Free Out of the Ashes by Valerie Sherrard Page A

the truth.
    â€œThat’s still not a very good excuse, dear. You know better than to be out this time of night without letting anyone know where you are.”
    â€œSorry.” I just wanted the conversation to be over with so I could go to my room and get to work on the science project. It wasn’t that easy though. Mom had come back in and, after hugging me, she kept me there for a good ten minutes giving me one of those lectures that says the same thing over and over in about four hundred different ways. To be honest, I hardly heard a word she said. When people lecture me I usually find that I’ve tuned them out after the first minute or so. Not that I’m rude or anything, it just seems a waste of energy to keep on listening after the point is made.
    When she was done I apologized again and hurried up to my room. I heard Mom close their bedroom door a few minutes later, but I waited for nearly half an hour before turning my light back on and booting up my computer to get information for my project. Mom would hit the roof if she knew I had spent the evening helping Nick when my own schoolwork wasn’t even done.
    It was nearly two in the morning when I finished the project, and I have to admit it wasn’t what you’d call impressive. The best I could hope for was a passingmark, which meant I was going to have to work really hard for the rest of the semester if I wanted a decent grade in science.
    As tired as I was, it was hard to get to sleep. And when I did, I dreamed that Nick was laughing at me while I knitted mittens.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    I was really tired the next morning, which almost caused an argument between Betts and me. Of course, she was wound up over the new excitement of another fire, and she took my yawns personally.
    â€œDo you have to do that?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œMake it so obvious that you’re not interested in what I’m saying.”
    â€œHonest, Betts, it’s not like that at all.” I told her how I’d been up late working on my project, without going into anything about what had happened earlier in the evening. If she knew I’d been to Nick’s place, she’d want all the details. I wasn’t about to admit to her or anyone else that I’d written an essay for him while he was out all evening. I couldn’t tell her I’d been at the fire either, because she’d interrogate me mercilessly.
    As far as the mitten went, I had no intention of telling anyone about that. At least not yet. Maybe somewhere deep inside I was hoping that Mr. Taylor was still innocent, and I didn’t want to be the one who caused him trouble for nothing. It was hard to convince myself he wasn’t involved when a mitten he’d knitted was near the scene — and had gasoline on it. The best I could do was to try not to think too much about it right then.
    She seemed to accept my explanation that the reason I was yawning was just because I’d been up so late and continued talking about the fire.
    â€œThis is so creepy,” she whispered, as if the culprit could be right behind us listening in. “My parents were saying that they’re going to get a security system with a really loud alarm. Who knows where the next fire will be?”
    â€œMaybe it’s just a coincidence that the Lawfords’ garage caught on fire. I mean, they haven’t finished investigating yet. It could have been caused by something other than someone setting it on purpose.”
    â€œYeah, right. And it just happened that the fire started when no one was there. Like all the others.” Betts sounded more than skeptical at my theory. To be honest, I didn’t think it was a real possibility myself.
    â€œAll I’m saying is that it could be that way.”
    The bell rang before we could discuss it any more, and I have to admit I spent a pretty miserable morningin class. Being tired made it hard enough to concentrate on what the teachers