They’re not rocks. They’re geodes
‘The new house is much closer to where Dad and I work,’ Mom went on. ‘So we’ll be able to spend more time with you kids because we won’t have to drive so far to get to the office.’
‘What about my rock collection?’ I wanted to know. ‘I have over two hundred of them now, you know.’
I know rocks might sound like a very boring thing to collect, but I select my rocks very carefully and keep them in paper grocery bags on my closet floor. Each one of my rocks is, in its own way, extraordinary. Most of my rocks are geodes, which if you don’t know, are very average-looking rocks – on the outside.
Inside, however, they have crystals that sparkle like diamonds. In fact, if you didn’t know better, you might actually mistake a geode for a diamond.
You can’t really tell just from looking at a rock whether it is an ordinary rock or a geode. Well, I mean, you can, but it takes practice.
Also, geodes are not easy to crack open to get to the crystals inside. To crack them open, you either have to throw them very hard against the sidewalk or driveway (which I would not recommend doing, because they leave marks on the driveway that sometimes won’t wash away for up to a year or more, as I found out the hard way) or hit them very hard with something metal, such as a hammer. I learned from experience that your dad’s golf clubs are not very good for this.
I found most of my geodes while scavenging in the many home-construction sites in and around Walnut Knolls. Even though Mom and Dad say we’re not supposed to go walking around construction sites, the truth is you can find many amazing things in the dirt piles bulldozers have made.
‘Ten large grocery sacks of rocks,’ Mom said, ‘is simply too many, Allie. Especially considering the fact that you’ve never even cleaned your rocks, nor do you take very good care of them.’
‘They’re not rocks,’ I informed her. ‘They’re geodes.’
‘Whatever they are,’ Mom said, ‘they just sit in those sacks, cluttering up the floor of your closet. You can pick out three or four special rocks to take along. But the rest you’re going to have to put back in the dirt where you found them.’
I couldn’t help letting out a really disappointed cry at this. Because, seriously, I have put a lot of time and work into my rock collection.
Extract from the book Moving day
By Meg Cabot
All Rights Reserved.
London : Macmillian Children’s, 2008.
Call Number: J English CAB
Extract contributed by Cecilia Nathen
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What would you rather be, a geode (average looks with great personality) or a diamond (dazzling appearance but perhaps dull on the inside)?
April 17th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
It’s what’s on the inside that counts.
October 12th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so a geode. a person with interesting personility would be so much better to spend time with. you’ll get tired of looks, but not with personality.