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“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.
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.
