The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick Read Free Book Online

story about the hobgoblin trying to protect the old English manor house where he has lived for centuries that she was confused for moment and not certain where she was.
    She looked around the room and saw the stampede of kids rushing and pushing each other toward the exit doors. A tall boy whose head stuck up over the crowd turned and flashed her a grin. It was Danton again. She stared at him in surprise, but he was borne away by the rushing river of students before she could even begin to blush.
    All afternoon Edward boiled with fury, as much at himself as at Feenix. To permit a mutant such as that girl to get under his skin was a violation of his most sacred principles.
    He was so busy trying to calm himself down that the afternoon was gone before he knew it. When the bell rang at the end of the day, he almost couldn’t believe it. He gathered his books without looking at anyone and slipped out of the building. He was certain that everyone was talking about what had happened, so he avoided going anywhere near the bus stop and decided to take a side street up the long hill. The wind had died down, but the afternoon was gray and damp.
    He was about to turn the corner when a voice he recognized called his name. He could pretend deafness, he supposed. Although he was pretty sure that it would do him no good. He took a breath and turned around.
    Edward watched Danton come bounding toward him. Where did the guy get all that energy from? All that snap, crackle, pop? It just radiated out of him. He sparkled with furious good health. His jacket was wide open like it was a lovely spring evening.
    “Hey, man. Whassup?”
    “Not much.”
    “You were really in the zone today.”
    Edward stared at him.
    “In the lunchroom. With Feenix’s pink beanbag. That was pretty awesome.”
    Edward didn’t know what to say to this. They had had very little to do with each other in the past and Edward didn’t see why they should start now. But Danton persisted. “Why don’t you come along with me one Saturday and we’ll shoot some baskets? I have some guys I meet up with.”
    Danton was not only a decent student but someone who moved with inexplicable ease between one social group and another. He was also the Lord of the Inflated Rubber Ball. If he didn’t have a ball to throw, he was willing to use whatever was handy. Apples, oranges, and hard-boiled eggs were good lunchroom substitutes. That he imagined Edward would consider getting up early on a Saturday morning to meet some other guys and play basketball was dumbfounding. Edward decided the best strategy would be to just go along with him and then silently sneak away when the guy got distracted.
    “Sure,” Edward said. “Though I think I got something going on this weekend.”
    Danton laughed and put his arm around him like he knew just what Edward was thinking. “That’s cool. We can talk about it next week. Right now we gotta figure out what we’re going to do about today.”
    “What do you mean?” Edward asked sharply.
    “You know what I mean. Your rock. Feenix’s still got it. We need to get it back.”
    Edward’s eyes gleamed for a moment. He thought about the rock. He thought about Feenix. Then he shook his head.
    “Are you going to let her get away with this? You can’t.”
    “It’s only a rock.”
    “People shouldn’t just go around just taking each other’s rocks like that. What would happen to civilization if people just went around taking each other’s rocks? If you let her get away with this today, who knows what she’ll try to get away with tomorrow. It’s for her own good. She’s not a bad kid. She just thinks she is. We’ve got to go after her.”
    “Now? You want to go after her now?”
    “Of course now. I saw her put it in her pocket, but if we don’t stop her before she gets home, she’ll hide it somewhere and then our mission will become seriously complicated.”
    Edward stared up at Danton. Surely, he was kidding. But the sunshiny grin was