Dorfmyer, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t volunteer to be within a hundred miles of her if we were the last two people on earth.”
A smile tugged at the side of Dunc’s face. He tried not to let Amos see it. “I heard around school that Agnes really has a thing for you. Tony Davis said that yesterday she chased you all the way down the main hall. He said she would have caught you, but you ducked into the boys’ locker room.”
“I’ve made up my mind. I’m definitely writing the report.”
“But what about Melissa?”
Amos folded his arms. “Nothing you can say will convince me to go now. Melissa’s just going to have to be disappointed.”
Amos slid down in the bus seat. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. I’m beginning to wish I still had those bandages on. Is she still waving?”
Dunc looked back. Agnes Dorfmyer gave him a toothy grin. She was bouncing up and down in the seat and pointing at Amos. “Yeah. I think she wants to talk to you.”
“I may kill you.” Amos sank lower in the seat. “Whatever you promised me—it’s not worth it.”
“I didn’t promise you anything. All I said was that my mom was having a tea for hergarden club on Saturday and that Melissa Hansen and her mother were invited.”
“You’re forgetting the part where you said that if I came with you on this field trip, you’d fix it so I could go to the tea too.”
“Oh, right.”
Amos grabbed his arm. “You
are
going to fix it, aren’t you?”
The bus went through a tall chain-link gate with barbed wire on top and stopped in front of a large brown building. There were several buildings around with people wearing white coats and carrying clipboards walking in and out of them. One was even carrying a monkey with a diaper on.
Dunc sat up to get a better look. “We’re here, Amos.”
Amos pulled one side of his coat over his face. “You go ahead without me. I’ll just sit here and concentrate on being invisible.”
“Binder!”
Amos heard his name and jerked to attention. He looked up into the fiery eyes of Mrs. Burnbottom. She was standing over him glaring and shaking a long, bony finger in his face.
“Straighten up and fly right, Binder.”
“Yes ma’am.” Amos thought about asking her if she really thought it was physically possible for him to do that, but decided that right now might not be the best time.
Mrs. Burnbottom moved to the front. “All right, students, listen up. When we get off the bus, find your study group immediately. Stay with your group until the tour is completed. Do you understand?”
There was a small chorus of “
Yes, Mrs. Burnbottom
.” The aisle started filling with students trying to get off the bus.
“Come on, Amos.” Dunc pulled him to his feet. “It won’t hurt you to take a look around. You might even learn something.”
“I’ve already learned something.”
“What’s that?”
Amos looked out the window. Agnes was still smiling at him, and Herman Snodgrass was standing by the bus with his finger up his nose.
“Never listen to you!”
“Many of the trainers and researchers here at C.U.P.I.D. think of the apes and monkeys as their closest friends. And it’s amazing the effect that kind of care has on the ability of these animals to communicate and learn basic skills.
“In this next section you will meet our largest and wisest primates here at the center, the gorillas.”
A young, intelligent-looking man wearing a white coat like the ones they had seen before was leading the tour. He had already taken them through the lower monkeyhouse and past the orangutans and chimpanzees here in the ape house.
“These animals may look quite cuddly, but I must ask you to stay well back from the bars for your own safety.”
Amos plodded along at the end of the group like a condemned man. Agnes Dorfmyer hung on his arm and chattered nonstop like one of the monkeys. Dunc was taking notes on the experiments, and Herman made faces at the monkeys in
A smile tugged at the side of Dunc’s face. He tried not to let Amos see it. “I heard around school that Agnes really has a thing for you. Tony Davis said that yesterday she chased you all the way down the main hall. He said she would have caught you, but you ducked into the boys’ locker room.”
“I’ve made up my mind. I’m definitely writing the report.”
“But what about Melissa?”
Amos folded his arms. “Nothing you can say will convince me to go now. Melissa’s just going to have to be disappointed.”
Amos slid down in the bus seat. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. I’m beginning to wish I still had those bandages on. Is she still waving?”
Dunc looked back. Agnes Dorfmyer gave him a toothy grin. She was bouncing up and down in the seat and pointing at Amos. “Yeah. I think she wants to talk to you.”
“I may kill you.” Amos sank lower in the seat. “Whatever you promised me—it’s not worth it.”
“I didn’t promise you anything. All I said was that my mom was having a tea for hergarden club on Saturday and that Melissa Hansen and her mother were invited.”
“You’re forgetting the part where you said that if I came with you on this field trip, you’d fix it so I could go to the tea too.”
“Oh, right.”
Amos grabbed his arm. “You
are
going to fix it, aren’t you?”
The bus went through a tall chain-link gate with barbed wire on top and stopped in front of a large brown building. There were several buildings around with people wearing white coats and carrying clipboards walking in and out of them. One was even carrying a monkey with a diaper on.
Dunc sat up to get a better look. “We’re here, Amos.”
Amos pulled one side of his coat over his face. “You go ahead without me. I’ll just sit here and concentrate on being invisible.”
“Binder!”
Amos heard his name and jerked to attention. He looked up into the fiery eyes of Mrs. Burnbottom. She was standing over him glaring and shaking a long, bony finger in his face.
“Straighten up and fly right, Binder.”
“Yes ma’am.” Amos thought about asking her if she really thought it was physically possible for him to do that, but decided that right now might not be the best time.
Mrs. Burnbottom moved to the front. “All right, students, listen up. When we get off the bus, find your study group immediately. Stay with your group until the tour is completed. Do you understand?”
There was a small chorus of “
Yes, Mrs. Burnbottom
.” The aisle started filling with students trying to get off the bus.
“Come on, Amos.” Dunc pulled him to his feet. “It won’t hurt you to take a look around. You might even learn something.”
“I’ve already learned something.”
“What’s that?”
Amos looked out the window. Agnes was still smiling at him, and Herman Snodgrass was standing by the bus with his finger up his nose.
“Never listen to you!”
“Many of the trainers and researchers here at C.U.P.I.D. think of the apes and monkeys as their closest friends. And it’s amazing the effect that kind of care has on the ability of these animals to communicate and learn basic skills.
“In this next section you will meet our largest and wisest primates here at the center, the gorillas.”
A young, intelligent-looking man wearing a white coat like the ones they had seen before was leading the tour. He had already taken them through the lower monkeyhouse and past the orangutans and chimpanzees here in the ape house.
“These animals may look quite cuddly, but I must ask you to stay well back from the bars for your own safety.”
Amos plodded along at the end of the group like a condemned man. Agnes Dorfmyer hung on his arm and chattered nonstop like one of the monkeys. Dunc was taking notes on the experiments, and Herman made faces at the monkeys in
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