Summer Down Under by Alison Pensy Page B

jillaroo-in-training’s questioning look, “into groups and start
the lamb marking.”
    Sam looked over to Daniel hoping he would see
the panicked expression on her face. He did and leaned over.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered.
    “I don’t know how to ride a motorbike,” she
admitted. “Sophie told me I would be taught everything I needed to
know.”
    “Don’t worry. You can ride the four-wheeler,
we didn’t expect you to be able to ride a motorbike.”
    She heaved a sigh of relief at that statement
and smiled at him.
    It looked like Mrs. Miller was to do the
dishes during the day, as they were all excused to go to work while
she bustled about the table collecting the dirty dishes and taking
them into the kitchen.
    It still boggled Sam’s mind that these people
used a plane like normal people used a car. After about fifteen
minutes in the air, they spotted the flock of sheep. The flock was
quite away from the holding pen where they were to muster them to.
Daniel’s dad wasn’t kidding when he said it would take most of the
day.
    Mr. Miller flew back to the house, and after
landing, Daniel got the sheep dogs out. Sam fleetingly wondered how
the dogs were going to get all the way to where the sheep were.
They would be exhausted by the time they got there, if they had to
run all the way.
    This was Sam’s first introduction to the
dogs, and Daniel told her their names.
    “This is Archie,” he said pointing to the
older looking dog. “And this is the baby, her name is Jess. She’s
about a year old now.”
    Sam bent down to pet them and was quickly
reprimanded by a condescending voice.
    “They are working dogs, not pets!” Mr. Miller
bellowed at her. Startled, Sam straightened and whispered
‘Sorreeee’ under her breath.
    Daniel looked her way rolling his eyes
slightly as if to ask forgiveness for his Father’s rudeness.
    “You can take Jess today,” Mr. Miller
barked.
    “But, Dad,” Daniel groaned. “She’s
hopeless.”
    “She needs the experience, and I’ll not hear
another word on the subject.” Mr. Miller called Archie to heel and
strode off in the direction of the house.
    “Not one to mince words, your father,” Sam
whispered to Daniel when Mr. Miller was out of earshot.
    “His bark is worse than his bite.”
    Sam raised her eyebrows. Where had she heard
that before?
    As Daniel gave Sam instructions on how to
operate the four-wheeler, she inwardly sighed with relief. It
looked simple enough; even her clumsy self felt confident enough
that she could master it without ending up overturned in a
ditch.
    Daniel walked towards his bike and called to
Jess. Sam goggled as the young dog leaped onto the back of his seat
and stuck to it like she was sitting on Velcro. They took off
across the paddocks to where the flock of sheep was.
    Sam followed Daniel across the fields until
they came to a dried out creek that more resembled a half-pike that
the Olympic snowboarders would use. Daniel rode down one side and
straight up the other with ease. Waiting on the other side, he
turned to look at his apprentice jillaroo.
    “Come on, then,” he beckoned across the great
divide that was looking bigger and steeper as every second
passed.
    Okay, so maybe Sam could see her clumsy self
overturned in a ditch, after all. Self-preservation kicked in.
    “You must be kidding!” Sam yelled back. “I
can’t do that.”
    “You have to Sam,” he called. “It’s the only
way across. You can do it, you’ll be fine.”
    She shot him an incredulous glare. Who did he
think she was, Evel Knievel? This was her first time on a
four-wheeler for goodness sake. Sam shook her head. There was no
way she could make it down there and then back up the other side in
one piece.
    “Trust me,” he called again. “Just give it
some revs and go for it.”
    Sam wondered how she got herself into these
situations and closed her eyes.
    “Give it some revs?” she muttered derisively,
before pulling back on the throttle and hanging on