large brown eyes that I’m horrified to find I can’t stop staring at. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen a boy up close!
“We got so involved looking for the wood that we lost track of where we were,” says the other boy, whose name is Ryan.
“You don’t have any firewood,” Maddie notes suspiciously. I have to give her credit for the observation — I hadn’t even noticed. Of course, I’m in shock, being this close to real live boys.
“We dumped it when we realized we were lost. We’vebeen walking for a long time. I think we might be going in circles,” Ryan says.
Ryan is Alonso’s opposite, reddish blond, strongly built with bright blue eyes; also cute, just in a very different way.
“How can we even know if we’re going in circles?” Alonso says, throwing his arms wide with frustration.
“It all looks the same out here,” Ryan adds. “What I wouldn’t give for a street sign right now!”
That makes me laugh. “I take it you’re not a country boy,” I say with a slight grin.
“No kidding!” Ryan cries, breaking into a smile. “I guess it shows.”
“Kind of,” Maddie agrees wryly.
Evelyn extends her palm and shows them the compass. “This will tell you if you’re walking in circles or not.”
“I
wish
we had a compass!” Alonso cries. “Our group leader, Joe, has one, but he’s not sharing. How did you ever wrestle that away from yours?”
When he says this, I think of how Rosie has been designating different responsibilities to different teammembers. Although she’s bossy, she doesn’t hog everything for herself. I make a note to remind Maddie of this later.
“This is actually mine,” Evelyn says. “I brought it with me. I’d lend it to you but I don’t know how I’d ever get it back.”
“I know,” Ryan says. “They keep us separated like something awful will happen if we got together. One cool girl waved to us one time and the headmaster had a conniption.”
“That was me!” I say.
“For real?” Ryan asks, delighted.
“Yeah, for real!”
Ryan raises his hand and I slap him five. “That was so cool — and then all the other girls started waving.”
“We noticed you might be getting in trouble because of it.”
“Yeah, we got scolded. But who cares?” Ryan answers. “It was worth it to know there were actual girls nearby. This place is so weird. I’ve been going to school with girls since kindergarten.”
“Are the three of you lost, too?” Alonso asks.
“No. Compass. Remember?” Evelyn answers. “We just came down for some water. We’ll be boiling a hearty berry and grass soup for supper. Yummy!”
“Berries and grass?” Alonso lets out a bark of laughter. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I was,” Evelyn tells him. “We’re all so hungry! But that’s all we could find to eat.”
Alonso digs in his backpack and pulls out several wax-paper packages of potato chips. Instantly, my mouth begins to water. “Here, you guys can have these,” he offers.
Ryan offers more bags of chips and two apples. “I also have some sandwiches in here that are left over from our lunch. Your group can have them.”
“We can’t take your food,” Maddie protests, though her eyes are wide with longing, too. “What will you eat?”
“We brought in lots of food,” Alonso tells us. “If we ever find our way back to our campsite, we could give you more.”
“You didn’t happen to see a creek in your travels, did you?” I ask. “I know it’s around here somewhere.”
“It’s right behind where we just came from,” Alonso says. “Come on. We’ll show you.”
They take us directly to the creek and we fill the pot with water that looks cool and fresh. “There’s nothing wrong with this water,” Evelyn says as we scoop it into the pot with the cups from our mess kits. “Rosie is just buying into all the lies they’re feeding us at Country Manor.”
“What lies?” Alonso asks.
“Our headmistress says the lake is
“We got so involved looking for the wood that we lost track of where we were,” says the other boy, whose name is Ryan.
“You don’t have any firewood,” Maddie notes suspiciously. I have to give her credit for the observation — I hadn’t even noticed. Of course, I’m in shock, being this close to real live boys.
“We dumped it when we realized we were lost. We’vebeen walking for a long time. I think we might be going in circles,” Ryan says.
Ryan is Alonso’s opposite, reddish blond, strongly built with bright blue eyes; also cute, just in a very different way.
“How can we even know if we’re going in circles?” Alonso says, throwing his arms wide with frustration.
“It all looks the same out here,” Ryan adds. “What I wouldn’t give for a street sign right now!”
That makes me laugh. “I take it you’re not a country boy,” I say with a slight grin.
“No kidding!” Ryan cries, breaking into a smile. “I guess it shows.”
“Kind of,” Maddie agrees wryly.
Evelyn extends her palm and shows them the compass. “This will tell you if you’re walking in circles or not.”
“I
wish
we had a compass!” Alonso cries. “Our group leader, Joe, has one, but he’s not sharing. How did you ever wrestle that away from yours?”
When he says this, I think of how Rosie has been designating different responsibilities to different teammembers. Although she’s bossy, she doesn’t hog everything for herself. I make a note to remind Maddie of this later.
“This is actually mine,” Evelyn says. “I brought it with me. I’d lend it to you but I don’t know how I’d ever get it back.”
“I know,” Ryan says. “They keep us separated like something awful will happen if we got together. One cool girl waved to us one time and the headmaster had a conniption.”
“That was me!” I say.
“For real?” Ryan asks, delighted.
“Yeah, for real!”
Ryan raises his hand and I slap him five. “That was so cool — and then all the other girls started waving.”
“We noticed you might be getting in trouble because of it.”
“Yeah, we got scolded. But who cares?” Ryan answers. “It was worth it to know there were actual girls nearby. This place is so weird. I’ve been going to school with girls since kindergarten.”
“Are the three of you lost, too?” Alonso asks.
“No. Compass. Remember?” Evelyn answers. “We just came down for some water. We’ll be boiling a hearty berry and grass soup for supper. Yummy!”
“Berries and grass?” Alonso lets out a bark of laughter. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I was,” Evelyn tells him. “We’re all so hungry! But that’s all we could find to eat.”
Alonso digs in his backpack and pulls out several wax-paper packages of potato chips. Instantly, my mouth begins to water. “Here, you guys can have these,” he offers.
Ryan offers more bags of chips and two apples. “I also have some sandwiches in here that are left over from our lunch. Your group can have them.”
“We can’t take your food,” Maddie protests, though her eyes are wide with longing, too. “What will you eat?”
“We brought in lots of food,” Alonso tells us. “If we ever find our way back to our campsite, we could give you more.”
“You didn’t happen to see a creek in your travels, did you?” I ask. “I know it’s around here somewhere.”
“It’s right behind where we just came from,” Alonso says. “Come on. We’ll show you.”
They take us directly to the creek and we fill the pot with water that looks cool and fresh. “There’s nothing wrong with this water,” Evelyn says as we scoop it into the pot with the cups from our mess kits. “Rosie is just buying into all the lies they’re feeding us at Country Manor.”
“What lies?” Alonso asks.
“Our headmistress says the lake is
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