Invaders From Mars Read Online Free PDF Page A

him.
    David felt a wave of paranoia wash over him. It was like having his back turned on a vicious, barking dog. But for some reason, he was afraid to turn around and face her.
    “Do you suppose that General Wilson was always in trouble when he was in school? Of course not. He did not get to be such an important man by being a nuisance. He followed the rules. He behaved. Keep that in mind, David Gardiner, the next time you dawdle on your way to class or want to pass a note to another student. If you don’t shape up, you’ll go nowhere, do you understand me, young man? You’ll never amount to the likes of General Wilson.” She stepped forward and bent down, making her face grow; it loomed before David’s eyes like a moon. She added quietly, “You’ll never amount to anything if you don’t behave.”
    David watched her mouth as she spoke, noticing how fast her lips moved over her cigarette-yellowed teeth, opening and closing, squirming like two worms.
    “Well,” she said, standing straight, checking her watch, “I have to drive to Copper Hill and collect frogs for tomorrow’s dissection. Go on now, before you’re late for your next class.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” David said, hurrying to the door.
    “But—”
    David stopped and turned to her again.
    “Don’t let it happen again.”
    “I won’t.”
    He walked calmly out of the room, then broke into a run just outside the door. The crowded hall had never looked so good.
    On the way home, David sat with Doug near the back of the bus. The rumble of the engine mixed with the laughter and chatter of young voices, filling the bus with a low roar.
    “So,” Doug said, toying with a green rubber band, “did Mrs. McKeltch chew your butt, or what?”
    “Yeah, she chewed it all right.” David watched as Doug bent down and swept his hand over the floor. He came up with a pebble between his thumb and forefinger. “I don’t know what I ever did to make her pick on me like she does,” David said glumly.
    “She’s gotta pick on somebody. Might as well be you.” Doug laughed, fashioning the rubber band into a little slingshot and loading it with the pebble. He looked around for a target and smiled when his gaze stopped on Mr. Bob, the bus driver.
    Mr. Bob (nobody knew his last name) overflowed in his seat, he was so big. There was only a little reddish hair on the sides of his head; the top and back were mostly bald. Little folds of fat gathered at the back of his neck.
    Doug tossed a devilish glance at David, aimed, and shot the pebble to the front of the bus.
    It smacked the back of Mr. Bob’s neck and bounced off. His meaty hand slapped over the spot and the bus swerved a little, making the kids sway back and forth in their seats. Mr. Bob yelled something that was lost in all the noise.
    When he pulled his hand away, there was a small cut on his neck, bleeding just a bit.
    Doug grinned at David. “Pretty good shot, huh?”
    The boys laughed.

C H A P T E R

Three
    W hen David walked into the house, his mom was just hanging up the phone.
    “That was your dad,” she said. “He’s going to be a little late this evening.”
    “How late?” David asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
    “Not too late to watch the meteor shower with you. He wanted me to be sure and tell you that.”
    “Oh. Good.” David followed her into the kitchen. “I’m hungry.” He grabbed an orange from the bowl on the table and began to peel it clumsily. “How’d your class go today?”
    “I had a test.”
    “Did you flunk?”
    “Of course I didn’t flunk, silly,” she said with a smile, knowing that David was only joking. She opened the dishwasher and began to load it with the mess left from breakfast. “I studied. You should follow your mother’s example.”
    David took a seat at the table. “Did you write little notes on your fingers and palms before you went into class?” he asked, trying to conceal his grin.
    “Perish the thought! That would be cheating. Your mother