The Summer I Learned to Bear It

The August sun beat down on the county fair like it had something to prove. Me? I was just trying not to melt in my polyester food service uniform while my iphone dinged with ignored texts from whatever fake friends were back at school.

"You're doing it wrong," Marcus said, leaning against the concession stand. He'd been working here all summer, his brown skin gleaming, attitude on simmer. "The trick with the bull riders is—they're hungry before they compete. They want the big carbs."

I rolled my eyes so hard I practically saw my own brain. "Thanks, Chef Boyardee."

He laughed, actually laughed. "I'm messing with you. But seriously, watch this."

The fairgrounds erupted when the announcer's voice crackled over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the junior bull riding finals!"

Somehow I ended up stuck working the chute gate. The bulls were massive, snorting steam, their eyes rolling like they knew something we didn't. The riders were our age, some younger, trying to look tough in their oversized boots and fancy western shirts.

One kid got thrown so hard he landed in the dirt flat on his back. The crowd went wild.

"You gotta respect it," Marcus said, handing me a water bottle. "They're terrified up there. Everyone's watching, expecting you to fail, and you still climb on anyway."

"It's stupid," I said, but I couldn't look away.

"Maybe." He checked his phone. "Hey, my shift's done. Want to sneak onto the Ferris wheel before they catch us?"

Something shifted in my chest. "What about the phones?"

"What about them?" He grinned. "Let it bear with you later."

So we did. We spent the rest of the fair eating deep-fried everything, actually talking about real stuff instead of just posting about it. I learned his mom was sick, he was working to help with bills. He learned I'd moved three times in two years, that my 'friends' from school had barely noticed I was gone.

When my iphone finally died that night, I didn't even care.

The summer ended, fairgrounds packed up, Marcus went back to school across town. But every time I see bull riding on TV, I think about being terrified in front of everyone, and how the only way through is to climb on anyway.

Sometimes you find your people in the strangest places. Sometimes you find yourself.