Hayloft Kids
4: Cricket
Usually my farm isn't so far away. I didn't know what was to worry about, not seeing Maggie 24/7, if I chose the hometown option. But still.
I said usually. But we had a million stopovers.
"That branch of Wendy's has the new Tortilla Pizza!" (Trey).
"Look! A Videogame shop with the latest BrushTouch 0.98741!" (Zak).
"I really need a new set of boots. And there's a Vila Claire's outlet right there!" (Maggie).
"Gloves! With the softest and sturdiest Bobcat elastic!" (Me).
Well, what do you expect? We were on leave for the first time ever!
Finally, "Ooh! Cows! Moovellous!" (Zak).
We groaned. He tells the lamest puns.
Pretty soon I could recognize the bordering oak fence we had carefully erected last year.
"Good work, farm boy!" Trey's sarcastic voice came over the headset.
I gritted my teeth. "We have a fence on the South end, Jordan, which needs mending. You can do that and see how easy it is."
Then we all started laughing and or a moment I forgot about the big problem I had to solve. The one I had to resolve alone.
***
Okay, so when we got there, we all landed on this long dirt runway. Johnny helped me down.
Johnny's Aunt Louise, Amy and Noah, his two other best friends, came and said hello. So did Cassidy. They went into the house to fix something for us and we all looked around.
I was pretty familiar with the place; we'd been here once when Black Cloud had stolen the generator and fired drone jets into the town. The Metajets and Amy and Noah saved it, though.
That was when my eyes chanced on something: a girl. A pretty girl. She didn't have red hair, it was black. Usually I say braids are for kindergarteners, but she'd tied her shining jet-black hair into plaits and she looked hot. She couldn't be a relative. Was she his ex?
My fears were proven when I glanced over at Johnny and his face held a certain amount of uneasiness.
"Johnny!" the girl cried and rushed to him. She threw her legs around his waist, heaved herself up, and planted a million kisses on his face. She actually put her tongue in my Johnny's mouth and slid her hand in the back pocket of his suit.
I was just standing there, dead-shocked. Zak and Trey were looking at me with sympathy. And it wasn't mock pity.
Johnny, looking frazzled, put the girl down and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
He looked at me, and his eyes held a look that said, "I'll explain later," but instead he just stood up straighter and said, "Guys, I'd like you to meet Cricket."
This leave was gonna be Hell.