Andi's Scorching Hot Summer

 by Grace F.

Twelve year old Andi Carter crept slowly behind a pile of crates and barrels toward her unsuspecting prey. She quickly darted behind a nearby tree when he wasn’t looking. Finally, she charged! She jumped out from behind the stout oak and knocked the surprised creature to the ground. Her prey, who was Cory, picked himself out of the dust. He glared at Andi as he brushed the fine dirt off of his clothes and out of his sandy blond hair. As he stood glaring at Andi, who was now rolling in the dust herself, but with laughter, he couldn’t help but grin. 

“I oughta slug you,” He said playfully.

After laughing a little while longer, the two got down to business. It was just the beginning of summer, and the friends were going to plan some things to do. They ran to the barn and climbed up to the loft. 

“So, I have a few ideas,” Andi said as she plopped down onto a pile of hay. “First, we make a treehouse in that big oak out there,” She continued, pointing to the oak tree out the loft door.

“Ooh, I like the way you think,” Cory said, reclining into his itchy seat. “But, where will we get the wood and nails?”

“Well,” Andi began, “I thought I’d ask Chad or Mitch for some of those empty crates. We can pull them apart and use that wood. We could also reuse the nails in ‘em.”

“Brilliant!” Cory stated rather loudly as he shot back up. “Let’s get to it right now!” 

With that, the race began. They clattered down the ladder and ran as hard as they could toward the house. They ran so hard, they thought their bare feet would catch fire any second. Finally, Andi slammed into the door.

“Andrea!” Came a voice from inside, “I’ve told you many times to not go pounding about the house!”

“Sorry, mother,” Andi called as she and Cory stepped through the doorway. “Where’s Mitch?” 

She didn’t need an answer. Mitch’s voice was heard coming from the dining room. He sounded a little annoyed. 

“What are we going to do with all those crates from the attic? It’s too dry to burn them and no one will want them,” He said.

Upon entering the room, Andi discovered Mitch’s victim: Chad. Chad was slumped in his chair watching Mitch pace, and listening to him rant and complain.

Andi interrupted Mitch’s speech. “Can we use them for a treehouse?” She asked. 

Immediately, Mitch and Chad said in unison, “YES!”

The next moment, Cory and Andi were running once more. With braids flying, Andi beat Cory again. They plopped down on the ground in the shade of the stack of crates.  Once they regained their breath, Andi went to get hammers, and Cory went to get a ladder. They both came back with extra things. Cory got a scrap of rope, about seven feet long, and Andi got some rusty old corrugated metal roofing that used to belong to the shed, which had been recently re-roofed. The two set to work. They took their hammers and started taking apart crates, one by one. While they worked, they chatted about where all the crates came from. 

“We just yesterday started clearing out the attic to turn it into a spare bedroom for Aunt Rebecca,” Andi said, “Mother is going through all the stuff that was in these crates in the attic.”

“Sounds like quite the chore,” Cory added, “But of course, this is pretty hard too.”

Once they had taken apart eight each, they took a break.

“Whoo-wee!” Cory exclaimed, laying aside his hammer and looking at their pile. “I think this is enough for now.”

Just then, Mrs. Carter came out with some ham sandwiches and apple juice. Upon seeing their lunch, Andi realized just how hungry she really was.

“I can’t have you two working on empty stomachs,” Mrs. Carter said, handing them their food. Within five minutes, Cory had finished his lunch.

“You downed that like a cow in a heat wave,” Andi said, glancing at the half of a sandwich she had left.

Cory reclined against the oak and burped.

“Ewwww,” Andi said, wrinkling her nose.

“Let’s go for a ride before I leave,” Cory said. “I’ll go saddle your horse.” With that, he rose and strode off to the barn.

Thirty minutes later, they were galloping across the range to Andi’s special spot.

.  .  .  .  .

The next day, Cory came again to work on the treehouse.

“Took ya’ long enough,” Andi said as he dismounted his horse.

“Sorry,” He said. “I had to give all the horses at the livery extra water. Boy is it a scorcher today!”

Cory was absolutely right in every way. The sun beat down without mercy, and when you looked across the barnyard, they could see the heat.

“No kidding,” Andi said, mopping her face with a bandana. “It’s really hot.”

Sweating profusely, the two slowly set to work. Cory selected a few strong limbs in the tree and climbed up into its shady refuge.

“Pass me a board and the pouch of nails,” He called down to Andi. “Oh! And a hammer.”

Suddenly, Cory heard an “Ouch!” from down below. Andi’s hands were slippery with sweat and she dropped the hammer onto her toes.

“Ooh, ooh, ooh,” She said, hopping on one foot and clutching the other with both hands. Cory suppressed a smile.

In the hour that followed, they completed a nice sturdy platform for their treehouse. It was about eight feet above the ground and had a rope so they could climb up and down.

“Whoo wee!” Cory said, descending from their project. “Your turn.”

“I think we need a break,” Andi said, climbing up to the platform. Cory joined her. Out of the corner of her eye, Andi saw an orange flicker behind the barn. When she turned to look at it, she saw that it was fire. Jumping to her feet, Andi yelled “Whoa! Brushfire!” She climbed down and ran off toward the cookhouse, with Cory close behind. She burst through the door and found Sid and Cook talking. They looked up when they burst in. 

“What is wrong, señorita?” Sid asked.

“Fire. Big fire. Behind the barn.” She panted. 

Instantly, the whole ranch was in a frenzy. They had emerged from the cookhouse and were now trying to find blankets, buckets, and shovels while Sid shouted orders to all the hands. Hearing the commotion, Chad, Mitch, Justin, Melinda and Mrs. Carter rushed out. As soon as they heard the news, they joined in. Cory and Andi grabbed blankets and dunked them in a water trough. They rushed toward the blaze and started whacking at it. Soon, everyone had joined in, bringing more water, beating the flames, or digging away the grass. 

After what seemed like hours, the fire was nearly out. Cory dumped the last of his water on a patch that was still burning.

Finally, it was over. What used to be a field of dry, brown grass was now a field of scorched ground. The fire came close to burning down the barn. The wall was blackened from the flames. It also got close to burning the treehouse tree and the outhouse. 

While the grownups and Melinda conversed about how it could have started, Cory and Andi trudged over to a half-empty water trough and scooped some water onto their heads. 

“Whew,” Cory sighed. “That came close to burning the barn. And our treehouse. I think I’m going to go home and take a nap.”

“Me too,”Andi said, splashing more water on her dirty face.

.  .  .  .  .

 

Two days after the fire, Cory came again and Andi gave him the bad news.

“Lots of the crates burned to a crisp during the fire,” She said, gesturing to the heap of ashes that used to be the stack of crates. “There are only ten left.”

“We’ll just have to make-do with what we have,” Cory added.

That day wasn’t nearly as hot as the day of the fire, but it was still hot enough to make them sweat. And sweat they did, working in the hot sun and carrying heavy loads of wood. Using most of the longer boards, they made a little railing on two of the four sides. Using wood rails from some old hitching posts, they made supports for the roof. Last but not least, they added the corrugated metal roof. When it was complete, the two friends sat down to admire their handiwork.

“It’s really coming together,” Andi said. “And the blackened boards make it look interesting.”

“Yeah,” Cory agreed. Just then, his stomach growled. “I think we worked past lunch,” He added.

As if she heard him, Melinda came out with a tray full of food.

“Whoa, perfect timing,” He said, licking his lips and staring at the sandwiches and apples she brought.

“What should we add to the fort?” Andi asked between bites.

“We could make a bench or something,” Cory replied through a mouthful of sandwich.

“Good idea.”

They finished their food and went back to work. Cory began on a little table while Andi started a bench. When they were complete, they moved them up to the tree fort. Cory tested the bench. He slowly lowered himself onto it, but when he put his full weight on it, he ended up on the floor in the middle of a broken seat.

“Oops,” He said sheepishly.

“It’s alright. I see my mother is putting some things outside.” Andi said, pointing to where her mother stood, sorting furniture. “I wonder if they’re things she doesn’t want anymore. Lets go ask if we can use some.” 

They clambered down the rope and raced over to her. When Andi asked what she was doing, Mrs. Carter said “These are all things that were in the attic that I don’t need or want. I don’t know what I’ll do with it all.”

“May we have that little chair,” Andi asked, “And the small wooden trunk?”

“Of course,” Mrs. Carter consented.

“Thanks,” Andi said, picking up the trunk while Cory took the chair. As they walked back, they talked about what to name the fort. When they couldn’t come to an agreement, Andi let Cory decide. As he thought, they hoisted their furniture up into the fort.

“Because this is where you spotted the fire,” Cory began, arranging the chair.

“Yes?”

“Well, how about we call it ‘the Fire Lookout’?”

“Perfect.”

And with that, the two friends sat down on their new furniture, in their new fort, and looked out over the burnt field that they helped rescue.