The Good Son by Carolyn Mills (best novels for teenagers .txt) ๐
Read free book ยซThe Good Son by Carolyn Mills (best novels for teenagers .txt) ๐ยป - read online or download for free at americanlibrarybooks.com
- Author: Carolyn Mills
Read book online ยซThe Good Son by Carolyn Mills (best novels for teenagers .txt) ๐ยป. Author - Carolyn Mills
The first group lined up and when the starter gun went off, the racers gave their karts a quick shove before jumping in and rolling down High Street. Only two of the six kids made it to the finish line. Three of them drove off the course, and one kidโs wheel fell off in the first fifteen seconds. The corner of his kart scraped the pavement with a sickening screech before the whole thing ground to a lopsided halt.
The woman in the orange vest motioned my group forward. I moved to the starting line. All I could think about, standing beside my kart with my heart pounding, was steering straight. Then, all of a sudden, the starter gun rang out and I was pushing my kart forward and clambering over the side, grasping my wobbly steering wheel with every muscle in my scrawny arms. My front wheels were zigzagging like crazy as the steering wheel jerked from left to right in my hands. There were two people ahead of me, but I wasnโt worried about them. I just wanted to keep the Zo-kart on the course right to the end.
When I lurched across the finish line, I looked around excitedly for Ricky, but before I had even finished scanning the faces of the crowd, I was being told to clear the way for the next group.
โMove along, move along! Get your karts out of the way!โ
I stumbled to the side.
โGood job, Zoe!โ a voice called out. I looked up to see Mom pushing her way toward me. โYou made it!โ
I nodded, still scanning the crowd for my brother. The third group of racers were on their way down the hill, with one kart way in front of the others. Someone let out a piercing whistle followed by an enthusiastic holler, โGo Steven!โ I stood to the side with my mom, watching as Steven crossed the finish line in his bright blue kart. It had a giant yellow โSโ painted on the side and I suddenly wished that Iโd done a bit more to spruce up my kart. I could have written Zo-kart on the side, although part of me didnโt want anyone else to know about that nickname. It belonged to me and Ricky and to our afternoons in the basement with Def Leppard blasting from the stereo.
After the fourth group of racers came teetering down the street, the winner of each group prepared for the final race-off in our age category. I still hadnโt found Ricky. Not surprisingly, Steven, the boy with the bright blue kart, won the final race and I watched with envy as his whole family surrounded him at the finish line.
I tugged on Momโs arm. โWe should put this in the car,โ I said, motioning to my rickety, unpainted kart.
โDonโt you want to see the older kids race?โ
I didnโt, but I couldnโt come up with a good reason not to stay and watch. For the past three years, Iโd begged Mom to take me to the races where Iโd eagerly watched every group of karts roll down the hill and across the finish line. The older kids were more aggressive; they sometimes tried to force each other off the course, which usually resulted in them veering out of bounds themselves. But today, I didnโt want to watch them; I just wanted to find Ricky.
โYeah, I guess,โ I said to my mom, because it seemed simpler than putting my disappointment into words.
She gave me a sympathetic smile. โAre you sad that you didnโt win?โ
I shrugged. โAt least I made it to the finish line.โ
The bazaar in the Pentecostal Church parking lot was crawling with people. I stared into the crowd until I finally spotted Ricky standing beside a girl who was holding a bag of pink and blue cotton candy.
โCan you watch my kart?โ I said to Mom, before dashing past tables of knitted hats and homemade jam toward my big brother.
The girl pulled out a chunk of pink cotton candy and offered it to Ricky, who leaned over and ate it out of her hand. She laughed as he wrapped his mouth around her fingers. I stood absolutely still, but Ricky had seen me.
โZoe!โ he called. The girl glanced in my direction, then wiped her hand on her jeans.
โDid you see my race?โ I asked. โI kept it straight the whole time. I made it all the way!โ
โAwesome,โ Ricky said. He lifted his palm in a high-five and I reached up to smack it.
Only later did it occur to me that Ricky hadnโt answered my question and that quite possibly he hadnโt bothered to watch my race at all. I couldnโt compete with a girl who was willing to let him suck cotton candy off her fingers in the middle of a crowded church parking lot.
I was upset with Ricky that day, but my disappointment was nothing compared to what would follow in just a few short months โ when everything good I believed about my brother came crashing down around me.
CHAPTER FIVE
โข
ON MONDAY MORNING, I NOTICE right away that the temperature has dropped. No double digits for us today. Instead, a thin sheen of frost coats my windshield, and even with my carโs heat on high, the coldness seeps into my skin as I drive to the Water Treatment Plant. Once Iโm there, I canโt get warm. The inside of the plant is always chilly,
Comments (0)