“Dude are you even ready for school next Monday? I haven’t had time to go shopping with getting ready for fair and everything.” I was talking to my best friend Kat on the phone since I was freaking out about doing two project boards in less than 12 hours. “Hell to the no I’m not, you know me procrastinating Randy. We’ll have to go shopping on Sunday when we’re all done cleaning up.” It was so hard getting ready to go into our freshman year when our first day after the county fair ended. “Randy! How am I ever going to get all my clothes figured out?!” Kat was being dramatic but she rarely was so I let it go, she was stressing a lot. “You’ll figure something out you always do. In the meantime give me an idea for this stupid financhle board I haven’t the slightest clue as to what it should be about.” I was seriously considering looking something up on the internet and copying it, but I don’t cheat. “I don’t know what you should do you’re the one with the smarts remember.” This was true while Kat was still in 7th grade math; I was at a senior in high school level. I was supposed to tutor her this next year. “Thanks for the help, smart ass. Are you sure we don’t get the supply list until Monday when we go to our classes?” I had to ask it seemed kind of weird for the school system to do that but whatever. “Positive. Even ask my mom it was posted on the website yesterday.” Unlike me Kat had a little extra time to look on the internet since she only had three projects and I had ten. “Well shopping shouldn’t take so long after all. We just need to get school clothes.” It was easy for us to shop clothes it didn’t take long and we didn’t buy things we didn’t like so it only ever took us 2-3 hours depending on what we were looking for. “True, I guess shopping won’t be so bad if we finish early on Sunday.” Kat was stressing a lot less now. “Ugh, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow and good luck with your horse.” I was getting annoyed with my phone always overheating. “Okay later hot stuff.” Kat and I always called each other that.
    We hung up and I scooped my hair into a pony tail. This was going to be a long day. The projects I had to do were archery, pies, vet science, financhle, and decorate your duds. I was pretty used to it considering I’ve been in 4-H for 6 years. I had one board, my pie, and my clothes done all that was left was my archery board and my financhle board. Since I had no idea what to do I went out to the deck where my mom was smoking a cigarette and putting my record books in their covers. I sat down and let out a long and frustrated sigh. “What’s wrong sweetie? Stressing out over those two boards?” Mom knew me better than I did sometimes, it was a little weird. “Yeah I doubt I can finish them both since I have to finish my work books too.” I was getting agitated at my need to put things off till the last minute. “Well how about I work on the work books and you can work on the boards. How about for your financhle you do a collage and on archery you do an over view of what it’s about.” My mom had the best ideas. “Sounds like a plan to me. Thanks mom.” I swear she was the best. “No problem honey.”
    I finished the boards right before midnight and might I just say they looked damn good. I was most proud about my vet science board though since it was about Artificial Insemination and Embryo Transfer working together in cattle. I had worked the longest on that particular board. I checked my books one last time and made sure they were signed and in order for exhibit day tomorrow, or well I guess today since it was 12:35 am. I fixed a few things then went up and fell into bed only to be woken by my stupid cow alarm clock.
***
    I woke up and had to remember where I put my alarm clock this time. I apparently hid it behind this junk of a computer still left in my room. I had to hide my alarm clock otherwise I wouldn’t get up. I got dressed in a dress shirt and my best jeans and put on my dressiest make up since exhibit day was just the judge interviewing you about your project. It might not seem like a big deal but I’ve seen kids get down placed by the way they were dressed. Since most of my interviews were in the afternoon my mom just took my morning projects down so my clothes and my financhle board went down to the fairgrounds. While my mom was I gone I fed my sheep and my 15 head of cattle. It didn’t take long.
     For the rest of the day I helped my mom load the camper we were going to stay in at the fairgrounds. My mom was stressing out so she was acting like it was the end of the world and we fought a lot. We were both running on no sleep. I realized in the middle of putting my clothes in the closet that I was going to have to give up half my cabinet and closet space to share with Kat since she was staying with us. This was going to be an interesting week.
    I finished packing at about 12:30 so I could eat lunch and go readjust my make-up. I told my mom I was going to get ready and she might want to too since her hair was in a mess and she was in sweats. She agreed and we went up-stairs and got ready. Since I didn’t have to do a lot to get ready I went back down stairs and started getting all of my projects and books ready to go. Not an easy job carrying two boards, a pie, and car keys; but I managed to do it without dropping a thing. I came back in the house and got a bottle of water so I could have something to drink while I was waiting for my interviews. I went back up to my room to check my hair, it was so not cooperating today, so I finally just decided to put it back in a ponytail. Five minutes later my mom was done and we were on our way to the fairgrounds.
    Kat texted me and told me to tell her when I was there so she could wait with me. About 15 minutes later and a lot of traffic we got to the fairgrounds. As I was getting everything out of the back seat my mom saw this guy that I liked and yells “Hi, Matt!” to him. Talk about embarrassing, I hid behind my boards the entire time.
    We walked over to the Misc. building to wait for my interviews, they were pretty spaced out. After about five minutes Kat walked over with hers and mine friend, Miranda. My mom hates Miranda, with a passion, so typical Miranda style she runs up and gives me a hug. It wasn’t all that enjoyable. I hadn’t been allowed to hang out with Miranda for two months, ever since she argued with my mom about some things. I didn’t like Miranda all that much either anymore. She started acting weird about a month ago, her attitude was being weird and she pulled her steer out of the barn. Kat and I had just started talking about it. We originally thought it was because of her boyfriend but he broke up with her about a week before fair and she was still acting weird.
Twenty or so minutes went by and I finished one of my interviews when Kat and Miranda had to go because they had another horse show in fifteen minutes. I sat and talked to my other best friend in the entire world Manny. She was a year younger than me and didn’t understand too many guy issues but she was a good listener. We talked about the whole Miranda thing. “I don’t know what her problem is half the time I mean she acts like she’s superior or something.” I said. “I never liked her and you know that so it just proves my original feeling that she’s a bitch.” Manny said in her straight forward but friendly voice, she was honest which is probably why I’ve been friends with her for five years. “Yeah, yeah you were right blah blah, I get it. It’s just she hasn’t acted like this before, like the world revolves around her or something.” It was annoying me this new princess of drama attitude she had. “All I can tell you is if you want to be friends with her be careful, she’s the type that will stab you in the back and let you fall on your ass in the process.” This was Manny’s last piece of advice before I had to leave for my next interview.