Free Just Deserts by Eric Walters Page B

anything else.”
    â€œI’d never do that. I’m afraid of heights,” Connor said.
    â€œMe too,” Larson said. “That’s why I decided to climb the mountains, to help me overcome my fear.”
    â€œWouldn’t it have been easier to not climb them, instead?” I asked.
    â€œEasier, yes. Better, no. You have to confront your fears if you hope to overcome them.”
    The other three nodded in admiration and agreement. I shook my head the other way. That was perhaps the stupidest thing I’d heard in a long time.
    â€œI’ve never known anybody who’s climbed the seven summits,” Kajsa said.
    â€œAgain, not that unusual these days. I think thereare close to three hundred people who have done it.”
    â€œYeah, but that’s three hundred out of a world population of almost seven billion,” Connor pointed out.
    â€œSo will you tell us about climbing Mount Everest or the Antarctic mountain?” Kajsa asked.
    â€œDefinitely, I’ll tell you all, but not tonight. It’s late and you all need some sleep.”
    â€œCan you at least answer one question first?” Connor asked. “I just wanted to know if you used oxygen when you climbed Everest.”
    â€œYes,” he said. “Some people think it’s cheating, but I figure the only thing you’re cheating is death. Now, time for bed. Where is Ethan going to bunk down for the night?”
    â€œHe’s in with me,” Connor said.
    â€œI have to share a tent?” I blurted out.
    â€œThere are only two two-person tents,” Larson said.
    â€œBut there are five of us,” I said.
    â€œI always sleep outside,” Larson said. “You’re welcome to do that if you want.”
    I knew it was already getting colder, but I’d be in a sleeping bag, and it wasn’t like the canvas was going to help keep it any warmer. Besides, I wasn’t worried about rain in the middle of the desert. Maybe sleeping outside wouldn’t be the worst thing.
    â€œI just need you to do up the sleeping bag very, very tightly,” Larson continued.
    I gave him a questioning look.
    â€œWhen the temperature drops at night, cold-blooded creatures, like scorpions and vipers, look for warm places to sleep … like the bottom of your sleeping bag. The worst thing is knowing that there’s a viper in the bottom of your bag, somewhere close to your feet, and that you have to just lie there, motionless, and wait until the sun comes up. Then the temperature rises enough that it needs to come out,” Larson said. “It would be pretty eerie to have it slowly move up your body until it came out the top, right by your face, and scurried away.”
    I felt a shudder go through my entire body that had nothing to do with the dropping temperature.
    â€œIt would be quite the test of one’s will—overcoming your fear and mastering your emotions,” Larson said. “So are you going to sleep outside tonight?”
    â€œJust show me which tent is mine,” I answered.

CHAPTER TEN
    I STARTED FOR THE TENT and then did a quick turn-around and grabbed my pack. Everything I’d need for the night was in there. I picked it up—it felt very heavy now—and followed the bobbing path of my headlamp back to the tent. I dropped the pack to the ground and then bent over and undid the zipper. I climbed inside and dragged the pack—and some sand—inside the tent with me.
    I was startled to see that the tent wasn’t really a tent, but half a tent. There was a wall, the bottom half canvas and the top half mesh, that divided the little tent into two smaller mini-tents. I sort of liked that idea. It wasn’t exactly a private room—actually, it wasn’t a room at all, and it wasn’t really private—but still, it felt good to have the illusion of privacy. I did up the outside zipper to seal me in and other things out. I didn’t want to