Page 78 of Even After Sunset

“Yoho!” I call back.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Silas mutters, and I swat his arm again.

“Be nice,” I hiss out of the corner of my mouth, as we follow Lumberjack Lucy over to the far edge of a forested area lined with large wooden bullseye signs.

She takes us through the basics of axe-throwing and already Silas is fully focused - a complete one-eighty from the distracted, restless guy he was at breakfast. He goes first, bringing his arm up so his forearm is lined up with his ear. Then with a limber flick of the wrist, the axe sails through the air, well past the bullseye, and lodges itself with a loudthunk!into the trunk of an unsuspecting pine tree.

Lumberjack Lucy (who I can’t think of as just Lucy now, no matter how hard I try) lets out a loud cackle.

“Yo HO! That’s a lot of pent up energy and aggression you’ve got there, boy!”

He shrugs, rolling his shoulders.

“Rein it in,” she tells him.

“Yeah,”I want to repeat.“Rein it in, Silas.”But I keep my mouth shut.

“Chanel all that energy into your aim,” Lumberjack Lucy continues. “Less power, more focus.”

And next go, he lands a bullseye.Thunk!Easy as pie.

Only it’s not. Easy as pie, I mean—because when I have a go, the axe lands on the grass a good ten feet from the target board. It is, however, perfectly lined up with the center of the bullseye.

“Less focus,” Lumberjack Lucy instructs me with a grin, “More power.”

It looks like we’re going to be learning all kinds of life lessons this morning.

I try again, and it’s the same thing. And the next time. And the next. I blame it on my spindly Kermit The Frog arms. I’m actually winded already, and it’s not like I’m in bad shape. I’m on the soccer team at school. And the track team.

Defeated, I turn and extend the axe toward Silas so he can have another go.

“No way, man. I’m not going again ‘till you at least hit the board.”

At first I think he’s making a dig at me, being his usual sarcastic self. But his eyes are utterly serious. Totally sincere.

“You got this.” He steps behind me. “Relax your shoulders.” He kneads my shoulders, then pats me twice with both hands. “Relaaax…”

“I am relaxed.”

“You’re a ball of nerves.”

I shake my head at him, then turn, narrowing my eyes at the wooden board straight ahead of me. Then I take a couple of slow breaths, lift the axe, and throw.

And totally miss again.

I let my head fall back. “Geez… Isuckat this.”

“No you don’t,” Silas says calmly. “You’ve barely tried. Give it another shot.”

“He’s right. Don’t give up,” Lumberjack Lucy agrees. “You wanna be a lumber-Jane or not?”

I kind of do.

I shake my arms out, roll my shoulders, and take my stance again. And throw.

This time, the axe lands in the corner of the board. Nowhere near the bullseye, but still—on the board.

Silas and Lumberjack Lucy whoop and holler.

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