Watch Me by Norah McClintock Page B

doorbell rang. Jana’s grandma excused herself and went to answer it. I heard Jana’s voice. I wished I could hide. I hadn’t talked to Jana since that day in school.
    She came into the kitchen with her grandma. She said, “I heard you were here,” and she didn’t even sound mad.
    â€œI was just going to offer the boys some tea and cookies,” Jana’s grandma said. “Would you like to join us?”
    â€œSure,” Jana said. She pulled a little box from her pocket. “Dad picked this up today,” she said. “He asked me to give it to you.”
    Jana’s grandma gasped when she opened the little box. There was a watch inside, but it wasn’t rusty anymore. It was bright and silvery, and I could see the second hand moving. She lifted the watch out of the box and turned it over. There were tearsin her eyes when she read the name and the identification number engraved on the back.
    â€œI’ll pack it up and send it to your brother first thing on Monday,” she said. She reached out and squeezed my hand. “Thank you, Kaz,” she said.
    I just stared at her. I had taken the watch from her in the first place and here she was thanking me. Even if I’d known what to say—which I didn’t—I couldn’t have spoken. There was a big lump in my throat.
    Jana’s grandma smiled at me. “There are some cookies in that tin over there, Jana,” she said. “Would you put some on a plate while I start the kettle boiling? You boys sit down. You’ve done enough for one day.”
    I sat down next to Drew and watched Jana’s grandma bustle around her kitchen. She wasn’t at all what I’d thought when I first saw her. I hoped she felt the same way about me. I looked down at the watch in that little box and was glad for at least part of what I’d done.

Author’s Note
    In November, 1990, a hunter came across the wreckage of an airplane in a remote area in Burma (also known as Myanmar). Among the wreckage, he found a watch that was inscribed with the name and service number of Flying Officer William Kyle. William Kyle had been a crew member on a plane that had disappeared in June, 1945. The hunter gave the watch to a missionary, who realized that it had belonged to a serviceman. Five years later, the watch made its ways to Veterans Affairs Canada, which returned it to William Kyle’s family. In 1996, the bodies of William Kyle and his crew members were recovered and given a proper burial. To the best of my knowledge, the watch was never stolen from William Kyle’s family.
    Norah McClintock is a five-time winner of the Arthur Ellis award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel. Norah lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Orca Currents
    121 Express
    Monique Polak
    Bio-pirate
    Michele Martin Bossley
    Camp Wild
    Pam Withers
    Chat Room
    Kristin Butcher
    Cracked
    Michele Martin Bossley
    Crossbow
    Dayle Campbell Gaetz
    Daredevil Club
    Pam Withers
    Dog Walker
    Karen Spafford-Fitz
    Finding Elmo
    Monique Polak
    Flower Power
    Ann Walsh
    Horse Power
    Ann Walsh
    Hypnotized
    Don Trembath
    Visit www.orcabook.com for all Orca titles.
    In a Flash
    Eric Walters
    Laggan Lard Butts
    Eric Walters
    Manga Touch
    Jacqueline Pearce
    Mirror Image
    K.L. Denman
    Pigboy
    Vicki Grant
    Marked
    Norah McClintock
    Queen of the Toilet Bowl
    Frieda Wishinsky
    Rebel’s Tag
    K.L. Denman
    See No Evil
    Diane Young
    Sewer Rats
    Sigmund Brouwer
    The Shade
    K.L. Denman
    Skate Freak
    Lesley Choyce
    Visit www.orcabook.com for all Orca titles.
    Splat!
    Eric Walters
    Spoiled Rotten
    Dayle Campbell Gaetz
    Sudden Impact
    Lesley Choyce
    Swiped
    Michele Martin Bossley
    Watch Me
    Norah McClintock
    Wired
    Sigmund Brouwer
    Visit www.orcabook.com for all Orca titles.