Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix Read Free Book Online Page A

asked.
    Jessie didn't know what to say. Could the girl tell Jessie wasn't used to the twentieth century? Would she summon the guards?
    Before Jessie could come up with a good answer, the girl shrugged, pulled a sheet of paper out of a nearby container, wiped off her hands, and threw the paper into a can. Then she left, as though she didn't care why Jessie had been staring.
    Jessie didn't think the girl was going to tell anyone about her. Still, she decided she'd better leave the bathroom. But first, she tried turning the same knob, and again water came pouring out. What a place this world-outside-Clifton was!
    After following the same ritual as the girl before her— even throwing away the paper, as crazy as that seemed— Jessie stepped out into the giant room she'd been in the night before.
    The largest room Jessie had ever seen before this one was Seward's store, and it was always crowded with spices, cloth, barrels, and everything else Clifton needed. Only five or six people could fit inside comfortably at one time. This room was open and airy, with glass in the ceiling that let in bright sunlight. About the only furniture was a cluster of tables and chairs at the other end, where the guards had had coffee the night before. But the room was hardly empty: It was packed with people. Maybe two hundred, Jessie calculated in amazement, more than in all of Clifton. And many of them
    appeared to be about Jessie's age. They sat along the walls, milled around in the open areas, hovered over the tables.
    Anxious to fit in, Jessie couldn't help staring as she'd stared at the girl in the bathroom. Many of the other children wore blue jeans, but some jeans were a darker blue than Jessie's, and some were faded almost white. Some were skintight and some were so loose it seemed miraculous that they didn't fall off.
    Jessie thought maybe her jeans looked okay. The other children's shirts and jackets were very different, though, many with bright patterns that almost glowed. Jessie's top definitely stood out. But no one else seemed to notice. No one looked at Jessie at all. The other children were too busy talking, laughing, and even screaming. "—and then he goes—" "Who you going out with tonight?" "—and we were at the mall and then—" Jessie had never heard so many voices at once. It hurt her ears. It would be easy to leave unnoticed, she decided, but she leaned against the wall for a minute longer, trying to get used to all the noise.
    "Kids, come on. It's your turn for the tour." Jessie turned and saw a woman about her mother's age, dressed in brown pants like a man. She was talking to the group around Jessie. Jessie noticed that the girl called Heather was right beside her.
    Most of the others got up, but Heather and her friends still sat. Jessie decided to wait a minute before leaving.
    "Oh no, you guys, too," the woman said. Heather and the other two stood up, complaining. The woman looked at Jessie.
    "Why aren't you coming? Do you expect me to carry you?"
    "But—" Jessie started. The woman thought she was with the other girls! It was on the tip of Jessie's tongue to explain that she wasn't, but the woman was glaring like Mr. Smythe always did before he said, "Do you want a whipping?" Jessie looked around. She didn't see any guards, but they might be just around the corner. What if the woman yelled for one? What if the woman started asking just where Jessie did belong? What if "Clifton's men" found out where she was?
    Jessie tried to look innocent.
    "I'm coming, ma'am," she said.
    The woman gave Jessie a surprised look, but Jessie followed along, looking meekly at the ground.
    It appeared she was going to be one of those things called tourists.

EIGHT
    The woman who had herded Jessie and the others together walked right behind Jessie, so there was no chance to break off and escape.
    "Teenagers!" the woman snorted. The word sounded vaguely familiar to Jessie. She thought it might be like "okay" and "shut up," another word from