Morning Star Read Free Page B

was.
    The sound of the rushing river increased. Suddenly, just ahead, she saw a man. He was hunched over the water, bringing his cupped hands up to his mouth, drinking from the river as it flowed by. Flower stood motionless. He turned and looked at her.
    She had never seen such a monstrous face: charred dark as if from a fire, lumpy and misshapen. Only one eye was open, and it glared at her. She gasped and spun around, tried to run, but wasn’t fast enough. Terror made her clumsy. Within a breath, he was upon her, and a cold, wet hand was clamped against her mouth, stifling her desperate cry for her father.

CHAPTER 6
    Felicia
    FELICIA FOLLOWED the other students down the hallway, hoped they were heading for a cafeteria. Her upset stomach was gone, and now she was hungry. They formed groups and headed in different directions, most of them outdoors. Felicia tried to walk as if she had a destination. The gym and the library were easily found, but where was the cafeteria? If she were back in Toronto, in that comfortable stew of colors and accents, she would be having lunch with Lenore and Rosalee, surrounded by kids she knew, some of them with “fuzzy” hair like hers. Here she felt like a visiting stranger. The whisperers at the back of the classroom had demolished the little confidence she had with their nasty comments about her hair. She overheard someone in the hallway talking about a lunch pit and followed him outside.
    She stepped through the doors, and the early September heat hit her like a blast from a furnace. The boy walked toward a central area where many students were congregating—that must be the lunch pit. Felicia swept by that group as if she had someone to meet, someone waiting for her. She considered leaving for home but wasn’t sure of the way. There was a white truck with an ice-cream-cone logo on its side parked on the street. Food! Felicia checked her wallet. She had just enough for a hot dog and an ice cream bar.
    Felicia purchased her lunch, found leafy shelter beneath a large maple tree, and sank to the grass. She bolted the wiener and bun, then savored the blend of chocolate and ice cream as it melted on her tongue.
    The schoolyard was alive with play. There were at least three pickup basketball games, the balls lazily looping through the air, and voices laughing, shouting, calling to each other. Felicia felt alone again, longed to join in, but felt stiff with shyness and encumbered by her mountain of clothing. She wiped the perspiration from her forehead with her sleeve and stayed on the sidelines. It was terrible to sit alone. If only they had stayed in the city, where she had friends. Now we have to live in geeky old Plainsville. There had been no discussion about moving. Felicia had not been asked what she would like.
    â€œHey, Felicity!”
    She turned and saw Dodie. “It’s Felicia.”
    â€œSorry. Aren’t you boiling?”
    â€œUh, yeah.”
    Dodie dropped to her knees on the ground, followed by two other girls. “At least you’re in the shade.”
    Dodie introduced Felicia to Renate, who had curly hair and dancing dark eyes, and Sophie, who was red-haired and freckled. “We started to play tetherball, but it was too hot.”
    â€œI guess,” said Felicia.
    â€œAnd we have gym after lunch.”
    â€œYou’re kidding!” Felicia wondered how she would manage with her winter wardrobe in the gym. “Outside?”
    â€œCould be. Or, we could complain about the heat, and Miss Peabody might let us play volleyball inside.”
    â€œI like volleyball,” said Felicia.
    â€œAre you good at sports?” asked Sophie.
    â€œSome. It depends.”
    â€œSophie is an excellent tennis player,” said Dodie. “And we all like to ride.”
    â€œBikes?” asked Felicia.
    â€œNo, horses!”
    She tried to imagine Dodie, Renate, and Sophie riding.
    The buzzer rang. The girls stood and brushed grass from