UNEDITED
Calla Henrik's family runs the best ATV business in town, and she's ready to take over the family business for the summer while her parents go on a much-needed vacation. She's ready to earn some money before she attends the University of A...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Maddox
If last night had been my first night meeting Calla, I would have suspected her to be older than me, not two years younger. Somewhere, in the time I graduated up until now, she matured into a smart, confident, independent young woman. She's not just the kid who didn't let my reputation bother her in the hallways of Mount Boucherie, and I feel bad for thinking about her that way the day she tossed Vance and I the drinks on top of Blue Grouse Mountain.
I enjoyed our conversation over dinner last night – a conversation that lasted late into the night, I might add. While the topics changed in a spontaneous manner, we were comfortable around each other and didn't stop talking until the two of us were ready to fall asleep at the picnic table. It's been a long time since I was able to talk to someone for more than a minute without them realizing who I am and making excuses to leave. Aside from Vance and Allison, that is. They're the only ones in my lives who seem to actually care about me.
Despite staying up until well past midnight, I'm up at seven A.M., wearing a light sweater and my compression shorts, as well as my hat. I also have on my motocross socks and Nike sandals. I'm going to have the typical motocross tan by the end of the summer, but I don't care. If that's the price I have to pay in order to have my dream job, then so be it.
Stretching out my semi-sore muscles, I venture out into the surrounding forest area and begin collecting some small twigs for kindling. Thanks to Vance, I was able to get all the essential camping gear: a tent, a hatched, a couple of sleeping bags, essential cooking gear, et cetera. And to be honest, it excites me. I like that I get to experience tenting and cooking my own food over an open fire without having to worry about cracking an egg wrong or wasting paper when starting a fire. The last time I went camping was when my parents were still together, around the time when my father started displaying his abusive behaviour. I had been young, maybe about twelve or thirteen, and I was making breakfast for my parents to thank them for taking me camping. I was old enough to know how to make breakfast, but if anyone is being honest with themselves, who doesn't crack an egg wrong every once in a while? My mom, whenever she would bake cookies, always managed to get a shell in there at one point or another. It's nothing out of the ordinary, really. But my dad didn't think so. When he came out and saw that wasted egg, the shell cracked and mixed with the broken yolk and egg white, he lost his mind. It was the first time he laid a hand on me. After that, it just got worse.
But I'm glad I'm here now, making new memories about camping and motocross with Calla and Vance, and all the kids who are participating in the camps. Speaking of the camps...I think Calla is a genius. If I were a parent, I would definitely want my kid up here all day, learning how to properly ride a dirt bike. And, if I were a young teenager who just got their N and was interested in motocross, I would be up here, joining the group. She's thought this out so perfectly that any kid, age ranging from seven to seventeen, can join in. Yesterday, we taught a bunch of seven-year-olds how to ride and today we're doing an intermediate ride with some of the more advanced seventeen-year-olds. And, because the group was so small, she opted for older people to join as well. I think today is going to be a fun mix of ages and skills.
