Isabel's Texas Two-Step by Annie Bryant

down his nose again. I could see his eyes, which were big and brown. I hadn’t really noticed them before.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou’ve got to be kidding. I am not going in there.”
    â€œAre you afraid? Don’t be, Isabel. We’ll only go in a few feet. I’ve got a flashlight. Please…you’ll love it in there.”
    â€œWell, okay,” I said, hesitating. “But let’s hurry up. It’s getting spooky out here.”
    Suddenly I remembered Aunt Inez’s voice telling me never to leave without asking permission. I just kind of forgot. Hunting armadillos just seemed so interesting.
    Rico wasted no time. I had to scramble to stay near him…and near the flashlight. When we got to the entrance, Ricardo kept close to the opening. He waved the flashlight over the walls with slow, controlled movements. But he seemed more interested in the floor.
    â€œHow deep is this cave?” I asked.
    â€œI don’t know. I’ve never been in here before. I actually just found it last week,” he explained sheepishly.
    â€œYou’ve never—but you said—” Before I could ask if he was crazy, a sound like the sky splitting apart shook me to my bones. I heard the horse whinny from outside the cave. The thunderclap boomed for what seemed like an entire minute. We stood stock-still, each of our mouths in a frozen “Oh!” It finally ended.
    â€œRasquatch!” Ricardo cried. He ran to the cave entrance. “Rats! There he goes. He’s off,” he said.
    As if on cue, the rain started. I heard it pound the ground outside. Its intensity frightened me. “Who’s off?” I asked.
    â€œWho do you think? Rasquatch.”
    â€œ The horse is gone! ”
    â€œWell, it’s raining too hard now to see. But my guess is yes. The good thing is that horses know their way home. He’ll head towards the barn.”
    â€œThe good thing?” I couldn’t believe my ears. And was Ricardo’s voice shaking? An icy chill ran through me from head to toe. I thought I would faint. Lightning struck and illuminated the sheet of rain. I could not take my eyes off the cave entrance. Another crack of lightning was so sharp and sounded so near that I flinched.
    Ricardo stayed at the entrance. Unbelievably, the rain fell even harder.
    â€œWhat are we going to do?” I asked.
    â€œWait.”
    â€œWait for what? For the horse to come back?” My voice sounded shaky to my ears.
    â€œAre you kidding? That horse isn’t coming back. I meant, wait for the rain to end.” Ricardo’s sudden calmness irritated me. We were silent for a moment. Then he said, “And…one more thing. This is the season for flash floods. If this storm is one of those, then we might be stuck here for a while.”
    â€œFor a while! How long, Ricardo?”
    He thought about this. “Mmm, till the morning, maybe. Sunup, probably.” I wanted to strangle him. My cousin had a few scrambled eggs in his brain as far as I was concerned.
    The rain sounded a long way from easing up. Every so often the lightning flashed and thunder would follow, not as menacing as before, but just as powerful. Endless minutes passed. My stomach erupted in a long, drawn-out snarl. I started to laugh nervously. So did Ricardo.
    â€œJeez, Isabel! What are you, a bear?” he said.
    I cracked up. Ricardo’s funky sense of humor made me feel a little better.
    Suddenly there was another crack of thunder. Without an explanation, Ricardo shut off the flashlight.
    â€œHey!” I shouted.
    â€œSorry,” he muttered. “Gotta save the battery.”
    Every time lightning flashed I saw clear as day that our situation was still the same. The rain was coming down hard. I thought about our predicament. We didn’t even askpermission to leave the party. Worse, I worried that me being lost in a storm would aggravate my mother’s MS.
    I