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    Ebook70 pages1 hour

    Explore

    By Christy Goerzen

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    About this ebook

    When Mike Longridge gets himself in trouble yet again, he is given a choice: juvenile detention or an outdoor program called Explore. He opts for Explore, but soon finds himself wondering how he is going to survive ten months with the hippies and keeners in the program. He's never felt so out of place and is certain he will never get the hang of the outdoor activities. Will Mike go back to his old trouble-making ways or will he finally find a place to belong?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateApr 1, 2009
    ISBN9781554696116
    Explore
    Author

    Christy Goerzen

    Christy Goerzen holds a Master of Arts in Children's Literature from the University of British Columbia. She has worked as a book reviewer, copywriter, marketing consultant, television writer, bookseller, university instructor and writing mentor. Born and raised on the West Coast, Christy lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family and two funny cats.

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      Book preview

      Explore - Christy Goerzen

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      chapter one

      I was surrounded by a sea of Gore-Tex, wooly toques and rosy cheeks. Granolas. That’s what my buddy Cam calls them. A girl near me with red hair in long braids was eating something out of a pottery bowl. It looked like orange sections with yogurt and oat flakes. Holy crap, I thought, Granolas even eat granola.

      I sat at the back of the room in my old hoodie and jeans I hadn’t washed in months, my face still creased from the bedsheets. I felt out of place. There were about twenty kids in the room, all looking pretty bright-eyed for seven thirty in the morning. There was no way I’d be here if Officer Lardface hadn’t parked outside my bedroom window and honked the horn, over and over again, until I stumbled outside.

      When I first arrived, a guy and a woman in matching fleece jackets were stacking papers and talking quietly. I stood in the doorway, not sure what to do. The guy snapped his head up immediately, a massive grin on his leathery face. Between the two of them, they’d probably had more years in the sun than most California surfers.

      Heyyyyyy, he said. You must be Mike Longridge.

      He stuck out his hand. I’m Rick, and this is my wife Maggie. We run this program. Welcome to Explore Orientation Day.

      Maggie shook my hand too. She had a strong grip. Here are a few things to get you started. She plopped a stack of handouts and a fruit bar in my hands. Just make yourself comfortable. We’re so glad you’re here. Maybe they were glad I was here, but I wasn’t. I looked up from below my pulled-up hood. At the front of the room, a big whiteboard said, Welcome to Explore. Below that, in even bigger writing: DISCOVER YOUR POTENTIAL.

      A girl next to me nudged me in the ribs with a bony elbow. Hard. Would you like crackers with that cheese? she said, pointing at the whiteboard and rolling her eyes.

      She was cute, with long black hair and perfect skin. She was the kind of girl who would never give me the time of day. Was she really talking to me? I glanced around the room to see if anyone else noticed. I could feel my cheeks burning.

      Whatever, I grunted, then slumped in my seat.

      "Whatever you, Hooded Fang, she said, smiling. Just trying to make conversation." She shrugged and turned back to her friends.

      I flipped through my handouts. Groups of happy-looking students kayaked, rock climbed and skied across the cover of the pamphlet. Explore changed my life, it said underneath a photo of three wholesome groupies. I met lots of new friends and had so many unbelievable experiences.

      Everyone else in the room was chatting in little groups. They all came from different high schools in the Okanagan because they’re outdoorsy keeners. They were here because they love hiking and classifying plant species and whatever else Granolas like to do.

      But why was I here? Because Lardface and her cronies didn’t know what else to do with me.

      I had my first meeting with Officer Lardface Lando within days of moving to the new town. Officer Lando, it said on her office door, High School Community Liaison. That’s when she told me about the amazing Explore program. She gave me a whole spiel about perfect attendance, participation in all group activities and a good attitude.

      Three strikes and you’re out though, buddy, she had said through a mouthful of expensive dental work. Otherwise it’s off to the Derbin day program with you.

      The Explore program was five months of outdoor activity followed by five months of regular school classes. I knew about Derbin already, ‘cause Cam went there a couple of years ago. They have to pick up garbage at playgrounds and stuff like that. It sounded horrible. But being forced to climb mountains with a bunch of hippies didn’t sound so great either. Officer Lardface got me set up with English and math tutors, reminding me all the while that I was a good kid who falls in with the wrong peer groups.

      I’d heard that one before. It was easy to find guys to hang out with. Whenever Dad and I moved to a new town, I just rode my BMX to the corner store and saw who was there. Before this summer I never did anything super bad, just keyed some cars and tagged some buildings downtown. We got caught sometimes, but the cops usually thought I was following along, and nothing happened to me. You have an innocent face, someone told me once. That didn’t work last time though.

      So I had no choice. I was stuck with this Explore program whether I liked it or not. Okay, so five months of not having

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