Episode 3 by Tamara Hart Heiner

Author:Tamara Hart Heiner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: kids, chapter book, middle grade, divorce, friendship, camping, rejection
Publisher: Tamark Books
Published: 2016-05-13T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

Fire Fire Fire

MARGARET AND TRISHA called the girls together again before dinner.

“We’re going to show you the best way to make a fire,” Trisha said. “This is one of your requirements, so you’ll be able to check off in your book that you accomplished this.” She knelt down in the dirt, beckoning for the girls to do so also. “This little pile of twigs is my kindling. You all need your own pile. Go gather about two handfuls.”

Cassie wandered off with her friends. She knelt in the grass and foraged for small branches and tiny twigs. When she had a good amount, she brought it back to her leaders.

“Cassie, you set up over here,” Trisha said, directing Cassie to a small section of dirt in the grass. “Now, before you light a fire, you need to make sure you have your water bucket nearby. There are buckets behind my car. Go fill one up and bring it here.”

Cassie obeyed, using the spigot by the outhouses to fill the bucket. She grunted as she hefted it, always surprised at the weight of water.

Trisha had moved on to direct another girl. Cassie set her bucket down and waited.

“You got your kindling?” This time it was Margaret asking.

“Yep,” Cassie said. “And my water bucket.”

“Perfect. Now what you need are bigger branches, again, about two handfuls.”

This time Cassie had to go deeper into the treeline, but it only took about three minutes to gather up the required wood.

Margaret had waited for her, and she knelt next to Cassie in the dirt. “We’re going to set up an A-frame for the fire. Then when you light the kindling on the bottom, it will work its way up to the top. The goal is to be able to start your fire with just one match, and this frame is the best for that.”

Together they arranged the kindling and branches, and then Margaret said, “Now we need the bigger logs. Bring three pieces from the woodpile.”

Ciera was at the woodpile too, picking up her logs. “These are heavy,” she said.

“It’s the spiders that scare me,” Leigh Ann said, grabbing one also.

Spiders! Cassie hadn’t even considered them. She examined the woodpile, poking at the disintegrating bark.

“Just pick one and go,” Leigh Ann said, laughing at her.

“Okay,” Cassie said, exhaling. She wrapped her hands around one and hobbled back to her fire pit. Two more trips, and she had all three pieces of wood.

Margaret was helping another girl. Cassie sat down and waited. Unfortunately, it was Trisha who came back.

“Good, you’ve got all your wood,” she said. “Now take those three logs and set them up like a t-pee. Yep, that’s right, so they lean on each other at the top.”

Cassie touched the wood as little as possible, though she didn’t want to look like a baby in front of Trisha.

“Great. Now wait for us to show you how to light it.”

Cassie watched as Trisha and Margaret helped the other girls finish setting up their a-frames. Then they walked back to the fire pit.

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