It must have been Beau's threat to 'whale the tar' out of Bart that did the job, because he and Bret were ready to leave for school when their cousin arrived. "Chores all done?" Beau asked.
"Whatta you think?" Bart responded.
"They're done," Bret assured him as the three of them set off for their last day of imprisonment.
"We goin' down to the river after school?"
"Yep, that's the plan."
"I got somethin' to do first," Bret finally responded.
"What? What's more important than swimmin'?" his brother asked.
"I gotta . . . . . I gotta . . . . . never mind, I got somethin' to do, that's all."
Beau's question was almost a whisper. "Is it a . . . . . girl?"
"What if it is?"
"Is it Mary Alice?" Bart persisted.
"Well . . . . . . I guess."
Beau shook his head at the admission. "I saw you talkin' to her at lunch yesterday."
"So?"
"Whatta you two talkin' about?"
"Just stuff."
"What stuff?"
Bret stopped walking. "What difference does it make?"
Bart stared at his brother. "Was it . . . . you know."
"No, I don't know. Was it what?"
"Was it about . . . . . . kissin' an stuff?"
The answer Bart got was indignant. "No, it was about . . . her pappy."
"Oh."
"I'll be along to the river soon as I walk her home."
Now it was Bart's turn to be indignant. "That's what you gotta do? Walk her home? An that's more important than swimmin'?"
Bret said nothing, just hurried to get ahead of Beau and Bart. They were almost at school and he didn't want to hear any more talk about the river OR Mary Alice. Miss Spencer was standing outside on the school steps smiling at them.
"Told ya we shoulda got here sooner," Bret needled as he took off running. Bart and Beau followed and the schoolteacher was very nearly laughing as the three of them ran up the steps, almost out of breath.
"I'm proud of you, boys," Miss Spencer told them. "You're not the last ones here. And you're early, as I requested."
Bret smiled and blushed and Beau looked confused, which was the way he always felt around the teacher. Young and pretty, she had a way of looking at you like you were the only one in the world. Beau was experiencing the first throes of manhood, and everything about girls and women confused him. Bart paid no attention to any of it, just rushed inside and took his seat, proud of not being the last to arrive. It didn't happen often.
Fred Taylor scooted in and dropped down next to Bart. They were just beginning their friendship but had already formed a strong bond. Whenever Bret and Beau had something else to do, Bart and Fred were together. "You comin' to the river with me an Beau?"
"Just you two? What happened to your brother?"
"He's got a girlfriend," Bart replied disdainfully, as if a girlfriend was something to be looked down on.
"Mary Alice Tompkins?" Fred asked in a hushed tone.
"You already know?"
Fred nodded after looking around the room to make sure nobody was watching. "Yeah, I saw 'em out by the bushes, talkin' an holdin' hands. You didn't know?"
"NO!" Bart protested vehemently, so loud that half the front row turned around to look at him. Now it was Bart's turn to blush, and he did. "When was that?"
"Day before yesterday," Fred whispered.
Miss Spencer closed the schoolroom door as Jamie Stampers practically ran down the aisle. He slid in next to Fred and he and Bart exchanged glances. Jamie was Fred's friend, from a long time ago, and he and Bart were wary of each other. Jamie seemed to be a good sort, and he played a decent game of poker, but Bart was still cautious around him. Maverick looked at the back of the classroom, where Bret and Beau sat together. Mary Alice was on the other side of his brother, and Bart grimaced. 'Is that how it's gonna be from now on?' he wondered, but quickly quit watching them when he heard his name called by Miss Spencer.
"Mr. Maverick, I want to congratulate you. Not only were you not the last one here today, you were actually early. See what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it?"
The whole class tittered, and Bart laughed with them, in a jovial mood because it was the last day of school and from what Pappy said, he and Bret might not have to come back next year. They could already read and write, and both were old enough to be playing poker in the Little Bend saloons. This was the first summer they weren't going to work on a cattle drive; Pappy had long ago promised them a summer off. The youngest Maverick couldn't imagine a whole summer to do whatever he wanted, but he was certainly looking forward to it.
The morning went by slowly. It consisted mostly of listening to everyone's plans for the upcoming vacation and doing some reading out loud; Bart and Fred were both fidgety and anxious for the day to be over. When it came time for lunch Miss Spencer unexpectedly announced, "Class dismissed for the summer. Go on home, everyone, we've finished another year!"
There was a fair amount of whooping and hollering as everyone raced for the door. Being dismissed this early in the day had never happened before, and Bart was almost the last one out. He met Fred and Beau outside; Jamie Stampers had evidently gone home and his brother was nowhere to be seen.
"The river?" Beau asked.
"The river," Bart answered.
As was their habit, when the three boys reached the river they stripped down to jeans and dove in. After the heat of the morning and the walk to get there, the temperature of the water felt wonderful. Bart ducked all the way under and his hair stuck to his head, hanging down into his eyes. "You need a haircut," Beau called to him, and Bart ducked under again and pushed his hair off of his face when he came up.
"Yeah, I need to see Lily Mae," Bart answered. "Think she could cut it this afternoon?" he asked Beau.
"Don't see why not, long as you ask her nice," his cousin replied.
"I always ask Lily Mae nice."
"That's true. For some reason she likes you," Bret called to them from the riverbank. It only took him a minute or two to skin off his shirt and boots and dive into the river with the other three boys.
"Thought you were too busy to join us."
"I didn't say that. I said I had somethin' I had to do first. It's done an I'm here. Hey, Fred."
Bret liked Fred Taylor. He was the first close friend that Bart had made in a long time, and he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Even if he had some other friends that were questionable, he hadn't brought them around Bart. Maybe his becoming friends with Bret's younger brother was his attempt to get away from some of those people. Like Earnie Night. Earnie could be pleasant enough when he wanted to be, but he had a bad habit of finding or creating trouble. Bret had a feeling that was going to wreak havoc somewhere down the line in his life. Now that Fred and Bart were spending a lot of time together, Earnie might fade into the background. At least, Bret hoped so.
"Bret."
Beau swam over. "You take Mary Alice home?"
"Yeah. Her and her Pa – they're not gettin' along so good right now. She just wanted somebody to talk to. Your pa's goin' with me an Pappy to Austin next week. You goin'?"
"Yep. Sounds like a good idea. Is Bart gonna go?"
Bret shook his head. "He hasn't said yet. I don't know what he's thinkin'. Is he mad at me?"
"I don't think so, cousin. I think he's mad at Mary Alice."
"Mary Alice? Why?"
"Cause she's gettin' your attention instead of him."
That was puzzling to Bret. "Jealous, you mean? But why?"
"Cause he don't understand girls yet."
Bret burst out laughing and splashed his cousin. "And you do? That's a good one, Beau!"
Beau didn't think it was funny. "Yeah. Well, I understand better than Bart does!"
"I think the heat's gotten to you, cousin!"
And just like teenage boys, all four laughed and horsed around in the water the rest of the afternoon.
