Ripples Through Time by Lincoln Cole

officer to storm up to him at any moment to see if he was in charge
of the little hellion.
    “ The horses are at the gate!”  the announcer
called, his voice enormous over the din of the crowd. A hush fell over the
crowd and Calvin leaned against the gate. “ And…away they go!”
    The bell tolled and hooves thundered. Dust hung lazily in
the air from the stampede and the crowd erupted in cheers and jeers. Calvin wasn’t
much for shouting, but rather preferred to mutter: “Come on three, come on…” to
himself, a litany against ill-fate.
    For the next two minutes time seemed to slow as adrenaline
coursed through his veins.
    The announcer roared overhead, rattling off names at an
auctioneers pace and never once stopping for a breath.
    The four held the lead.
    The two took over, putting six lengths between him and the
pack.
    “…and as they round the backstretch…”
    The crowd was louder now, seemingly a thousand voices crying
in unison.
    Calvin held his breath. He couldn’t see across the track but
his mind’s eye was playing out the titanic struggle the announcer was
describing in perfect clarity.
    The three caught up to the frontrunners.
    “…they’re rounding the turn into the homestretch with
Misty’s Jumper and Crossing Eden neck and neck…”
    “Come on Jumper,” Calvin shouted. His voice was tinny
against the din, but he didn’t mind. The horses reappeared in his line of
vision, hooves flying in a blur. He had to lean far over the fence to see
past the others. “Come on Misty’s Jumper!”
    The volume inched up another octave.
    “…and at the wire Misty’s Jumper has it by a nose!”
    Some people screamed. Some hugged. One man threw his hat on
the ground and cursed. Everyone was invested.
    It took Calvin a minute to remember he hadn’t actually
placed a bet on the three. He didn’t care. It didn’t matter.
    The crowd gradually calmed back down and Calvin realized he
was out of breath. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He remembered the
first time, some ten years ago, when his dad took him to the track.
    He’d been Mikey’s age. The racing bug had bit him hard, and
he remembered thinking that this was what he wanted to do when he got older.
And one day he wouldn’t just help train horses, but he would own them. He
wanted to capture that excitement, to bottle it, to hold onto forever.
    He still did. It was euphoric. Addictive. The racing
industry would be around forever, he knew. There was nothing comparable to this
level of excitement.
    “One more race on the ticket, right?”
    The voice startled him. He hadn’t heard anyone walk up
behind him. Calvin turned, one hand dropping to his pocket where he kept a
pocket knife. Mary Munro stood there, smiling at him. He pulled his hand back,
embarrassed, and then nodded. She’d caught him completely off guard.
    “Yeah, one more.”
    “This is the one with Faraway Bay, right? The one you
train?”
    He nodded again. “He has the rail. If he breaks well he’s a
shoe in.”
    Mary nodded, still smiling. Calvin had the vague impression
that her smile was at an inside joke, but one that he wasn’t privy to. She was
alone, at least for now, and he tried to keep his emotions at bay. It felt like
excitement and anxiety were doing battle in his stomach. Maybe the unknown girl
with green eyes would be here, after all.
    The thought was terrifying.
    “So…have you seen Mikey?” he asked. It was the only question
he could think of that wouldn’t giveaway his intentions.
    “Oh, he’s on his way. With Emily and Olivia,” she said,
accenting the first name. “I have to say, I wasn’t expecting him to wake me up
quite so early this morning.”
    Calvin groaned. He couldn’t stop himself. “What did he do?”
    “Oh nothing. Except make me  promise  to come
to the track today and to bring Emily.”
    “That little…”
    “Oh it’s nothing. My father got us passes and I was already
planning on inviting Emily and Olivia to the fair. I