Chapter Two

Monday Afternoon

Nita sat in physics class, fidgeting with her pencil and wondering just how she was supposed to know the gravitational force between two protons is relevant to the amount of electrostatic force between them. So far as she had heard (not as far as she had hoped), Hundtar's countless boring lectures hadn't covered anything relevant to the topic.

And just how am I supposed to use this in the real world? Nita thought.

It's not like it's gonna be a huge part of my job or something…

She realized suddenly that all eyes were on her, and Mr. Hundtar loomed over her. He was usually a very patient teacher, quick-witted and sarcastic (though his lectures were just the opposite), and as Nita looked up at him, she prayed that his good humor would hold.

Mr. Hundtar looked sternly down at her, then asked, "How are you supposed to use this in the real world, Nita? Let me tell you something. You may not think that memorizing all this junk about protons, neutrons, and atoms might help you, and, hey, you might be right. And yeah, you're right about it not being a huge part of your job. But, unfortunately for you, this is a core class. It's like asking 'How the heck is PE going to affect me buying a home?' It won't… unless your real estate agent grabs your purse and runs. Then it might."

Nita felt herself going extremely red, and her throat went dry.

To her immense surprise, Hundtar grinned.

"But, hey, it's a whole load of huge, useless words you can use to irritate your friends."

He smiled thinly at her and walked back to his desk, leaving Nita feeling extremely stupid and equally embarrassed. She stared blankly at her test paper, and suddenly found that she knew the answer the question she had been interrupted on. She filled the answer in and went on.

Fourteen minutes later, Nita turned her test in, uncomfortably aware that every pair of eyes in the room were on her. There were a few muffled snickers as she sat down, but she ignored them and waited for the second-to-last bell of the school year to ring and let her out.

Six minutes ticked by, then, at precisely 2:45 PM Eastern Time, the bell rang. One day of school left before she could kick back and relax.

Nita grabbed her backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and walked out of the classroom, heading for the parking lot.

She was halfway to the lot when Kit popped up out of nowhere.

"How'd the finals go?"

Nita shrugged. "Easy enough."

She didn't dare mention being totally embarrassed by Hundtar and her own big mouth, lest Kit die of laughter.

Kit rolled his eyes, but left the subject.

"Need anything for the camping trip?" he asked.

She nodded, a grin flitting across her face.

"A lot. Wanna drop by Sport Chalet on the way home?"

Kit smiled back.

"Why not? I'll meet you there."

Nita nodded, then called after his retreating back, "The one over by Pep Boys!"

Kit nodded and walked quickly to his pickup, vaulted into the driver's seat, and pulled out behind Nita's silver Element, drumming his fingers on the wheel to the beat of Freebird by Lynard Skynard. Nita finally found a gap in traffic, and gunned the Element into the flow. Kit watched until the light supplying traffic past the parking lot driveway turned red, then shifted into first and gave the hungry V8 the gas.

He followed Nita through a myriad of turns and lights, then finally spotted her car parking in front of Sport Chalet. He shifted over a lane and ducked into the lot, trying to find parking. He found one beside the front doors, parked, and caught Nita just as she walked inside the store. He gave her a light punch in the arm and took the list Nita handed to him.

"Wow. Any specifics?" he asked.

It was Nita's turn to sock him.

"Whatever's on the list, pal. Go, you dummy!"

She gave him a gentle push, and Kit grabbed a cart and headed toward the Camping section.

Kit looked over the handwritten list once more. Evidently, Nita's dad had a pretty good trip planned, as he had written the list out.

Tent- Coleman 3 Person.

Tent- Whatever you guys want.

Lantern- Coleman.

4 Flashlights

Matches

5 canteens

3 Jansport Backpacks (small size)

Compass

First aid kit

The rest Nita'll take care of or we have.

Kit took a breath, then grinned.

"Okay… then let's do this."

Half an hour later

Nita heaved the tent into the bed of Kit's pickup and slammed the door.

"Okay," she said, her face flushed. "Let's go home."

Kit nodded and slammed the rear tailgate of the pickup shut.

"I'm gone."

He climbed in, gunned the engine, and led the way back to Nita's house to drop off the goods.