Free Sky Jumpers Series, Book 1 by Peggy Eddleman Page A

said way too innocently. “I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking. Besides, she’s got to be used to it by now. You’re used to it, right, Hope?”
    If I were used to it, I probably wouldn’t have had to convince myself to come to the festival this morning, or not to kick Amy in the shins right now. Luckily, something else grabbed Amy’s attention. She pointed across the crowd. “What do you think’s going on over there?”
    Brock stood away from the main group of people, pleading with someone from Browning who I knew I’d seen before. We couldn’t hear them over the noise, but Brock looked upset. The man put his hand on Brock’s shoulder and said something. Brock dropped his head. After the man patted his shoulder, Brock trudged away.
    “I have no idea,” I said.
    Amy spun toward her friends and gossiped about what had just happened.
    Before I even had time to think about what I’d seen, Mr. Hudson’s voice boomed and quieted the buzz of the crowd. “Gather around! It’s time to announce the Inventions Contest winners.”
    We found Carina as everyone moved toward the performance platform where Mr. Hudson stood, bullhorn in hand. “There were some great inventions this year!” he said. “That means many people did what?”
    Everyone called out, “Worked with their strengths!”
    Mr. Hudson read the names of the winners in Fours & Fives and in Sixes & Sevens, then named the overall winner for lower grades. All three kids came to the front, beaming, to get their medals. The cheer from the crowd was deafening.
    “And for Eights and Nines,” Mr. Hudson said through the bullhorn, “the winner is Amanda Allen for her automatic chicken scratch spreader. For Tens and Elevens, the winner is Livi Johnson for her recipe for ink. And for Twelves and Thirteens”—I grabbed Aaren’s hand and squeezed tight—“the winner is Brock Sances, for his bale grabber.”
    I looked to Aaren, and then to Carina. “Brock had a good invention?” I hadn’t paid attention after mine failed.
    Aaren nodded. “Yep. He did good.” Then his focus went back to Mr. Hudson. I could tell he still hoped to be the overall winner for middle grades. He’d won it once before, so we both knew it was possible. I crossed my fingers for him.
    “And the overall winner for middle grades is Charles Beckinwood, for his wheeled seed-planting invention.”
    Aaren’s shoulders fell. I didn’t know anyone who was more of a perfectionist than Aaren. He didn’t care if something took all his free time, as long as it turned out well. Especially if it was anything science-related. I knew he felt terrible, and that made me feel terrible.
    “I’m sorry,” I said.
    “Me too,” Carina said. “You deserved to win.”
    “Brock Sances?” Mr. Hudson called his name through the bullhorn. Everyone searched the crowd for him. Once it was clear Brock wasn’t there, Mr. Hudson called out the winners for Fourteens & Fifteens and Sixteens & Seventeens, along with the overall winner for upper grades.
    “Because we had so many outstanding inventions this year, we added two new awards.” Mr. Hudson held up a nine-inch stone carving of someone holding a large bowl over his head that was probably meant to represent our valley. “One goes to the overall winner for kids, and one to the overall winner for adults. For kids, this award goes to Aaren Grenwood for his medicine thermometer.”
    I screamed and jumped up and down along with Carina and Brenna. Aaren looked stunned, relieved, and thrilled all at the same time. He was in such a daze, he barely managed to give me Brenna’s hand before he stumbled to the front to collect his award. The crowd hollered their appreciation of Aaren’s invention as he walked back to us, his grin bigger than any I’d seen.
    When Mr. Hudson was almost through announcing the winners in all the categories for adults, I heard a
psst
.
    I looked at Carina. “They’re starting the Twister after this,” she said.