Bones in the Sand, Julie Steimle [best books to read for students .TXT] 📗

hard to read all that old scripture?"

Brian laughed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "A little. But you get used to it. It is the same as Shakespearean English."

Shakespeare they knew. Zormna had found the old language awkward, but eventually understandable. Biting her lower lip in thought, she asked, "Do you have any here I can see?"

Jeff coughed, almost choking. She tried not to peek back at him, though her ears were turning a little red. Her eyes reflected a kind of yearning to know a little more. But then he knew Zormna was like that. She was like a sponge who enjoyed learning new things, regardless of the topic or what others thought about it. He watched her read encyclopedias and dictionaries as well as every popular novel Jennifer would shove into her hands. Zormna only tossed away the romance novels, devouring the technical books and historical thrillers. The thing was, Zormna had been so uncomfortable with the prophecy about herself that she didn't like talking about religion at all. The last time they chatted about the subject was when Sam (who was undercover FBI Agent Steve Keane) was mining for information in casual lunch conversation. Their own religion kind of frightened her, actually. After all, finding out that she might be the answer to a ten-thousand-year-old messianic prophecy was overwhelming. This was the first time since them that she seemed even slightly inclined to discuss anything similar to it.

"Sorry," Joy said, shaking her head apologetically, while watching to see if Zormna was being sincere. "We left ours at the chapel. But I could bring one Monday if you want."

Brian nodded hopefully. He peeked to Jeff who watched with interest. Both Jeff and Zormna had had been to a number of their church youth activities, though neither of them had shown any interest in the actual religion. Both had gone 'just because' - and that they had been invited and they figured 'why not?'

But Zormna tensed up at Joy's response with a peek at Jeff. She shook her head. "No, that's ok. Maybe in two weeks you can."

Tensing, Jeff glared at her to shut up.

Seeing the look, she hastily pulled her book back over her face, pretending to read again. It wasn't very convincing.

Of course, Brian noticed and so did Joy. Closing his mouth as he peeked at Zormna then Jeff, trying to interpret the interchange with little success, Brian said, "We can drop one off at your house tonight if you want," watching Jeff's facial contortions. Jeff had glanced at Zormna, almost cringing. Then he peeked at Brian with a faint, would-be innocent smile. "If you don't mind," Brian added to Jeff who immediately blushed when caught.

Adam laughed. "Like Jeff controls what Zormna can read." But then Adam laughed harder thinking about it. "I can't believe you like that religious stuff. I'm sorry."

Brian rolled his eyes in his attempt to ignore Adam.

"Honestly, Brian," Adam persisted. "Why do you go to those church things? You can't drink or party or do anything fun."

His cheeks flushing, Brian opened his mouth to protest that statement, but Zormna beat him to it. "I think that shows a level of maturity and integrity uncommon in most teenage boys."

She stared straight at Adam.

Adam pulled back, going a little white.

"Besides," she added. "The kind of fun Brian has is the kind he'd want to remember. He will never wake up with a sense of shame over some drunken act of idiocy, all in the name of 'fun'."

Jeff hid his smile, as Zormna had backed the underdog again.

Brian didn't. He beamed at Zormna. Then he openly glanced at his sister. Joy was looking rather pleased with what Zormna had just said, as she admittedly had been jealous of Zormna on occasion, and hadn't always been so nice to her. Both Hendersons stood a little taller.

A mocking guffaw echoed across the room. All five friends looked to see the source. Deacon Wilks smirked back at them.

"And what's so funny?" Jeff rose up from his seat.

Deacon's smirk shrank some, his eyes taking in Jeff's scars. He shrugged. "Nothin'."

Jeff nodded and sat back down.

Brian continued their conversation, pretending Deacon and Adam had not interrupted. "So, do you want us to come around tonight?"

Zormna thought about it with a peek at Jeff.

Jeff smirked again. "It's your choice."

Brian smiled more. He recognized that Jeff and Zormna's relationship had changed a lot. And he understood one thing - Jeff was guarding her.

Zormna nodded. "Sure."

Another derisive laugh came from across the room. This time it didn't come from Deacon Wilks. It came from a boy Zormna had never spoken to but he obviously knew her by her reputation, as it came out in his snide tone.

"Mormon boy is gonna convert Zormna?" he said. "That's a laugh. Even if he were a Christian, she would have to give up banging with Jeff every night, and I don't think that's ever gonna happen."

Brian, Jeff, and Zormna practically leapt out of their seats. But Jeff plowed across the room before the others could think to move. Shoving through chairs to get to the boy's row, leaving a path General Sherman couldn't beat, he grabbed the front of the boy's shirt. Luckily for the stupid kid, Mr. Humphries had just entered the room.

"Mr. Streigle! What are you doing?"

Jeff loosened his grip, though his fathomless eyes glowered darkly on the boy with so much fury the idiot kid felt like he was falling into an abyss.

"Nothing." He snarled and stalked up the correct aisle to the front of the room to take his seat back on his side rather than using the path he had made.

Mr. Humphries nodded, surveying the room - the askew desks, students, and the wide path Jeff had created. He also noticed the other two other infuriated faces on the left-hand side of the room. Near them, Joy wrung her hands desperately, hissing for her brother to sit down. Shaking his head, the teacher guessed what had happened but he decided to ignore it.

"Open your notebooks to a clean page. We are going to have a quiz," Mr. Humphries announced, taking out a sheet from his stack of folders.

Jeff finally walked back down his row and dropped heavily into his seat. Still glowering, he opened up his notebook.

"Write your name at the top and rip the page out," their teacher continued.

They all obeyed.

"Number your paper from one to ten."

They did so. Zormna glanced at Jeff, who was still fuming. He seemed to have lockjaw, the muscles in his face twitching. She peeked to Brian. But Brian seemed to have brushed the incident off - perhaps something he had to do often. She shrugged and continued numbering her paper, shooting one last dirty look toward the creep on the other side of the room.

"Now, question one: what color was the heat ray?" their teacher asked.

The class quieted down and wrote their answers on their papers.

"Question two: What is the name of the professor that showed Wells the falling stars in the telescope?"

They scratched out the answers.

"Question three: Where did the first falling star crash?"

They continued to write.

Mr. Humphries watched them. Jeff had quit seething as he finished writing his answer. The teacher nodded to himself and put his paper down.

"Ok, exchange your papers," he said.

Many of the students peered up at him quizzically.

"But aren't there ten..." many raised their hands muttering.

Mr. Humphries nodded. "Yes, but I decided that three is enough. I mostly wanted you all to think about the text. What is the answer to number one?"

Every one looked around and then shrugged. A boy in the front raised his hand and was picked.

"It was green," the boy said.

"What was green?" the teacher asked, blinking at the boy that spoke.

"The answer," the boy replied.

Mr. Humphries blinked. "The answer was green?"

The boy nodded.

Their teacher shook his head. "Perhaps someone can answer my question with a complete sentence. This is English class, you know."

A chuckle rippled through the room.

Mr. Humphries picked a girl, third row from the back.

She stood up. "The heat ray the aliens used was green."

Mr. Humphries nodded. He then looked down at the second question. "Number two? Who knows the answer to that one?"

Three hands raised. Mr. Humphries picked one on the right of the class. A girl stood up.

"The professor that showed H.G. Wells the falling stars was named Mr. Ogilvy," she said.

Mr. Humphries smiled. He then picked another student to read the answer to question three.

The boy stood up. "The space ship that first crashed was in Woking, England." He added that last part rather smugly.

Mr. Humphries nodded, and the boy sat down.

Their teacher then opened his copy of War of the Worlds. Ignoring the fact that he had a quiz at all, he didn't collect the papers. All of the students in his class glanced at each other, wondering if their teacher was losing his mind. Their teacher read from chapter five. "'The fear I felt was no rational fear, but a panic terror not only of the Martians, but of the dusk and stillness all about me. Such an extraordinary effect in unmanning me it had that I ran weeping silently as a child might do. Once I had turned, I did not dare to look back.'" He looked up at the class.

"You should have read to chapter six by now. I want you to read from chapters seven to chapter twelve by Monday," Mr. Humphries said.

The class moaned. He ignored it, slightly. He held a glare upon the students, who tended to moan more and more each day at each new assignment.

"But first, I want to hear what you thought of the reading. What of the first six chapters?" Mr. Humphries asked. "What did you like? What did you hate? Do you have an opinion at all?"

Michael Peterson, the president of the chess club and well-known know-it-all, raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Peterson?" Mr. Humphries pointed at him.

Michael stood up. "I didn't like how the Martians got here. There is no way a ship shot out of a giant cannon is good technology. We make ships better than that."

Mr. Humphries nodded. Zormna looked up at Michael and regarded him for a moment.

She raised her hand.

Jeff's face blanked when he saw her. His mouth almost opened, but he closed it before his shock was obvious.

Mr. Humphries nodded while pointing at her to speak.

She stood up and said, "I didn't like how he described the Martians."

Jeff's mouth did fall open that time. What was she thinking?

She continued, eyes only for the teacher. "Why would he make them so grotesque? What's wrong with them looking like humans?"

The class rumbled with laughter. Much of it tittered in mockery at her naiveté.

Swelling with annoyance, Zormna turned her dark glaring eyes on a few of them.

Mr. Humphries smiled. "Interesting question. Would anyone like to answer that?"

Deacon Wilks, of all people, raised his hand.

"Mr. Wilks?" Mr. Humphries picked him.

Deacon stood up. "Why would all intelligent life look like us? That's egotistical. If there is alien life out there it might look like these squid people, or maybe they would look like dolphins."

Zormna rolled her eyes and sighed. "But what if the human form really is a stage of perfection? What if there is no physical improvement to the human body? It is a balanced shape with capacity for manual labor and articulate hands. I'd like to see a dolphin build a spaceship. Or a squid."

Brian smirked. Even Jeff pressed his lips together at the idea, imagining a squid actually assembling a space craft. He wondered what shape the seats would take and how they would deal with the conductivity of water considering they could get electrocuted through their own power systems.

Deacon shook his head. "Don't be stupid. There is always something better."

"Than perfection?" Zormna cast back. Her eyes were dark on him.

"Human beings aren't perfect," Michael Peterson called up from the front row.

Many others chimed in, agreeing.

"It is extremely arrogant for us to suppose that the human being is the epitome of evolution," Michael Peterson continued,