story+5

slipped back into the damp kakis. We headed back toward where the food was, and somebody had started a fire while we had been arguing. As soon as Shane saw me, he turned toward me with a grin. “That shirt fits you well.” He said in a teasing voice. “Thanks.” Was my only response, or the only response I could get through my chattering teeth and then all the boys started laughing. I looked down to make sure the shirt covered me and saw a big, slimy snake, and screamed. I ran to hide behind Violet out of impulse. She was the only girl in my family that could handle reptiles. Shane, Jeff, and Jasper, who were sitting and eating, all fell over because they were laughing so hard. The snake had started winding its body around my good leg, and I was hopping around trying to shake it off of me, which got them laughing even harder. I was still screaming and hopping when I tripped over something, and fell. The snake started up my pant leg, but I grabbed it and flung it in some random direction. Then Shane’s laughter stopped, and the other boys were laughing even harder yet. Violet, Rose and my mom started laughing then. I sat up to see where it had gone, and apparently it had hit Shane in the face. Then he got the snake to unwind itself from his head, and set it back toward the trees, still laughing of course. “You never said you were scared of snakes, Molly,” he managed to say between howls of laughter. “It never came up.” Was the best comeback I had, or that would come through my chattering teeth. He got up and came over to pick me up. “Do you guys always have to carry me around?” I complained when he bent down to pick me up. He scooped me up, and then I couldn’t find any more reason to complain. He was really warm, and I was still half frozen. My hands found their way to his chest of their own accord, and my head to his shoulder. He sat down next to the fire, and had me in his lap, his arms around me to help thaw me. Then the look on Jaspers face woke me from the dazed state I was in. He was glowering at Shane with so much hatred and jealousy on his face that I looked down out of guilt. “Oh, knock it off, Jasper. She’s a frozen Popsicle.” Shane said when he noticed Jaspers reaction to his position at the moment. My legs were slowly defrosting next to the fire; my head drooping against his chest, finally making me realize how tired I was. “Do you always abandon groceries when you come try to save Jordan?” Violet said an air of contentment at my position no doubt. “Yeah, pretty much.” I said drowsily. Then forced myself to look up. She apparently had salvaged the groceries from the sidewalk. “Thanks for grabbing them.” I said letting my head lazily fall back to Shane’s chest. “Let her sleep. She’s tired.” Shane said, just as content as everybody else in my family. “Hey! What about our fight!” Joshua said loud enough to wake me from my drowsiness. “Hmm… That would be about now too. We could fight, and not get to finish dinner. But I’d prefer to finish dinner first.” Jasper said sounding like he’d rather not fight at all. “The hill’s only a ways up. Come on Jasper, I want to settle this.” Joshua said. By now I was wide awake. “Ungh. Fine Joshua, have it your way.” Jasper said getting up. They started jogging toward the top of the hill, so I started getting up. My hand slipped and I almost did a face plant into Shane’s food, but caught myself. “What are you trying to do Molly?” Shane asked sympathetically. “Besides not trying to face plant into your food, I’m trying to follow Jasper.” I said, trying to push my self onto my good leg. “Are you sure you want to go see him fight? He tends to be a bit brutal some times.” Shane said, and then there was a big yank on his wrist that tripped me into a deep mud puddle. When I landed in the mud puddle, the mud splattered Shane as well. His face was full of mud, and Jasper was the forgotten rope’s length away with his brother, laughing at his expression. “Dude! Untie me!!!” Joshua was yelling. “I forgot about the rope,” Shane said, spitting out a mouthful of mud. 

Shane scooped me out of the mud puddle, and started jogging toward them, both of us dripping with mud. “You still want to kiss her when she has a mouth full of mud?” Joshua was teasing Jasper. Jasper was looking like he was glad he was getting the chance to beat the snot out of his brother in a minute. Luckily I had grabbed my crutches before Shane had scooped me up, so I hit Joshua in the back of the head with one of them. “Ow!!!” He protested before the stream of profanities started. “I thought you said that you’d make sure she didn’t hit anybody with those things again!” He complained, rubbing the back of his head. “Yes, we did. But that was under assumption that you wouldn’t provoke her again.” Jasper said laughing.  story 6
 * “You are a pain.” Joshua said to me. “Yes, I tend to be a pain when you are insulting me.” I retorted. “Make up your mind!” He started, “Which one of them are you dating! You lay on his shoulder, but when I’m teasing…OW!!!” I’d cut him off by hitting him in the face with one of my crutches again. Then he lunged for me. I rolled out of Shane’s arms, bringing my crutches with me. Joshua ended up punching Shane’s stomach. “Where’d she go?” Joshua demanded, **shaking his hand to numb the pain from hitting Shane. I had the unnecessary brace off of my ankle in the time it took him to figure out where I was and then jumped to my feet. “Put that brace back on!!!” Shane and Jasper yelled at me in unison. “No! My ankle