@freewritehouse March Madness Chapter 1 ”In the Club”

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I'm am taking part in March Madness! This is the first attempt from me and I hope I can see it through! I will try. If you would like to play along please check out more here.

Word count: 1,584

As Grant walked along the garden path towards the forest in his backyard, he relished the fleeting moments of the setting autumn sun. The golden rays of warmth pierced the edge of the forest and cast shadows on the pine needle floor. As he entered the woods he glanced back at his house and wondered how long he had to play outside before his mom would call him to go.

Searching around on the ground he spotted the old rotting log he usually came to. Kneeling down he turned it over and exposed the black soil beneath surrounded by brown and brittle needles. He was searching for wood frogs. This time, however, there were none to be found. He loved catching frogs. When he was hunting for frogs the world seemed to melt away. He was focused and nothing could deter him from the hunt, time was irrelevant in those moments.

The sixth grade had just begun for Grant and he was excited to start another school year. He had a best friend who he spent the entire summer with and he also had a girlfriend. Melissa lived in the next town so Grant had not had much time to spend with her over the summer. He knew that once school started up again he would get to see her more and what was even more exciting for him as he would be able to pass notes to her in the hall like she promised last time he saw her.

Heading deeper into the woods, Grant was looking for newly fallen trees. There was a windstorm a few days ago and he knew if a tree had fallen he could search for frogs under the upturned roots. Even though the air was dry the forest smelled damp and fresh. As he walked the pine needles crunched under his feet in an otherwise quiet woods. A few birds called to the setting sun but he was far enough from his house he could no longer hear the cars passing by.

Just as he was settling into his hunting routine, Grants concentration was broken by his mother's voice. ‘Grant!’, she called. ‘Let's go!’. Grant let out a sigh, but he cheerfully headed back towards the house.

Jumping into the car, Grant buckled up and glanced at his mom. ‘Any luck?’ She asked. ‘Nope.’ Grant replied. Grants mother taught biology at the high school and had shared an interest with him in all things amphibian. When he was younger she would take him out in the woods and show him different species of trees, plants, insects, birds, and so on. At age 12, Grant knew more about wildlife than most people do their entire life.

Even though they lived only a mile from the school Grants mom agreed to drive him tonight because she had some papers to grade and did not want to carry all of her things all that way. Grant didn’t really mind having to walk but he was happy that he could catch a ride home as it would be dark when his meeting was over.

Grant was going to the years first 4H club meeting. This was only his second year in the club, but he was already making friends with a few kids from school that he normally would not have met. With his passion for nature and the outdoors, it would only make sense for him to love the 4H, surprisingly though Grant was in it for model rocketry. Last year at the county fair, Grant managed to bring home a blue ribbon on his first ever entry.

With a maximum altitude of 1000 feet, Grant had made an L2 Tazer Rocket with custom paint and a few well-placed stickers. Sadly for him, though they didn’t allow him to launch it at the fair they only had it on display and he never actually saw any judging of his rocket, he only found out the one when he had been making a routine visit to check on it and saw the blue ribbon.

The state fair victory was still fresh in Grant's mind and he was excited to head back to 4H to compete once again. Maybe this year there would be more kids interested in model rocketry. He already thought of someone who might sign up with him.

As they pulled up to the middle school doors Grant began to open the door before the car had even stopped. ‘Pick you up at eight, okay?’ ‘Thanks, mom.’ Grant replied. Even though he was 10 minutes early, there were already several people inside and a couple of 4H leaders hanging around the doors.

‘Welcome back, Grant!’ said Mr. Navis, head of the computer club and the middle school basketball coach. ‘Thanks, where should I sit?’ Grant asked. ‘Anywhere you like, I think I saw Luke here already.’ Luke was Grants best friend and just so happened to be the star of their basketball team. Grant had never played basketball before he met Luke but now he was on the team and couldn’t wait for the season to start.

Grant saw how much people loved Luke for being such a good player. Even the adults were always interested to hear about the game. This is something that Grant really wanted. Just like the blue ribbon in the state fair, Grant wanted to win at basketball and was hoping the Luke was his ticket to the championship.

Over in the corner by the 4H flag, Luke had already spotted Grant and was waving him over to his table. ‘Klas! Get over here!’ Luke called to Grant. Grant was happy to feel wanted and quickly ran over to his friend. ‘How's it going dude?’ Luke asked. ‘Pretty good, just got here. Do you know what you are going to sign up for this year?’ Luke laughed and said ‘Don’t worry, I’m signing up for Rockets, just like I said I would’. Grant made a sigh of relief. Last year he was the only one in Model Rocketry and that meant he sat alone during most of the meeting. Now he would be able to sit with his best friend.

The meeting was long and boring for a sixth grader, Grant understood the importance and necessity of having the meeting but that did not help him to enjoy it. Grant promised Luke a ride home after work and his mom was late as usual, and the two boys did not mind at all. In fact, they were counting on her being late. That meant they were able to wander around the school halls alone and hang out in a large, clean, quiet building.

The school was starting next week and Grant and Luke were discussing what it was going to be like. ‘I hear Mrs. Wagner is a real bitch.’ Luke said. Grant laughed but was a little shocked to hear Luke swear. ‘So what, now that we are in sixth grade we can swear?’ Grant joked.

‘Yeah man, I don’t know I guess I just feel so much older this year, I mean look at how tall I am.’ Luke was a giant compared to Grant. In was no secret that Luke had surpassed Grant in development. He was taller, had a deeper voice, and even his underarms were begging to grow hair. Grant was a little nervous. Melissa was taller than him too. What would everyone think seeing how tall Luke was and Grant had hardly grown.

Walking through the abandoned school hallways Grant caught a glimpse of the clock. ‘What the heck, dude? Its already 8:30, where the heck is my Mom?’. ‘She probably forgot about you!’ Luke teased. ‘Shut up, man’ Grant defended. ‘Let's walk over to the high school and see if she is still there.’ ‘You know she’s really hot.’ Luke quipped. ‘Dude! Gross!’ Said Grant.

Grant and Luke left the school in high spirits. They stepped out into the fresh fall air and took in the darkened night that had shortened the once long summer days. It wasn’t a far walk to the high school, but it was hidden from view as a large stand of pine trees separated the schools as it was common in the town known as Pine Grove, Wisconsin.

It was a small farming town located right on the shore of Lake Michigan and its coziness was enjoyed by its 1,200 inhabitants. Not much ever happened there and people seemed to be happy with that fact. Young boys enjoyed hunting the deciduous forests for whitetail deer with their fathers as it was a right of passage for them. This was a pastime that Grant was not able to enjoy. He and his mother were alone. It had always been that way so for Grant, he was accustomed to it only wished he had a father to teach him.

Luke was eager to show Grant how to hunt. Even more, Luke father had taken an interest in the boy and offered to bring him to the deer camp later in the fall to teach him. They knew Grant would be unable to hunt this year because he didn’t have his hunting license yet, but thought it would be a good opportunity for him to tag along and see if it was something he would be interested in perusing.

As the two boys turned the corner in the direction of the high school, a sight Grant would never forget froze him dead in his tracks.

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