Danny Orlis and the School Computer Break-In

By Bernard Palmer

When fire destroys his school in a remote Minnesota village, Danny must attend a strange school in a town many miles from his family. In spite of homesickness, Danny refuses to stay lonely. The basketball court provides the ideal place for making new friends. When poor grades threaten the team, Danny’s new friend, Kevin, the computer whiz, finds himself uniquely qualified to help. Will he decide to break the law so that he will no longer be an outsider? Only Kevin can make this decision, and only Danny can make the truth known.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aneko Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781622459575

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Danny-Orlis-and-the-School-Computer-Break-In-Front-Web.jpg

Danny Orlis

and the

School Computer Break-In

Bernard Palmer

Contents

Ch. 1: Wolf Creek

Ch. 2: Alone

Ch. 3: Danny Tries Out

Ch. 4: Danny Makes the Team

Ch. 5: Kevin’s New Friends

Ch. 6: Off the Team

Ch. 7: Brad’s Second Chance

Ch. 8: I Dare You!

Ch. 9: Brad’s Decision

Ch. 10: Kevin’s Trial

Ch. 11: Accused

Ch. 12: Prove You’re Not Guilty

Ch. 13: Caught

Chapter 1

Wolf Creek

Danny Orlis stood motionless at the window of the Stark living room in Wolf Creek, Minnesota. Numbly he watched the bleak November wind tease the light dusting of new snow that had fallen during the night and tinged the lawn with white. A certain desolation, cold and forbidding as the morning wind, swept over him as his mother went around the car to get in. She paused momentarily, her hand on the door handle, and looked back.

Strange, he told himself, but he had never realized how beautiful she was or how much he was going to miss her and his dad and their home on the Northwest Angle. The sudden ache in his heart made him long to forget about going to school at Wolf Creek or anywhere else that year. It was all he could do to keep from running after his mother and begging her to take him back home.

But he couldn’t do that. Even as the thought surged within, he knew it was useless even to try. His parents weren’t any happier about the decision than he was. They had agonized over the problem for several days before they told him he would have to go out to school for the rest of the year. It wasn’t like his dad to change his mind about such an important matter. And even though Danny longed to stay home that winter, he knew that he had to be in school. He wouldn’t have it any other way. But it was tough—tougher than he had ever supposed it could be.

Mrs. Orlis waved to him, and he waved back, his throat choking uncontrollably. Then she got into the car, and her good friend, Wilma Stark, backed out of the drive. In a few minutes his mother would be on the bus on her way back to Warroad and the Angle, while he remained behind.

The problem of having a school on the Angle that year had been discussed for months. The number of kids of school age was down considerably, and unless new families moved in, it was likely to remain that way. It scarcely seemed practical to have a school for so few. However, the parents were so reluctant to send their kids out for classes that it was decided to continue at the local school for one more year.

Everyone thought the matter was settled. And it was—until the first cold spell, when a faulty chimney spread fire to the roof and gutted the old frame building. School was in session at the time, but everyone managed to get out safely. However, the building did not fare so well. The flames gutted the interior and ruined at least two outside walls. Repairing the building was impossible, and the district lacked the funds to rebuild.

That meant that the parents had to decide where to send their kids to school. Most settled on Warroad—it was the closest town. Besides, they had friends there to provide places for their kids to stay. However, Carl and Mary Orlis decided on Wolf Creek, a community of 2,000 or so, about sixty miles south of Lake of the Woods. Wilma Stark, Mary Orlis’ best friend in Bible school, lived in Wolf Creek with her family. They were solid Christians attending a good church. Danny would be happy and well cared for in their home—or so they thought. At the moment, Danny wasn’t sure about being happy there. He was certain he would hate every minute of his stay away from the Angle.

He was still standing at the window watching as the car disappeared down the wide street when Ginger Stark entered from school. She was about his age, a bright-eyed, vivacious seventh grader with hair the color of burnished copper. A handful of freckles was sprinkled across her nose, and her smile was warm and friendly.

Hi, there! she exclaimed.

Danny spoke to her, but that was all. His mind was still back at the Angle. If the school hadn’t burned, he would be getting home from school about then on his narrow, cross-country skis. Laddie would be waiting for him with growing impatience, anxious to romp in the snow. Blackie, his pet crow, would be perched on the lattice outside the back door, chattering mindlessly but with marvelous mimicking ability.

He would stand his skis by the back door, pile his books on the kitchen table, and get to work on his chores. He would probably milk the cow first—he usually did. Then he would feed the calf and fill the wood-boxes. By that time, his cheeks would be flushed and tingling from the cold. That’s when the fire felt the best, as it drove the sting from his cheeks and soaked through his heavy clothes.

When he was home, he used to grumble about the cold and the fact that he always had chores to do, regardless of the weather. He had never fully understood how good it was to be with his parents at the place he loved best in the whole world, even if he had a lot of work to do.

Too bad you weren’t here earlier, Ginger went on, ignoring his silence. You could have gone to school with me today and gotten acquainted with the kids.

We’ll have to take care of that tomorrow, he replied indifferently.

"You’re going to love it here in Wolf Creek. We’ve got a neat school. They send buses all around to pick up kids. My very best friend is from Rager, a teensy little town twelve miles south of here. You’ll like Cindy. She stays all night with me sometimes when it’s stormy or we have volleyball. She’s our very best player."

She seemed not to notice that Danny was scarcely listening.

"I’m good at volleyball too, but not as good as Cindy. She makes all our points—well, not all of them, but she does a lot of scoring, I can tell you that. And she’s got a wicked serve!"

Danny turned back to the window. It was beginning to snow again—a fine, delicate powder sifting through the cold afternoon air. He hoped it wouldn’t storm until after his mom got home. When you lived in a place like the Angle, you were always conscious of the weather. In the winter, especially, it affected everything that was done.

We’ve got a cool boys’ basketball team, Ginger informed him. Do you play basketball?

He nodded.

That seemed to please her, and her smile winked again.

I was telling two guys at school about you, and they wanted to know.

Danny didn’t tell her that he had done most of his basketball playing on the rough, uneven ground at the Angle. He could shoot as well as most guys his age and liked the game a lot, but he didn’t know whether or not he could hold his own with those who had done all their playing on a regular court.

It wouldn’t have mattered if he had told her. She would not have heard him. She was one of those happy, optimistic people who always expect everything to turn out right. As far as she was concerned, Danny was already out for the team and on the starting five. He just had to be!

I told Mr. Barker all about you, she said, changing the subject abruptly. He’s our principal and he’s real nice—if you don’t do things like disrupting class or cheating, that is, she added; I told him I’d bring you to his office in the morning and introduce you to him.

Ginger disappeared as quickly as she had come, hurrying to her room with an armload of books. A moment later she stuck her head out the door. I’d like to stay and talk, she called, "but I’ve got tons of homework." She groaned to show how she hated it.

Danny sauntered into the family room and sat down in front of