Crackerjack II

Chpt. 3: Shoveling Meadow Muffins

Kristen bit back a groan as she opened her eyes. The cot next to her was empty. She bolted upright, panicking. Then, she saw the sun was barely lighting the sky. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

She felt unusually sluggish, even considering she wasn't a morning person. By the time she'd dressed and found her way to the med tent, the sun was well on its way in the sky. Kristen popped her head in, hoping Lorrie wouldn't notice her late arrival.

"Kristen!"

Lorrie was elbow-deep in something Kristen didn't want to ask about. The woman nodded to one of the boys beside her and grabbed a towel. Kristen braced herself for a chewing out.

"I'll bet you got lost on the trip over, eh?"

Kristen blinked. "Um..."

"That's alright. You'll get the hang of it. You can go on back. Your partner should be there already."

"Uh, thank you," Kristen stuttered as Lorrie walked off.

She managed to make it to the back room with only a few wrong turns. When she lifted the flap, the stench of fresh manure made her gag. When she'd adjusted enough to stop the watering in her eyes, she looked around for her partner. He came out of the tools area, and Kristen gasped.

"You?!"

The blind boy tilted his head in her direction with a smile. "Well, if it isn't the prostitute!"

Kristen gritted her teeth. "I'm workin' with you?"

He grinned and set his bucket down just inside of a stall. Wiping his hand, he extended it a bit to her left. "Name's William."

Kristen rolled her eyes. "I know."

"I sure am glad to see you! These stalls ain't gonna clean themselves."

Kristen pursed her lips. "Are you sure you can, I mean, that you'll be able t'–"

He leaned against his shovel. "Do without one of the senses?"

She blushed, but he only laughed.

"I've been doing this for a while."

Kristen shrugged, then blushed again. "A-alright."

William guided her through the steps for the day, never quite laughing when she made a mistake but getting awfully close. She was amazed at how well he knew everything about the room. Each shovelful might not have been dumped exactly into the bucket, but most of it made it in.

Meanwhile, Kristen was having a tough time. Her hands were beginning to blister, making the shovel seem even rougher than it was. The downward tilt when she picked up a pile didn't help matters. She didn't have the strength to make it level, like William's.

"Having trouble over there?" he asked after she dropped yet another shovelful of crud.

She huffed and leaned against the walls, letting her shovel fall to the ground.

"Kristen?" William straightened and stared in her direction, his shovel still.

Finally, she groaned. "This is awful."

His shoulders dropped and he laughed. "They say the first day's the hardest."

She sighed. "I guess–"

"But I say the second is because then all the blisters you got are there the whole time instead of just the end."

"Ugh, thanks f'r that, William."

He grinned and returned to shoveling. "Don't worry. It'll callous soon, and then you'll be fine."

Kristen sighed again and went back to work, muttering, "It's the time up until then I'm dreadin'."