“Hey! If Stella wants some socks so she can ride,” Abigail reported, looking at Snips’s feet, “I think Snips is wearing at least five pairs.”
“I like them stacked for warmth,” Snips replied, even though it was a hot day.
“I’m not wearing his socks.” Stella plugged her nose.
“I will!” Bianca cried.
“Eww!” Snips was horrified at the thought of giving up one of his many socks.
The shoes were in the pile.
At the last minute, Stella decided to ride. She announced that she’d wash her feet twice later.
The groups were divided into boys versus girls:
Turo, Snips, and Lester versus Bianca, Mary Pat, Stella, and Lilly.
Since Oliver was out, the teams were uneven, but at least Snips got to go twice.
I approached Oliver. “Are you sure you don’t want to join the boys’ team?” I felt as if I’d make one last try to get him to play. I was even close to seeing whether he could ride Spirit, but when I reached toward Spirit, he reminded me with a huff that he called the shots.
Oliver huffed, too, and turned away.
The horses and their riders were ready at one side of the ring. The boots were waiting at the other.
“Riders, take your mark,” Pru called out. “GO!”
It was Snips versus Mary Pat. She grabbed her boots and slipped them on easily while Snips was struggling to pull his over all his socks. By the time he got back on Señor Carrots, Mary Pat had already tagged her sister.
“Like the wind,” Snips told Señor Carrots, who is surprisingly fast for a donkey.
Turo picked up speed against Bianca, and the two of them were neck and neck, when…
“Time’s up! It’s noon!” Julian was hanging by the gate to the riding ring. He leaned a shovel against the fence and dropped his canvas pack.
Turo yanked so hard on the reins of his horse, Junipero, that the stallion nearly threw him off. Bianca took advantage of the confusion by jumping off her horse and running for the boots.
Julian stopped her. “Hey, little lady, it’s time to go on a real adventure,” he said. “Enough of this boring horse stuff.”
I was surprised at the campers’ reactions.
“It’s not boring!” Bianca said.
Mary Pat echoed her. “We’re having fun.”
Snips told Julian that he was messing up the competition, and that he’d better get out of the way.
I will admit: I was proud of the campers. They were holding their ground.
“There are other team competitions we can do,” I told them, giving a side-eye to Julian. The mood had shifted, and I was feeling pretty good.
I rattled off a few more games, like flag tipping, and a game in which teams have to ride fast while tossing balls in a bucket.
“Ooohh,” Snips said. “Bucket ball…”
Julian raised his shovel. “But I’m taking everyone to Dusty Dan’s grave. Let’s eat lunch fast now, because we’re going to dig for treasure. Everyone loves searching for treasure, right?” He looked around. No one argued.
“Especially when Julian gets the rewards,” I muttered. Then, as Pru and Abigail came to stand with me, I said out loud, “Let’s make this fair. You should go on the treasure hunt if you want, but don’t forget what happened last time.”
When they got back, we’d have our vote.
I could see the campers struggling with the decision to leave the barn.
Finally, I encouraged them to stay, asking, “Who wants to find out who wins the Boot Scoot?”
A cheer went up from every single camper.
Stella wiggled her toes in the dirt. “I’d like to get my boots,” she said. “And win for my team!”
“Now, who wants to go on a real adventure?” Julian asked.
No one replied to Julian’s question, so he asked it again.
“Maybe you didn’t hear me: Who wants to go on an adventure?”
Julian’s booming question was met by uncomfortable silence.
There wasn’t even a peep from the one kid I expected to eagerly whoop and holler.
I turned around. There was no one under the tree.
I asked Julian what happened to Oliver.
He answered slowly, scanning the horizon. “I don’t know.”
Julian’s pack and shovel were still sitting by the fence.
Oliver was missing.
What are we going to do?” Abigail, Pru, and Lucky were meeting while Julian rushed around the barn, calling Oliver’s name.
“I don’t think he’s in the barn,” Pru said, piecing her thoughts together. “I’m starting to think Oliver’s just been pretending he wanted to ride Spirit, knowing no one can ride him except Lucky. In fact, I think he’s afraid of horses! I bet he threw that apple so he wouldn’t have to hand it to the horses like Stella did!” She put her hand on her head as it all became perfectly clear. “That’s why he sat under the tree, even after the jig was up with Julian. He wouldn’t participate in the O-Mok-See because he was scared!”
Lucky considered that. Certainly he hadn’t ridden another horse, but was he scared? She had seen him interact with the horses only once. “He washed the horses with Julian.”
“With Julian,” Pru repeated. “But he didn’t get wet. I don’t think he helped much at all.” Lucky nodded. She’d noticed that Oliver’s shirt was completely dry while Julian’s was wet. Pru went on: “That kid wants so desperately to be like his brother, if Julian said ‘go swim in the creek,’ he’d try to turn into a fish.”
Lucky sighed. “I guess I never really had a shot at changing him, did I?”
Pru shook her head with a supportive look. “Nope. But I didn’t want to ruin your dreams.”
Abigail was catching on. “If he wants so desperately to be like Julian, do you think he went to Dusty Dan’s grave site on his own? To try to impress him?”
“I think we should check it out,” Lucky said. “The other kids didn’t want to go with Julian, so maybe Oliver wanted to prove to Julian that he was still his biggest fan.” Lucky whistled for Spirit. “Abigail, you’re a genius!”
“Uh, hello…” Pru pointed to herself.
“Also a genius,” Lucky agreed. Spirit was ready to go
