Never Grow Up

time. Ashley and Natalie screamed.
“Gotcha!” Chris doubled over laughing. “I got you all good!”
Elliot picked himself up off the ground. Mud clumps stuck to his chin, and he sneezed again. “That’s not funny, Chris.”
“It was pretty funny.” Chris peered into the corn. “Landon! Come out here!”
Landon came out seconds later. He looked embarrassed. “Sorry. We… didn’t really mean to scare you.”
“Yes we did!” Chris was still laughing. “Landon, you should have seen it. They all fell to the ground.”
The expression on Landon’s face looked angry. “Quit it, Chris. That’s not nice.” He walked over and helped brush the mud off Elliot’s face. “It’s only funny if no one falls.”
Chris actually seemed to think about that. His shoulders sank. “I guess you’re right.” He helped brush mud off Natalie’s rain boots. “Sorry.”
Ashley wiped a few mud smears from her knees. Then she looked at her two messy friends. “Should we take a vote?”
“For what?” Elliot’s eyes were getting red.
“Whether we should accept Chris’s apology.” Ashley raised her chin and stared down her classmate.
A slight smile lifted Natalie’s lips as she looked at Chris. “Yes.” Natalie nodded. “We accept your apology.”
“I accept it, also.” Elliot was really sneezing now. If they didn’t find their way back to the real world soon, he would melt into the mud.
“Me, too.” Ashley shook Chris’s hand. “Don’t let it happen again.” She felt a shiver of concern. “Either of you two know the way out? I don’t want to live here forever.”
“Follow me.” Landon took Ashley’s hand and the two of them ran ahead. “Lunch is in ten minutes. Come on!”
Sure enough, Landon knew the way. He only held her hand for a minute, since they really weren’t that lost after all.
When they stepped into freedom, Landon grinned at her. “I’d never let you live forever in that corn maze.”
A warm feeling spread through Ashley’s heart. She did a slight curtsy. “Well, thank you.” The group of them began running for the barn. Ashley shot Landon one more glance. “And I would never win all the Field Day medals. A few really did belong to you.”
At lunch, Ashley told her mother about getting lost and nearly not surviving the corn maze. And something else. How Landon Blake was a mystery. A jokester and a rival and a friend. All at the same time.
Which was why she shared her ride home with someone she could truly count on.
Clancy, the pumpkin.

11
The 5K Day
KARI
Today was the day of Alex Hutchins’s 5K run.
All morning Kari couldn’t get her mind off of Alex and how unfair it seemed that he was sick at the hospital with cancer. She hoped today would be a big success and, if everything went well, a lot of money could be raised for the Hutchins family. Dad said the money would go to Alex’s medical costs, like treatments and procedures.
“When a child is sick, the whole family struggles,” Dad had told them. Kari thought that was sad but the good news was this: The whole community wanted to help. This morning, Mom and Dad were even letting them bring Bo.
Since four-legged runners were welcome, too.
Kari looked out the van window as they pulled into Town Square. Downtown Bloomington bustled with traffic, and Main Street was lined with tents displaying fruit and vegetables and baked goods for sale. Corn hole and horseshoes were set up on one stretch of grass and music played from a nearby speaker. People of all ages and sizes stood in groups—talking, stretching and getting ready to run. They all wore paper numbers across their shirts.
Bo bounced around, barking and smiling. Like this was the best way to spend a Saturday morning. Dad held Bo’s leash. He petted their dog’s head and helped him calm down. Then Dad and Bo led the way to the registration table.
Luke was the last of the family to sign up. “I always wanted to run a marathon!” He grinned at Mom, who stood nearby with the rest of the family.
“This isn’t a marathon.” Brooke patted Luke’s head. “A marathon is twenty-six miles. This is five kilometers.” She smiled at him. “About three miles. I learned that in school.”
Kari and the others stepped up to the next table, where a happy lady with a long red braid and a white visor gave them each a paper number. “Here you go!” She handed Kari the number 54 and two safety pins. “Attach this to your shirt. I’m glad you and your family are joining us.”
As Mom and Dad helped them with their numbers, Kari looked back at the woman with the red braid. Did she know Alex? Or was she just helping out? Dad said Alex’s family would be here today. They must be happy so many people had come out to support Alex.
The Baxter family found a section of grass and Ashley lay on the ground to stretch. Kari dropped down beside her. “You ready?”
“No.” Ashley grunted. “First the corn maze… now this. All in one week. It’s a lot on a person.”
Luke, who was doing jumping jacks, chimed in. “You’d feel better if you hadn’t gotten lost in the corn maze.”
“That was five days ago.” Mom laughed. “I think Ashley has fully recovered.”
“You’d be surprised, Mother.” Ashley rolled her eyes at their little brother. “Plus, we weren’t only lost, Luke. We were miles from civilization.” She reached for her toes and held that position. “We were thinking about surviving on corn. Forever.”
Kari giggled at Ashley. Every time she told it, her story grew worse. She patted Ashley’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Dad said we don’t have to run today. We can walk if we’re tired.”
“Right.” Brooke held her arms out and moved them in little circles. “We just have to finish.”
Luke ran in place a few times and held his arms straight up. “And I… plan to finish first!”
“Luke…” Erin sat cross-legged on the ground. “There are adults here. Professionals.” Just then a group of runners walked by. They wore