Super Fast, Out of Control! (4 page)

Everybody promised Officer Watson they would never take illegal drugs.

She walked around the room and in between the desks. She stopped next to Kenny. “What if all your friends took drugs?” she asked him. “Then would you?”

“No way!” said Kenny.

She turned to Nick. “What if they said they wouldn’t be friends unless you took drugs?”

“Then they’re not really my friends,” said Nick.

“If my friend jumped off the Empire State Building, that doesn’t mean I should jump off, too,” said Judy.

“If they were my friends,” said Casey Happleton, “I would do everything I could to get them to stop using drugs.”

“Very good,” said Officer Watson. She leaned on Marvin’s desk and stared right into his eyes. “What about you, Marvin?” she asked. “What if everyone said, ‘Marvin Redpost is chicken!’?”

She made him feel nervous. “I—I still w-wouldn’t,” he said.

“Good for you,” she said. “That’s not being scared. That’s being smart. Remember, taking drugs doesn’t make you brave. It takes a lot more courage, sometimes, to say no to your friends.”

Marvin nodded. His hands were sweaty. His body was tense. His heart was beating a little faster than normal. He took a deep breath.

Marvin sat on a stool in the kitchen. He stared at the wall. He’d been sitting that way ever since he got home from school.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Should he look his fear in the eye and ride down Suicide Hill? Or was that stupid, like taking drugs? Officer Watson had said that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is say no to your friends.

He knew his friends wouldn’t think he was being brave. They’d think he was scared.

And they’d be right. He was scared of Suicide Hill. But maybe he was smart to be scared.

His father had told Linzy she had to stand up to her fears. But Suicide Hill was different than thunder and lightning. He could get hurt going down Suicide Hill. Thunder and lightning couldn’t hurt Linzy.

No, that wasn’t true either, he realized. Maybe thunder couldn’t hurt her, but if she got struck by lightning, it could kill her. Maybe Linzy was right. Maybe lightning could come through the computer.

Going down Suicide Hill wasn’t as bad as being struck by lightning. He didn’t think he’d be killed going down Suicide Hill. Maybe just break an arm and a leg.

Other kids have ridden down Suicide Hill
,
he reminded himself.
They didn’t get hurt
.

So? Other kids have taken drugs, too. Just because other kids do something, that doesn’t mean you should, too. If your friends jump off the Empire State Building, that doesn’t mean you should, too.

But Nick and Stuart weren’t even jumping off the Empire State Building. They just expected him to jump.

Maybe his friends had forgotten all about Suicide Hill. Nobody mentioned it once today at school. All anyone talked about was Officer Watson and the lie detector.

He never felt more confused in his life. He wished he could practice riding his bike. He needed to see how the brakes and gears worked.

He remembered the man at the bike
shop telling him never to use just the front brake. He was supposed to use the back brake, or both brakes together. If he tried to stop using just the front brake, the bike might flip over on his head.

The front door opened. “Hey, Mar,” said Jacob.

“Hiya, Marvin,” said Nate. Nate was Jacob’s best friend.

They threw their backpacks on the counter and attacked the refrigerator.

“I hear you’re going to ride down Suicide Hill,” said Nate.

“Uh, maybe,” said Marvin.

“You better not wimp out,” said Nate. “Some of the guys at school said you were a baby, but I stuck up for you. Now my reputation is on the line.”

Marvin didn’t say anything. He couldn’t
believe middle school kids had been talking about him, a puny third grader.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked his brother.

“Sure,” said Jacob, his mouth full of cookies and pickles.

“How do you know which is front and which is back?”

“What?” asked Jacob.

“Well, I haven’t really ridden my bike a whole lot. How do you know which brake is for the front tire, and which one is for the back tire?”

Jacob thought a moment as he swallowed a mouthful of food. “Right is back, left is front,” he said. “No, wait. Right is front, left is back. No, I think I was right the first time. Left is front—”

“Left is back, right is front,” said Nate.

“No, right is back, left is front,” said Jacob.

“You sure?” asked Nate.

“I think so,” said Jacob.

It always took Marvin a moment to figure out his left from his right. He knew he wouldn’t have time if he was speeding down Suicide Hill.

“I really don’t think about it when I’m on my bike,” said Nate. “It just comes natural.”

“You don’t want to brake just with your front brake,” said Jacob. “Your bike could flip over.”

Marvin nodded. He’d heard that before.

“Suicide Hill is so steep, you should probably use both brakes all the time,” said Nate.

“What about gears?” Marvin asked.

“What about them?” asked Nate.

“Do I need to shift gears? Which gear should I use?”

“High gear,” said Jacob.

“Low gear,” said Nate, at almost the same time.

“Low gear going up, high gear going down,” said Jacob.

“I thought it was high gear going up, and low gear going down,” said Nate.

“No, low up, high down,” said Jacob.

“I don’t really think about it when I’m on my bike,” said Nate. “It just comes natural.”

Marvin didn’t think it would come natural to him.

“You won’t need to worry about gears going down the hill,” said Jacob. “You’ll coast almost the whole way. But remember
to lean into the turns.”

Marvin didn’t know what that meant.

“You have to lean your bike way over on the sharp turns,” Nate explained. “Have you ever watched a motorcycle race? They lean way over the whole time.”

Marvin had never seen a motorcycle race. He didn’t want to do any fancy riding. He just wanted to get down the hill alive. “I’m just going to try to keep my bike straight up,” he said.

“You can’t do that,” said Jacob. “You have to lean into the turns. Otherwise you’ll slide off the path and you’ll go over the cliff.”

“It comes natural,” Nate assured him.

Jacob and Nate went on up to Jacob’s room.

Marvin stayed where he was, staring at
the wall.
Well, it’s only Thursday
, he told himself.

He still had two whole days.

Marvin couldn’t believe it was already Saturday. What happened to Friday? The week had sped by super fast, out of control.

He walked out through the laundry room into the garage. His shoes were double-knotted. So was his stomach.

His bike was leaning against the side wall. It had been leaning there for almost three weeks. “Don’t you want to try it out?” his father had asked when they first brought it home from the bike shop.

“I’m kind of tired,” Marvin had said.

Now he took hold of the handlebars. “I’m not afraid of you,” he whispered. He slowly rolled the bike backward, between the van and the garbage pail. The pedal banged against his shin as he made his way out of the garage and onto the driveway.

He still hadn’t decided if he would go down Suicide Hill, but he had to go at least as far as Stuart’s house. It was decided that he and Nick would meet at Stuart’s, and then they’d all ride to Suicide Hill together.

Nick and Stuart were the ones who decided this. It seemed to Marvin that he didn’t make any of his own decisions anymore. His life was being decided by others.

His bike helmet dangled off the end of
one handlebar. He put it on, but it didn’t seem to fit right. The strap was too tight under his chin, and the helmet seemed way too loose at the top of his head. He hoped he hadn’t put it on backward.

He stared at his giant bicycle. His parents had chosen a bicycle that was a little big for him. “You’ll grow into it,” his father had said. “We don’t want to have to buy another bike in six months.”

He had to lean it way over to try and get his leg over it. It was impossible. As he tried to lift himself onto the seat, the bike almost fell. He just managed to stick his foot out and catch himself.

He tried several more times, hopping on one foot and scraping his leg against the pedal. He couldn’t do it.

How am I supposed to ride down Suicide
Hill if I can’t even get on my bike?
he wondered.

He thought about all the kids waiting for him at Suicide Hill. Casey and Judy. Clarence and Travis. Nate and all the kids from middle school.

Marvin walked the bike down the driveway and into the street. He edged it next to the curb and then rotated the pedals into position. Then, standing on the curb, he was able to stretch his leg over the top of the bike and just barely touch the pedal on the other side.

He hopped on. The bike wobbled. The tire rubbed against the curb and he almost fell, but he managed to turn the handlebars and straighten out. He pedaled hard. He felt himself gain his balance. He headed toward Stuart’s house.

Now that Marvin was on the bike, it felt almost the same as his old bike. He was just higher off the ground. He didn’t try to shift gears. And he hoped he wouldn’t have to use the brakes.

There was only one corner between his house and Stuart’s. He took it nice and slow, almost too slow. He found it easier to keep his balance when he was going a little faster, but if he went too fast, he might have to use his brakes.

Stuart’s driveway was uphill. It slowed him down enough that he didn’t have to use his brakes. He let the bike roll to a stop, then hopped off. He let it fall beside him.

He knocked on Stuart’s door. As he waited for someone to answer it, he looked back at his bike. He hoped he’d be
able to get back on it without too much trouble.

Stuart’s mother opened the door and said, “Hi, Marvin. Come on in. The boys are watching a movie.”

Marvin walked through the kitchen and into the family room. His friends were lying on the floor, staring at the TV. Before he could say anything, Nick said, “Shush! It’s the good part.”

“It’s almost twelve o’clock,” said Marvin. “We have to get going.”

“After the movie,” said Stuart.

Marvin couldn’t believe it. “How long will that be?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” said Stuart.

“Shush!” said Nick.

“Can’t you watch it later?” Marvin asked.

“You look funny in that helmet,” said Stuart.

“Do you think it’s on backward?” Marvin asked.

Stuart didn’t answer. He was staring back at the TV set.

“It’s a video,” Marvin pointed out. “You can watch it later.”

“We want to watch it now,” said Nick. “Besides, we haven’t had lunch yet.”

“Lunch!” exclaimed Marvin. “Everyone is waiting for me at Suicide Hill.”

“Then go,” said Stuart. “I still have to eat lunch.”

“Ooh, did you see that?” asked Nick.

“Gross!” said Stuart.

Marvin didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to have to go to Suicide Hill alone. He didn’t even know if he was
allowed to ride there alone.