“Lightning and thunder are just part of nature,” he said.
“The bad part,” said Linzy.
“You are perfectly safe,” said her father. “Do you think I would leave you alone if I thought you were in danger?”
“No,” Linzy whimpered.
“You’re the gold unicorn,” said Marvin. “Unicorns aren’t afraid of storms.”
There was a loud clap of thunder, and she ducked under the covers.
“You know the thunder can’t hurt you,” said her father.
“I know,” Linzy said, from under the covers.
“But you’re still scared?” asked her father.
“Yes.”
“Try to be brave,” said her father. “Remember, the fear isn’t on the outside. The fear is inside your head.”
Linzy’s head came out from under the covers. She looked puzzled, as if she was trying to figure out what that meant.
Marvin tried to figure it out, too.
“You need to stand up to that storm,” said her father. “And say, ‘I’m not afraid of you!’ ”
Linzy gave it a try. She sat up straight in her bed and looked out the window. “I’m not afraid of you!” she declared.
“Good,” said her father. “That’s my brave girl.” He kissed her good night, then started out the door. “C’mon, Marvin.”
Marvin could see Linzy trembling with fear. As he walked out the door, he heard her whisper to herself, “I’m a gold unicorn. Yes, I am. Oh, I’m a very brave unicorn. Yes, I am.”
4
Wednesday
Marvin knew what he had to do. He just had to stand up to Suicide Hill and say, “I’m not afraid of you!”
It was like his father had said. The fear was all inside his head. There was nothing on the outside that was scary. His mother would never let him ride down Suicide Hill if it was really dangerous. Would she?
Jacob had gone down Suicide Hill lots of times. If Jacob could do it, so could he.
“Keep your tongue inside your mouth,” said Casey Happleton.
Marvin was eating lunch. He thought his tongue was inside his mouth.
“My brother’s friend knows someone who bit off the tip of his tongue while riding down Suicide Hill,” said Casey.
Marvin touched the tip of his tongue to his teeth.
“It wasn’t even a wipe-out,” said Casey. “He was going down Suicide Hill real fast, and the tip of his tongue was sticking out of his mouth, like this.”
Casey held her fists out in front of her, like she was gripping handlebars. She looked like she was concentrating really hard. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth.
Everybody else at the table laughed, but Marvin didn’t see anything funny about it.
“Then his bike hit just a tiny little itty-bitty rock,” said Casey, “and he bit it off. He didn’t even know he did it until he got to the bottom of the hill and tried to talk.”
Casey did an impersonation of someone trying to talk without a tongue. Again, everyone except Marvin laughed.
“What happened to his tongue?” asked Stuart.
“No one knows,” said Casey. “They had a whole huge search party out to look for it, but no one ever found it. It’s still up there, somewhere.”
“Maybe Marvin will find it,” said Judy.
Marvin shrugged. His mouth was closed tight. His tongue was safely on the inside.
“Be sure your shoelaces are tied real good,” warned Kenny. “My cousin knows someone whose shoelace got wrapped around his bike pedal. He was riding his bike real fast, and every time the pedal went around, it made his shoe tighter … and tighter … and tighter … and tighter … and tighter. There was nothing he could do. He was going too fast to stop.”
“What happened?” asked Nick.
“It strangled his foot. He lost two toes.”
“How?” asked Casey. “What’d they do, pop off his foot?”
“I don’t know how it happened,” said Kenny. “I wasn’t there. Somebody told my cousin about it, and my cousin doesn’t lie.”
“Which toes did he lose?” asked Judy.
“The thumb-toe and the pinky-toe, I think. He still has his three middle ones.”
“They’re not called the thumb-toe and pinky-toe,” said Stuart. “It’s big toe and little toe.”
“My thumb-toe isn’t my biggest toe,” said Melanie. “My second toe is bigger than my thumb-toe.”
“My toes are different on each foot,” said Judy Jasper.
Judy took off her shoes and socks. She explained that her parents’ feet were different. On her mother’s feet, the thumb-toe was the biggest. On her father’s feet, the second toe was the biggest.
Judy showed everyone her feet. On her left foot, her thumb-toe was the biggest. On her right foot, the second toe was the biggest. “I call this one my mommy foot, and this one my daddy foot,” she said.
Nick stared at Judy’s feet. “That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” he said.
Marvin didn’t even look at Judy’s amazing feet. He was thinking about how often his shoelaces came untied, even when they were double-knotted.
The lunch teacher, Mrs. Grant, came by and made Judy put her shoes and socks back on.
5
Thursday
A policewoman came to Marvin’s classroom. She wore a blue police uniform and a silver badge. Handcuffs dangled from her belt. She didn’t have a gun. Her hair was red, like Marvin’s, and almost as short.
“This is Officer Watson,” said Mrs. North. “She wants to talk to us about something important, and she’s also brought some interesting things to share with us.”
Marvin wondered if she was there to tell him not to ride down Suicide Hill. He hoped so.
Officer Watson said hello to the class. The first thing she showed them was a bulletproof vest. She put it on over her police uniform. Then she took it off and passed it around the room.
Marvin was surprised by how heavy it was. Officer Watson must be really strong, he realized, to wear it. He wished he could borrow it when he rode down Suicide Hill. If he rode down Suicide Hill.
“Are those real handcuffs?” asked Nick.
Officer Watson turned to Mrs. North and asked, “Aren’t they supposed to raise their hands before asking a question?”
“They’re supposed to,” said Mrs. North.
Officer Watson wiggled her finger at Nick, asking for him to come up to the front of the room.
Marvin watched Nick nervously get out of his chair and go to her.
“Hold out your hand,” she told him.
Nick held out his hand.
Officer Watson took the handcuffs off her belt. She clasped one of the cuffs around Nick’s wrist.
Everyone laughed.
Then she walked him over to Mrs. North. She clasped the other cuff around Mrs. North’s wrist.
Marvin gasped. Next to him, Casey Happleton laughed so hard her ponytail went around in circles.
“Yes, those are real handcuffs,” Officer Watson told Nick.
Marvin had never seen Nick’s face so red.
Officer Watson patted her pockets. “What did I do with the key?” she asked. She looked worried.
So did Nick.
But she was only kidding. She unlocked the handcuffs, and Nick ran back to his seat.
She also brought a fingerprint kit. She had everyone press their thumbs on an ink pad and put their thumbprints on a piece of paper.
The whole class had purple thumbs.
The last thing Officer Watson showed them was a lie detector.
“I bet Mrs. North would love to have that!” said Travis.
“I don’t need one,” said Mrs. North. “I always know when one of my students isn’t telling the truth. That’s the first thing you learn when you become a teacher.”
“Who would like to try it out?” asked Officer Watson.
Marvin had an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew Officer Watson was goi
ng to call on him and ask him if he was scared to ride his bike.
He ducked his head down and tried to hide behind Warren, the boy who sat in front of him. He felt like a criminal.
Officer Watson seemed to be looking right at him. “How about you?” she asked.
“Okay,” said Casey Happleton. She hopped out of her seat. Marvin watched her sideways ponytail bob up and down as she went to the front of the room.
The lie detector was on Mrs. North’s desk. Casey sat in Mrs. North’s chair. Officer Watson attached some wires to Casey’s right arm and fingers. She strapped a belt around her chest.
“I’m going to ask you some questions,” Officer Watson told Casey. “This machine will let me know if you are lying. Ready?”
“Ready,” said Casey.
“What’s your name?”
“Michael Jordan,” said Casey.
Officer Watson checked the machine. “That was not the truth,” she said.
“Casey Happleton,” said Casey.
“How old are you?”
“Nine.”
“What did you have for breakfast this morning?”
“Scrambled eggs.”
“I don’t think that’s the truth,” said Officer Watson.
Casey sighed. “Well, my mom gave me scrambled eggs, but I fed them to my dog.”
“How does that machine know what Casey had for breakfast?” asked Clarence.
“It doesn’t,” said Officer Watson. “When you tell a lie, your body gets nervous. Your muscles tense. You sweat a little bit more, and there are changes in your heartbeat and breathing. The machine registers those changes in your body.”
She asked Casey some more questions.
“Did you do all your homework yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone help you?”
“No.”
Officer Watson cleared her throat. “Are you sure?”
Casey frowned. “My mom helped me.”
“That’s better,” said Officer Watson.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” said Mrs. North.
“Do you like Mrs. North?” asked Officer Watson.
“Hey!” Casey exclaimed. “That’s not a fair question.”
“Okay, I’ll ask a different question.”
“Ask her if she likes Marvin Redpost!” called Melanie.
Officer Watson smiled. “Who’s Marvin Redpost?”
Everyone pointed at Marvin.
Officer Watson turned back to Casey. “Do you like Marvin Redpost?”
Marvin buried his head under his arms. But he didn’t cover his ears. For a long time Casey didn’t answer. Then she said, “I like Mrs. North.”
Officer Watson unhooked her and let her return to her seat.
“Okay, we’ve had some fun,” Officer Watson told the class. “But now I want everyone to settle down. I want to talk to you about something important. It may save your life.”
Marvin paid close attention.
“I’m talking about illegal drugs,” said Officer Watson.
She told the class that drugs were bad for them. Drugs could kill you. Drugs could destroy your brain and make you stupid. If you started doing drugs, even just once, you might not be able to stop.
Everybody promised Officer Watson they would never take illegal drugs.
She walked around the room and in between the desks. She stopped next to Kenny. “What if all your friends took drugs?” she asked him. “Then would you?”
“No way!” said Kenny.
She turned to Nick. “What if they said they wouldn’t be friends unless you took drugs?”
“Then they’re not really my friends,” said Nick.
“If my friend jumped off the Empire State Building, that doesn’t mean I should jump off, too,” said Judy.
“If they were my friends,” said Casey Happleton, “I would do everything I could to get them to stop using drugs.”
“Very good,” said Officer Watson. She leaned on Marvin’s desk and stared right into his eyes. “What about you, Marvin?” she asked. “What if everyone said, ‘Marvin Redpost is chicken!’?”
She made him feel nervous. “I—I still w-wouldn’t,” he said.
“Good for you,” she said. “That’s not being scared. That’s being smart. Remember, taking drugs doesn’t make you brave. It takes a lot more courage, sometimes, to say no to your friends.”
Marvin nodded. His hands were sweaty. His body was tense. His heart was beating a little faster than normal. He took a deep breath.
6
Still Only Thursday
Marvin sat on a stool in the kitchen. He stared at the wall. He’d been sitting that way ever since he got home from school.
He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Should he look his fear in the eye and ride down Suicide Hill? Or was that stupid, like taking drugs? Officer Watson had said that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is say no to your friends.
He knew his friends wouldn’t think he was being brave. They’d think he was scared.
And they’d be right. He was scared of Suicide Hill. But maybe he was smart to be scared.
His father had told Linzy she had to stand up to her fears. But Suicide Hill was different than thunder and lightning. He could get hurt going down Suicide Hill. Thunder and lightning couldn’t hurt Linzy.
No, that wasn’t true either, he realized. Maybe thunder couldn’t hurt her, but if she got struck by lightning, it could kill her. Maybe Linzy was right. Maybe lightning could come through the computer.
Going down Suicide Hill wasn’t as bad as being struck by lightning. He didn’t think he’d be killed going down Suicide Hill. Maybe just break an arm and a leg.
Other kids have ridden down Suicide Hill, he reminded himself. They didn’t get hurt.
So? Other kids have taken drugs, too. Just because other kids do something, that doesn’t mean you should, too. If your friends jump off the Empire State Building, that doesn’t mean you should, too.
But Nick and Stuart weren’t even jumping off the Empire State Building. They just expected him to jump.
Maybe his friends had forgotten all about Suicide Hill. Nobody mentioned it once today at school. All anyone talked about was Officer Watson and the lie detector.
He never felt more confused in his life. He wished he could practice riding his bike. He needed to see how the brakes and gears worked.
He remembered the man at the bike shop telling him never to use just the front brake. He was supposed to use the back brake, or both brakes together. If he tried to stop using just the front brake, the bike might flip over on his head.
The front door opened. “Hey, Mar,” said Jacob.
“Hiya, Marvin,” said Nate. Nate was Jacob’s best friend.
They threw their backpacks on the counter and attacked the refrigerator.
“I hear you’re going to ride down Suicide Hill,” said Nate.
“Uh, maybe,” said Marvin.
“You better not wimp out,” said Nate. “Some of the guys at school said you were a baby, but I stuck up for you. Now my reputation is on the line.”
Marvin didn’t say anything. He couldn’t believe middle school kids had been talking about him, a puny third grader.
“Can I ask you a question?” he asked his brother.
“Sure,” said Jacob, his mouth full of cookies and pickles.
“How do you know which is front and which is back?”
“What?” asked Jacob.
“Well, I haven’t really ridden my bike a whole lot. How do you know which brake is for the front tire, and which one is for the back tire?”
Jacob thought a moment as he swallowed a mouthful of food. “Right is back, left is front,” he said. “No, wait. Right is front, left is back. No, I think I was right the first time. Left is front—”
“Left is back, right is front,” said Nate.
“No, right is back, left is front,” said Jacob.
“You sure?” ask
ed Nate.
“I think so,” said Jacob.
It always took Marvin a moment to figure out his left from his right. He knew he wouldn’t have time if he was speeding down Suicide Hill.
“I really don’t think about it when I’m on my bike,” said Nate. “It just comes natural.”
“You don’t want to brake just with your front brake,” said Jacob. “Your bike could flip over.”
Marvin nodded. He’d heard that before.
“Suicide Hill is so steep, you should probably use both brakes all the time,” said Nate.
“What about gears?” Marvin asked.
“What about them?” asked Nate.
“Do I need to shift gears? Which gear should I use?”
“High gear,” said Jacob.
“Low gear,” said Nate, at almost the same time.
“Low gear going up, high gear going down,” said Jacob.
“I thought it was high gear going up, and low gear going down,” said Nate.
“No, low up, high down,” said Jacob.
“I don’t really think about it when I’m on my bike,” said Nate. “It just comes natural.”
Marvin didn’t think it would come natural to him.
“You won’t need to worry about gears going down the hill,” said Jacob. “You’ll coast almost the whole way. But remember to lean into the turns.”
Marvin didn’t know what that meant.
“You have to lean your bike way over on the sharp turns,” Nate explained. “Have you ever watched a motorcycle race? They lean way over the whole time.”
Marvin had never seen a motorcycle race. He didn’t want to do any fancy riding. He just wanted to get down the hill alive. “I’m just going to try to keep my bike straight up,” he said.
“You can’t do that,” said Jacob. “You have to lean into the turns. Otherwise you’ll slide off the path and you’ll go over the cliff.”
“It comes natural,” Nate assured him.
Jacob and Nate went on up to Jacob’s room.
Marvin stayed where he was, staring at the wall. Well, it’s only Thursday, he told himself.
He still had two whole days.