Off the Wall (2 page)

Abruptly the girl seemed to realize that Jane
was looking at her. She glared back at Jane, her eyes narrowed.

Jane felt bad for being rude. She gave the girl an embarrassed smile.

But the girl didn't smile back. If anything, she seemed to get even angrier.

I dare you to speak to me,
her look was conveying.
I dare you.

Jane nudged Lucy. “Do you know that girl back there?” she whispered.

“I don't think so, but she looks lonely,” Lucy remarked.

Jane was working up the courage to disagree with her new acquaintance, but before she had a chance, Lucy was calling the angry girl over. Head held high, the girl strode into the center of the group.

“My name is Daria,” she said stiffly.

“Hi, Daria!” said Lucy brightly. “I'm Lucy, and this is Jane, and this is Cailyn, and this is Grace, and this is—”

“That is way too many names,” Daria interrupted.

Lucy paused. “You're right,” she said, smiling gamely.
“You'll learn all our names by the end of the night anyway. Why bother learning them all at once?”

Daria did not return the smile.

“So, um . . . are you from around here?” Lucy asked, trying to engage the girl.

“No,” said Daria.

There was another pause.

“Well, that's—nice,” Lucy said uncertainly. “Jane's new here too. Right, Jane?”

“Uh—yes. Hi, Daria, I'm Jane.”

“I heard Lucy say your name. You don't have to tell it to me again,” was Daria's reply.

Well, nice to meet you, too!
Jane was tempted to retort sarcastically, but luckily a deep gong clanged through the Great Hall before she could. Everyone turned to see two women standing in the center of the room. One was athletic and energetic looking, with a halo of short auburn curls. The other was taller and had straight black hair that fell to her waist in a shining sheet.

“Could everyone come here and sit down?” the auburn-haired woman called.

Without a word, Daria turned her back on Jane and Lucy and walked toward the two women.

“Ugh, she is
awful
!” Jane whispered to Lucy as they crossed the room after her.

“Maybe she's just shy,” Lucy murmured back. “Let's give her a chance.”

But Jane knew what shy looked like, and she was pretty sure that shyness wasn't Daria's problem.
More like stuck-up,
she thought.

When the girls were all assembled, the leaders introduced themselves.

“Hello. I'm Willow.”

“And I'm Katherine,” said the woman with long black hair. “Willow and I are college students in art history, and we're going to be in charge of you guys for the night. Before we start this evening's tour, I'm going to tell you some cool stuff about the museum. Then Willow's going to give you the boring stuff about the rules. That won't be your favorite part of the night, but bear with her.”

The Templeton Memorial Museum was a century old, Katherine told the girls, and it had some of the greatest collections of art, history, and science in the world. The girls at the lock-in would tour some of the most famous exhibits and get a peek behind the scenes as well. They'd be served dinner and breakfast in the
museum restaurant. “They have great food,” Katherine reassured everyone.

She continued, “One of the museum's trustees—a member of the Templeton family—came up with the idea for these lock-ins about ten years ago. He wanted to make the museum even more interesting for kids. We think most of the kids in the city would agree that he succeeded. The museum holds these lock-ins once a month for middle-school and high school kids, alternating between sessions for boys and girls. There's always a waiting list.”

Megan, the ultranervous girl, raised her hand. “Why are they called lock-ins? It makes us sound like prisoners!”

“They're called lock-ins because . . .” Katherine dropped her voice to a hollow, mysterious moan.
“No one can get out and no one can get in.”

Megan gave a frightened gasp.

“Just for your own safety, of course,” Katherine finished with a chuckle. “We don't want anyone wandering off, and we certainly don't want anyone from outside to wander into the museum.”

“Wander
into
the museum?” echoed Megan in a
panicky voice. “Has that happened before?
Who
wandered in? Did any of the exhibits get stolen? Why weren't the burglar alarms working? Did anything else bad happen?”

“No one has ever wandered in,” Katherine answered hastily. “That was just a figure of speech! We're going to have lots of fun tonight, but—well, I guess this is a good time for Willow to talk about the rules.”

Now the auburn-haired woman stepped forward. “We're sure you're a responsible bunch,” she began. “All the same, there are a few rules we must ask you to keep in mind.”

“They always ‘ask' you to keep rules in mind,” Lucy muttered to her friends. “What they really mean is, they're telling you to obey them a hundred percent.”

“The most important rule is,
don't separate from the group
. This is a big, big building, and it's very easy to get lost. Do not go
anywhere
by yourself,” said Willow.

“I know this museum very well,” Daria added for seemingly no reason. “I couldn't get lost.”

Jane rolled her eyes. Daria probably just thought she was better than everyone else.

Willow went on as if she hadn't heard. “The other
very important rule is not to leave the Great Hall once we come back here after the tour and dinner. In other words, lights out means no leaving and wandering around. There are night guards posted throughout the museum. On lock-in nights, they help keep an eye on our guests. But as you can imagine, that's not their main job. Please obey the lights-out rule so the guards can watch the exhibits and not you!” Willow was smiling, but she sounded as if she meant it.

“What if we have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and everyone else is asleep?” asked Megan. That was one question Jane was glad to hear. She'd been wondering the same thing.

Katherine pointed to a far corner of the room. “There is a bathroom over there. You will all use that one.”

But Megan wasn't done asking questions. “And what if there's some kind of emergency and we have to go home?”

“This is my fifth time doing this and no one has ever had to leave in the middle of the night,” Katherine assured her. “But on the off chance that happens, then wake up one of us. Wake up Willow, for instance,” she added, laughing.

Willow didn't seem to think that was so funny. “The point is,
no walking around the halls by yourself
,” she said. “This museum has a complicated floor plan. The ground floor, especially. It's practically like a maze. So no wandering off, or you may never be seen again.”

Before Megan had a chance to start worrying again, Katherine spoke up. “Willow is just joking,” she said soothingly. “Don't worry, girls. We're here to look after you. We'll make sure you don't get lost.”

When the leaders led the girls out of the Great Hall, Jane noticed that Megan stayed very close to Katherine.

Jane couldn't help smiling to herself. Of course she'd been a little on edge at the beginning, but it definitely made her feel better to see someone who was a hundred times more nervous than she was.

“We always begin our tour with a look at Blanche Templeton. None of us would be here if it hadn't been for her,” said Willow a few minutes later.

Just beyond the lobby was a huge portrait in an ornate gilded frame. It showed a pale, sad-looking woman dressed all in black. Even the handkerchief she
was clutching was black-edged. A little mahogany table stood next to her. On it were four miniature portraits with a newspaper next to them. Across the top of the newspaper was a banner headline:
TITANIC SINKS ON MAIDEN VOYAGE; HUNDREDS LOST AT SEA
.

“Why did the artist put in that newspaper?” asked Lucy. “It's a strange thing to have in a painting.”

“Well, Mrs. Templeton and her husband, Arthur, were an important couple in the city,” Willow said. “They gave money to all kinds of good causes, especially educational ones. The Templetons had three daughters. In April of 1912, Mr. Templeton brought the girls to England for a special treat—a trip on the Titanic. When the ship hit that iceberg, Mr. Templeton and the three girls lost their lives. Their bodies were never recovered.”

“Is that why Mrs. Templeton looks so sad in the picture?” asked Jane.

“Exactly,” said Willow. “Mrs. Templeton never got over the shock of her family's death. She dressed all in black until the end of her life. But some of her friends persuaded her that the best way to honor the memory of her husband and daughters was to make a contribution to the city in their name. She decided to donate
the funds to start a world-class natural history and art museum. That's why this is called the Templeton
Memorial
Museum.”

The girls stared at the portrait for a few seconds until Megan broke the silence. “I hate thinking that this
whole museum
was built to honor some dead girls. It's like we're walking on their graves!”

“I suppose that's one way to look at it,” Willow said. “But this way, Blanche Templeton was able to help generations of children who came after her. Anyway, now that you know who started this museum, let's take a peek behind the scenes before dinner. We're going to show you an exhibit that won't be open to the public for another week.”

“But we're allowed to go in, right?” asked Megan instantly.

Willow gave a little sigh. “Yes, Megan,” she said. “We're allowed to go in.”

“I don't think I want to go in,” said Megan a few minutes later.

The girls and the two leaders were standing in front of a huge sign that read:

INSECTS: EARTH'S MOST SUCCESSFUL LIFE FORM

TEN QUINTILLION AND COUNTING!

(AND DON'T GET US STARTED ON THE SPIDERS.)

“In case you're wondering, ten quintillion has nineteen zeros,” said Willow.
“Nineteen.
For every human being on Earth today, there are more than two hundred million insects. Of course we're not going to see
all
of them in this exhibit,” she added. (A few of the girls laughed politely.) “Just some of the highlights. We're going to start with the Butterfly Pavilion.”

To get into the Butterfly Pavilion, the group had to pass through two doors. The leaders wouldn't open the second door until all the girls had come through the first one. “We have to make absolutely sure that none of the butterflies escape into the main museum,” said Willow. When the first door had clicked shut behind them, the girls found themselves packed into a small chamber in front of the second door.

“The Butterfly Pavilion is very warm,” Katherine told them. “Butterflies and moths like it that way, but it may be a little much for some of you. You'll be more comfortable if you leave your sweaters and sweatshirts in here.”