Off The Trail

CHAPTER ONE: **Cotton Candy Skys**

"3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48..." Connie counts by threes to keep her brain in check as she walks past the diner. She was getting hungry but she knew she had to make it to Jeanes house before she ate. Counting by threes always helps calm your mind, gives you something else to focus on. "Just keep walking...66,69,72..." Connie strides on, looking forward and determand. It it a beautiful night with the sun setting perfectly over the Pacific Ocean water. The sky has turned cotton candy pink and a warm yellow. Seaguls fly over head quaking as if they were a family argueing on where to stop for dinner. Connies auburn hair flaps around in the wind and flys into her mouth, "Darn it why didn't I grab a hair-tie before I left?" She exclaims. Right when she gets to the bus stop the old town bus pulls up.

"Perfect timing again Connie! however do you do it?" Says Mrs. Tea the bus driver.

"I've told you already Mrs. Tea," says Connie, "I do have a watch. Besides, your quite consistent in getting places at the right time."

Mrs. Tea blushes, "Aw get on you silly kid." Connie takes a seat in the nearly empty bus by the front. She takes out her phone and checks her text messages, just one from Jeane saying "Hey can you bring a baseball mit with you, Danny lost his and he has a game tommorow morning." Connie frownd and types back, "Sorry I'm already on my way and I didn't grab one."

The bus rolls to a stop and Connie steps out, "Thank you Mrs. Tea," she says as she exits.

"It's my pleasure driving around wonderful kids like you Connie." Mrs. Tea replies back as she closes the bus doors and drives away. Connie smiles and the ground and starts walkig south towards Jeanes house. She walks past large green pine trees and sees quirls scavanging for food. The aroma of a cool summer night mixes with the smell of peppers coming from the taco stand across the street. When Connie gets to Jeanes house Mrs. Walters is outside watering her flowers, "Just let yourself in Connie," She says with a smile, "Jeanes just in her room doing a bit of homework." Connie enters the house and walks up the stairs to Jeanes room.

"Hey Connie," says Jeane without looking up from her paper, "Im glad you made it, can you help me with this history work sheet, Im not really sure what its asking."

"Sure thing." Connie reads over the problem once and then explains it to Jeane, "I think the answer is pretty much just paragraph four on page seventy-nine," she hints.

"K cool, thats all I need you can leave now," Jeane jokes. Connie smiles at her familar humor and lays down on the floor taking in the smell of the Walters house. Their house always smells like cooking food and spices, similar to that of the taco stand down the road but almost sweeter, and definatly better.

"Ok, I think I've finished," says Jeane glancing over her paper once more, "Dad made some soup downstairs, you hungry?"

"Always," replies Connie as Jeane and her rush down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Did you bring me a baseball mit Connie?" Asks Jeanes little brother Dannny

"Sorry Danny, it was too late when Jeane texted me. Just borrow one from Mark up across the street, Im sure he has one."

"Alright," says Danny. He shovels the last gulps of soup into his mouth and heads out the door to talk to Mark.

Jeane handed Connie a bowl and pointed to the pot of soup, "Dish up." Connie took to heaping laddels full, got a spoon from the drawer and started to eat.

"Man, this is good stuff," says Connie with her mouth full. She swallows than asks "How has your first week of school been?"

"Pretty good, only minimum amounts of homework and it's nice having something to do now you know, instead of just sleeping in until noon."

"Yeah I'm glad to have school again too, but I can't wait for our anual labor day week end camping trip," says Connie with an excited smile.

"Oh yeah thats coming up! Im pumped, Mom has already started to pack though, I told her it might be a bit early for that but whatever."

"Do you wanna go outside or something, I've finished my soup and Im kinda board now."

Connie and Jeane go to the front yard through the garague and start shooting around at the basketball hoop in Jeanes front drive way. Connie loves to play basketball. She loves the smell of the rubber, the squeak of the shoes, the bounce of the ball, and the feeling you get when you make a perfect shot and the whole gym goes quiet for just a secound. In that secound everyone can hear the soft swoosh of the net and once they realise it, the crowd shouts some celebratory words and ecorages you to keep going. Connie also likes to laugh at Jeanes attempt to play baskeball. Jeane is tall and skinny but not very athletic, and her shot just looks strange and rarely goes in. Connie and Jeane both laugh as they try diffrent trick shots like granny shot behing the back no looking. These trick shots go in less than Jeanes normal attempts at scoring points but they are pretty fun to try out.

As it starts to get dark Connie decides its about time to head back home, after all they do have school tommorow. "Hey Jeane I think I should go home, do you think your mom could give me a ride?"

"MAMA," calls Jeane, "COULD WE GIVE CONNIE A RIDE HOME?"

Mrs. Walters jogs over to the diveway, "Hush up Jeane the whole neighborhood can hear you," she scold, "And yes we can take Connie home. You girls hurry up and get in the car."

They loaded into the car and started to drive north towards Connies house. As they drove past forested areas Connie watched the woods hoping to see bigfoot or at least a doe and her babies. If you let your mind wander you could almost imagine that you were really seeing bigfoot, but Connie was smart enough to figue out it was probably just in her head. probably.