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11:34 AM

RURAL LEGENDS

"Okay, ten weird things about Bixby"

Constanza Grayfoot folded back her notebook to a blank page and placed it priirls at the library table waited in silence as she wrote the numbers one to ten in a coluot one," Jen said "Back tinters ago, when they found Sheriff Michaels&039;s car out in the badlands" She turned to Jessica with eyebrows raised "But no Sheriff Michaels"

"Number one: Disappearance of Sheriff Michaels," Constanza pronounced carefully as she wrote

"I heard he was killed by drug dealers," Liz said "They&039;ve got a secret airstrip in the badlands for when they fly stuff in from Mexico He must have found out where it was"

"Or they were paying him off and they double-crossed him," Constanza said

"No way," Jen said "They found his uniforun, I heard"

"So what?"

"And also his teeth and hair And his fingernails Whatever&039;s in the badlands is a lot worse than drug dealers"

"That&039;s what the drug dealers want you to think"

"Oh, like you know"

Liz and Jen looked at Jessica, as if she was supposed to resolve the issue

"Well," Jessica offered, "the badlands sound bad"

"Totally"

"Girls," a voice called from the front desk of the library "This is supposed to be a study period, not a chatting period"

"I&039; on my article for the paper, Ms Thomas," Constanza explained "I&039;m editor this year"

"Does everyone in the library have to work on it with you?"

"Yes, they do I&039;s that make Bixby special Mr Honorio said I need a wide variety of input That&039;s how I&039;"

Ms Thomas raised one eyebrow "Maybe the others have work of their own to do?"

"It&039;s the first week of school, Ms Tho to do yet"

The librarian scanned her eyes across the five of them, then turned back to her coet into any bad habits," she relented "And try to keep it to a dull roar"

Jessica&039;s eyes fell to her trig book She actually did have so to do Mr Sanchez&039;s class hadspeed, as if they&039;d started the book last year Jessica was pretty sure she understood what Mr Sanchez had covered in chapter two, but a few concepts kept popping up that were just incomprehensible Mr Sanchez seemed convinced that Jessica had been in advanced classes back in Chicago and that she only stayed quiet because she ay ahead of the rest of them Not exactly

Jessica knew she should be studying, but she felt too restless, too full of energy Her drea to her She wasn&039;t sure what She wasn&039;t even positive it had been a drea? Jessica&039;s sweatshirt had gotten wet so rain without waking up? Maybe was she just going ht, it felt wonderful Her sister, Beth, had thrown her usual breakfast tantru that she could never start over in Bixby after spending the first thirteen years of her life in Chicago Dad, with no work to go to, hadn&039;t gotten up at all And Mo Jessica the thankless task of getting her little sister out the door But so&039;s dramas hadn&039;t bothered her The world seemed to be in focus today Jess finally knew the way to all her classes, and her locker coht Everything felt suddenly familiar, as if she had lived here in Bixby for years

In any case, Jessica ay too restless to be reading ato her new friends talk about the weird history of Bixby was onoht hair and olive skin and just a trace of an accent She and her friends were all juniors, a year older than her, but Jessica didn&039;t feel younger around the city had e

"I&039;ve got another one," Maria said "How come there&039;s a curfew here?"

"Nu curfew," spelled out Constanza

"Curfew?" Jessica asked

"Yeah" Jen rolled her eyes "Up in Tulsa, or even over in Broken Arrow County, you can stay out as late as you want But in Bixby, if it&039;s after eleven, you&039;re busted Until you&039;re over eighteen Don&039;t you think that&039;s weird?"

"That&039;s not weird, that&039;s just la about Bixby is weird"

"Everything about Bixby is lame"

"Don&039;t you think Bixby&039;s weird, Jessica?" Jen asked

"Well, not really I like it here"

"You&039;re kidding," Liz said "After living in Chicago?"

"Yeah, it&039;s nice here" Jessica felt strange saying the words, but they were true She&039;d been happy thisat her like they didn&039;t believe her "I guess there is some weird stuff about Bixby Like the water It tastes funny But you guys know that already"

The others stared at her with blank expressions

"But you know, I guess once I get used to it - " Jessica started

"What about the snake pit?" interrupted Maria

A lance up, her interest piqued for a moment by the sudden silence, then turn back to her screen

Constanza nodded "Number three: Snake pit" Her voice was just above a whisper

"Okay," Jessica said "I&039;uess that this snake pit is more on the weird side than the lame?"

"Yeah," Liz said "If you believe in all that stuff"

"What stuff?" Jessica asked

"Stupid legends," Liz said "Like, supposedly a panther lives there"

"It escaped froo," Jen said "There are articles about it in the library, fro"

"Articles you&039;ve actually read?" Liz asked

Jen rolled her eyes "Maybe I haven&039;t, but everyone - "

"And this panther&039;s, like, eighty years old?" Liz interrupted

"Well, maybe not the 1930s"

"Anyway, Jessica," Liz said "The snake pit&039;s just this la deal"

"We&039;re called Native Americans," Constanza corrected

"But this is frolos e where the original natives of Oklahoe cave people, not the Native Aht, that&039;s not lae Bixby"

"It&039;s not only arrowheads," Jen explained seriously "There&039;s this big stone that sticks up out of the ground, right in the ht And if you build this certain syht in front of your eyes exactly at the stroke of twelve"

"Change into what?"

"Well the rocks don&039;t change into anything," Jen said "They&039;re still rocks But they move around"

"Lame," Liz declared