Chapter Five
The Fossil Hunters
Club

Shelley woke early the next morning. She was finishing breakfast when Kyle and Marcus came into the kitchen.

“Guess what, Shelley?” said Kyle. “Marcus and I have a club. Do you want to join?”

“It’s called The Fossil Hunters Club,” said Marcus. “It was my idea.”

“Kyle and I already have a club,” said Shelley. “It’s called The Beach Club.”

“That’s a baby name,” said Marcus. “The Fossil Hunters Club is much better.”

“The Fossil Hunters Club will be fun,” said Kyle. “If you join, we’ll have three members.”

“Okay, I’ll join,” said Shelley.

“Do you even know what a fossil is?” asked Marcus.

“Of course I do,” Shelley declared. “We learned about them at school. You should see the ones my teacher brought in.”

“You should see my fossil collection,” said Marcus. “I won first prize at the hobby fair last year.”

“You already told us that,” said Shelley.

Aunt Joan came into the kitchen. “Where are you three off to this morning?” she asked.

“We’re going to Rocky Beach,” said Marcus.

“To look for fossils,” Shelley added.

“Remember the number-one rule,” said Aunt Joan.

“No going in the water by ourselves,” said Shelley.

Aunt Joan grinned. “Have a good time,” she said. “I hope you make some great finds.”

“You should see my fossil collection, Mrs. Sutton,” said Marcus. “I won first prize at the hobby fair last year.”

Shelley rolled her eyes. How many times was she going to hear about Marcus’s fossils? “I’m going to play with Topper while you two finish eating,” she said. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

At the sound of her name, Topper scrambled to her feet. Shelley opened the door, and Topper dashed outside.

“Where’s your ball?” asked Shelley.

Topper raced off. She was gone a long time.

When Shelley finally called her, Topper rushed out of the bushes.

“Where’s your ball?” Shelley asked again.

Topper looked up at Shelley and whimpered.

Shelley crouched down. “Oh, Topper,” she said, “have you lost your favorite ball?”