Emma and the Minotaur Read Online Free PDF

houses. Emma thought it was interesting that the people who lived in these houses had Glenridge Forest right in their backyard.
    She arrived at Glendale Avenue and, to her right, there rose The Hill, the steep incline over which the road had been built.
    The way up The Hill was a walk of fifteen minutes, but in the bad weather it took Emma twenty-five. There weren’t many cars on the road but some still passed her in both directions. Next to each sidewalk, on either side of the road, there were railings that separated them from the clumps of trees that grew beyond.
    At the top of The Hill, the ground levelled off, and the property that belonged to the University of Saint Martin began. The buildings that made up the school stood on the right side of the street. Across, to the left, there was a residence building for students, as well as a plaza full of fast food restaurants.
    Emma turned into the school grounds and entered the mathematics building. She left a trail of water as she made her way to the second floor and into the physics department. When she reached the office of Dr William Wilkins, she found that his door was closed. She tried to open it but it was locked. She knocked and there was no answer.
    Around the corner there was a clock on the wall and it showed that the time was close to seven.
    “Class time,” Emma said. She leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor, sitting in her own puddle.
    Two hours later, Emma woke up when she felt someone pick her up off the floor. She opened her eyes, blinked at her father, and then she put her arms around him. He carried her into his office where he sat down on his chair and held her there for a long while.
    “Dad,” Emma said eventually.
    “Yes, dear?” he said.
    “I caught the wizard boy.”
    “Oh? And what happened?”
    “He didn’t want to be my friend,” she said.
    “I’m sorry, Emma.”
    “No, it’s okay,” she said. “I know why. I realized something.”
    “What’s that?”
    “The boy’s name is Jake Milligan,” she said. “Same last name as Andrew Milligan.”
    Her father nodded. “I see,” he said.
    When they were ready to leave, he locked his office and they walked out of the school together.
    The rain had stopped and, as they walked down The Hill, Emma told him all about the day’s events, including how she had left class early and how she had waited for Jake outside the school. She told him about how she had tried to get to the university by taking the shortcut through the forest and the fright that she had received, along with some scrapes and bruises.
    When she showed him the teacher’s note, he shook his head.
    “I guess you already paid enough for it,” he said. “But we’ll still have to have a chat on another day.”
    They were almost home when he asked her what she planned to do about the boy. “Are you going to leave him alone?” he said. “What did you call that place where he goes?”
    “Wizard Falls,” Emma said. “Because he’s a wizard and there are waterfalls there. I think I know how I’m going to become his friend, Dad.”
    “Oh? How’s that?”
    “I’m going to buy his friendship.”
     
    The following day, Emma stayed home from school.
    She woke up after Will and her father had already left. The bandages that had been on her knees during the night had fallen off and her sheets had little stains of blood on them.
    She showered and put on new bandages before she got dressed and went into the kitchen to make herself toast with peanut butter. There was a note on the table and it had one word on it.
    “Rest!” said the note. Emma took it and put it in her pocket.
    After her small breakfast, she went back to her room and pulled out an old yellow lunchbox from under her bed. The paint was chipped and the metal was rusty in places. It had belonged to her father. Inside, among other odds and ends, there was a small fortune in bills and coins. She took some of the money and put it in her empty