Page 89 of Class Clown

She shrugged. “Super-human strength has been known to happen during life threatening situations.”

“And you think that a canoe in a tiny mountain lake is a threat?” I asked.

She nodded. “I think the most important point is that I love you enough to try to tow you across it.”

I laid back into the rear corner of the canoe and tilted my face to the sun. “You’re right, and I’m touched by the willingness. Now that I know you have a survival plan, I’m going to take a nap.”

Aryn cleared her throat and opened her mouth to say something when a strange, high-pitched, sort of wobbling scream came from the forested side of the reservoir. I sat up and all three of us turned to look that direction. More cries joined in and we looked to each other to see if one of us understood what was happening.

“Is that some kid having a meltdown?” Meredith asked.

As elementary school staff we’d had a lot of experience with the strange sounds kids could make, but this didn’t sound human and I said so.

“Sounds like animals.”

Aryn picked up the oars and got us moving in that direction. “I want to see what’s going on.”

“You never rowtowardthe screaming!” Meredith argued, pushing back the brim of her hat to see better.

“Then you’d never have any fun,” Aryn replied with a smirk.

We got closer and closer, but even though the screaming grew louder and more ferocious, it took us a while to spot what was going on. Aryn stopped us close to the shore, but still in deep enough water to keep us from grounding, and tucked the oars into the canoe.

A few seconds later, a rounded ball of black and brown fur came flying out of the tree line followed by two more, all of them screeching up a storm. They were going at it, screaming and biting, and fighting for all they were worth.

“Looks like a racoon love triangle to me,” I said with a grin. “Someone got busted.”

“It was a berry deal gone bad,” Aryn joined in. “Sam there promised to deliver the best fruit in the forest, but he tried to trick Jerry into buying a cheaper product.”

The three animals separated and rose to their hind legs, arms wide, watching each other and occasionally making some noise.

“It’s adorable,” I whispered on a laugh.

“It’s rabies on legs,” Meredith stated.

As the three stood watching each other, a few more raccoons joined in, still on all-fours, forming a sort of rough circle around the action.

“We’re in the middle of a turf war,” Aryn said.

The new racoons also began to make noises, and the original three fell back onto their front feet and dove into the fray once more. I had no idea what they’d be warring over, but it was both amusing and frightening to watch. Someone – or thing? – was going to get hurt.

Charged with animal safety, I stood in the canoe and grabbed one of the oars, leaning forward to slap the water as I yelled.

“Hey, hey, stop it right now,” I cried.

The animals scattered into the forest and as I was turning to smile triumphantly at my co-canoers, the canoe tilted violently and the three of us spilled out the side as it capsized. I held onto the oar like my life depended on it, because they were expensive to lose, and when I broke the surface I could hear Meredith and Aryn spluttering.

“I knew it!” Meredith called. “I knew this would happen.”

Luckily, the water wasn’t that deep where we’d tipped over and I was able to stand. Aryn, even taller than me, was too. But Meredith, who was several inches shorter than both of us, appeared to be bobbing with the ripples we’d caused. Her black hat, now soaking wet, was flopping down over her eyes and she kept fighting to push it back.

She tugged it off her head and swiped her black hair out of her face, scowling at me. “What was that all about?”

“I was saving lives,” I replied, walking over to where Aryn was pushing at the canoe to get it righted. “As the resident nurse on staff I am not prepared to handle veterinary needs. I had to break it up.”

“They know you now,” Aryn teased me. “They’ll be sending some henchman to your cabin to rough you up.”

I laughed and when Aryn counted to three, I helped her flip the canoe over. Meredith swam to where we were and we held it steady for her to climb in.

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