Never To Be Told by Becky Citra

Author:Becky Citra
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV000000
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2006-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Maddy phoned again, just as she was leaving. She heard Beth say, “I’ll try to catch her,” and she slipped out the front door.

The first part was easy, straight down the steep hill almost to the ocean. Asia braked at the stop signs and kept her eyes peeled for cars. The traffic was much heavier when she reached Marine Drive. She stopped for a minute to catch her breath, frightened by the steady stream of cars. Then she remembered her Saint Christopher medal, bumping against her neck. Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers.

He probably kept a special eye out for people on bikes.

She rode along the street of shops and kept going until she spotted the stone building that was the library. She chained her bike to a rack and went inside. The library at home was just one room, and it was hard to find something she hadn’t already read. Here there were rooms and rooms of books, and there was even an elevator to take you to more rooms.

The children’s section was empty, except for a woman at a desk tapping busily on a computer, and a teenage girl reading a story to a group of toddlers in the corner. Most kids probably had better things to do on a hot summer afternoon, but Asia didn’t care. She settled herself in a corner with three enticing mysteries and was soon lost in a story about four friends exploring an abandoned mine.

She was surprised when she glanced up at the clock to see that a whole hour had passed. The toddlers were picking out picturebooks to take home, and the woman at the computer had disappeared. She wondered uneasily if it was safe to have left her bike unattended for so long. She stood up and stretched and then took her mysteries downstairs to the front desk. Beth had given her a note so she could get her own card, and she waited while a librarian typed in her information.

The librarian slid the books across the counter with a smile. “Back to school soon.”

Asia didn’t say anything. School was a huge black cloud looming in the distance. So far Beth hadn’t mentioned it, and Asia prayed desperately that she would forget until it was too late. Did schools fill up? Was there even a tiny tiny chance that someone would tell them, “I’m sorry, we’ve got no more room, please come back next year.”

“Enjoy the rest of your summer,” said the librarian. Asia slid the books into her backpack and went outside. To her relief, her bike was still there. She rode back along Marine Drive, watching carefully for red lights and turning cars.

The traffic was scary but she was already getting the hang of it. If Maddy and Ira could see her now!

Maddy. Asia tensed and concentrated on the next busy intersection. It was easy really. In no time she was back in front of the big grocery store at the corner where you turned to go up the hill to Beth’s house.

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