The Girl Who Fell Out of the Sky by Victoria Forester

Author:Victoria Forester
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

CHAPTER

21

Piper waited at the cellar door until Millie Mae saw fit to unlock it. Only then did she inform Piper that Betty had called not a moment before. She’d just missed her, in fact, which was a real shame, because if Piper had been handy, Millie Mae would have put her on the phone. According to Millie Mae, Betty said she had to stay another day in the hospital because the doctors didn’t want to release her yet. Betty also wanted to make sure that Piper was staying put on the Miller farm.

“Which means I’ve got you on my hands for another day. The Lord gives us only what we can handle, but I declare he’s testing me today.”

“But the baby,” Piper breathed. “Is the baby alright? And my ma?”

“We can only hope for the best.” Millie Mae shook her head in a way that suggested she was expecting the worst. “A woman your mother’s age has no business going around having babies. Phhhh.” Millie Mae puffed air from her lungs. “Having babies can be a tricky business. I’ve seen new mothers look just fine, and then the next moment we’re planning their funerals. There’s just no telling with these things.”

After those happy words, Millie Mae set about ordering Piper around and telling her in no small measure how poor her efforts were. Her mending was pathetic and her cleaning skills deplorable, and Millie Mae declared that a dirty windstorm did a better job of folding laundry. Even Sally Sue sent sympathetic looks Piper’s way. It was a great relief to Piper to escape to the grove of pines after chores, where she found Jimmy Joe jumping off a large rock.

When she had first come up with the idea of starting a flying school, Piper hadn’t actually gotten to the point of figuring out a lesson plan or any other practical ways she would get ordinary people to do extraordinary things. As she set about teaching Jimmy Joe to fly, she saw that it was no easy task.

“Stop jumping off things—you’ll only get yourself banged up,” Piper warned. “You’ve got to get real still and focus. Think about the sky.”

Jimmy Joe attempted this for the better part of three seconds and then wanted to jump off something again. They compromised on having him dangle from a tree branch that hung six feet off the ground. As he dangled, Jimmy Joe swung back and forth like a monkey.

“Close your eyes,” Piper said. “Think about the sky. If you can think about it long enough, your body’ll start to tingle, and then you’ll get real light and floaty.”

Jimmy Joe squinched his face up like the effort was causing him great pain. “How long ’fore the tingling starts?”

“Don’t tense up like that. You gotta relax into it.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Piper was not sure at all. “Just keep at it.”

Jimmy Joe hung from the branch, waiting for the tingling. Piper watched and waited along with him. Right off the bat, Piper could tell that Jimmy Joe was not going to be a natural.

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