Forgive the River, Forgive the Sky by Gloria Whelan

Author:Gloria Whelan
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781497673892
Publisher: Open Road Media

5

Every July the Chamber of Commerce organizes canoe races on the Sandy River. It’s part of the annual Heritage Day celebration. In the afternoon there’s a canoe race for kids, and in the evening a big race for adults that goes all night. My dad had won a whole lot of those races. Now that I was twelve, I was eligible for the kid’s race, which only lasts an hour. Mom said she’d give me the time off to practice, but I needed a partner. I thought I had lucked out when Mr. Bennett came into the store for some paint and told me that his son Andy, who was in my class, had fallen rollerblading and broken his arm. Of course I was sorry for Andy, who is not entirely awful and has a great collection of rocks. What it meant, though, was that Justin Ruffner had lost his partner for the race.

I hiked over to the Pizza Shop, where Justin hangs out. Justin was sitting by himself. I got a Coke from the counter and slid into Justin’s booth. Justin’s dad raises ostriches. He’s got three of them, and each one cost several thousand dollars. Our class got to make a field trip to see them. Mr. Ruffner showed us one of their eggs, which could make an omelet big enough for a dozen people. The thing is, Justin has to take care of the ostriches and he hates them. They’re mean and can hit you with their legs. Justin spends a lot of time hiding out at the Pizza Shop. Also, he won’t eat eggs.

“What’s the matter?” I asked. “You look down.”

“Andy fell and broke his arm. That leaves me with no partner for the race.” He was shredding the paper slipcover from a straw.

“I heard. I could be your partner.”

Justin dropped the bits of paper and looked at me. What his face registered was shock. “You’ve got to be kidding. Race with some girl. No thanks.”

“I’m not ‘some girl.’ I’m me, and I can handle a canoe as well as you can. I know the river, too. Every inch of it. Better than you know it.”

For just a minute I thought he was going to say yes. I held my breath. Then he shrugged. “So what? I’m not turning up at the starting line with a girl.”

“You’re a pig, Justin.”

“Oh, come off it, Lily. Your dad won the race when he was in high school. Can you see him paddling with some girl?”

“Yes, I can. He taught me plenty of tricks paddling. I could probably beat you.”

“Go ahead. Anyone can enter. Find yourself a partner, but it won’t be me.” I guess he saw the disappointment on my face. “Hey, nothing personal. That’s just the way it is. Let me buy you another Coke.”

“No thanks. I’ve got to be getting back to the store.”

That left Laura. The thing about Laura is that she’s really agreeable. She would say yes even to something she didn’t want to do.

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