Chapter One
Whenever we get in the car, Jesse says we’re like a bunch of hunting dogs ready for rabbit. This time Gary and I got the front seat with Jesse. Peter called out “Fingers!” before he closed the door, and Gary screamed and made believe his hand was stuck. Of course we ignored him, because it was like the fifth time Gary did that. On the way home, everybody slept all over everybody else. My head was on Jesse’s shoulder, Gary’s head was on my side, and Peter and Chris were conked out in the back seat. I didn’t sleep too long, but I rested just the same. I like to listen to Jesse sing along with the radio when he drives.

Before I knew it, we were home. I was so happy it was summer and we had all of it to ourselves, and it was only the beginning. When we got out of the red Chevy, I wasn’t even tired anymore. Jesse said he was going out for dinner with Andrea, and he had to go right away.

After Jesse drove off, the four of us kids went to the cemetery field to wrestle around, and we stayed there until sunset. We were about to go home, but Peter and Gary said they had to pee first. Chris and I started to walk ahead. We got all the way to the cemetery gate and turned around, and Peter and Gary were still gone. “What’s taking them?” Chris said.

“Hey Peter! We’re over here!” I shouted.

Peter and Gary both started yelling. “Hey Jem! Chris! Come quick! Hurry up!”

I looked at my brother, and we both ran back to where the trees began. When we got up to Peter and Gary, I could see two other boys we didn’t know. One was sitting on a big rock, and he was squeezing his bare foot with both hands, and blood was dripping all over the place. It was starting to get dark, but I could see he needed to go to the hospital.

“What happened?”

“We just went in the pond for a swim, and somebody put all barbed wire and broken glass in the water,” the second kid said. “I got all tangled on the barbed wire, and it stuck in my legs. Do you have a cell phone?”

“No,” Peter said. “We don’t.”

The kid on the rock was crying. “I was supposed to be home a half an hour ago, but I can’t walk.”
“We’ll get somebody,” Chris said, and he grabbed my arm and we both tore out of the cemetery and almost knocked over a couple of ladies that were jogging. “Sorry,” Chris said, “but there’s a kid who needs an ambulance right now, his foot is cut wicked bad.”

The two ladies stopped and looked at each other, and they both pulled out their cell phones. “Where is he?” one said.

“In there,” I said, pointing through the gate.

We all ran back to the hurt kid, and one of the ladies called 911 while the other one asked the kid what his mother’s phone number was, and called her up. Next thing you know there was an ambulance zipping into the cemetery, then two cars with those boys’ parents.

By the time we got home it was pretty late. Chris and I kept wondering how those kids could get cut in the pond, because we’ve been swimming there for all our lives and never heard of anything like that.