Crackerjack II

Chpt. 4: At Least One

Kristen groaned as she dumped another shovelful, only her tenth. This wasn't going well.

"Not goin' too well?"

She glared at William through the stall between them. "This is awful."

He laughed. "That's what you say when you're in the middle of it, but when you get to relax while everyone else is workin' hard, you'll see things my way."

She groaned. "If I hear another sight joke, I'm goin' t' puke."

"I see your point."

"Uggggghhhhhh!"

He laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll see that's taken care of."

"My gosh!"

"Are you looking for something new?"

"Seriously, dude."

"Okay, I'm not looking for trouble." Pause. "That's my last one."

Kristen waited.

"Wouldn't want to see you collapse."

"Are you–?!"

"Okay, okay, okay! I'm done, I'm done!"

She shook her head, but she was smiling.

William was something else. Even though he couldn't see, he finished his stalls a lot faster than she did hers. He stuck around, waiting for her to finish so he could show her around. As he put it, he wanted her to "see the sights." She couldn't help but smile at his corny jokes, even though she'd heard most of them by now, two weeks into the job.

On another note, two weeks into the school, and she still hadn't seen her dragon. Kristen frowned. She recalled working up the courage to ask Lorrie about it only for the woman to smile and tell her to wait, that they were still unsure.

Kristen sighed. She'd thought she would have gotten used to the tenseness of her heart string by now, but she was most definitely not.

"Seein' blue?"

She smiled. "Yea, somethin' like that."

"I betcha I can cheer you up."

"How's tha'?"

He grinned. "I'll take the second stall, and we can go see the dragon training center when you're done."

Kristen grinned, too. "Okay, first, what makes you think I won't finish this half-done stall before that mucky mess? And, second, will goin' t' this trainin' center get me in trouble?"

He feigned astonishment. "What? When have I ever taken you anywhere that'd get you in trouble? Also, I'll totally beat you, not that it's a race, because I keep my eyes on the prize."

Kristen rolled her eyes.

"But, seriously, the training center is awesome. You should come."

Kristen shrugged. "Alright. But if I finish first, we're goin' t' get a snack before."

He grinned. "Deal. See ya at the finish!"

He ducked his head and began to shovel. Kristen watched until he shouted, "I don't hear your shovel!"

Then, she laughed and went back to work. She was almost finished, but her mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of her dragon. Two weeks, and she still hadn't seen him. William had taken her to a few other stables, and she'd done some inquiring on her own, but she couldn't find even a whisper.

She was startled from her worries by the clanging of metal. A group of boys was gathering around a guy in the gate of William's stall. And they didn't look like they were friends.