14. Jurassic Art!

JURASSIC ART! 14 "There is a monstrous clay T. rex in the middle of our auditorium!" Sam cried out. "Orson must be mad his painting won't be leaving school grounds after all!" Lucy said. The T. rex's tail snapped in the air. Its tiny clay eyes looked right at Sam. GRRRRAAAWR! The monster roared.

"It wants the jar!" Sam said. "It knows if we lose this money, we can't buy the painting!" "Well then, hold on to that jar!" Antonio cried. "RUN!" Sam dashed beneath the monster's swinging tail. He cradled the jar like a star running back carries a football! This Orson Eerie dino monster will never catch me! he thought. But Sam was wrong. CRASH! He tripped over an auditorium seat, and the glass jar smashed against the floor. Coins scattered around the auditorium.

The giant clay T. rex stomped toward the broken jar! Dollar bills became stuck to the bottom of its wet clay feet! Its swinging tail gathered up coins! "OUR MONEY!" yelled Sam. "Watch out!" Lucy cried. The three friends ducked as the T. rex's tail slapped against the floor. SMACK! Its tail whipped the change toward them. Nickels and quarters pounded the wall.

Sam, Antonio, and Lucy all scrambled to get away. "Never run in a straight line!" Antonio yelled. "I learned that from watching action movies!" They zigzagged between chairs. The T. rex's tail swung again. More coins were hurled through the air. KRAK! Quarters smacked into Antonio's shoulder. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. "Keep your heads down, guys!" Sweat poured off the friends as they dodged and dived around the flying coins. "I'm baking in these footie pajamas!" Lucy said.

Suddenly, Sam had an idea. "Clay needs to be heated up to harden!" he called out. GRRRRAAAWR! "Yeah! So?" Lucy yelled over the T. rex's monstrous roar. Antonio just barely dodged a flying nickel. "Lucy! Think about it: If clay gets hot enough, it dries out!" he exclaimed. "It turns stiff, like stone! Lucy's eyes lit up. "So we need some heat!" Sam ducked flying nickels and dimes. He yelled, "Follow me!"