The Owl Keeper Read Online Free PDF Page B

he joked, "and set it up inside a cave."
    "A yurt?" Einstein threw him a quizzical look. "What's that?"
    "Ah, um ... nothing." Max stared at the floor. "I made it up." He shouldn't have mentioned it. Yurts were probably on the Banned Cultural References list. He'd read about yurts in one of Gran's books: they were tents used by nomadic peoples in a place called central Asia.
    "What else is new at school?" he asked, anxious to change the subject.
    "Except for the jingle contest, it's the usual mind-numbing stuff." Einstein crammed more books into his book bag. "Oh, we've got a new kid in our class."
    Without thinking, Max blurted out, "Is she tall and skinny, with red hair sticking out every which way? Beaky nose? And real bossy, right?"
    "His name's Harvey. He's got yellow hair and a busted front tooth." Einstein scratched his head. "I don't know about any new girls. What's her name?"
    Max caught a whiff of pickling spices and turned to see Mrs. Crumlin peeking through the parlor door. She'd make a pathetic spy, he mused.
    "What am I thinking?" Max smacked his forehead with the
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    palm of his hand. "That was something I dreamed!" He gave a strangled laugh. "Happens all the time when I get a fever." He faked a cough.
    Einstein stared at him. "You okay, Max?"
    "Bad throat," he rasped. "I'm fighting off germs and the midwinter blahs. Happens every year."
    "Maxwell Unger!" bellowed Mrs. Crumlin. "What's this talk about germs and fevers?"
    Max hung his head. He hated Mrs. Crumlin talking to him that way in front of Einstein.
    "Got ears like a bat, don't she?" whispered Einstein, a clownish grin spreading across his face. "No worries, Mrs. Crumlin. Max is telling me about his weird dreams."
    "I know about the dreams," snapped Mrs. Crumlin, her tone frosty. "It's the fevers I worry about. What with the mold and rising damp, one can never be too cautious."
    "You're absolutely right, Mrs. Crumlin--it's a scary world out there!" said Einstein with a wink at Max. He hoisted his bag over one shoulder. "See you, Max."
    "So long," murmured Max, feeling a bit dejected to see Einstein go. It was always a letdown when he found himself alone again with Mrs. Crumlin.
    He headed up to his room, trying to imagine, as he often did, life at Cavernstone Grey School. Rows of wooden desks, a red and yellow flag draped over the blackboard, pupils with heads bowed copying down slogans or writing essays on "Why I Admire the High Echelon." He imagined kids in the bleachers waving banners with government mottos, throwing straws and
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    apple cores in the lunchroom, being locked inside the coat closet as punishment for bad behavior.
    Somehow he couldn't picture himself in such an absurd setting. He couldn't imagine his silver owl there, either, and certainly not Rose.
    Mrs. Crumlin's no-nonsense voice floated up: "I'll bring you a hot-water bottle soon and, oh yes, your cough medicine!"
    Max flung himself onto the bed. What an idiot he'd been. He'd almost told Einstein about Rose! And that silly excuse about fighting off a fever. Now he'd have to suffer through Mrs. Crumlin's nauseating home remedies.
    He told himself he didn't care about hanging out with Einstein and the other kids. He was no good at cracking jokes. Playing sports made him dizzy and out of breath. And, judging from what Einstein wore, Max's clothes were ridiculously out of date--not surprising, since they were all made on Mrs. Crumlin's antiquated sewing machine.
    At Cavernstone Grey School, kids who were a bit different were always laughed at, and considered outsiders. Max knew that the students made fun of weaklings and worrywarts. And, unfortunately, he fitted perfectly into both those categories.
    Early the next morning Dr. Tredegar buzzed the front doorbell. Mrs. Crumlin called Max down to the parlor in a cheery voice, as if his weekly injection were the most fun-filled event in the world.
    "Be down in five minutes!" shouted Max.
    As always, Mrs. Crumlin instructed the doctor to tie