Bears Beware (3 page)

Mitchell put on his Gary Bopper face. “Rain is good,” he said. “Rain is terrific.”

How many hours were there in a day? Maybe sixty?

Gary Bopper would have his hands on his hips. He’d shout something. What? Maybe “Bears beware!”

The bus screeched to a stop.

“Everyone off,” called the bus driver.

Mitchell scrubbed at the dusty window. They weren’t at the Nature Center. He could still see the school.

“The bus broke down,” Habib said.

“We’re almost there,” Mr. Oakley said. “We’ll have to walk.”

“What about all this stuff?” Ellie asked.

“Don’t worry,” said Mrs. Farelli. “The Afternoon Center boys and girls are strong as bulls.”

Lucky Mrs. Farelli. She looked like a bull. Big and tough. No animal would mess with her.

They climbed down from the bus. The bus driver threw out bags and boxes.

A minute later, Mitchell had one end of the boys’ tent pole on his shoulder. Habib had the other end.

The tent pole was a hundred miles long. It must have weighed as much as Mrs. Farelli.

Besides, Habib was a little taller than Mitchell.

The tent pole slid all over the place.

Sumiko and Destiny were carrying the girls’ tent pole. Lucky. Both girls were the same size.

Charlie had four bags on his back. He was bent over like an old man.

Angel carried two bags. One of them was Mitchell’s. He could see the red tape.

“Let’s go,” Mr. Oakley said.

They marched along.

Mitchell could see Angel and Yolanda in front. Angel looked back. She was probably checking up on him already.

She tripped over Yolanda’s feet.

The bags went flying.

The one with the red tape opened.

Mitchell could see his underwear hanging out. Mom had bought it for this trip.

He raced forward. Never mind the tent pole.

“Oof!” yelled Habib.

Mitchell darted around Destiny. He threw himself on the bag.

Behind him, Habib yelled, “Watch out!”

Something hit Mitchell in the back of his head.

“Oh, no!” Gina said. “They just broke the boys’ tent pole.”

A
t last they reached the Nature Center. It was a wild kind of place. Fields. A pond. Trees. Mitchell crossed his fingers. He hoped there wouldn’t be killer animals.

“Bears beware,”
he whispered in a Gary Bopper voice.

He looked up. The sun had come out. It was a hot sun. He was thirsty already.

He had a bottle of juice in his pocket. He took a slug. He shared the rest with Habib.

“Drop everything right here,” Mr. Oakley said, “in front of the Critter Cabin.”

“Great name for small creatures,” Ellie said.

“The front door is open,” Mr. Oakley said. “Make sure to visit the critters today.”

“Dee-lightful,” Gina said. “I’m crazy about ants.”

Habib wiped his mouth. “I’m not so crazy about ants. All they do is run around on the ground.”

Wasps were worse, Mitchell thought. He’d been stung once.

Angel had called him a baby for crying.

But that was two years ago.

Wait a minute. The Critter Cabin was huge. How big were those creatures, anyway?

Screened windows were all over the front. A giant critter with stingers might break out any minute.

One thing Mitchell knew. He wasn’t going near that place.

“We might see a tarantula,” Angel said. Her voice was strange. Maybe she was getting a cold.

Yolanda nodded. “What about black widow spiders? A bite from one of those babies and it’s goodbye!”

Mitchell tried not to think about elephant-sized wasps. He tried not to think about killer black widows.

He looked at the tent pole. It was in pieces. Where would they sleep?

“A perfect Saturday for a campout,” Mrs. Farelli said.

“Too bad there’s no tent for the boys,” Ellie said.

“A small problem,” Mr. Oakley said.

A truck rolled into the Nature Center. One fender was dented. Mitchell thought the whole thing might fall apart any minute.

A man got out. He had a gray ponytail. He looked as old as his truck.

Next, a skinny kid slid out. He had a ponytail, too. A red one. He had something all around his mouth.

Oatmeal?

Yuck.

“That kid’s a walking cereal box,” Habib said.

Mitchell and Habib began to laugh.

Mrs. Farelli snapped her fingers. “We don’t need a pair of sillies here.”

Mitchell edged behind Habib. He bit his lip hard.

He watched the man with the gray ponytail. The man gave Mrs. Farelli a hug. “I’m late,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Mrs. Farelli smiled at him. “This is the head of the Steven Z. Zigzag Nature Center,” she told everyone. “His name is”—she took a breath—“Mr. Adam Farelli.”

She swiped at the oatmeal on the skinny kid’s face. “This is Owen, my grandson. He’s visiting from New Jersey. A very unusual boy.”

“More like weird,” Habib whispered.

Wow
, Mitchell thought.
Mrs. Farelli has a husband and a grandson with matching ponytails
.

Mitchell had always thought Mrs. Farelli lived alone. Her house would look like a classroom. Chairs would be lined up in the living room.

Mr. Adam Farelli rubbed his hands together. “Are you ready for the Great Nature Hunt?” he asked.

A nature hunt?

Mitchell guessed he was ready. Habib had great food. Habib had Bugs Be Gone.

They’d stick together like glue.

“Pick a partner,” Mr. Farelli said. “My partner is the beautiful Mrs. Farelli.”

Beautiful!
Mitchell could hear Habib taking deep breaths. He was trying not to laugh again.

Everyone was picking a partner.

Mitchell didn’t have to think about that. Habib was right next to him.

They were always partners.

But Mrs. Farelli pushed the ponytail kid toward him. “Owen will be a great partner for you, Mitchell,” she said.

Owen opened his mouth. His teeth were covered with oatmeal globs.

Mitchell swallowed.

“Great,” Owen said.

M
itchell and Habib looked at each other. “Maybe we could be three partners,” Mitchell said.

Mrs. Farelli held up two fingers. “Two by two,” she said. “Like Noah’s Ark.”

“Right,” said Mr. Adam Farelli. His ponytail bobbed up and down. He handed a pile of papers to Mitchell. “Would you pass these out, buddy?”

Mitchell began to give out the papers. He looked down at pictures of birds and plants.

A fat animal stared out at him.

Mitchell looked closer.

The animal’s teeth were the size of a basketball.

Angel stood next to him. “Don’t be a baby, now,” she said.

Bears beware
, Mitchell said in his head.

Behind Angel, Gina was humming an opera song.

Charlie put on giant sunglasses. “I made them myself,” he said.