0062259628 by Sarah Strohmeyer

Author:Sarah Strohmeyer [Strohmeyer, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-04-05T22:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

“So, what’s this about you running into a shark?”

Except it sounded more like shahk coming from Boston native Buster, the six-foot, bald member of the Academy’s Buildings and Grounds department.

Kris grabbed the top rung and tried not to look down, where he hoped Buster was anchoring the twenty-foot ladder securely with his size-thirteen boots. Inches away, under the eaves of the Chisolm Hall, hung a large, papery, gray wasp’s nest. He searched for signs of life.

“See anything?” Buster asked.

“Not sure.” Kris removed the crowbar from his belt and listened for buzzing.

The day before, two students had been stung while chatting on the steps directly below, sending the administration into panic mode. It was too dangerous to spray the hornets when it was warm and they were active, so they had to do it at dawn while the bugs were clustered in their hive and cold.

And by “they,” Buildings and Grounds meant Kris, or, as the regulars had nicknamed him, “The Kid,” because he was at least six years younger than the youngest member of the grounds crew. Climbing to the roof and killing hornets was definitely a job for The Kid, they’d decided without bothering to ask his opinion.

“Consider it a rite of initiation,” Buster had said, though Kris suspected the rest of them were too scared to deal with a swarm of angry, stinging hornets.

Now, several hours later, they were back to assess the death count.

Kris extended the crowbar to the nest and gave it a poke.

“I never heard of no great white in the bay,” Buster said. “Could have been a basking shark. The things look scary but don’t bite.”

The hive shook slightly. Kris recoiled. “I don’t know. The fin was white.”

“Pure white? Or gray white?”

Why was he peppering him with questions at a time like this? The shark thing could wait. His neck could not. “You’d better have this ladder steady, Buster, because I’m going to try and knock this thing down.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”

The crew was always teasing him about his hair for being relatively long and wavy compared with their shiny, bald pates.

Kris gave the hive another knock. It wobbled. But no hornets.

“I’m just thinking that if it really was a great white, it would have been on the news,” Buster said. “They have organizations that track those monsters, you know. Woods Hole or something.”

Okay. This was it. Kris brought back the crowbar and gave the nest a whack.

“You sure the shark was real?”

Kris squinted. No wasps. Good sign. “I don’t know. I guess.” He dealt another smack.

“Could have been a fake.”

“Get out of here. Who would have put a fake shark in the water?”

“Some sicko. To give you preppies a scare.”

One more hit and it would be down, and then he could get off this freaking ladder. “Looked damn real to me.”

“So did the one the drama department used when they put on Jaws last summer. Genuine Spielberg. One of the girls here, her parents are famous actors who know him.

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