Free Skydive by Gary Paulsen

C HAPTER 1
    Thirteen-year-old Jesse Rodriguez emptied the contents of the rusty metal dustpan into the trash can and surveyed the room. Earlier the airport’s small parachuting clubhouse had been full of excited students coming back from a training exercise. Now it was quiet. The only ones still here were Jesse and Buck.
    Jesse smiled when he thought of Buck Sellman, the owner of the club and the small, rural airport. Buck was all right. Actually, he was more than all right. He had been airborne in the Vietnam War along with Jesse’s dad. He’d lost his right leg to a land mine on the same mission during which Jesse’s father had lost his life.
    Buck hadn’t let his disability stop him, though. When the tall, lanky ex-sergeant had been discharged, he’d bought an out-of-the-way airfield near Seattle and set up shop teaching people how to fly and skydive. To help pay the bills he’d hired a couple of other pilots and started an air freight transport company on the side.
    Jesse had been coming here almost every day for the past five years, working and learning everything about parachutes and skydiving that Buck would teach him. He already knew more about rigging a chute and jumping than most of Buck’s advanced students, and he lived for the day when he would be old enough to make his first jump.
    The front door swung open, interrupting Jesse’s thoughts. A man wearing an expensive double-breasted suit sauntered in. A pretty girl with long blond hair, who looked about the same age as Jesse, followed him. The man took off his sunglasses and inspected the lobby.
    Jesse leaned the broom against the counter. “Can I help you, mister?”
    The man gave him a bored look. “I doubt it. Isn’t there anyone here besides”—he cleared his throat—“the janitor?”
    Jesse ran his hand through his jet-black hair andfrowned. “The janitor?” Then he remembered that the dustpan was still in his other hand. “Oh, you mean me.”
    “Bright kid.” The man sighed and took the girl’s elbow. “Come on, Robin. We’ll come back later, when there’s someone besides the hired help around.”
    “Wait a minute. I’m not—”
    “Is there a problem here?” Buck had been in his office and had heard the whole exchange. He winked at Jesse and then stuck his hand out toward the man. “I’m Buck Sellman, the instructor. Is there something I can do for you?”
    The man reluctantly shook Buck’s hand and then straightened his designer tie. “I’m J. W. Waterford the Fourth. This is my daughter, Robin. I understand that you teach skydiving here?” He didn’t wait for Buck to answer. “My daughter would like to take lessons as soon as possible.”
    The girl glanced over at Jesse, swallowed nervously, and then tightly closed her large blue eyes.
    She doesn’t look like she wants lessons
, Jesse thought.
I’d say she’s scared stiff at the whole idea
.
    Buck scratched under the collar at the back ofhis orange jumpsuit. “I give lessons, and I’d be happy to teach Robin. The only problem is, according to regulations, a minor has to be sixteen before she can make her first real jump.”
    “I see.” The man raised one eyebrow. “Perhaps you could recommend a club that would take younger members?”
    Buck shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s the rule at every legitimate club. But if you’re still interested in joining, we can teach her everything she’ll need to know to make her first jump. That way, when she’s old enough, she’ll practically be a professional.”
    Mr. Waterford folded his arms. “I don’t know.…”
    Buck smiled and showed them to the door. “Don’t let me pressure you. Go home and think about it. If Robin decides to join, her age group meets on Tuesdays and Fridays at two o’clock all through the summer.”
    He closed the door behind the Waterfords and turned to Jesse. “Well, what did you think?”
    “Why ask me?” Jesse tried not to laugh. “I’m just
the hired help
.”
    “That’s