Louisa put her arm around me. "You're lucky. Usually, I hope I can work out here when it's not as hot."

There was a large, rusty tractor at the end of the field. Louisa and I walked over.

"We already harvested the crops here," Louisa explained to me. "Now we're going to use the plough to break in the soil, so we can plant the new seeds."

Janet was crouched behind the plough attached to the end of the tractor. Louisa climbed up to the tractor and sat down in front of the wheel. "Come join me, Fern," she insisted, waving to me.

I backed away, uneasy by the rundown state of the tractor. "I don't know…"

"Get down from there, Louisa," Peter scolded. "You know I always drive the tractor."

"Oh, come on, Dad. Let me do it," Louisa insisted, clutching the wheel. "Just this once. I did a good job last time, remember?"

"Well, you did," Peter admitted. "Alright, but I'll come up with you."

"I think Fern would want to come instead," Louisa insisted. "Let her on. It'll be a lot of fun."

I wasn't too eager about the idea, but it did sound a little fun. I was surprised her parents trusted her to drive.

"You don't have to if you're scared," Peter reminded. "You could stay down here with Janet and me."

"I'm not scared," I insisted, not liking the idea of being around them. I walked over to the tractor and glanced up at Louisa, who held her hand out. I let her help me climb up to the seat next to the wheel and sat next to her.

"Remember, you hit the brakes as soon as you reach the end of the field," Janet warned, standing up. "And be extra careful now that your sister is there. She's probably never done this before. She must be scared."

"I'm not," I insisted. "I started riding my bike without training wheels."

"That's the spirit, Fernie," Louisa praised. "I'm sure you'll be begging to go again once I'm done."

I wouldn't admit it, but I felt slightly uneasy, staring down at the huge wheel below me. I glanced back at the plough at the back of the tractor, digging into the soil. Peter and Janet stepped back. Janet smiled at me, while Peter narrowed his eyes. I felt relieved to be away from him. I was sure he didn't like me, even though Louisa assured me he just didn't like any newcomers.

I jumped as I heard the engine start. "Are you ready, Fern?" Louisa asked, gripping my arm.

I nodded, before jumping as the tractor started moving over the field. I bounced up with every little bump over the hard soil. I glanced at Louisa, who was staring ahead in intense concentration while tightly gripping the wheel. I could tell she had a lot of practice. I began to relax as the tractor crossed the field. I even glanced back to watch the way the plough cut through the soil, turning it over.

Louisa smiled at me. "Didn't I tell you it would be fun, Fernie?"

I nodded. "It's just like riding my bike," I agreed. But I couldn't help thinking she didn't have to do much aside from clutching the wheel. "Do you think I could have a turn?"

"A turn for what?" Louisa asked.

"To drive the tractor," I explained. I wanted to prove that I could be just as skilled as Louisa. "I mean, I'm getting better at riding my bike, and it doesn't look that hard."

Louisa turned her attention back to the field. "It's harder than it looks," she insisted. "It took ages before Dad let me. And he still doesn't let Mom."

I didn't know whether to believed her, but I reluctantly sat back. As the tractor whirred over the field, I realized it was fun. I started to relax when I noticed something in the way, right in front of us. I let out a shriek.

Louisa glanced at me in alarm. "What is it, Fern?"

It was another one of those hideous jack-o-lanterns, squashed and decaying. We were just about to run into it. I knew I overreacted, but something about the wide grin freaked me out, and I couldn't stop worrying there was fire inside. I grabbed Louisa's arm tightly, causing her to jump and try to pull me away. I gripped her arm tighter, panicking as I began to fall off the seat. Then I let out a scream as I felt myself lurched to the side while the tractor jerked to the right. Louisa frantically tried to grab the wheel, but she only made the tractor speed up. She let go and clung tightly to me. I could hear Peter and Janet yelling at us and running over in the distance, but the tractor was going too fast for them to do anything. My heart pounded as the tractor spiraled forward. I closed my eyes, wishing I had never freaked out.

The next moment, the tractor collided. I lurched forward, almost banging my head on the wheel. Louisa kept her arms wrapped around me as her parents approached, yelling at us. I clung tightly to her until Peter pulled her off. I felt Janet grab me, pulling me off the tractor as well. I fell to the ground, shaking all over. I could hear yells from above, but they seemed to fade into the background. The rumbling sound of the tractor still repeated in my ears, right before it crashed.

"Fern! Fernie, are you okay?" Louisa leaned down and helped me up. She wrapped her arms around me again as I stumbled.

I was too shaken to answer. I jumped as I heard Peter yelling, much louder than he had before. He was staring in shock and despair at the tractor, the front stuck in the dirt. It had crashed into a small ditch at the side of the field. I could tell that one of the wheels had come loose and was lying on the soil next to the axle it had been attached to. My heart sank, and I quickly glanced away.

"Louisa, what did I tell you?" Peter scolded. Louisa cowered as he turned his accusing glare on her. "Didn't I tell you to be careful? I knew letting you on was a mistake!"

Louisa lowered her head without saying anything. Even though I was afraid, I couldn't let my sister take the blame. "It wasn't her fault," I spoke up. "It… it was me. I grabbed her arm while she was steering. That's when it went the other way, and…" I trailed off as Peter turned his glare to me.

"Well, that was very foolish of you," Janet spoke up. She was trying to remove the plough from the back. "How could you do that, Fern? Maybe you were too young to be on the tractor."

"I guess she just got overconfident and thought she could drive by herself," Louisa said. I was about to protest when she went on. "It was mostly my fault. I should've done a better job at controlling the tractor." I stared at her in surprise.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it was now, I suppose," Janet interrupted, struggling to get the tractor out of the rut. "We just have to focus on fixing the tractor. Then again, I'm not sure there's much point. It's practically falling apart. We never should've let them on it to begin with."

As Peter kept yelling, I realized Louisa was right. He was always like that. But I supposed he had a right to be.

"Fern, go," Louisa whispered to me. "I'll help them. Just get back to the farmhouse."

I hesitated, watching as Louisa walked over to the tractor. I didn't know how she could go near there after what happened, but I supposed she had a lot more experience than me. As Peter started to yell at her, I reluctantly left. She had told me to, after all. I ran until I was back in the dark, empty farmhouse.

As soon as I was inside, I hurried up to my room. I threw myself onto my bed and turned over, closing my eyes. I tried to get to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about the terrifying moment when we had crashed. I was relieved Louisa had told me to leave, but it was all my fault. I knew how important the tractor had to be to them, remembering how excited Louisa was to ride it. She'd probably be mad at me too later. They might go easy on her, since she helped around the farm enough, but I knew they'd be furious at me. It was even worse than last time, where I at least hadn't gotten off to a bad start on the first day.

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to forget it. I told myself it was only the first day, and I'd have plenty of other chances to help them. But I dreaded the next morning, and not just because of how early I'd have to wake up. I kept thinking about how I'd face them as I drifted off to sleep.

I have no idea how tractors (or any technical farm details) work, but that isn't the focus. Fern is the name of the girl from Charlotte's Web, who also lives on a farm, but I first heard the name in Rainbow Magic and St Clare's and thought it was cute (I have a thing for names - I like Louisa, but went through a bunch for Janet's, including Jolene and Hyacinth).