Part 8 (1/2)

Betsy tossed her head. ”If you want me to coauthor the piece, I'd be happy to help you. We wouldn't have to do any research because I've already got tons of information.”

”Maybe it's not supposed to be all about facts and research, Betsy,” Avery piped in. ”The school paper is supposed to be about what's happening at school...not just a list of boring facts.”

Charlotte cringed. Avery could be so clueless sometimes.

Betsy shrunk back in her seat and whispered hopefully, ”Well, if you change your mind...”

”I'll definitely ask you if I need help on the historical parts,” Charlotte offered with a smile. Betsy was one of those people who was so annoying but nice at the same time. Charlotte certainly didn't want to hurt her feelings.

”Hey, Izzy, maybe The Sentinel will use your sketches to ill.u.s.trate Charlotte's article,” Avery suggested.

”How cool would that be, Iz!” Charlotte said excitedly.

Isabel's rich brown eyes sparkled. ”Oh, I'd love to have my drawings next to your article in The Sentinel!”

”Maybe,” Avery murmured, ”you can even draw a pyramid.” She nudged Isabel, and the girls burst out laughing.

”No, maybe I'll even draw a mummy!” Isabel joked as she reached over and tugged Avery's hair.

An Egyptian Curse Once the bus dropped them off at the entrance of Boston's famous Museum of Fine Arts, the teachers quickly organized students into groups based on who wanted to see what. Avery, Charlotte, and Isabel insisted on being in the same group. ”After all,” Avery said, ”it doesn't really matter what we see, as long as we get to hang out together.”

Ms. Rodriguez had split off a number of groups that had already moved off and started touring. ”The rest of you will be with Ms. Weston and me,” she said. The BSG turned around. There were four other girls in their group plus Ms. Weston with her happy smile. But the biggest surprise was the last member standing alone with his gigantic backpack. Danny Pellegrino shuffled over to the group and gave Isabel a wide grin. A museum docent, or tour guide, was waiting to escort them around.

Avery looked quickly at their group. ”Figures, Danny's the only guy in our group,” she said in a low voice to Charlotte and Isabel.

”Why do I think this is not an accident?” Charlotte asked.

”I think someone here wishes that our field trip was to the Isabel Martinez Museum instead,” Avery whispered. Danny Pellegrino had been making moon eyes over Isabel for more than a week. He was driving her bonkers.

”Shh!” Isabel giggled.

”I think you're going to be very excited about our first stop today,” said the guide as she led them down the stately museum hallways adorned with Flemish paintings. ”We are headed toward the Mummy Room!” She ushered them around the corner.

”Yessssss!” Avery hissed.

”Ugh,” gulped Isabel. ”I was hoping that the mummy room would be at the very end so I could work up to it.”

The entrance to the Mummy Room was designed like a tomb, with two thick columns covered with hieroglyphics. Isabel lingered by the columns while her cla.s.smates filtered into the room.

”Oooh, look at these!” Avery cried, rus.h.i.+ng over to the wall where three or four mummy cases leaned. Each mummy had a card in front of it that explained who the person was inside.

Charlotte followed Avery, occasionally scribbling a thought down in her notebook. She was surprised to find that the information on the mummies was really interesting. Almost all of them were royalty or soldiers. Charlotte pointed to a smoothed stone statue with a face and headdress. It was huge-at least a foot taller than she was. A card explained that it was the lid of the sarcophagus of General Kheper-Re dating back between 570-526 B.C. The card also described the treasures that were buried with the mummies. The ancient Egyptians believed the spirits of the dead would use these treasures in their afterlife.

”Do you think the kids at Abigail Adams would be interested to know that ancient Egyptians totally believed in life after death?” Charlotte asked Avery.

”Maybe.” Avery shrugged. ”But personally, I think you should write about how creepy these sarcophagus heads are. Check out this dude's eyes...no eyeb.a.l.l.s!”

Charlotte giggled and whispered, ”And look at all the little hieroglyphics on it! There are worms, and people shooting bows and arrows. Oh, and look at all the tiny birds. Izzy would love these.”

”Where is she anyway?” asked Avery as she turned around. Isabel had disappeared.

Anxious to avoid the mummies, Isabel had spotted a small, elegant portrait, just outside the Mummy Room. Phew! I'm safe, she thought to herself.

There was something so familiar about the tiny painting. With the little brush strokes, pearly pink mouth, and soulful brown eyes, it looked like something Isabel could have painted herself. The woman wore two necklaces: a string of emeralds, and a linked-gold chain. Isabel realized that she had seen jewelry like that in stores just the other day. She glanced at the card to see when this was painted. The card read ”About A.D. 100.” This look certainly has made a comeback, Isabel thought with a smile. Above the date the card also read ”Fragmentary mummy portrait of a woman.” This gave Isabel the s.h.i.+vers, but she dutifully took out her sketchbook and box of colored pencils and flipped open to a blank page. Well, as long as I'm not near the mummies I'll be just fine! And with a black pencil, she gracefully etched out the outlines of the woman's tiny ringlets and dainty cleft chin.

”Did you know that ancient Egyptians wors.h.i.+pped cats,” said a voice from behind her. ”Did you know they even had cat mummies?”

Isabel, startled, dropped her pencil and just managed to catch her sketchbook before it fell to the ground. ”Uugh...I didn't see you there,” she muttered.

”Allow me,” offered Danny Pellegrino, retrieving her pencil with a dramatic bow. ”Me lady.” He presented the ordinary black pencil resting on his two hands as if it were the Hope Diamond.

”Um, thanks,” was all Isabel could say.

”So where was I? Oh yeah! Cats. Did you see all the cats in their murals and the paintings of their houses? And did you know they had ceremonies when they mummified their dead cats?”

”No, I did not know this.” Isabel was trying to be polite but she craved time alone with her pencil and paper. She looked around for Betsy Fitzgerald. Maybe Betsy could channel Danny's Egyptian energies away from her.

Danny put one hand on his hip and the other on the gla.s.s case in a casual side-lean.

”Hands OFF the gla.s.s, please!” ordered a guard who was watching him carefully. Danny turned beet red, mumbled an apology, and stuffed both hands in his pockets.

This guy is a disaster! Isabel rolled her eyes. ”Danny, you're going to get us both in trouble.”

Danny barely skipped a beat as he moved quickly on with his lesson. ”Did you know that ancient Egyptians were buried with their cat mummies?”

Breathing deeply, Isabel clutched the sides of her notebook. This was going to be a trying day. ”Well, actually, I'm not a big fan of mummies. Not even cat mummies,” she muttered.

”I don't think this museum has cat mummies,” Danny said. ”Lemme check with the guide. You'll be here for a while? You're still working on your drawing, right?”

”Yeah,” Isabel said. He could check on anything he wanted, as long as he'd just leave her alone!

”Phew! Okay, I'll be right back, don't worry.” Danny scurried off like a man on a mission. The minute he walked away, Isabel hurried to another part of the room. If she couldn't sketch the portrait in peace, maybe she could copy this pretty painting of a pair of servants respectfully serving dinner to their master and mistress. The lines were graceful and elegant. Isabel thought this might even turn out better than the woman with the beautiful jewelry.

She had just flipped to a fresh sheet in her notebook when she heard, ”I was right, Isabel. The guide says they don't have any cat mummies in the museum. That's a relief for you, huh? Now you can just draw away and you have nothing to worry about.”

Danny was so proud of himself he looked like he was going to pop, thought Isabel. She had a sudden vision of Danny as a huge balloon floating in the air and spouting useless facts, shouting, ”Vote for me!”

Isabel pressed her lips together tightly to prevent herself from screaming. ”Mmm hmm.” She nodded. Nothing to worry about? What would it take to get Danny to leave her in peace? He seemed, at least for the moment, to be completely absorbed in an amulet in a gla.s.s case. Maybe she could concentrate once more. As soon as she started a new drawing, Danny popped up and said with a hopeful smile, ”Cmo ests?”

The only thing more annoying than Danny making small talk in English was Danny making small talk en Espaol. Could someone save her, please? She looked around for Avery, who could send Danny away in a minute and wouldn't worry too much about hurting his feelings. Worrying about hurting someone's feelings could be a real burden sometimes, she thought.

”Did you know,” he inquired, ”that Egyptian women made sure they were buried with their cosmetics, too? They used tons of makeup every day. Did you know they were supposedly as beautiful as supermodels are today? Of course they weren't as beautiful as...well, never mind.”

Isabel groaned. ”Danny, you are driving me crazy.”