Crossing Paths

Chapter 4

The next day after everyone has asked all the questions they have and the class goes outside for lunch Miss. Menlo asks me if I’d teach the class how to shoot. So I run home and grab my bow and arrows and all of the extras that my father made all those years ago and I run back to the school. I ask Jay if she’d help me set up and in no time I have the class divided up into groups and I’m standing in front of them teaching the basics.

“When you pull back you want to hold the bow’s string as close to your cheek as you can.” I demonstrate what I mean. “Then you aim for your target, you let go of the string, and viola!”  I exclaim as my arrow hits the target right on the dot. “Now you all try.” I’ve set up my own mini row of targets off to the side so that if they need me they can just come over and ask. And okay, also so that I can have little bit of fun too. Pretty soon everyone’s at least hitting the target so I go over to mine. But it’s not long until I get bored so I decide to arrange the targets on different levels and I try to use more than one arrow at a time. Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam! Four arrows find their way into their own target. I smile, very pleased with my work.

“Mrs. Mellark?” I look down and see a girl, smaller than all the rest, looking up at me. “I need help.”

“Okay, what’s up?”

“I can’t get any of my arrows into the center. Can you help me?” I feel bad for her because I’ve seen how awful she is, she’s just barely getting the arrows on the rim of her target. So I tell her,

“Sure. Why don’t you go give that bow back to your group and you can work with me over here.”

“Okay!” she runs back over to her group to give them the bow and then runs back.

“All right now, aim for the center target and let’s see what you’re doing,” I say to her as I hand her my bow with an arrow already loaded on to it. She pulls back and I instantly see a problem but I wait until she’s finished. The minute she pulls back she doesn’t take anytime before she lets the arrow go flying and it hits the lowest point of the target. She looks at me and waits for some advice. “What’s your name?”

“Bailey.”

“So first Bailey, you need to relax. You’re way too tense when you pull back.”

“Relax, okay got it,” Bailey says as she rolls her shoulders back.

“Second of all, you’re not taking anytime to lock your aim at your target. Here let me show you the difference.” She hands me the bow and I load an arrow onto it. “See this is what you’re doing.” I quickly pull back and let the arrow fly but just like Bailey’s it barely hits the target. I grab another and load it. “And this is what your supposed to be doing,” I bring the bow up, take a minute to aim for the center, and let go. This time the arrow hits smack dab in the middle. “Can you see the difference?” I ask her.

“Yeah I do. You’re taking a minute to relax and locate your target before shooting.”

“Yes, that’s exactly right.” I hand her the bow and arrows. “Now I want to see you try.” She copies what I just showed her and she hits it perfectly. She squeals in excitement.

“I did it! Thank you so much!”

“You’re very welcome, now go back to your group and keep practicing. It’s almost time to go,” She skips back to her group and then I hear familiar a voice from behind.

“I see you still haven’t lost your touch.” I turn to find a man with olive skin, gray eyes, and dark chocolate hair standing right behind me. I gasp because I know this man; it’s Gale.

I stay where I am and I don’t say anything because I’m not sure what to do. “Well Catnip aren’t you going to say hello?” he laughs. Suddenly I feel as though I’m a kid in a candy shop. I run over and jump into his arms. He stumbles backward a little bit and exclaims, “I asked you if you were going to say hello not attack me!” But I can tell he’s pleased with my happy reaction.