The Secret in the Hidden Cave, chpt. 6 excerpt

Kevin smiled to himself as he remembered some of the things he and Missy had talked about up in the tree fort. What if your arms and legs bent the other way? What if there were never any dinosaurs? What if all the insects disappeared? Can dogs spit? Missy was fun and easy to talk to. He liked having a friend around since there weren’t any kids his age in Starkville. He rode the bus to a larger town thirty minutes away and went to school there but ever since he was little his main friends were his mom and dad and Mr. Stark. He had spent the spring thinking of special things he could show Missy around here: the stone house, the caves, the Indian graves, the settlers’ root cellar, all the horse trails, and of course the tree elevator and the other devices that he and Mr. Stark, and sometimes his dad, had worked on.

Kevin opened the counter window of the Snack Shack and set out the potato chip display. Instantly two little kids ran up with coins clutched in their fists ready to buy an ice cream bar. It was a steady little business for Kevin. This was the first week that all of the cabins were rented and the lodge was full. There were probably a hundred and fifty guests including the children and most of them wanted a sugar or salt fix by mid-afternoon. Kevin was good at making change and had proven himself to be a competent worker the previous summer when he had helped run the Snack Shack with one of the college girls. He had taken over for her when she had left two weeks early for a family wedding and Mr. Stark had promised him that he could run it himself this summer if he wanted to. Kevin was excited to be able to earn enough money for the mountain bike that he wanted.

He was thinking about that bike later that afternoon when an older boy with dirty long hair and a sour expression on his face came up to the window and demanded a soft drink and some pretzels. Kevin didn’t sell pretzels and he pointed to the sign he had made showing the products and their prices. The boy put a dollar on the counter, took the drink and swore at Kevin.

“This is what I think of your selection,” he said. He smashed the closest bag of chips with his fist and turned away.

“Hey!” Kevin yelled. But the kid just ignored him and walked toward the water’s edge and some overturned canoes. He sat down on one and just stared out at the lake.

The Secret in the Hidden Cave is book 1 in the Big Pine Lodge series (for kids ages 8 - 12)
copyright 2010 by Debra Chapoton