He nodded toward a rubbing tacked near the window I got it last Friday Abel Cain 1809 1872 A Brother to Us All Okay I admit they are pretty funny Michael said I never see epitaphs like that where my grandpa is buried That’s because he’s buried in the Cedarville Cemetery Those headstones are boring I do my grave rubbings in the old Sleep Haven graveyard by the highway I’ve got to hand it to you man you’re brave The dead scare me Dylan sat tall None of the dead in that cemetery scare me But there’s a living person there who makes my toes curl
Michael’s eyebrows rose Who Digger O’Malley the cemetery caretaker That old goat hates me He’s worried I’ll damage the headstones He’s run me off a few times And the last time he held his shovel to my chin and cursed Just thinking about Digger’s glaring eyes made pinpricks dance up Dylan’s spine Then doing his best Digger impersonation he said These headstones are old and frail You keep rubbing on them and they’ll crumble like stale biscuits Michael blinked Why do you keep going back he asked I told you it’s my hobby But isn’t it illegal to go into a cemetery at night Michael asked Dylan grinned It’s no big deal if you don’t get caught
If it’s something you can get caught at it’s a big deal Michael argued Dylan glanced at his watch Right now the big deal is getting this project done Who are we going to do our report on Michael gulped No one scary I hope
EARTH TO DYLAN Michael unzipped his backpack and pulled out the assignment sheet Here is the assignment He passed it over to Dylan so they could look it over together It read 1 Your subject must be a historical figure from Cedarville 2 How did this person make an impact 3 Did this person make an impact outside our town as well 4 What impressed you most about this person 5 Create a poster diorama or timeline Use visual aids when possible
