“Ow,” Olive said, rubbing her ear, which was ringing from the loud sound. It was louder than Herbert’s whistle. She turned, still massaging her ear with one hand.
Josie was standing right behind her with a silver bicycle horn in her hand.
“Forest, come on!” Josie yelled, blaring the horn a few more times in the air.
“Wow, look at that,” Herbert said, craning his neck up. Olive saw it, too: a big piñata in the shape of a donkey hanging from the branches. It was the biggest piñata Olive had ever seen.
“What happen to donkey?” Forest asked, pulling off the last of the streamers.
“We have to line up first, then you’ll see,” Josie replied. “Other than presents, this is the best part of the party!”
Mrs. Letay lined everyone up from youngest to oldest, putting Olive and Herbert first in line. “You can go first, Olive. I don’t think you’ll do too much damage.” She looked at Forest, and her face twisted into a frown. “Forest … I have a feeling you’re a different story. Back of the line, dear.”
Forest scratched his head in confusion. “I thought we no keep donkey in backyard?”
Everyone watched as Mrs. Letay lowered the piñata, listening for the candy moving inside. She put the silky blindfold around Olive’s head and spun her around and around and around, until Olive was teetering. Steadying herself, Olive gripped the plastic bat tightly and reached out and up, up, up until …
Tap. Now that she knew where the piñata was, Olive pulled the bat over her shoulder like she was in the batting cages with her dad. Her face exploded into a grin. Being first was a lot of pressure, but she wanted to show everyone that she was little and quiet but also strong. She pulled the bat waaaaaay back, and …
SMACK.
The air around Olive exploded with noise: a smack, crack, and whoosh as the piñata sailed away from her. Did she break it? Olive felt the wind of the piñata on her face …
CLUNK. The piñata banged into her. “Ow,” she said, rubbing her shoulder. She had hit it so hard, it swung back at her. Before she could raise the bat again, she heard a familiar rush of feet next to her.
“Uh-oh,” Herbert said.
“DONKEY NO HIT OLIVE!” Forest yelled.
“Forest?” Olive called out.
But it was too late. Olive pulled up her blindfold just in time to see Forest jump up and wrap himself around the piñata like a sloth around a tree branch. Mr. Nibbles’s ears flopped in the wind as the piñata and Forest swung wildly back and forth. Kids shrieked with laughter.
Then, the rope snapped. Olive gasped. Forest fell to the ground, landing on his feet with the piñata tucked under his arm. The giggling, screaming kids crowded around him.
Olive could hardly breathe now. She was worried about Forest, but she was also worried about the party. If Forest wrecked the piñata, no one else would have the chance to hit it. She nudged herself between two kids to where Forest had landed.… Forest was jumping back and forth, clutching the piñata tightly.
Olive’s quick-thinking tank was almost on empty. But she had one more idea left.
She could save the party and not embarrass herself.
“CAPTURE THE PIÑATA!” she screamed, throwing her hands up in the air.
Everyone sprinted after Forest, who took off running. Olive knew it was impossible to catch him—he was faster than everything in the world. His legs were moving so fast, it didn’t even look like his feet were hitting the ground.
Plus, the backyard was huge. It seemed bigger than a football field.
“Olive, jump!” Josie jumped over a huge rock. A few feet ahead of them, Forest launched himself over a stump and disappeared behind a bush. Olive and Josie paused, panting.
“AIIIIIIIEEEEAA!” Forest jumped out of a tree. He sailed right over their heads and landed on the donkey piñata like he was a knight on his steed, skidding on the grass between them. Chocolate was smeared across his face and streamers sailed behind him like a flag. Laughing kids followed him around the yard like a school of fish. Olive lost Josie in the crowd.
Olive felt something tickling her shoulders and realized her braids had come loose from all the running. Her fingers rushed to rebraid them—she couldn’t go walking around looking like this.
Her breath caught up with her. Chasing Forest was exhausting.
Making new friends and trying not to embarrass herself was exhausting.
Herbert jogged up next to her, then collapsed on the ground with his tongue out, breathing heavily. “Forest is so fast!” he said.
And maybe she was so busy trying to look after Forest, she was ignoring the friend she had just made.
Olive finished braiding her hair. It was a bit messy, but Forest didn’t care about what everyone else thought. He didn’t think about having fun. He just had fun.
He had the right idea. And so did she.
“Herbert, there’s no one in the bounce house right now. Want to go? We’ll have so much room.”
“Sure. First one there wins?” Herbert asked Olive.
Olive was panting again by the time they reached the bounce house. Herbert won, but only by a teensy bit. She wondered if the shark-fin hairstyle made him faster.
“Good race, Olive. But I think I’m done running forever. I’m into bouncing only from now on.”
Herbert and Olive took turns launching each other up into the air like rockets and jumped around until they were dizzy and Olive’s legs felt wobbly as Jell-O. She plopped down on the sticky plastic to rest while Herbert told Olive all about how knights never took baths. Olive’s verdict about knights: smelly, but interesting.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the huge swarm of kids running toward the bounce house. They were still screaming, chasing … and not stopping. Suddenly, they rushed around the bounce house like a raging river. Olive thought she heard a faint rrrrip.
“Uh-oh.” Herbert stopped bouncing. “Did I rip my pants again?”
Olive was about to say no when she felt something under her: a slow kind of sinking, like the bounce house was melting. She put her ear against the wall … and eventually, even through all the noise from the piñata chase, heard something hissing.
Olive looked up. Herbert did, too.
The towers were drooping toward them. The walls were getting closer.
They were sinking. Sloooooowly.
Then fast.
Then faster.
Olive grabbed Herbert’s hand. “Herbert … I don’t think it was your pants. The bounce house is deflating!”
They slid through the bounce house flaps and landed with a thud on the cool green grass. Everyone was yelling and scattering. Olive looked up just in time to see the entire structure collapse to the ground.
“Yikes.” Herbert whistled under his breath.
Olive backed away in horror. There’s no way any amount of quick thinking would fix this mess.
Mrs. Letay stood still as a statue, staring at the deflated bounce house with her mouth flopped open. “I’ll find some duct tape…” she finally said, and walked off into the house.
Someone must have accidentally punctured it while they chased Forest. Olive’s stomach twisted, as if someone was making it into a balloon animal. This was her fault—she had started the piñata chase. She needed to find Forest, so he could help fix everything: the piñata, the bounce house, the party before it fell apart. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.
Olive searched for the mass of kids chasing Forest so she could talk to him—but she quickly realized that no one was chasing him anymore. They were looking for him, because Forest was nowhere in sight.