I started walking out of the cave, which brought me into contact with Hector. Ever since we moved in, he had been counting the days by carving hash marks into the cave wall. "Has it really been a week?" I asked.
"Yep," he replied. "Today's the day we were supposed to check out of the hotel." He turned to me. "How do you like your new sandals?"
I lifted one of my feet. "Better than my designer sneakers. And, even if my Manolos weren't at the bottom of the ocean, they wouldn't be able to compete with these." Yep, dinosaur leather was a lot better for mountain climbing than what I had before.
After climbing down the mountainside, I made my way to where Maya and Ty were gathering students. "Good morning, Neve," Maya said. "What brings you out here today?"
"I thought I should give archery a try," I replied. "I'm not saying I'll be a regular feature in the hunting parties; but I would like to be able to handle myself if there's trouble, and maybe pitch in sometimes."
"Alright. I'll let Ty handle you. He's been a quick study; maybe he can impart some of his skills to you."
Ty nodded, and I followed him to a makeshift target. "Don't worry if you don't get it right away," he said. "The idea of target practice is that you screw up where failure won't cost anything. It takes as long as it takes, and I'll give you all the time you need."
It was a good thing he gave me that pep talk before I started, because I needed something to soothe my ego after Round 1. Not a single arrow made it to the target, let alone hit the bullseye.
"Don't panic," Ty said. "Like I said, this is where you're supposed to make mistakes. Are you ready to hear about them?"
"It can't make me feel any worse," I replied.
"The first thing you need to remember," he said, "is gravity. It's pulling your arrows down. Try aiming higher."
I did. I still wasn't hitting the bullseye, but I was getting closer.
"Now, let's take the wind into consideration. It's redirecting your shots. See if you can allow for the wind."
With this, I did better. I still didn't hit the target, but I could hit near it.
"Good job," he said, and gave me a hug.
"Thanks. Hey, how come you smell so sweet?"
"Never mind. Just come back tomorrow."
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