 | ||||||||
|
The Mystery of the Medieval Coinby A.D. Fast
1-55068-127-3 Click here for reading level. To read the first chapter of this book, click here. Enjoy! Other Tea Leaf Press books by A.D. Fast: After Dinner Barf Beating Up Daniel Crossing the Line Dangerous Rivals Taking the Lead To Save a King Angel Wilson: teenage diva The Mystery of the Medieval Coin"If he will not listen, then off with his head!" the man shouted, thrusting one arm into the air above his head. His foot was perched on the seat of his chair. His eyes blazed with fury. His long, wavy hair was pulled back from his pale face into a low, untidy ponytail."What? Without even a trial?" Marvin asked. Marvin McKnight was in grade five and was not ready to be beheaded. His friends, Lucas and Nicole, stood beside him, their eyes wide and their mouths open. How could this man accuse me of breaking the law without any proof? Marvin wondered. How could he sentence me to death without any trial? The man at the front of the classroom lowered his arm and seemed to snap out of the daze he was in. He scratched his short, scruffy beard. The girls in the class giggled. They seemed to find him interesting. Marvin only found him annoying. Fifth grade was supposed to be awesome, and so much better than grade four. That was until they met their new social studies teacher. Mr. LeClair was new to the school. He had taught the class geography, history, and science all year, and it had been a very long year. Luckily, there were only a few days of school left before summer vacation. This month, Mr. LeClair had been teaching medieval history. Whenever he taught something new, he would act it out. Like this trial. To many of the students, it was very annoying. He was from France, and his French accent made him hard to understand. Mr. LeClair always boasted about how wonderful his part of the world was. "This is how things were back then, Marvin," Mr. LeClair said. "If peasants were accused of a crime, they were punished. We did not have to listen to their excuses. I have told you about the feudal system. This system made up the set of rules that people had to live by. If you were a king or a knight, you were at the top. You had all the power. If you were a peasant, you were nothing. And punishment for breaking the laws was the dungeon or death," he added. "But that's not fair," Lucas spoke up. "Everyone is equal. And everyone is innocent until proven guilty." Lucas and Marvin sat next to one another in almost every class. It was great for Marvin. He had Lucas close by to stick up for him. It was great for Lucas, too. He had Marvin nearby to help him with his schoolwork. Marvin was the smartest kid at Green Park Elementary School. "Not in medieval Europe," said Mr. LeClair. "Peasants couldn't even read. How would they know the law? They were so poor that they could not fight those in power. It was wonderful. The rich stayed powerful, and the poor stayed poor. Don't you think it would be better to have such order today?" he asked. "But--" The bell rang, cutting off Lucas' comment. It was probably a good thing. Lucas didn't like Mr. LeClair. "For your homework today, I want each student to write a paragraph about how the medieval feudal system was good for people," Mr. LeClair said. The class groaned. The week before, they had to write a paper on how the invention of the printing press ruined the feudal system. They were supposed to argue that printing books was bad for society. Marvin learned every last thing about the Gutenberg Press. He found out that it was invented around the year 1450 by Johannes Gutenberg, and it was the first machine ever to print words onto paper. The press used ink and metal letters. Books could be printed very quickly after the press was invented. There was no longer any need for scribes, the monks who copied books by hand. Marvin couldn't find one bad thing about books being printed by a printing press. He almost got a bad grade on the paper. The only thing that saved him was Lucas. Lucas could argue anything, even if it didn't make sense. The students started to pack up their books and make their way out the door. Mr. LeClair sat down at his desk and opened a book. He was always reading about history. "He can't be serious," Lucas said. "Does he actually believe that it was a good thing when kings and lords ruled over the poor peasants? Does he actually think that it was a good thing not to teach those peasants to read? He is so brutal! We might have him for homeroom next year. That would be even worse!" Marvin put his pencil and pen into his back pocket. He ran his hand through his short, blond hair. He was about to answer Lucas when Nicole walked over. "He isn't serious," Nicole said. "He's a teacher! Of course he thinks everyone should learn to read and have equal rights. He is just trying to get us to think about things. He wants us to imagine what life would be like in medieval times. That's all," she said. They joined the long line of kids that snaked around the back of the class and filed out the door. Loud voices came from the hallway outside. It was the end of the day. Everyone was in a rush to get to their homeroom. In a few minutes, they would all be free! "I don't know about that," said Marvin. He looked back at Mr. LeClair. The teacher was engrossed in whatever he was reading. He hardly even looked up from his dusty old book. "I think he almost believes what he says. That guy is weird," he added. Lucas did his best French accent and rubbed his chin. "If peasants were accused of a crime, they were punished. We did not have to listen to their excuses," he said, imitating Mr. LeClair. "What's all that we stuff? I think he reads too much history." Nicole laughed. "Lucas, he's French, okay? Sometimes things come out a bit different when you are speaking a different language. He just makes a few mistakes, that's all. English is his second language, you know." "Yes, we know that, thanks. We also know that you're almost as good at French as you are at English. You are the only kid on the planet who likes learning other languages. You always stick up for Mr. LeClair just because he's French," Lucas said jokingly. "Next time you need help with your French homework, don't come crying to me!" Nicole said. Marvin was deep in thought as he watched Mr. LeClair ferociously reading the thick books on his desk. There was something very strange about Mr. LeClair. Something more than the fact that he spoke funny. Something more than the way he acted. Something more than the nasty smell that came from his desk. Mr. LeClair was definitely not a regular teacher. *** Marvin and Lucas pushed through the busy hallway toward their homeroom. They were in Mrs. Wright's grade five/six split class. Nicole went the other way. She was in another grade five class. When the boys walked into their classroom, Mrs. Wright was sitting at her desk. That was unusual. Mrs. Wright was always standing and always smiling. She was the gym teacher and was very energetic. She had shoulder-length, blond hair that was held back most days by a shiny, gold clip. She was also the only teacher who wore running suits to school. She was young, smart, and very strict. Even though she was a tough teacher, everyone loved her. Mrs. Wright was the best teacher Marvin had ever had. "Well, good afternoon," Mrs. Wright said. She looked up from the stack of papers on her desk. Then she stood up and walked to the front of the class, her back to the chalkboard. "Please get your books quietly from your desks. Don't forget your math homework for tomorrow. Also, we have an author talk in the afternoon, so I expect you all to bring some good questions for her. When you are packed up and waiting silently, I will dismiss you." She stood smiling at the class while everyone quieted down and rifled through their desks. "Hey, are you coming rock hounding with us after school?" Marvin asked Lucas. "My grandpa says there are some great rocks out there. He found some stuff yesterday." Marvin's grandfather was an archeologist. He swore that there were diamonds in the rocks by the forest. Marvin and his grandpa went there all the time, and his grandpa had an amazing rock collection. His grandpa also had a collection of things from long ago. He was a history buff and told Marvin all kinds of stories about what life was like hundreds of years ago. "Sure, I'm game. I wouldn't mind checking out the cave again, too. We should bring bigger flashlights this time. That place is pitch black inside," Lucas said. "Yeah, we can check it out, but you know how my grandpa feels about it. He says we shouldn't disturb a natural wonder. Besides, he says it might not be safe," Marvin said. "He thinks it's haunted, that's all!" Lucas said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, we don't have to tell him every time we go into the woods. It's our cave. We need to check on it, you know." Lucas felt very protective of the cave in the woods. They had worked very hard to find it. Lucas, Marvin, and Marvin's grandpa had cut away trees and moved rocks last year, looking for a certain rock formation. That was when they had stumbled upon the small cave. They had heard about the cave--everyone in town knew that there was a hidden cave somewhere in the woods--but they had never expected to find it. They found no diamonds or precious rocks, of course. Just one very cool cave. They had kept it hidden--and secret--ever since. Nicole was the only other person they had told about it. "Boys," Mrs. Wright called from the front of the class. "Why are you the only ones talking?" Marvin looked around. Everyone else was sitting quietly with their books on their desks. They were all staring at Lucas and Marvin. "Sorry, Mrs. Wright," Marvin said. He hoped no one had heard them talking about the cave. He didn't want anyone else finding it. It was too cool to have to share. He also hated getting in trouble. "Sorry, Mrs. Wright," Lucas said, smiling. "That was very rude of us." He had bright blue eyes and short, red hair spiked up in the front with blond tips. No teacher could stay mad at Lucas. Lucas had a way of making adults laugh. Mrs. Wright always laughed at Lucas. Mrs. Wright stepped toward the desks where Lucas and Marvin sat. She made a tsk sound with her teeth. "Lucas Maxwell, you are something else," she said, laughing. "Okay, class. Now that everyone is silent, you may be dismissed. Have a terrific day!" she said. The boys put their books into their backpacks and left the classroom. As they walked down the hall, they passed Mr. LeClair's room. Marvin glanced into the room as he passed, and he stopped in his tracks. Lying on Mr. LeClair's desk was a shiny, silver knife. It had a green stone set into the handle. It was lying beside a brown leather pouch. Mr. LeClair was sitting at his desk reading a book. He pounded the desk angrily with his fist. Then he ran his hand through his hair and said something to himself. Suddenly, he looked up from his desk and turned toward the classroom door. His icy green eyes bored into Marvin like two laser beams. He quickly slid the knife into a drawer. Marvin looked away and started walking quickly down the hall to catch up with Lucas. Why would Mr. LeClair have a knife on his desk? That's not good. A crazy person with a sharp knife. I wish he hadn't seen me, Marvin thought. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. |
|||
|
All the books! • Search the site • Fun stuff for readers Info for parents & educators • Order books • Contact us • Home  |
