that marked the track boundry and toppled to the ground, causing a pileup as those who could not get out of the way in time slammed into fallen bikes and went crashing on top of each other. Aire chewed her thumb as she watched Mitch narrowly dodge the dog pile and disappear down the track into the woods. He was one of the youngest to ever place in the Pee Wees, and while impressive, it also left him at a disadvantage. Being younger than everyone also meant being smaller than everyone, and that meant it was easier to push and shove the boy off course. Aire knew that from experience, and memories of her own crash from last spring kept flooding into her thoughts. It wasn’t until the boy came flying out of the woods that Aire could take her fingernails out from between her teeth.
She leapt up and roared when she saw Mitch speeding full throttle just behind the first place rider, inching his way closer to the lead as he gained speed on him. For a moment she thought he was going to take first, but an older boy on a yellow bike overcame him just before they crossed the finish line. Mitch’s fist shot in the air when they reached the checkered flag, his fan club in the stands jumping up and down and hugging each other at his third place victory.
The spark in the air fueled Aire’s excitement, and for the rest of the day she was rushing about in a state of hurried frenzy. She cheered and whooped as she watched Mitch progress through the races, meeting him for pep talks at the tent and any advice Troy and Gary had to offer when they weren’t watching their little brothers’ s races in the Pip Squeak divisions. By time the championship race was about to start, Air e felt that she was about to collapse from exhaustion. But as Mitch bolted down the track in the final round, her energy began to renew itself, and Aire was a ball of fire when he came into the home stretch. Her throat was raw and she didn’t know if sound was even coming out of it as she cheered her little brother on to a second place finish. She held her breath as the point totals were calculated, and her heart surged with pride when they announced that Mitch had placed third overall, beating his rival Sammy Roberts by two points.
All week Aire had planned on spending the first night of the races roaming the park with her friends. Game booths and carnival rides were a feature of race weekend, and Aire had imagined herself strolling hand in hand with Troy through the bizarre. She’d even let herself picture Troy winning her a teddy bear in the milk bottle game.
Mitch, however, had changed all those plans. Her pride in her brother had Aire glued to his side all night. She bought him cotton candy and pony rides with the equality credits she’d been saving to buy herself a new bike, and bragged on and on about him to anyone who would listen. He smiled at her that night in a way she hadn’t seen since he was a toddler, and i t was the first night that she could ever remember losing track of time hanging out with her little brother.
Chapter Twelve
John’s Town
In the beginning…
Sarah and Brenda were sleeping amid a jumble of carnival tents when the sun arose. Each slept in dreamless rest, their young minds exhausted from rising in the early hours of the morning.
The truck began to move.
Brenda let out a yelp at the sudden motion, her eyes like shinning BBs with fright. Sarah let out a hiss to shush her.
“Quiet or they’ll catch us before we even leave.”
The girl nodded, and both began to
She leapt up and roared when she saw Mitch speeding full throttle just behind the first place rider, inching his way closer to the lead as he gained speed on him. For a moment she thought he was going to take first, but an older boy on a yellow bike overcame him just before they crossed the finish line. Mitch’s fist shot in the air when they reached the checkered flag, his fan club in the stands jumping up and down and hugging each other at his third place victory.
The spark in the air fueled Aire’s excitement, and for the rest of the day she was rushing about in a state of hurried frenzy. She cheered and whooped as she watched Mitch progress through the races, meeting him for pep talks at the tent and any advice Troy and Gary had to offer when they weren’t watching their little brothers’ s races in the Pip Squeak divisions. By time the championship race was about to start, Air e felt that she was about to collapse from exhaustion. But as Mitch bolted down the track in the final round, her energy began to renew itself, and Aire was a ball of fire when he came into the home stretch. Her throat was raw and she didn’t know if sound was even coming out of it as she cheered her little brother on to a second place finish. She held her breath as the point totals were calculated, and her heart surged with pride when they announced that Mitch had placed third overall, beating his rival Sammy Roberts by two points.
All week Aire had planned on spending the first night of the races roaming the park with her friends. Game booths and carnival rides were a feature of race weekend, and Aire had imagined herself strolling hand in hand with Troy through the bizarre. She’d even let herself picture Troy winning her a teddy bear in the milk bottle game.
Mitch, however, had changed all those plans. Her pride in her brother had Aire glued to his side all night. She bought him cotton candy and pony rides with the equality credits she’d been saving to buy herself a new bike, and bragged on and on about him to anyone who would listen. He smiled at her that night in a way she hadn’t seen since he was a toddler, and i t was the first night that she could ever remember losing track of time hanging out with her little brother.
Chapter Twelve
John’s Town
In the beginning…
Sarah and Brenda were sleeping amid a jumble of carnival tents when the sun arose. Each slept in dreamless rest, their young minds exhausted from rising in the early hours of the morning.
The truck began to move.
Brenda let out a yelp at the sudden motion, her eyes like shinning BBs with fright. Sarah let out a hiss to shush her.
“Quiet or they’ll catch us before we even leave.”
The girl nodded, and both began to
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