Page 76 of Sass in the Grass

“I rather like it. It’s…it fits him.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

They worked on the knots for over an hour until Jovian was pretty sure he’d gotten them down. Once he did, they went to the storage shed and Alan rooted around until he found where Cherokee has stashed the practice tarps.

Together, they went into the woods, just short of the main camp, and Jovian stared at the blue tarp like it was a snake. “I know I’ll never get this.”

“We’ll work on it until you do, so start.”

Jovian whipped the tarps out of how it was folded and then moved it around with his hands until he came to the first grommet. “Grommet. What a terrible name. It sounds like some furry gnome in a child’s story.”

Alan snickered. “I guess it does. Maybe they were running out of names to name things.”

“Seems like a terrible excuse.”

He tied the first knot, a bowline knot, into the grommet and held it up for Alan to examine. “Is this right?”

“Damn, Jovian! That’s perfect! Great job.”

He feigned humbleness. “It’s a knot. I didn’t just buy myself a Lexus.”

Alan patted him on the back and soon, he and Alan made a ridgeline on one tree, then on the other, a trucker’s hitch and soon, they had the rope taut and could set the tarp over it, making it almost a tent.

“Okay, now, we don’t have stakes, so what did Coach say to do?”

“Make our own, of course. I told you, I was listening this time.”

They found some branches that would work and then got out their multi-tools, slicing off the bark and then sharpening the ends into a point.

After cutting pieces off the rope, they got the stakes tied to the tarps taut, until they made the perfect tent.

“Those other types of shelters, they are really complicated,” Jovian whined. “I can just do this one, right?”

“Coach said pick one you like and stick to it. It takes a long time to master all of them.”

He sighed in relief. “It thought so. This is good enough for me.”

“Bringing one end down, though, gives you more protection from the cold and elements. Why don’t we try to do that, at least?”

“Fine,” he grumbled.

When they were finished, Alan threw an arm around Jovian’s shoulders. “This…is good, Jovian. I think you’re gonna do fine.”

“We’re coming out tomorrow, right?”

“Every day until Survival Camp. And later, we’ll go to the firepits and practice getting a fire made.”

“No lighter, I suppose.”

“No lighter.”

Cherokee held another class that afternoon, all about how to filter water, and even digging to find it under the dirt. Jovian couldn’t imagine drinking it, but once Cherokee filtered andboiled it, he passed it around, and Jovian was shocked to see it was as clear as tap water. “Well, wow. This is amazing!”

“Thank you, Jovian,” Cherokee said. “I like the approval.”

Hanging on every word that Cherokee taught, he was impressed with himself when Alan quizzed him, and he passed perfectly. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it!”

Alan chided, “Don’t, Jovian. You wanted to learn this time, and even if it was just to make Coach happy, you’ll have this knowledge forever, which is all he truly wanted.”

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