Super Fast, Out of Control! (5 page)

He was allowed to ride to Stuart’s house, because it was just around the block. Suicide Hill was much farther away.

He decided to call home. If his mother wouldn’t let him go, then there was nothing he could do about it. No one could blame him. It would be her fault. And Stuart and Nick’s.

He used the kitchen phone. His father was the one who answered. Marvin explained the problem.

“I think it will be fine,” his father said. “There are no busy streets along the way. And I appreciate the fact that you called. It shows you’re responsible. If you didn’t call, I wouldn’t have let you go.”

Marvin hung up. He tried to make sense of what his father said. If he didn’t call, how could his father have said he couldn’t go?

He wished he’d talked to his mother instead. She never would have let him go.

“Well, I’m going,” he told Nick and Stuart. “So long.”

They stared at the TV.

He went back outside. He picked up his bike and walked it down the driveway.

He wasn’t sure he’d ride down Suicide Hill, but at least he had to go there. He couldn’t leave everybody waiting. He had to be brave enough to tell them he was scared.

He set his bike next to the curb. He put his foot on the pedal and quickly hoisted his other leg over. He was up and pedaling before he had time to worry about it.

He rode quickly, afraid that he was already late. He turned right off Stuart’s street, rode past two more streets, then turned left on the road that led to Suicide Hill.

The road was uphill the whole way. It became harder and harder to pedal. He wondered if he should try shifting gears.

He had two gear shifts, one on either end of his handlebars. The one on his left was numbered 1 to 3. The arrow was in the
middle, at 2. The one on his right was numbered 1 to 7. The arrow pointed to 5. He took a chance. He rotated the right gear shift one notch, so that the arrow pointed to 6.

Suddenly it became almost impossible to pedal. His bike slowed to a stop, and he had to put his foot down to keep from falling.

He caught his breath. He knew he should never have tried shifting gears. He promised himself never to do that again.

He walked his bike to the curb and hopped back on. But once again, he couldn’t pedal, and he fell off to the side.

It was impossible. The bike was in the wrong gear, and he couldn’t shift gears until the bike was moving. But how could he get it moving if it was in the wrong gear?

He wondered if the kids at Suicide Hill were getting impatient. He could imagine some of the middle schoolers telling Nate, “See, I told you Marvin Redpost was a wimp.”

He turned the bike around and pointed it downhill. He didn’t bother taking it to the curb. He just stepped on the pedal and threw his other leg over as he rolled down the hill.

The bike wasn’t really
that
big.

He shifted the gear back to 5. Then he shifted one notch further, to 4.

He made a U-turn and continued up. the hill. It was a lot easier to pedal now that he was in a lower gear. He shifted to 3. Even better.

He had to keep on shifting gears as he continued following the road higher and
higher. After a while both gears were pointed at 1, and it was still hard to pedal.

Ahead of him, the road made a sharp turn to the left. A steel barrier prevented cars from going straight.

But Marvin wasn’t in a car. Using his right-hand brake, he stopped his bike. He got off and walked around the barrier. He took several long, deep breaths, then looked over the edge of Suicide Hill.

Where was everybody? Marvin wondered if maybe they all got tired of waiting and went home. Or they could be waiting at the bottom of the hill. After all, why should
they
struggle to get to the top?

“Hello!” he shouted. “I’m here!”

There was no answer.

He couldn’t see the bottom of the hill. His eyes followed a dirt path that zigzagged through some rocks, then disappeared behind a large bush. He couldn’t see anything beyond that.

“Anyone down there?” he called.

A van stopped on the other side of the barrier. Marvin turned around to see his mother. She got out of the van and stepped over the barrier. “Since Nick and Stuart weren’t riding with you, I thought I’d better make sure you were all right.”

Marvin was glad to see her.

“I dropped Jacob, Linzy, and your dad at the bottom of the hill,” she said. “They wanted to see you come down.”

“Was anyone else there?” asked Marvin.

“No.”

“You sure?” Marvin asked.

“I didn’t see anybody.”

“Do you know what time it is?”

His mother checked her watch. “A couple of minutes after twelve.”

“What about Nate?” Marvin asked. “Did he come with Jacob?”

“No.”

Marvin couldn’t believe it. Although, now that he thought about it, Nate had never said he was coming. And none of Marvin’s classmates had talked about Suicide Hill since that day at lunch. When was that? Wednesday? Three days ago.

He shook his head and smiled. He had been so worried about what everybody else thought. But nobody else really cared.

“So
this
is Suicide Hill,” said his mother, peering over the edge.

Marvin nodded.

“It’s steep, isn’t it?”

Marvin nodded again.

“You sure this is something you want to do?” she asked. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I know,” said Marvin.

He looked back down the hill. He wrapped his fingers around the handlebars. The bike felt sturdy. Not like his old baby bike. This bike was made for this hill.

“I want to,” he said.

It felt good to make his own decision. Not for anyone else. For himself.

He looked back down the hill and whispered, “Oh, I’m a very brave unicorn. Yes, I am.” Then he stepped up on the pedal and swung his leg over the other side.

He shifted the gears as he watched the front tire slowly roll over the edge. The trail was narrow and steep. He squeezed both brakes as he tried to stay in the middle of the dirt path. He went between a couple of jagged boulders, then around a large bush. His tires skidded from side to side.

At last he came to a place where the trail was straight, so he eased off the brakes. That was a mistake.

The next thing he knew, he was speeding toward a cliff. He gripped the brakes hard and turned sharply. The wheels skidded inches from the cliff. He had to jerk the bike back the other way to avoid a sharp-edged boulder—once again he was heading toward the cliff. Gripping the brakes with all his might, he leaned into the turn.

The trail then widened and got easier. He caught his breath. He came to a point where he went uphill for a short distance and needed to pedal. He shifted to a lower gear.

Then the trail turned back downhill. He went through a series of wide, smooth turns that were fast and fun.

As Marvin made the last turn, he could see the bottom of the hill. The rest of the way was very steep, but straight. Then it opened up into a wide, flat area. He let go of the brakes and went full speed.

As he streaked down the hill, he saw his family waving their arms and cheering for him. His father did one of his real loud whistles.

“Way to go, Mar!” Jacob called as Marvin went flying past him.

He made a U-turn and brought his bike to a halt next to Linzy.

“You’re a gold unicorn now,” she told him.

Marvin smiled. His heart was beating super fast, out of control.

Nobody asked Marvin about Suicide Hill. Marvin didn’t tell anybody.

Only one person cared whether or not Marvin Redpost rode his bike down Suicide Hill. That person was Marvin Redpost.