Finders Keepers

by Andrea Spalding

Copyright © 1995 by Brandywine Enterprises B.C. Ltd.
Second Edition 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

Cover Art and Interior Illustrations: © 1995 by Gillian Hughes
Cover Design: Barbara Munzar
Production Editor: Antonia Banyard
Printer: Webcom

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Spalding, Andrea

Finders keepers / written by Andrea Spalding. — Fourth print., 2nd ed.

ISBN 978-1-55002-828-7

1. Piegan Indians—Juvenile fiction. 2. Learning disabilities—Juvenile fiction. 3. Racism-Juvenile fiction. 4. Frustration—Juvenile fiction. 5. Schools—Juvenile fiction. I. Title.

PS8587.P213F56 2008           jC813'.54          C2008-902958-5

1    2    3    4    5    12    11    10    09    08

We acknowledge the support of the
Canada Council for the Arts
and the
Ontario Arts Council
for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the
Government of Canada
through the
Book Publishing Industry Development Program
and
The Association for the Export of Canadian Books
, and the
Government of Ontario
through the
Ontario Book Publishers Tax Credit program
, and the
Ontario Media Development Corporation
.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

Printed and bound in Canada.
Printed on recycled paper.
www.dundurn.com

Dedicated to Joe Crowshoe and the people of the Peigan Nation in southern Alberta

In this time of unrest and distress over land rights, equal justice and equal rights, the Peigan people have chosen to stretch out their hands to other Canadians and share some aspects of their culture to promote understanding. This decision was not an easy one to make.

Finders Keepers
is the direct result of a sharing at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. It was a gift that has enriched my life.

I have tried to use this gift with respect and to pass it on in a different form to help another group of people engaged in a long struggle, children with learning disabilities.

In my childhood I learned an old folk rhyme:

Finders, keepers
Losers, weepers

May we all find outstretched hands and become “keepers.”

Andrea Spalding
Pender Island, B.C.

This book is a work of fiction. While Fort Macleod, Fort Macleod Museum, and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump are real places, I have taken artistic licence with their proximity to each other and the interlinking topography. All the characters in the story are figments of my imagination, so are the plots and situations. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental.

Though the museum aspects of the plot are fictitious, the issues dealt with reflect current concerns of Canadians. I wish that learning disabilities were a figment of my imagination. Unfortunately, they are a very real handicap, and children exhibiting some combination of the difficulties described can be found in almost every classroom. There are also many other learning disabilities not described, so please do not attempt diagnosis from this book. Go to a qualified professional or ask for information from the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada.

Danny ran unsteadily across the prairie pasture towards the irrigation ditch on the far side. He threw himself among the tall grasses and shrubs edging the ditch and buried his face in his arms. His chest heaved, not just with exertion, but with the aftermath of dry sobs.

“I can't believe I've done it—run away from school,” he gasped out loud. “Now I'm really in for it.” He wriggled deeper into the safety of the concealing grass but he was so scared that his body shook and the grasses quivered and rustled in response.

Above him, the noon sun blazed, a newly polished spring sun that melted the remnants of winter and promised warm days ahead. It comforted Danny and his body relaxed slightly into the earth. But when a meadowlark dripped its honeyed notes into the air, Danny angrily stuffed his fingers in his ears. He didn't want anything interrupting him. He needed to figure things out. He lay still for a long time.

A sharp jab roused him.

“Hey. You dead or somethin'?”

Danny rolled over and squinted at another boy's dark head silhouetted between him and the sun.

The boy moved back with a tiny sigh of relief. “You had me scared.”

Danny swiftly dragged his sleeve across his face, sat up cautiously and glanced behind. The town of Fort Macleod looked as usual, pretty quiet. No sign of an irate teacher chasing over the fields after him. But he slid his bum down the steep slope of the irrigation ditch towards the water's edge, putting the concealing earth bank between him and the town. The other boy followed.

Danny looked sideways with interest. Fort Macleod was a small town and he knew practically everyone living there. But this kid with his black hair and dark eyes was from the reserve. Danny had seen him around the stores, but he didn't know him. He was about Danny's age and Danny wondered why he was wandering around the fields on his own.

“How come you're not in school?” Danny blurted out.

The boy grinned, picked a up a stone and threw it expertly across the dull water below. Both boys watched admiringly as it skipped seven times before disappearing into the depths.

“Teacher quit,” he replied laconically. “We don't get another till Monday.”

“WOW!” Danny gasped in admiration. A wonderful new world opened up before him. A world in which teachers quit and you couldn't find a replacement. A hundred scenarios raced through his brain. What if Mr. Berg quit? No more yelling, no more DTs. No more dreading being chosen to spell out loud. No-one sniggering when he stumbled over his tables. No more being called stupid when he couldn't do written work.

“So. Why aren't you in school?” The boy interrupted his daydream.

Danny thought for a minute. Suddenly the world that had seemed so desperate held new hope. With the trace of a grin on his lips, he turned to the unknown boy. “I quit,” he said firmly.

There was a moment's silence, then the boy gave a
chuckle and slapped Danny on the back. That did it. Danny's precarious balance gave way and he slithered down the slippery grass-covered slope towards the cold grey water.

“Help!” Danny grabbed the boy's arm. Down they both slithered, stopping only on the very edge of the bank, Danny with one foot in the water.

“Geez, that's cold.” Danny ripped off his sneaker and wobbled on one leg while wringing out his sock. Then he hopped around shaking the sock and shoe in the air, trying to figure if the sun was hot enough to dry them.

The boy laughed. Danny looked at him and then down at his dripping shoe and sock and realized he was showering the boy; he grinned and again flicked the wet sock in his direction. The boy ducked and scooped up a handful of water and flung it over Danny. Danny retaliated and in seconds both boys were soaked, laughing, and breathless.