper. Are there any questions?" he asked, looking around the
room. No one spoke up. "Well, then, I'll see you Friday at three p.m. for
our first class."
    Christie glanced down at the sheet of paper Mr. Dracovitch
had given them. The subject was going to be water, and surprisingly, it
actually sounded kind of interesting. For starters, they would be visiting a
weather station. Maybe she would find out that she wanted to be a
meteorologist. Being able to track hurricanes and tornadoes sounded like fun.
    "Hey, look who has a smile on her face."
    Christie was so wrapped up in her thoughts as she left class
that she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Chase's voice at her
side.
    "You startled me," she said, putting her hand on
her chest to slow her heartbeat.
    "I'm sorry," he said. "But you were smiling.
I just had to know what was making you so happy. Were you thinking about our
walk home after school yesterday, maybe?" he asked, winking.
    Christie blushed in spite of herself. She didn't normally
get so silly around boys.
    "I just got out of a meeting of my PEAK class."
    "PEAK?" Chase asked with a blank look on his face.
"Oh, that's the thing they announced in the cafeteria. I was talking to
Shane and didn't pay that much attention. School announcements are always
boring."
    Christie began telling Chase about the program. She hoped he
would be impressed. After all, he was a champion swimmer. He'd appreciate
someone who succeeded in any field.
    As she was talking, Chase glanced around the hallway. "Hmm,
sounds interesting," he said. "Hey, there's Kirwan. I've got to talk
to him about something. See ya later."
    Before she could finish what she was saying, he was gone. A
deflated feeling swept over Christie as she walked to her next class.
     
    Christie was feeling on top of the world again after school.
She, Jana, and Katie had met Chase, Randy, and Tony after swim practice, and
then they had run into Melanie, Shane, Beth, and Keith at Bumpers. They were
having so much fun, it was hard for anyone to talk without being interrupted by
one of the others.
    "You think that's funny!" exclaimed Chase. Shane
had just finished telling