Read Online Sky Jumpers Series, Book 1 by Peggy Eddleman - Free Book Online

festivals. We had no idea how he’d just appeared one day. Honestly, we weren’t even sure who his parents were. The adults were no help, either. Six months ago, when Mr. Allen had said we were getting a new student, we were all in shock.We’d never had a new student. Mr. Allen had told us not to make a big deal of it, and that the only important thing was making him feel welcome. I’d asked my dad, but he said it was Brock’s story and if Brock wanted me to know, he’d tell me. But anytime we asked Brock, he’d turn away, change the subject, or tell us it wasn’t our business.
    Carina whispered next to my ear. “Remember the hermit who lives in the woods up near the warning fences? The one who only comes down during the Summer Festival?”
    I nodded. A bandit attack or something before I was born had made him go crazy, and he didn’t like being around people anymore.
    “I think Brock’s dad is the hermit,” Carina said.
    I couldn’t remember if I’d ever heard the hermit’s last name, but it might have been Sances.
    “Maybe he had a son all along, and it’s Brock. And that’s why Brock doesn’t like being around people sometimes—he’s not used to it.”
    “Brock’s pretty smart,” I said. “Could a hermit have taught him so much?”
    Carina shrugged like her explanation was the only one that made sense. “Why else wouldn’t he talk about it? I think he doesn’t want us to know his dad is nuts.” She nodded knowingly, then walked off in search of Ameiphus.
    I pushed the Ameiphus into my sack and looked upthe hill to where Brock was staring at me from his perch in the tree. He grabbed the branch and swung down, dangled his feet for a minute, then dropped to the ground.
    Was that his secret? That his dad was the hermit?
    At the sound of the whistle, my sack held four clumps of Ameiphus. Mr. Allen blew the whistle a second time, and Brock, Carina, and I emerged from the woods to meet the others on the path.
    Brock hadn’t even mentioned the fact that he didn’t meet us to jump yesterday morning. I’d known everyone in my class for my entire life, so if someone didn’t show up for something, I’d be able to guess why. I’d only known Brock for six months, though. With him, I had no idea. As soon as Carina was distracted, I whispered, “You didn’t come jump with us yesterday morning.”
    He brushed his hair off his forehead, then looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “If I would’ve come,
I
would’ve been the first to land a double front flip.”
    I laughed and gave him a little shove.
    It was months ago when Brock had seen us hiking to the cliff, snuck up behind us, and stayed hidden while we made a few jumps into the Bomb’s Breath. When he stepped out into the open, I’d almost had a heart attack—I thought he’d tell on us for sure. He said he wouldn’t if we let him jump. That took me by surprise even more than his sudden appearance did. I didn’t think we’d findanother person anywhere who would be willing to go near the Bomb’s Breath, let alone jump into it. But he did, and we’d met him for jumps ever since. It was one of the few times I’d seen him happy. Like he wasn’t weighed down with whatever made his shoulders slump.
    He nodded toward my bag. “How many did you get?”
    “Four,” I said with a smile.
    He took a few steps ahead of me. Right before he squeezed between two kids, he turned around. “I got five.” He gave me a half-smile, then stepped into the crowd around Mr. Allen, out of my sight.
    Ugh! I lost to Brock!
It took away some of my excitement for being the first to land the double front flip, especially since he hadn’t even been there to try to win.
    As soon as we were all near Mr. Allen, Nate raised his hand before anyone else, as usual. “My team found six!”
    Jella flipped her braid over her shoulder. “We found eight.”
    “Nice job!” Mr. Allen said. “Anyone get more than eight?”
    Sam held up two sacks of Ameiphus. “We got