The Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines Read Online Free Page B

one million tons of contaminated soil,” Mai recited. “The pollutants have run off into Sydney Harbour and caused fish contamination and many other environmental problems.”
    Mr. Grange nodded. “Go on,” he prodded.
    â€œIt’s one of the biggest contaminated sites in North America,” Mai continued. “There have been a lot of attempts to do something about the mess in the past, but nothing has worked so far. The government is hoping a new cleanup program will work.”
    Mr. Grange seemed satisfied. “Very good,” he said approvingly. “Carry on.”
    â€œNice going, Mai,” Grace said after Mr. Grange had circled the room and returned to the front of the class.
    â€œThanks,” Mai grinned. “Now what were you saying again?”
    â€œGet this—” Grace lowered her voice and jumped back into their previous conversation. “My mom’s car broke down the other night and Stanley just happened to be there. He drove her home. Now he’s coming to dinner! I mean, what’s he after?”
    â€œRick Stanley? So does this mean we’re going to the fossil museum?” Fred asked. “Grace, are you nuts? Don’t you remember when you broke in there and tried to steal back all the fossils your dad donated? You knocked over that big display case. Your picture is probably plastered on their wall with a sign above it that says Most Wanted !’”
    â€œFred’s right,” Mai said. “For once. Besides, your mom will totally freak if she finds out what you’re up to.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, for once?” Fred huffed. “Seriously, Grace. You said your mom was acting really weird lately. She could totally blow it and send you to one of the prison camps for kids. I saw it on the Discovery Channel— Problem Kids: Last Resort . It’s not pretty!”
    Fred didn’t know how close he was about the prison camp for kids. Grace’s mom had actually threatened to send her to one when she’d broken into the museum. Her mom had even brought home the brochure. It was covered in pictures of kids smiling and wearing identical clothes, hiking up Cape Smokey.
    It was the same brochure that Grace’s mom had pointed to on the fridge that morning. Even though she’d never actually said she’d send Grace there, it was obvious that’s what she meant—another of her mom’s extremes.
    â€œYou’ll come back programmed like some robot, dressed in a uniform and eating tuna sandwiches!” Fred stood up and jerked his arms up and down in a lame robot imitation. “And you’ll talk weird, like ‘Hello, my name is Grace Elizabeth. Hello, my name is Grace Elizabeth!’”
    Grace looked down at her tie-dyed T-shirt and ripped jeans. Uniform? No way.
    â€œTuna? What’s wrong with tuna?” Mai asked. “It’s full of omega-3. You know—brain food.” She clutched her lunch bag. “You could use some brain food, Freddo, that’s for sure!”
    â€œWhatever,” Fred said, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, Grace, you can’t go to the fossil museum. You’ll be arrested.”
    â€œEveryone’s probably forgotten about that,” Grace said. “And it was all that security guard’s fault anyway. He tried to tackle me . I ducked and he’s the one who fell into the display case. Besides, we’re not going there.”
    â€œWhere else is there?” Mai looked confused.
    â€œPoint Aconi. I’m sure Dad was fossil-hunting out there that day. I mean, no one even checked the area because someone at the fossil museum said he went back to the office that afternoon. But what if it was Stanley that said that, to cover his tracks? Maybe there’s a clue out there somewhere…”
    The bell rang. Grace was glad of the distraction. Chairs scraped and the sound level jumped to a roar as chattering students herded toward