how.”
“Everybody who
learned
how. My dad is always away during the summers, and I guess Mom never got around to it. I’m not even sure she knows how herself. Some of my friends don’t know how, either. Plus, we live in an apartment. It’s not like we have a garage, you know. Where am I supposed to keep a bike?”
“Unbelievable. Why would
anyone
want to live in a place like that?”
“Because it’s
New York
. It’s cool,” Nicholas said.
“Uh, yeah. Sounds
fantastic
. Well, you’re just going to have to learn. How are we even supposed to go look at the boat if we can’t ride bikes?”
“Walk?”
“It’s, like, ten miles! Okay, maybe not ten, but it’smore than five. We’re not walking when we have two perfectly good bikes just sitting here doing nothing. You can ride my mom’s.”
“A
girl’s
bike?”
“Boy, you have a lot of attitude for somebody who doesn’t even know how to ride one,” Charlie said, pushing a navy blue bike toward him. “Here. It’s a mountain bike—it doesn’t have daisies painted on it or anything like that.”
“Have you ever taught anyone before?” He glanced nervously at the array of brake and gear levers on the handlebars.
“No, but I think I can handle it.”
“Yeah, it’s not your face that’s going to be hitting the gravel.”
“That’s what this is for,” said Charlie, smiling broadly and setting a helmet on Nicholas’s head. “C’mon, follow me. We’ll start on the grass, like I did. That way, when you fall, it won’t hurt so much.”
“
When
I fall? I thought you said you could teach me.” He placed his hands on the handlebars, both feet still firmly rooted to the ground.
“I never said you weren’t going to fall, though. Falling is part of the deal.
Everybody
falls at first. Are you ready? I’m going to hold the bike steady for you, and you’re going to put your feet on the pedals, okay?”
Nicholas lifted his right foot and set it on the pedal, and then s-l-o-w-l-y picked up his left and moved it intoplace. He took a deep breath. “Okay. So far. Now, what about all this stuff?” he asked, pointing at all the levers on the handlebars.
“Don’t worry about shifting gears yet. I put it into a nice easy gear for starting out. You just need to know about the brakes. The one on the right is the back; the left is for the front. For now, just use the back brake. Later on, I’ll teach you when you’ll need to use both. Got it?”
Nicholas nodded. “Right, back. Got it.”
“Okay, here we go then.” Charlie, with one hand on the handlebars and one on the back of the seat, began pushing Nicholas across the yard. “Start pedaling!”
Together, they did a lap of the yard like that, and then, without warning, she let go.
“Hey! What are you—” He never finished his question. The bike tilted one way, and when he tried to straighten it, he overcompensated. For a few terrifying (for Nicholas, that is) seconds, the bike wobbled and wiggled along before the front wheel finally turned a little too sharply, and Nicholas and bicycle went flying in opposite directions.
To her credit, Charlie
tried
not to laugh, but she just didn’t have the willpower to resist the urge that overcame her as Nicholas lay sprawled across the lawn. “Are you okay?” she managed to ask between giggling fits. “I’m sorry—it was just, the look on your face …” More giggling. Much more.
Nicholas stood up, rubbing his shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the impact with the ground. Withouta word, he turned and started walking toward the road, and home.
At first, Charlie thought he was kidding around, but when she realized he was serious, she ran after him, stopping right in his path. “Come on, Nicholas. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. I won’t do it again, I promise.”
He stepped around her without a sound and kept right on walking as she stood there dumbfounded.
“What about the boat?” she asked. “
Both
boats. The movie?
“Everybody who
learned
how. My dad is always away during the summers, and I guess Mom never got around to it. I’m not even sure she knows how herself. Some of my friends don’t know how, either. Plus, we live in an apartment. It’s not like we have a garage, you know. Where am I supposed to keep a bike?”
“Unbelievable. Why would
anyone
want to live in a place like that?”
“Because it’s
New York
. It’s cool,” Nicholas said.
“Uh, yeah. Sounds
fantastic
. Well, you’re just going to have to learn. How are we even supposed to go look at the boat if we can’t ride bikes?”
“Walk?”
“It’s, like, ten miles! Okay, maybe not ten, but it’smore than five. We’re not walking when we have two perfectly good bikes just sitting here doing nothing. You can ride my mom’s.”
“A
girl’s
bike?”
“Boy, you have a lot of attitude for somebody who doesn’t even know how to ride one,” Charlie said, pushing a navy blue bike toward him. “Here. It’s a mountain bike—it doesn’t have daisies painted on it or anything like that.”
“Have you ever taught anyone before?” He glanced nervously at the array of brake and gear levers on the handlebars.
“No, but I think I can handle it.”
“Yeah, it’s not your face that’s going to be hitting the gravel.”
“That’s what this is for,” said Charlie, smiling broadly and setting a helmet on Nicholas’s head. “C’mon, follow me. We’ll start on the grass, like I did. That way, when you fall, it won’t hurt so much.”
“
When
I fall? I thought you said you could teach me.” He placed his hands on the handlebars, both feet still firmly rooted to the ground.
“I never said you weren’t going to fall, though. Falling is part of the deal.
Everybody
falls at first. Are you ready? I’m going to hold the bike steady for you, and you’re going to put your feet on the pedals, okay?”
Nicholas lifted his right foot and set it on the pedal, and then s-l-o-w-l-y picked up his left and moved it intoplace. He took a deep breath. “Okay. So far. Now, what about all this stuff?” he asked, pointing at all the levers on the handlebars.
“Don’t worry about shifting gears yet. I put it into a nice easy gear for starting out. You just need to know about the brakes. The one on the right is the back; the left is for the front. For now, just use the back brake. Later on, I’ll teach you when you’ll need to use both. Got it?”
Nicholas nodded. “Right, back. Got it.”
“Okay, here we go then.” Charlie, with one hand on the handlebars and one on the back of the seat, began pushing Nicholas across the yard. “Start pedaling!”
Together, they did a lap of the yard like that, and then, without warning, she let go.
“Hey! What are you—” He never finished his question. The bike tilted one way, and when he tried to straighten it, he overcompensated. For a few terrifying (for Nicholas, that is) seconds, the bike wobbled and wiggled along before the front wheel finally turned a little too sharply, and Nicholas and bicycle went flying in opposite directions.
To her credit, Charlie
tried
not to laugh, but she just didn’t have the willpower to resist the urge that overcame her as Nicholas lay sprawled across the lawn. “Are you okay?” she managed to ask between giggling fits. “I’m sorry—it was just, the look on your face …” More giggling. Much more.
Nicholas stood up, rubbing his shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the impact with the ground. Withouta word, he turned and started walking toward the road, and home.
At first, Charlie thought he was kidding around, but when she realized he was serious, she ran after him, stopping right in his path. “Come on, Nicholas. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. I won’t do it again, I promise.”
He stepped around her without a sound and kept right on walking as she stood there dumbfounded.
“What about the boat?” she asked. “
Both
boats. The movie?
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