Chapter One

Growing up had always been an adventure. There was always one new dare, one new scare, one rule to break, a new risk to take. I wasn't a bad kid? no, I just had an inquisitive mind and was pretty impressionable. And I had a circle of friends who were the right or wrong influence, depending on how you choose to look at it. There was Michael, tall, soft spoken, and deceptively calm. He was the natural athlete in our little circle. Many times he had been our saviour when we found ourselves in tight corners where words and sass couldn't bail us out. Which brings us to the other member of our trio, Sam. If Michael was the saviour, Sam would be the reason why we needed saving. He had a way of steering us into trouble with his 'innocent' way of being direct and unnecessarily vocal about everything. Sam always had an opinion about everything, and it never mattered to him if it was needed or not. He kept Michael busy. I was somewhere in the middle. I was the negotiator, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the occasional rumble, but I was more of a 'time and place' person. All in all, I can't say I regret any of those moments. I believe they were the foundation to the person I am today.

As I mentioned earlier, life as a child was a continuous adventure. We had friends who were more daring than we were, and did things we could only dream of doing. One of the most daring acts then was cutting classes. It may not be a big deal these days, but back then, it was right up there with the biggest adventures. Let me paint you a picture. Our daily routine was to meet at the top of the street and walked to school together. There were many distractions along the way to pull away the most focused of hearts, and then, we couldn't claim to belong to that category. We were just the normal average kids who loved a bit of fooling around. Our school was situated right in the heart of town, past the market, and the city saw-mill. We favoured a route which always took us through the market, winding through the stalls in the different sections till we would exit two streets away from our school. I attended a single gender education school, pretty popular for its students, most of whom would never be cited as worthy fellows to emulate, or be trusted to comport themselves in public without threat of drastic punitive measures. That was my school, and we absolutely loved it. The teachers did what they could to keep some semblance of order, and sanity within the stipulated school hours. They were quick discipline offenders, as any hesitation to do so would encourage a sporadic repeat of the offence or related offenses. So, it was all about going to school, staying under the radar, learning what we could, and managing to cram in some mischief somewhere in between as the occasion allowed for it. Looking back, I wonder how we managed to handle such pressure five days a week.

On this fateful day, Sam was recounting a story he heard the previous day about some guys who were brave enough to hitch a ride on the backs of trucks heading to the saw-mill, in order to avoid the long walk to school. It was usually done without the notice of the driver, else there would be lot of sore backsides and smarting ears.

"I wonder why we have never taken this opportunity, especially as we live farther away, and are in a better position to hitch a ride on any of these trucks. And they are not even driving so fast when we see them" he said.

"That's probably because we are smarter than they are" Michael replied in a voice that was not going to entertain further discussions.

We were still debating on the pro and cons of such a move, when suddenly, a truck headed our direction appeared. In the time it took to process this unexpected opportunity, Sam had reached out, grabbed the tailboard of the truck, and swung on. We stared in shock for some seconds, after the truck and Sam's impish face grinning at us.

"I have half a mind to really knock some sense into that boys head" Michael said in frustration as we went dashed after the truck.

Michael having the advantage of longer arms, reached out and swung unto the truck which was now gathering speed as the traffic was gradually thinning out. He reached out and hauled me in, and was staring balefully at Sam as if he wanted to murder him. I quickly stepped in between them, placing my hands on Michael's chest, pushing him back and trying to calm him down.

"Do you ever stop to think about the consequences of things before you do them?" Michael asked

"I don't see what the fuss is all about. We're all in here, aren't we?"

"We're here because you didn't give us much of a choice. I would really love to wring your neck right now" Michael said, taking a step towards him. I stepped between them again. This was going to be a very long ride, if things continued this way.

I heard a sound, and turning, I locked eyes with the driver through a slot in the panel behind us. He looked at me for a few seconds, and the slot slid shut. Almost immediately, the speed of the truck increased, while we hung onto the sides of the truck so as not to get injured.

"I think the driver knows we're here. Sam said I a terrified voice.

"You think?" replied Michael sarcastically. "Now you choose to think. You picked a really wonderful time to start thinking."

We watched streets whiz by until we were close to the turn off to our school. It was clear we would have to jump out of the speeding truck if we had any hopes of getting to school that day. I panicked at the thought of what awaited us when the truck finally stopped, coupled with the fact that we were going to be late to school, if we didn't miss it altogether.

"Guys, I think we may have to jump. I don't think the driver plans to let us out." I said as the truck sped on.

"I can't jump" Sam said, the terror he felt evident in his eyes as he clung to the side of the truck.

"Well that seems to be the only we're getting off." I have no plans of getting to the saw mill in this truck" I said.