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The ground shook as the herd of apatosaurs thundered past, running for the joy of it. Anteaters and opossums scattered wildly, trying to avoid the huge feet. Despite the sweltering heat, the apatosaurs raced across the lush plains land.
A hungry allosaur looked up at the pounding of the herd's footsteps. Hiding in the trees, he scanned them for a young loner on the outskirts, or an older apatosaur who had fallen behind. But the herd ran together, the young and the helpless in the center, protected by the strong young apatosaurs who ran on the outside.
The lead apatosaur threw up his head and bellowed his triumph at the sky as he ran. One by one, the other members of the herd stretched their necks as far up as they could, and shouted their own excitement in shrill, unformed voices.
Cringing, the allosaur ducked deeper into the tree and slunk off to search for easier prey.
"...dinosaur class project."
Miss Baker's words snapped Ryan out of his daydream.
Had the teacher really said dinosaurs? And something about a class project? He glanced down at his notebook where he had been doodling a herd of apatosaurs. Ryan had been wondering how he could make his model dinosaurs run and move their heads and bellow. Then the other kids would really be impressed with his living dinosaur village. Now he wished he'd been listening more carefully.
"You will need to choose partners for this project," Miss Baker was saying. "I want you to work in groups of two, and then prepare your report for the class with your partner."
What report? wondered Ryan.
Miss Baker was beaming at the class. "I know you're all going to be as excited about this project as I am," she told them. "Especially you, Ryan, with your love of dinosaurs."
Ryan reddened as the other kids looked at him. Chris, who used to be his best friend, rolled his eyes and groaned. Chris was sick of Ryan's dinosaurs, and had told Ryan he wouldn't talk to him if Ryan even said the word dinosaur. He said that Ryan was obsessed with his crazy dinosaur village. Partners, Ryan thought. Well, tripping triceratops to Chris! His ex-best-friend could beg if he wanted, but Ryan wouldn't be his partner if Chris paid him.
"We are going to have the opportunity to participate in a real fossil dig!" Miss Baker said. "Every year, Professor Coolidge from the University does a field training dig for his graduate students on part of a farmer's land near the campus. This part of Texas has a good deal of very fossil-rich land, boys and girls. Mostly these are common fossils, but every now and then a student digs up something unusual."
Ryan slumped in his seat. Fossils, he thought with disgust. He supposed he had to be glad that scientists had found the first fossils, or nobody would know that dinosaurs had existed. But Ryan didn't want to be a scientist who studied old bones. Dinosaurs were something alive and exciting! That's why he was building his living dinosaur village. Fossils were dead and boring.
He saw Kelley Winslow practically wriggling, her black curls dancing and her blue eyes sparkling with excitement through her glasses. Four-eyed bookworm, he thought. He knew the idea was a disaster, if Kelley loved it. She always acted like some important know-it-all scientist. Whoever got her for a partner was going to have a lousy time....
Ryan slid farther down in his seat. Nobody would pick him, not even Chris. So what?
Maybe if he were the odd man out, he wouldn't have to have a partner. If he could stay on his own, he could get away with doing as little as possible on the project, and keep up with his own jobs instead. No one in class would miss him. Ryan counted in his head. They had an odd number of kids in the class....
"All right." Miss Baker clapped her hands for silence. "Now let me make a list of partners."
When she got to Ryan, he spoke up confidently. "I don't have a partner, Miss Baker, but it's okay. I'll just be the odd man out."
Chris giggled on the other side of the room and muttered, "Totally odd!" but Ryan didn't even glance at him. "Don't worry, I'll still do a good job. You know how much I love dinosaurs."
Miss Baker frowned and looked over her list. "That's all right, Ryan - you're not the odd man out after all. I don't think Kelley has a partner yet."
"But - " Ryan looked around wildly. "I know there's an odd number in class and -"
Miss Baker smiled. "That's true, but Josh is absent today and another group has asked to include him. Given an odd number, I'd expected to have one group of three anyway."
Dancing diplodocus! Ryan desperately groped for some reason not to work with Kelley. Miss Super Science Student wouldn't give a hoot about his living dinosaur village. She'd never give him a minute to himself if she thought it would bring her grade down a tenth of a point.
Miss Baker wrote Kelley's name next to his on the blackboard and Ryan tried to stifle a groan. He was stuck with Kelley. He looked across the room to glare at her.
His eyes met the reflected glare of the overhead light on Kelley's glasses. She didn't look any happier about the situation than she did. In fact, behind her glasses, she was staring at him with a look of total fury.
Copyright ©2002 by Elaine Marie Alphin
