three of them filed out of the greenskeeper’s building and Duffy gave them their marching orders. Today they were to clear the pond near the Number Ten fairway. The marshy pond was choked with duckweed that had to be piled in a cart and taken away.
And that, of course, was only the beginning of their punishment. Suspended from the golf team, they were to spend every day after school at the course, virtual slaves performing acts of contrition.
Andy and Jason treated the punishment like a big joke, singing an off-key rendition of “Back on the Chain Gang” as they worked amid the weedy fringes of the pond. Cameron tried to joke around, too, but it felt forced and he soon lapsed into sullen silence. The brown mud sucked at his feet and he could feel the chill of the water through his rubber boots.
This sucked, literally and figuratively. Everything sucked lately.
He worked like a robot, bending, uprooting a handful of weeds, flinging them onto the bank. The mud felt like cement, closing around his feet, holding him captive.
“And to think we could be at the driving range with the team,” said Jason. “Look at all the fun we’d be missing.”
Although Cameron wouldn’t admit it, he did miss practicing with the team. He liked hitting drives, dozens of them in a row. He liked matching up his skills against a tough course like Echo Ridge.
It was stupid, the way he used to argue with his dad so much about golf. He wished he hadn’t done that. He wished he had simply told his dad the truth, that he loved the game and wanted to make it his life, just like his father and uncle. Cameron had blown it, though. He’d been given one chance to caddie for his father in an important tournament and he’d been a disaster. After that, he had to pretend he didn’t care, about caddying, about his father’s game or his own.
At least he’d managed to get himself suspended from the team. Mission accomplished. He should have done this a long time ago, except it wouldn’t have happened. No way would he have been suspended from golf when his father was alive. God, how many times had Cameron been tempted to tell his dad exactly why he wanted to quit the team? Of course, Cameron always chickened out or told himself it was pointless because as far as his father was concerned, you never quit for any reason.
“Hey, take it easy, Cameron,” said Jason, dodging a flung weed, its roots trailing mud. “You don’t need to throw stuff so far.”
“Sorry, wasn’t watching.” Cameron wondered why messing up the golf course had been so unsatisfying. He had taken intense physical pleasure in the act of destruction, but as soon as he was finished, he felt empty. His friends had been triumphant, declaring it a good night’s work. Cameron hadn’t shared their satisfaction. No matter what he did, he still felt empty. It was like eating cotton candy. It never filled you up, but eventually you made yourself sick on it, anyway.
As he slogged toward the next section of the bank, something caught his eye. “Hey, check this out,” he called in a stage whisper, gesturing to his friends. “It’s some kind of nest.”
“Ducks, probably,” said Andy. “Look at the size of the eggs. Hand me one, will you?”
“Me, too,” Jason said. “I bet I can hit that cart trail with one. Splat!”
“No way.” Cameron planted himself in front of the nest. “We’re not disturbing this. I’m not even going to pull the weeds around it.”
“Come on, we’re bored. It’s just a bunch of eggs. They’re probably all over the golf course.”
“Forget it,” he said. “We’re leaving these alone.”
“Guess what else we’re leaving alone?” said Jason, dropping his rake and gloves. Andy quickly caught on and followed suit. “If Duffy asks where we went, tell him we flew north for the summer.”
“Right.” Cameron was just as glad when they left. Sure, they were his friends, but sometimes he wished they meant something more to him than the occasional good time. He especially wished he hadn’t listened to them the other night when they came up with the plan to mess up the golf course.
He worked alone, relieved that Duffy didn’t come to check on him. He didn’t want to have to lie for his friends, but he didn’t want to get them in even more trouble, either.
He left a thick fringe of vegetation around the nest and finished just