The Mystery off Old Telegraph Road

welled up in her eyes at Mart’s gentle words.
    Mart stood up and walked toward the door. “Don’t worry about your spat with Honey,” he said. “I have a feeling it won’t last. You two girls are too close for that ’Night.”
    “Good night, Mart,” Trixie said. “And thanks.” Mart is wonderful, Trixie thought. For all his teasing, he’s not afraid to show he cares about me when I need to know it. And he’s right. The fight between Honey and me wont last, because I won’t let it. Tomorrow morning on the bus I’ll walk right up to her and apologize.

Posters and Apologies • 7

    THE NEXT MORNING, Trixie was waiting eagerly at the bus stop at the foot of the driveway when the school bus arrived. She felt a sinking feeling of disappointment when the bus passed the stop at Manor House and neither Honey nor Jim got on. She slumped down into her seat, wondering if the Wheelers had not taken the bus because they were deliberately avoiding her. Don’t be silly, she told herself. There are lots of times when we don’t take the bus for one reason or another. Still, she felt uneasy and nervous, and she looked enviously at Mart and Brian, who were kidding with a group of classmates at the front of the bus.
    On her way to her first class, Trixie saw Nick Roberts coming down the hall. He seemed to be looking right at her, but he turned suddenly and started to walk down another corridor before she could speak. I guess he didn’t see me after all , she thought, hurrying to catch up with him.
    “Nick,” she called out as she ran up alongside him. The young artist took a couple more steps, then stopped, but he still didn’t turn to face her.
    “I’m sorry if I distracted you from what you were thinking about,” Trixie said apologetically. “I was just wondering when you can work on the posters. I want to arrange for a sign-up booth after school, and I—”
    “Forget it,” Nick said.
    Trixie thought at first that he meant she should forget about apologizing, but as Nick continued to stare at the floor, she wasn’t so sure. “Forget what?” she asked.
    “Forget the whole thing—the whole stupid bikeathon idea,” Nick said angrily. “I don’t have time to waste doing a bunch of stupid posters and pledge cards for a bunch of do-gooders. It’s a dumb idea, anyway. You probably won t raise any money, and if you do, the school board will just use that as an excuse to cut the art department s budget back even more. We’ll be right back where we started.”
    “Oh, Nick, I don’t think so—” Trixie began to reassure him.
    “Well, I do,” Nick retorted. “And I’m the one who’s in the art department, so I ought to know. Just forget the whole thing, would you?” With that, Nick pushed his way past Trixie and walked quickly off down the hallway.
    Trixie looked at his retreating figure, too stunned to move. Nick hadn’t been exactly enthusiastic about the bikeathon when she’d described her plans the day before, but there certainly had been nothing in his manner to indicate that he was going to decide against the entire project.
    Trixie felt a strong temptation to take Nick’s advice and abandon the whole idea of helping the art department. So far, she had to admit, it had caused her nothing but trouble and hurt feelings. But, remembering the disappointed looks on the faces of the other young students at the art fair, Trixie felt her resolve returning.
    The principal offered us his full cooperation, Trixie thought. That means it can’t be such a bad idea. As long as we’ve gone this far, we might as well continue. I’ll go talk to the art teacher during my study hall.
    To Trixie’s relief, the young art teacher, whose name was Mr. Crider, was very friendly and welcomed Trixie’s offer to help. He listened closely as
    Trixie explained the arrangements that the Bob-Whites had made so far and nodded agreeably when Trixie explained the need for posters and pledge cards.
    “I have two classes of first-year art students,” Mr. Crider said. “I can give them the posters and pledge cards to do as an assignment. Actually, it will be very good experience for them to do something like this. It will teach them how to take a basic piece of communication and turn it into something attractive. If any of them decide to go into commercial art, that will be a valuable thing for them to know.”
    “Thanks, Mr. Crider,” Trixie said. “If you’ll just let me know when they’re ready, I’ll come back