Into the Danger Zone (2 page)
“So, what’s your friend like?” she asked.
“When I last saw him he was kind of short and skinny,” Charlie answered.
“Like me, you mean?” Jonas joined them. “I like the guy already.”
Charlie grinned. “Yeah, and I remember he was fearless, too, but he knew how to keep it real, you know?”
“Again, like me!”
Savannah rolled her eyes. “Just what we
don’t
need — two Jonases!”
Laughing, the three friends made their way to the top of the hill. One after another, they took off again. Charlie was feeling great. The snowboarding was awesome, and his friends were talking about Pat as if he were one of them. If things kept going this well, the weekend visit was going to be a breeze.
Unfortunately, the next afternoon, it felt more like a tornado.
Charlie stood next to his parents in the driveway. Patrick and his mother and stepfather had just driven up. Pat was the first one out of the car.
“Yo, dude, how’s it going?”
Charlie couldn’t answer at first. He was too busy staring at his friend.
“My goodness,” he heard his mother murmur, “Patrick certainly has sprouted!”
“Sprouted” wasn’t exactly how Charlie would have described the change in his friend. “Doubled in size” was more like it.
When Charlie had last seen him, the top of Pat’s head had barely reached Charlie’s shoulder. Now he stood a full half-head taller than Charlie! He’d gained weight, too. Next to him, Charlie felt like a Chihuahua in the presence of a Saint Bernard.
“H-hey there, bro,” he finally stammered. “Long time no see.”
Pat socked him in the shoulder so hard that Charlie’s eyes watered. As Charlie rubbed the sore spot, Pat’s mother called over to them.
“Rick, why don’t you and Charlie bring your things into the house?”
“Rick”?
Charlie thought.
Since when is he called “Rick”?
“C’mon, man,” Pat — Rick — said. “Help me get my stuff.”
Happy to be doing something, Charlie hurried to the car. Rick’s mother popped the trunk and Rick pulled out a duffel bag. Underneath it was a gleaming snowboard.
“Wow, that’s a beauty!” Charlie said with admiration as he carefully took it from the trunk.
“Pretty slick, huh? Too bad I couldn’t bring my skateboard and blades, but Joe said I had to leave them at home.”
“Joe?”
Rick jerked a thumb behind him. Only then did Charlie notice the tall man standing with Rick’s mother.
“Oh, so that’s your new dad?” Charlie asked.
“No!”
The sudden anger in Rick’s voice surprised Charlie. “He’s my mom’s new husband,
not
my dad.”
“Oh, right.” Embarrassed, Charlie tried to think of something to say. His mother saved him.
“After you get Pat — er, Rick — settled in, maybe you can take him to the slope, Charlie,” she suggested. “Then tomorrow you can bring him to the skatepark.”
Rick looked at Joe accusingly. “I thought you said the skatepark was closed!”
“It is,” Mrs. Abbott hastened to say, looking from Rick to Joe and back again, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a look at it, right?”
Charlie held his breath as Rick glared at Joe a moment longer. Then suddenly the anger melted from Rick’s face and he turned to Mrs. Abbott with an angelic smile.
“You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Abbott,” he said politely. He hoisted his duffel onto his shoulder. “Charlie, can you show me your room now?” He gave the four adults one more smile, then turned to walk inside.
As Charlie fell in next to Rick, his old friend nudged him in the ribs.
“Maybe we’ll find a way to check out that park for real, huh, bro?” he whispered. With a sly grin, he hoisted his duffel bag higher on his shoulder and opened the front door to the house.
Charlie stared after him.
What does he mean, “for real”?
he wondered. Suddenly, he had a sneaking suspicion that Patrick, or Rick, or whatever he called himself, had changed more than his size in the last two years.
An hour later, Charlie and Rick climbed into the back of Mrs. Abbott’s car. As Mrs. Abbott started the engine, Joe opened a door and stuck his head inside.
“You be careful out there,” he said to Rick, “okay?” He straightened up and slammed the door shut.
Rick rolled his eyes and stared out the window. He didn’t move from that position until they reached the slope.
Charlie looked around for his friends. When he didn’t see any of them, he breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that he’d been hoping he wouldn’t have to introduce Rick to them. Not yet, anyway.
Rick took a look around. “
This
is where you board?” he said with disdain. “Man, you barely start down when you run out of hill!”
Charlie swallowed an angry reply. “Actually, I’ve had some sweet runs here. And it’s a good hill if you want to practice tricks and stuff.”
Rick looked unconvinced. “Well, compared to the slopes I’ve been on, this one is really lame. And crowded, too, which is hard to believe given its total lameness. But I’ll give it a try, I guess.”
Don’t do me any favors,
Charlie felt like saying. But he didn’t. Stunned as he was by Rick’s rudeness, he knew it would be a very long and uncomfortable weekend if he challenged him. So instead of replying, he trudged up the hill behind Rick.
Alison Lee was monitoring the slope as usual. Praying that Rick didn’t repeat his opinion of the hill, Charlie introduced them to each other.
“Rick, this is Alison. She’s in charge of the slope and the skatepark. Rick’s visiting for the weekend.”
Before his eyes, Rick’s attitude changed dramatically. “Nice to meet you,” he said, his voice oily smooth. “This hill looks very challenging. I can tell you do a good job keeping everyone safe.”
Alison glanced at Charlie, then replied in an equally polite voice, “Thank you, Rick. I hope you enjoy your stay here.”
“I’m sure I will,” Rick replied. “Is it okay for me to try going down now?”
Alison nodded. Rick strapped on his board and, with a little wave, began his run. He moved slowly, almost cautiously, swooping right and left with neat little turns.
“Interesting friend you have there,” Alison murmured to Charlie. Just then, her walkie-talkie gave a beep. She unhooked it from her belt and spoke into it.
“Go ahead. Over.” A voice crackled back. Alison listened intently, then said, “On my way. Over and out,” and clicked off.
“They need me at the Community Center,” she said, fastening on her board. “A pipe burst in the women’s bathroom. I have to cover the front desk while they clean up the mess.”
“Are you going to close the slope?” Charlie asked. Alison shook her head. “I shouldn’t be too long. But take this.” She thrust her walkie-talkie into Charlie’s hands. “If anything should happen, give me a shout, okay?”
“But-but —,” Charlie sputtered.
“Look, I’d rather not leave you in charge, believe me!” Alison said. “But I think you’ll be okay until I get back. Everyone here knows the rules.”
Practically everyone,
Charlie wanted to remind her as she took off down the slope. He was staring at the walkie-talkie as if it might bite him when Rick returned to the top of the hill.
“What’s that?”
Reluctantly, Charlie explained the situation.
Rick gave a slow smile. “So-o-o-o,” he said, “she’s gone for a bit, huh? That’s good. That’s ve-e-e-ery good!”
Charlie was instantly on his guard. “Why do you say that?”
Rick just winked. “I gotta go to the bathroom. See ya.” He took off down the slope. But unlike the last run, when he knew Alison was watching, this one was far from slow and smooth. He darted in and out, crossing in front of other boarders and nearly toppling a few.
Watching him, Charlie gripped the walkie-talkie so tightly that his fingers ached.
“Who was that loser?” a voice beside him demanded. It was X. “You should throw him off the hill!”
“Me?” Charlie’s voice came out in a squeak. “Why should I be the one to throw him off?”
X pointed at the walkie-talkie in Charlie’s hand. “Because Alison put you in charge, you goofball. I saw her at the bottom of the hill just now and she told me.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t say anything about me throwing anyone off, did she?” Charlie said desperately.
“Well, no. But one of us could call over to the Community Center and tell them about that nostril slug.” X reached for the walkie-talkie.
Charlie jerked it away. “Or,” he said, “I could just, you know, talk to the kid. Maybe he doesn’t know the rules.”
X looked at him for a long moment. Then he shrugged. “Maybe. But if you ask me, the guy looks like a total pea brain. And until he clears out, I’m staying off the hill and telling Jonas and the others to do the same.” He picked up his board, then looked over his shoulder at Charlie. “If you’re not going to report the guy, at least warn anyone going down the slope to look out for him, okay?”
Charlie watched his friend walk down the side of the hill. Every so often X stopped and spoke to some kids — telling them about Rick, Charlie figured. Many turned and left the hill like X. By the time Rick returned from the bathroom, there were half as many boarders and sledders as before.
When Rick made it to the top of the hill he was grinning. “Works every time!” he said gleefully.
“What works every time?” Charlie asked.
Rick smirked. “All it takes is one wild run to clear the ’fraidy cats from a hill. One more should take care of the rest. Then you and I can board to our hearts’ content, my friend!”
Charlie was appalled. Without thinking, he raised the walkie-talkie to his mouth and pushed the signal button.
Rick grabbed Charlie’s arm. “What are you going to do,” he said in a challenging voice, “tattle on me? Never figured you would turn in an old friend.”
The two boys stared at each other until a crackle from the walkie-talkie broke Charlie’s gaze.
“Everything okay, Charlie? Over.” Alison asked. Charlie hesitated. He knew he should report Rick. But if he did, the rest of the weekend would be a disaster.
And he is only here for the weekend,
he told himself.
If I can just get through these next few days, I won’t have to see him again — not if I have anything to say about it!
Feeling like a traitor, he clicked back on. “Sorry, Alison, I — I hit the button by mistake. Everything’s fine here. Over and out.”
With a low laugh, Rick leaned forward on his board and disappeared down the hill, leaving Charlie shivering at the top — and not just with the cold.
That night, at home, Charlie tried his best to be civil to Rick. But it wasn’t easy. One minute Rick was telling Mrs. Abbott how much he was enjoying his supper; the next, he was jabbing Charlie under the table, rolling his eyes and pretending that the lasagna was making him sick.
But Charlie was the one who really felt sick. It wasn’t just Rick’s behavior that was bothering him, however. His own behavior on top of the hill was also causing his stomach to do flip-flops.
What else could I have done?
he kept asking himself. Unfortunately, the answer was the same every time. He should have stood up to Rick. Now it was too late.