Ali's Rocky Ride

by Molly Hurford

  “Catwoman—at least old-school Catwoman—always had some purple accents with her black catsuit,” Lindsay says. “Duh.”

  Jen looks like she’s about to start arguing with Lindsay but glances at her cast and looks sad instead. “I knew that,” she mutters. “But in the newer comics, she’s in all black.”

  “You have a point. How did the rest of the competition go?” Lindsay asks.

  “We left,” I say. “We wanted to get here.”

  “You guys gave up the competition to come see me?” she says in disbelief.

  “Of course!” says Jen, looking mildly offended. “This is way more important than some trophy.”

  “We’re a family,” I say loyally, throwing my arm around Jen and feeling slightly sentimental.

  CHAPTER 25

  Even though the drama is over, Steven comes rushing into the hospital, barreling through the doors like he’s on some kind of medical show.

  “Where are they?” he shouts to the waiting room at large, not noticing us standing over by the gift shop.

  I wave.

  “How is she?” he asks, walking over to us and looking extremely nervous.

  “She’s going to be fine,” says Jen. “Cool your jets.”

  He sags a little bit, relieved. “I was on a call, and I completely missed what happened,” he says.

  “How could you be on your phone during a competition?” I ask. This is my chance to get to the bottom of the mystery of what he’s been hiding.

  Leo actually jumps in as well. “You never have your phone during a race. You know it distracts you and makes you mess up,” he says.

  “Guys…can we not be having this conversation in a hospital? I saw a diner next door, and while Phoebe’s in with Lindsay and can’t nag us about health food, I suggest we take advantage and go get milkshakes,” Jen interjects. “Then Steven can tell us what we missed at the race.”

  Steven looks guilty, but he nods.

  As we’re debating if we should drive or walk to the diner, Phoebe comes bustling over to us. “Lindsay is already being discharged, and, being Lindsay, she’s demanding food before going home to rest,” she tells us. “Can we go somewhere to eat?”

  Twenty minutes later, the waitress at the diner is pushing three tables together to fit our massive group. Lindsay, her parents, and Phoebe take up one half of the tables, Jen sits next to Phoebe, and my dad, Leo, and I sit across from a red-faced Steven.

  Milkshakes are on the menu, so Leo orders a round “for the whole table,” as a congratulations on a really weird race day. He and Steven keep telling Lindsay that she’s a real mountain biker now that she has her first injury, and it’s making Lindsay’s parents look really nervous.

  “You guys don’t get hurt that much, right?” Lindsay’s dad asks.

  “Only if you take dumb risks and do ridiculous stunts like these two,” my dad answers, glaring at his sons, and Lindsay’s parents look relieved.

  We shouldn’t be as hungry as we are, but suddenly this group seems capable of eating an elephant—I guess being nervous pretty much the entire day will do that to you. And thankfully, the food comes fast.

  “Will someone please help me cut my quesadilla?” Lindsay asks as all our food is piled onto the table and her mom grabs her plate.

  “I do not like this whole parents-taking-care-of-me thing,” Lindsay grumbles.

  “Tough,” her dad says, and winks at her.

  Phoebe reaches down into her backpack with a handful of her chips, looking sneaky.

  “Phoebe, did you bring Penguin to the race, and to the hospital?” I ask, shocked.

  She mimes zipping her lips. “I’ll never tell,” she says. The happy yip in her bag and the crunching of the chips kind of give her away, though.

  And for this moment in this small little diner that’s packed with my weirdo family, I am truly happy.

  TRAINING LOG

  TODAY’S WORKOUT: Postrace relaxation has started! We’re going to have a really light, easy few days to enjoy basking in the glow of finishing a race (no matter how it went) before we dig into what our next adventure and challenge is going to be. Enjoy the downtime while it lasts, because I have a lot of ideas for what’s next….XO, Phoebe

  YOUR NOTES: Phoebe said not to pay attention to her postrace training plan because she has another plan in the works for us, so now I’m wondering what the heck she has up her sleeve. Lindsay is officially not allowed to ride for at least two weeks, though she’s been cleared for everything else, so we’re in party mode, because even if we didn’t finish the race, we’re all okay. And Jen and I are better than ever—after our long talk in the van, plus everything that happened, we’re starting to really understand each other. In a lot of ways, we’re not that different, even if on the surface it seems that way.

  CHAPTER 26

  When we all wake up the next morning, it feels a little anticlimactic. Lindsay’s cast doesn’t look so bad anymore, and we all sit around the breakfast table in silence. Steven breaks the silence after piling his plate with Dad’s chocolate chip pancakes—and he seems a little nervous.

  “Ali, Leo, can I talk to you both outside for a minute? It’s kind of important,” he says, pushing back from his seat at the table.

  When we get out onto the porch, the crickets are chirping at full volume and there’s still a sliver of moon hanging in the sky. We’ve been so used to getting up early for training that even on our rest days, we’re still awake shortly after dawn. The air is only a tiny bit crisp, but I’m feeling shivery and chilled because I’m getting freaked out about whatever Steven wants to tell us. From his expression, it’s serious.

  “What’s up?” Leo asks. “You’re scaring me a little. Did something else happen at the race yesterday?”

  “No, no,” says Steven, suddenly looking a little sweaty and nervous. “It’s about me.”

  We’re silent, waiting for him to continue.

  “You might have noticed I’ve been a little distracted lately,” he says.

  “Yeah, all those secret phone calls,” I say, a little smug. He probably didn’t realize we’d seen him on the phone at the village that time. “You have a new team for next year, right?”

  “No. The calls were to my advisor….Wait. You were spying on me?”

  I blush. “Not exactly,” I say. “More like…paying close attention. You were acting weird!”

  “Well, you were wrong that the calls were about mountain biking at all,” Steven says.

  “So, what is it?” Leo interjects, like Steven wasn’t about to spill the beans. “The suspense is freaking me out! Is it a girl? Is it another sport? Did that road racing team make an offer?”

  “Shut up and listen,” I snap at him, and Steven shakes his head at both of us.

  “A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from my college advisor,” he says. “And apparently, I’m ranked top in my class.”

  “Of course you are,” says Leo. “We are brilliant, after all.”

  I elbow him in the ribs.

  “He asked me if I was interested in an advanced internship with a company over in France,” Steven says. “It wouldn’t start until the winter, and I’d have to take a couple of accelerated courses first so that I’d be ready, but he really thinks this would be a great opportunity for me.”

  “That’s great, Steven!” I say. “Congratulations!”

  “You never liked spending winter here, and the training in France will be awesome,” says Leo. “We’ll finish out the season and head over there and maybe even catch the last couple of European races!”

  “See, that’s the thing I’ve been afraid to tell you guys,” Steven says slowly. “I still love riding and everything, but with this new class schedule and these job opportunities, I really won’t have time to keep training and racing like I have been. I let our team m
anager know yesterday that I’m leaving the team.”

  Leo’s face goes from ecstatic to devastated in a milli-second, and I actually feel bad for him. I’m feeling the same emotions, but Steven is Leo’s best friend and his teammate, not only his brother.

  “You’re quitting, just like that?” Leo says, shifting from sad to angry, lightning fast.

  “It’s not ‘just like that,’ ” Steven says. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I don’t love racing like you do. I love riding bikes, but it’s not my life.”

  “And you never thought to talk about it with me?” Leo says, his voice getting even louder.

  “Or me?” I add. “We’re a family, Steven. We would support you in anything, but how could you not tell us you weren’t happy racing? You’re so good!”

  “I’m good, but I’m not great,” he says to me. “You two, you’re going to be great. And I want to be there for you, but I don’t want to be racing anymore. I want to take this internship.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Leo says, his temper a little more under control. “What am I supposed to do without you around at races?”

  “You have Ali now. She’s going to be even better than I was at keeping you calm,” Steven says.

  “But we’re going to miss you!” I say, suddenly realizing that not only is he leaving cycling, but he’s leaving the country for this internship.

  “I’ll miss you too, but it won’t be for long, and maybe you can come visit,” Steven says. Leo lights up a little at that.

  “I guess I could still race those last couple of European races myself….I mean, I could come over and help you settle in,” he says.

  “Exactly.” Steven nods. “See? It’s going to be fine.”

  “I really can’t believe we won’t all be racing together,” I say, and reach for Steven’s hand.

  Leo wipes at his face like he may be brushing away a tear (not that I expect him to admit that). “If you’re happy, we’re happy for you. I suppose,” he says grudgingly. “As long as you promise to still ride with us when you’re around.”

  “I solemnly swear,” Steven says, very seriously. “We should get back inside, though.”

  Before we head in, one more thing pops into my head. “Hey, Steven, if you don’t need all of your race bikes anymore, do I get them?” I ask.

  He laughs and pulls my ponytail. “You’ve gotta earn them first,” he says.

  “And on that note, Phoebe and I have a plan,” Leo says, opening the screen door and gesturing us inside.

  When we walk back to the table, Phoebe is sitting with Lindsay and Jen reading something on her phone. She sets it down and asks if everything is okay.

  “I think so,” I say, giving Steven a look.

  Leo shifts his grumpy face back into a smile. “It’s all good,” he says. “My brother is a genius and stuff.”

  Phoebe nods like this makes sense and moves on.

  “Leo, are you still up for the—”

  “Yes, definitely,” he says before she can even finish, and his fake-ish smile breaks out into a legitimate one.

  “Okay. So,” Phoebe says, “we were thinking you girls might want to finish what you started. Or, at least, you and Jen might, since Lindsay is off the bike for two weeks.”

  “Hmph,” Lindsay mutters from behind her cup of tea.

  “What do you mean?” I ask Phoebe.

  “Well, you didn’t get to finish racing yesterday, which was a really supportive, sweet thing to do,” she says. “But don’t you wish you knew how you would have performed?” she finishes.

  “YES!” says Jen immediately.

  I hadn’t thought about it. But Phoebe is right. I would love to know where I would have finished.

  “You know what? I want to see you guys smoke the winning time,” Lindsay says, waving her cast. “You both did so well in the first round, and I feel bad that I made you miss the second.”

  We both immediately start scolding her. “You’re not allowed to feel bad,” Jen says. “We chose to stop. We could have made the second run and then gone to the hospital. That’s final; subject closed.”

  Phoebe nods approvingly at Jen. “So, do you girls want to go time that run this afternoon?” she asks.

  It’s kind of cool that we’d be able to time ourselves. We won’t get any prizes, but I don’t really need one. I want to know how it could have gone.

  “Heck yes!” I say, splashing down my water glass, Steven-style, so that it soaks his bagel.

  “Awww, man,” he groans. “I’ve created a monster.”

  I’m glad that Steven is back to being my pain-in-the-butt brother. He seems a lot lighter this morning, and looking back, it’s easy to see how stressed he’s been, keeping such a big secret from Leo and me. I’m still a little annoyed that he didn’t just tell us, but I can understand him wanting to take some time for himself.

  I don’t get to dwell on my newfound understanding of my big bro, because as soon as Phoebe suggested the possibility of timing the course, Jen started eating her breakfast faster than I’ve ever seen a person eat, and the second she’s done, she shoves her chair back and runs upstairs to get changed.

  “I’m not telling her to slow down,” Phoebe says to me. “So I’d get ready if I were you.”

  At least I get dressed faster than Jen, even when she’s rushing, and both of us pause our prep to help Lindsay get her stuff together and her hoodie on. Luckily, she loves wearing mostly stretchy clothes, so she doesn’t have many issues getting dressed on her own.

  “The doctor said I only have to wear this for two weeks,” she says, looking at her cast with mild annoyance. “I wish I didn’t have to wait so long to ride.”

  “You’ll be back before you know it—and the season was over anyway, so you’re not missing anything,” Jen points out, her sympathy slightly dampened by the fact that she clearly is itching to start driving to the mountain for our faux competition.

  Finally we load into the SUV and head to the mountain. The plan is that we’re going to time our segments with Phoebe standing at the top of the run with us, on the phone with Leo, who will be waiting at the bottom. When Jen goes, he’ll start the timer on his phone. When she gets to the bottom and crosses the finish line, he’ll record her time and tell Phoebe to send me down, and they’ll repeat the process. It’s simple and efficient.

  I notice that the park is pretty empty. “This is the last weekend it’s open,” Phoebe says, “and most people left after the competition. There’s one big party tomorrow for the local riders and the people who stuck around after the race, if you want to go.”

  “Party? We’re in!” Jen says. Lindsay looks happier too.

  Heading up on the chairlift—which will also take Lindsay and Phoebe back down; I knew Phoebe was lying when she said the only way down was riding!—I look around and realize I feel none of the same butterflies that I felt only a couple of weeks ago on our first ride up.

  At the top, we smoothly hop off and grab our bikes like we’ve done it a million times. “Jen, do you want to go first?” Phoebe asks. Since it’s not like one of us is chasing the other, it doesn’t really matter what order we go in, but Jen looks a little freaked out. She nods, but for once she’s quiet.

  It’s funny. This must be making her more nervous than a regular competition for some reason, and I kind of get that: the silence is a little eerie versus the announcers and the other riders being everywhere just yesterday.

  “Girls,” Phoebe says, jerking us both out of our trancelike states. “This is strictly for fun, remember? Be. Careful.” She punctuates those last two words, and we both nod.

  “Okay, Jen. I’ll count down from three and start the timer, okay? Leo, you’re good?” She directs the last sentence into her phone and hears a “Yes” from him.

  Jen gets ready at the
start line still on the ground at the top of the run.

  “Three, two, one,” Phoebe says, holding the “one” a little longer than the other numbers….

  “GO!”

  Jen pushes off and pedals hard for a couple of seconds before hitting the first small drop. Within seconds, she’s out of sight.

  I didn’t realize how nervous I would be, waiting to make sure she makes it down okay, but the next two minutes seem to take forever. Phoebe looks nervous too, until Leo finally yells into the phone, “She made it!”

  Phoebe looks at me. Right. I’m supposed to go now.

  “Ready?” she asks. I nod.

  “Three, two, one,” she says, and pauses before yelling, “GO!”

  I pedal hard toward the drop, exactly like Jen did, and then suddenly I’m on the course. I make sure I’m in the ready position and cruise through the first berm. The second one, no problem. By the third, I’m feeling the flow, and by the time the three whoops rise up on the course, I’m ready for them—and I want to hit them fast.

  I explode off the first one, gently tap the second, and smoothly crest the third, then swing into the fourth corner like I was born to do this. I pedal hard on the one flat section of the course, hit the last corner, and push for just a tiny bit more speed. And finally there’s the finish line. I blast through, not touching my brakes until I know I’m past it.

  I slow down, panting hard, and try to bring my heart rate back to a reasonable level.

  Leo is grinning hugely when I ride back over to where they’re congregated. “I’m going to wait until Phoebe gets down to do results,” he says. “Seems fair.”

  It’s a long wait for Phoebe and Lindsay to make their way back down, and we swarm them at the bottom. Even Steven is there, having finished his more casual ride around the bottom of the mountain.

  “So, what’s the verdict?” Steven asks.

  “Well, the winning women’s time yesterday was one-fifty-six,” says Leo slowly. “Jen, your time was…”