“I can renege on whatever I want, Rossi,” Bo said. “I’ll renege all up in your face. I’ll renege all over this town. And don’t forget it.”
My heart thumped with rage. I wanted to kill Bo. Before I had a chance to act on it, Matthew said, “You’re right, Bo. Gus is lying. He has more.”
I looked at him in shock. “Matthew, no.”
Matthew glared at me as he went and stood by Bo, his arms crossed. “He’s totally lying. There’s a lot more. He just doesn’t want to give it up.”
Rossi stormed forward and pushed Matthew so hard he flew back onto the lumpy asphalt on his butt. “You jerk!” she cried. “We all promised!”
Matthew stood up and angrily rubbed at his backside. “You shut up, Rossi.” He turned to Bo. “We found a bag of treasure in there. Buried in the dirt.”
I shook my head at Matthew. I couldn’t believe he would turn on us so quickly.
Matthew glared back at me. “That’s right. Gus has treasure. And before we came here he stopped at home and hid it in his trailer.” Matthew turned to Bo. “Jewels. A whole bag of them. They’re worth a lot more than gold, too, I bet.”
Rossi glanced at me, confusion on her face. Then she turned back to Matthew. “You jerk,” she muttered.
Matthew stared at her. “I bet he’ll trade Loretta for that bag of jewels. Won’t you, Bo?”
“Sure. If they’re real.”
“Oh, they’re real,” Matthew said. “You’d better bring Loretta to Gus’s trailer so they don’t try to go back on their deal.”
“I’ll bring her. But you better make sure all the jewels are there.”
“Don’t worry,” Matthew said. “I counted them. There are seventeen.” He raised his eyebrows at me, and I nodded slightly. “Yeah,” Matthew said more confidently this time. “Seventeen.”
Renewed with energy and adrenaline, Rossi and I ran across town to my trailer. We snuck in my bedroom window. While Rossi waited, I opened my bedroom door to peek out and see if my grandma was there. She was sitting in her chair watching TV.
“Hey, Grandma,” I called.
She didn’t look at me—there was a pretty intense brawl happening on the screen. “I thought you were gonna sleep all day. You okay?”
“I still don’t feel too well,” I said.
“Well, you better just keep on resting so you’re all ready for school tomorrow.”
“Will do.” I shut the door and turned to my table. I opened it and pulled out the bag of jewels. The brown bag they were in had a cheesy Pirates of the Caribbean logo on it, so we dumped the gold into the Pirates bag and put the jewels in the old leather bag we’d found in the cave. I put the bag of gold in my side table, then Rossi and I jumped back out of my window.
We stood there, waiting for them to show up. After a couple of minutes, we saw three dirt bikes coming up the road—Bo on his bike, Matthew on his, and Jacob on Loretta.
The three of them pulled up to us and removed their helmets and goggles.
I squinted at Bo. “Give me your word. No going back this time. We have too many witnesses.”
Bo grinned. “Of course. You give me the jewels; I give you Loretta.”
I glanced at Rossi. She nodded. I walked to Bo and handed him the bag, which he immediately dumped into his palm. I knew if he inspected them too closely or bit one, or really just suddenly grew a few extra brain cells, he would realize they were totally fake. “They’re all there,” I said, trying to distract him. “All seventeen.”
Matthew must have had the same idea because he said, “Just give them Loretta and let’s get out of here, Bo. We need to get to the race.”
Bo shrugged. “A deal’s a deal.” He walked Loretta slowly to Rossi. I watched him warily, still skeptical about him keeping his end of the bargain.
perfidious: deceitful and untrustworthy
When he was about ten feet away, Bo whipped out a pocket knife, and, before any of us could stop him, he plunged it into one of Loretta’s tires.
Rossi lunged at him, but she was too late—he got the other tire, too.
“What are you doing?” Matthew screamed. “You made a deal.”
Bo seemed confused at Matthew’s outburst. “What? They gave me the jewels; I gave her Loretta. What do you care anyway?” He snorted. “You made friends with these losers last night, didn’t you?” Bo walked to within about one inch of Matthew. “You’re friends with this girl?”
Matthew stood up tall and didn’t move. “You’re no one’s friend, Bo.”
Bo laughed heartily right in Matthew’s face. Then he turned to Rossi. “Good luck at the race today.” He jumped back on his bike and peeled off, dirt spraying everywhere.
Jacob stood there watching Rossi as she sat on the ground next to Loretta. He looked up at me and Matthew. “Sorry,” he mumbled. Then he turned and ran off.
Rossi was on her knees, inspecting the damage to her tires. She looked totally defeated. I opened the pocket watch and checked the time. It was nearly twelve. “We’ll figure it out, Rossi.” I refused to believe that after everything we had gone through, this was how it would all end.
She shook her head. Most of her ponytail had come loose again, and her long dark hair obscured her face—a mess of tangles and sweat and cave dirt and lake water. “There’s no way, Gus. It’s impossible now.”
Matthew stood over her. “I’m sorry, Rossi.”
She stared at the ground. “I know you are. It’s not your fault.”
Then Matthew burst out, “What a bunch of garbage!” He threw his arms around like he wanted to hit something, but there was nothing to hit except sweltering, hazy air. “I can’t believe that guy.”
“What can’t you believe?” I said. “This is who you’ve been hanging out with for the last four years. Don’t you know who he is?”
Matthew batted at the air a few more times, cursing and huffing. Then he twisted his hands together. He looked down at Rossi. He looked at me. He looked back down at Rossi. He stopped twisting his hands. “You can use my bike, Rossi.”
She peered up at him with squinted eyes. “What?”
“You can use my bike.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. You’re going to.”
“But how will you race?” she asked.
Matthew shrugged. “I won’t.”
“I can’t do that to you.”
Matthew got down on the ground with her. “You beat me every single week anyway. And you’d have beaten me today. And you’re the only one who can beat Bo.”
Rossi shook her head again. “I can’t win without my bike.”
I stepped forward. “Rossi,” I said. “I know you love her, but Loretta’s a piece of junk, scrapped together with cheap parts.” I got down on the ground with the two of them. Rossi gazed at me from under her hair. “It’s not the bike, Rossi; it’s you.”
Matthew and I stood at the edge of Racetrack Basin for what seemed like forever. I looked around for Rossi. She’d had to get home and get her gear on, and we waited anxiously for her.
“What if she has trouble starting it?” I asked him.
“She knows more about dirt bikes than anyone. She’ll be fine.” Matthew took a swig from his mayonnaise jar. I had braved sneaking into the kitchen looking like a collapsed mine survivor to get us some water. Wait a minute, I was a collapsed mine survivor. Luckily, my grandma hadn’t seen me.
“What if she gets dizzy again or sick or—”
“She’ll be fine,” Matthew repeated. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm my anxiety. Matthew put a hand on my shoulder. “Seriously, Gus. She’s as tough as beef jerky. I’m not worried at all.”
I opened my eyes and looked around at all the racers getting ready. I took a sip from my own olive jar of water.
briny: salty
“The race is starting soon,” I said. We saw a couple of dirt bikes coming toward us. I groaned. “It’s Bo and Jacob.”
Matthew folded his arm
s. Unfolded them. Tugged on his shredded, Twinkie-stained T-shirt. Ran his hand through his sweaty, filthy hair, which still smelled like bat poop.
“Don’t worry,” I said.
“He’s going to kill me.”
Bo hopped off his bike in front of us and removed his helmet and goggles. Jacob did the same, but he had lost his smug expression.
“Where is she?” Bo asked. “Is she having bike trouble?” He laughed and smacked Jacob on the shoulder. Jacob smiled, but it looked forced.
Then we heard another bike approaching.
“What?” Bo’s mouth hung open. He turned slowly to Matthew. “You gave her your bike?” He drew out each word through clenched teeth.
“I didn’t give it to her.” Matthew’s fingers twisted the bottom of his mangled shirt. “I just lent it to her.”
Bo glared at us as Rossi pulled the bike up behind him. She got off and removed her goggles and helmet. She stared at Bo as she passed him, and he slowly turned his glare on her. She didn’t take her eyes off him as she walked to me and Matthew. I don’t know if Bo noticed, but her lip turned up just a little at one corner.
Mayor Handsome walked up to us. “Looks like vee have a real race today. You guys all ready?” Not only had Mayor Handsome appointed himself mayor of Nowhere, he had also made himself the master of the races. If we weren’t careful, I could see him taking over the whole town like some kind of evil overlord. That would actually be pretty exciting.
I peered down into Racetrack Basin and saw the rest of the racers already lining up.
“I’m ready,” Rossi said, still watching Bo. He spat on the ground at her feet. She kicked dirt over his spit and turned to us. I handed her my olive jar and she chugged half the water down. “I’ll see you guys afterward.” She wiped at her mouth.
“After you win,” I said. Bo shot me a dirty look. I looked dirty back. Yep. Right on back. I had become quite reckless and daring in the last twenty-four hours.
Rossi breathed in deeply and put her helmet on. She slipped her goggles over her eyes and got on Matthew’s bike. She jumped up on the starter. Then she pushed her goggles up. “By the way, Bo,” she said over the loud rumble of the motor. He looked at her with the worst seething hatred I’d ever seen. “Those jewels are plastic.” She slipped her goggles back over her eyes. “And that gold is fake, too.” Then she rode off down to the starting line.
Matthew and I stood there with our mouths hung open. Bo removed the bag of jewels from his pocket and took one out. He bit it in half and spit the pieces on the ground. He threw them down in a rage, then took the piece of gold out of his pocket and threw that down as well. He turned to us. “I’m going to kill you guys,” he said through gritted teeth.
Mayor Handsome watched him as he rode away. “Don’t vorry. He not killing anybody.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Matthew said.
I walked over and picked the gold out of the dirt and stuck it in my pocket. Then I reached for the jewels.
“Don’t, Gus.”
I looked up at Matthew.
“Just leave them.”
Those jewels were one of the only things my dad had ever given me—my dad who had abandoned me. My dad who hadn’t called me a single time in seven years. And what was his excuse? What did he need to do that was so important he couldn’t take me with him? Rossi’s dad was busy saving the world, and he was still here. What was my dad’s excuse?
But I wasn’t what my dad had done to me. And I was worth more than a bag of worthless plastic jewels. A whole lot more.
I pulled my hand back. And I left them.
Matthew and I watched the riders as they prepared to begin. Rossi was already in line, adjusting her gloves. Bo walked past her with his bike and slammed his shoulder into her back, momentarily throwing her off balance. She managed not to fall and continued adjusting her gloves as though nothing had happened. And I was sure that made Bo madder than anything else she could have done.
Mayor Handsome stood behind the racers with his air horn.
Matthew grabbed his stomach. “I feel sick.”
I felt nauseated myself. I looked down at Rossi and shook my head. “Don’t worry.”
Mayor Handsome blew the air horn and the racers took off.
Right away, Rossi and Bo were out front, Rossi trailing him by a couple of bike lengths. I turned to Matthew. “I don’t like to watch from here because you can’t see the other side of the track.”
We walked along the edge of the basin with our jars of water, watching the racers as we went, until we reached the hill. I pointed at Rossi gliding over the tops of the whoops. The others followed, slowly going over each one. “See?” I said. “She rides like she told you. You have to go faster.”
“Yeah, I’ve never really watched her like this before.” Matthew scratched at his matted hair. “It’s kind of cool. But she better hurry. Bo is still in front of her.”
“She always does this. She trails him for the first three laps, then finally passes on the last. Well, about half of the time. She can’t always get around him.”
Matthew was staring at me. “What?” I asked.
He shook his head and smiled. “Nothing. You just seem to pay a lot of attention to her.”
I shrugged. “Just because she’s such a good racer. Everyone likes watching her.”
“No. Most people are watching Bo.”
As the two of them raced along a berm below us, Matthew said, “Hey, Gus.”
“Yeah?”
“If you ever put a diaper on my handlebars again, I’ll grind your face into a pile of bat poop.”
I tried to hold back my smile. “It’s a deal.”
Then I reached into my pocket and gripped the pocket watch—the only thing of value I owned. But I didn’t really own it. I held it out to Matthew. “Here. This should be yours.”
Matthew stared at the pocket watch. “But your dad gave it to you.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t his to give.”
Matthew reached out slowly and took it. “You really want to give this to me? Like a present?”
I shrugged. “Not really. It rightfully belongs to you.”
Matthew lightly touched the initials engraved on the watch. “No one’s ever given me a present before.”
I cleared my throat. “Then yes. It’s a present.”
Matthew put the watch in his pocket. “Thanks, Gus.” He looked down at me, a huge smile on his face, and I swear he looked just the same as he did that day I found him in the bathroom in second grade. Do you really mean it?
I sighed and felt my empty pocket where the watch had always been. It seemed I was letting go of a lot of things today.
We continued to watch as Rossi did exactly as I said—she trailed Bo for the first three laps. My queasy stomach was roiling by the last lap. “This is it,” Matthew said. “She better do it.”
As expected, just as they raced around a berm not far from us, Rossi came up beside Bo. The other racers were nearly half a lap behind them at this point. Only Jacob was fairly close at about a quarter lap behind.
When Bo saw Rossi trying to pass, he gunned his bike, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun her—Matthew’s bike was faster than Loretta.
Just as Rossi passed him—right in a blind area where I, and Bo no doubt, knew no one could see them but us—Bo reached out and grabbed her handlebars.
extirpate: put an end to something or someone; eliminate
He squeezed her front brakes. The bike jolted to a stop, sending her toppling forward. She rolled end over end into the dirt.
Matthew and I were both screaming. I have no idea exactly what words were coming out of our mouths, but I’d estimate they were worth at least a dozen cans of Brussels sprouts.
Rossi was down, but Bo had made a terrible mistake. Not only had he taken his eyes off the track to look at her, but he had taken his hand off his handlebars. He lost his balance as he hit a rut and toppled not far from her.
Rossi la
y in the dirt on her back, and I worried she was seriously hurt. “Get up, Rossi!” Matthew and I screamed. As though she had heard us, she raised her head and pushed herself up with one arm.
In the last twenty-four hours, Rossi had scaled a mountain of rubble, fought off bats, run from a mountain lion, gotten chased by javelina, and nearly drowned. Now she had to face Bo.
He marched across the track, and even though I knew it wasn’t possible, I swore I could hear every crunch of his boots as they hit the compacted dirt. Rossi stood and faced him, slightly hunched over, one hand held close to her stomach. Before Bo reached her, though, he detoured toward her dirt bike. He lifted a heavy boot, dust flying off of it as though it were smoking, and brought it down hard on one of the wheels.
“My bike!” Matthew cried.
Rossi removed her helmet with the hand not held to her stomach and screamed at him to stop.
I looked frantically at the group of people standing at the starting line—fleas from this distance—but no one could see Rossi and Bo from there. There was no way for me to get down to them.
I looked at the other riders and saw that Jacob was closing in on them. He would pass them soon, and maybe then Bo would stop. But by then it might be too late.
Bo continued stomping the bike. Rossi ran at him. Just as he raised his boot for another crushing blow, she swung her helmet at him hard, causing him to lose his balance and fall back into the dirt.
It wasn’t exactly an usaga, but I guess Rossi’d had enough trampling in this game as well.
She quickly shoved her helmet and goggles back on and lifted her bike. Before she could get on it, Bo jumped from where he lay on the ground and grabbed her legs, causing her to fall back down.
She struggled to get her legs free, but he held her firm, doing everything in his power to keep her from getting back on the bike.
And then I saw Jacob rounding the corner. He wasn’t going to pass them. He was going to plow right into them. I ran along the edge of the basin, vaguely aware of Matthew running behind me. “They’re coming!” I screamed.
Rossi and Bo saw Jacob just as he rounded the corner at them. Bo released Rossi’s legs and dove to the side of the track and Rossi rolled in the dirt away from Jacob, who jerked his bike to the side and wiped out in the silt, sending up a giant dust cloud.
24 Hours in Nowhere Page 14