"Let's try one more time, Samuel," Miss Abby said. "I know you can do it."
    Samuel, a three-and-a-half-year-old Dromedary camel, groaned under the heavy load on his back. He and his teacher, Miss Abby, had gone over this a hundred times. Once again, he rehearsed the actions in his head and sighed. It wasn't that he couldn't stand up, it was just that he couldn't do it "properly." His left foot and right foot didn't want to get up together. 
    Miss Abby waited patiently. She was the best teacher Samuel had ever had at the Dromedary Academy of the East. Her kind heart and loving patience made her the most popular teacher with the young camels.
    Samuel took a deep breath and tried again. He cautiously got his hind legs up, then...
    OOF! Samuel grunted. He tried to jump up, but fell to his knees as the load shifted forward. Tears came to his eyes. "I'm never going to get it, Miss Abby."
    "Of course you will, Samuel. It just takes practice." She started pulling the load from his back with her strong teeth. As the young camel shrugged off the last bag, she advised him, "Samuel, I would recommend that you have a relative or friend help you with this at home. That way you'll get the greatest amount of practice in before the test tomorrow."
    He nodded and lumbered outside in search of his best friend, Ono. Ono was a rather interesting camel. He was shorter than the rest of the students in Miss Abby's class, and the only camel in Dromedary Academy that wore glasses. Many of the other camels made fun of him. Of course, that was probably why Samuel and Ono were such good friends. Samuel was no ordinary camel either. Instead of the typical light brown coat, Samuel's was a creamy beige. He knew it stood out against everyone else's brown coats. His nickname was usually "Ghost" or "Pastyface."
    Samuel rounded the corner of the school and spotted his friend absently kicking a ball while the other camels had spitting contests behind him. 
    "Hey, Ono!" Samuel called, galloping up to him.
    Ono looked up. His eyes brightened at the sight of his best friend. "Hey, how'd you do with Miss Abby?"
    Samuel sighed. "I still can't get it right. I hope my dad gets back from his trip soon so he can help me."
    "Yeah." He gave the ball a hard punt away from them. "Don't feel bad, I can't get this whole 'no fear' thing down. At least you don't get scared like I do."
    Samuel shrugged. "You aren't having a test on not being scared though. Miss Abby's final test on all our abilities is tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to graduate if I don't pass."
    Suddenly the ball Ono had been kicking smacked into the side of his head.
    "Ow! Hey, who--," Ono stopped, and his eyes grew wide with fear.
    Samuel took a step back as a tall, muscular dark brown camel slowly walked up, a wicked grin on his face.
    "What's the matter, Ono? Little ball gonna get you?" the dark camel asked, laughing.
    Ono started prancing around and Samuel heard him muttering "Oh no, oh no, oh no" under his breath.
    Samuel narrowed his dark brown eyes and took a cautious step forward. "Back off, Abijah. He's not bothering you. You've got no reason to pick on him." 
    Abijah scowled. "He's a geek and a coward; That's all the reason I need." He looked Samuel over. "Got a problem with that, Pastyface?"
    Samuel didn't respond.
    "That's what I thought. Get outta my sight before I kick you out" Abijah stomped the sand with his front feet and stepped forward threateningly.
    Samuel took several steps away from the bully. "Come on, Ono. We don't need to listen to the dummy."
    Snarling, Abijah began to run towards them. RIIIIIIINNGGG! The school bell rang the end of recess, and all the camels rushed to get back inside the school. Abijah halted in his tracks. He spit at Samuel and Ono, then turned to leave. "You just better watch yourself, Ghost. You too, Geek."
    "Oh no, oh no, oh no...."


    "And one, two, one, two, not so fast, Abijah, your rider will be bouncing all over the place! One, two, one, two," Miss Abby continued to gently coach her students as she walked among them.
    Abijah snorted. "Why do we even have to do this dumb exercise?" he complained when Miss Abby was out of earshot. "I already know how to carry a full load and a rider! That's more than I could say for some camels, " he added, laughing at Ono.
    Ono was stumbling along, trying to get into the rhythm Miss Abby was chanting. "I can't do this, Samuel," he moaned as he tripped over his own feet. Samuel nudged him forward with his broad nose.
    "Just keep going, Ono. We're almost done," he whispered to him. Shortly, Miss Abby had all the camels sit down and rest for a moment as she made an announcement.
    "Listen up, everyone. I know how much you all have not been looking forward to this announcement," she paused with an understanding smile on her face, "but it has come time for the trip to Mr. Balfas' shop."
    A chorus of groans and grumblings arose.
    "I know, kids, it's not going to be very comfortable getting a hole punched in your nose. But it's part of growing into a working camel. The hole is necessary so that your rider can direct you with the rope that gets strung through it, and you can still chew your cud. Now, the whole process takes less than ten minutes, and the pain is only temporary. I've received permission from all of your parents to take you down there right after school. Any questions?" She looked around the room. "Good. Now, let's get started on proper camel etiquette!"
    Samuel tuned Miss Abby out as she began to talk about the importance of gentle behavior in a camel and instead whispered to Ono, "I don't think it'll be that bad; What about you?" Ono didn't answer. Samuel turned to find that his friend had fainted away.