Last Day of School

Our neighbor just down the road from us was the oldest of a very large family. When ever he needed help he would ask for one of his younger brothers to come and help out.

During the summer a common sight was to see a horse and rider appear at the top of the hill and gallop at full speed past our house. I always had to watch them pass. The Lee boys were good riders and their horses appeared to enjoy the run too.

Simon Lee was in the same grade I was. We had a lot of fun together and I considered him to be one of my best friends. When ever he rode by he always managed to wave which impressed me even more since he  was on the back of a flying horse.

As our last day of school drew near we eighth graders were planning our last moments in school and looking forward to graduation. I was looking forward to being with my classmates as we got our diplomas. We had been best of friends from almost the first day I had started going to that school seven years earlier.

The evening before graduation word spread through out the community. Simon Lee had tried to ride a new horse and had been bucked off and was now in the hospital. We didn't know the extent of his injuies and I tried not to think about it.

The next morning as we went to get our diplomas there was a solemn air in school. Instead of the usual last day of school fun everyone was quiet and wondering how Simon was doing. I was very disappointed that us classmates couldn't all be there.

Once we got home we were relieved to hear that though badly broken Simon would be fine.