8. The Hill

Chapter 8 The Hill Where was everybody? Marvin wondered if maybe they all got tired of waiting and went home. Or they could be waiting at the bottom of the hill. After all, why should they struggle to get to the top? "Hello!" he shouted. "I'm here!" There was no answer. He couldn't see the bottom of the hill. His eyes followed a dirt path that zigzagged through some rocks, then disappeared behind a large bush. He couldn't see anything beyond that. "Anyone down there?" he called. A van stopped on the other side of the barrier. Marvin turned around to see his mother. She got out of the van and stepped over the barrier. "Since Nick and Stuart weren't riding with you, I thought I'd better make sure you were all right." Marvin was glad to see her.

"I dropped Jacob, Linzy, and your dad at the bottom of the hill," she said. "They wanted to see you come down." "Was anyone else there?" asked Marvin. "No." "You sure?" Marvin asked. "I didn't see anybody." "Do you know what time it is?" His mother checked her watch. "A couple of minutes after twelve." "What about Nate?" Marvin asked. "Did he come with Jacob?" "No." Marvin couldn't believe it. Although, now that he thought about it, Nate had never said he was coming. And none of Marvin's classmates had talked about Suicide Hill since that day at lunch. When was that? Wednesday? Three days ago. He shook his head and smiled. He had been so worried about what everybody else thought. But nobody else really cared. "So this is Suicide Hill," said his mother, peering over the edge.

Marvin nodded. "It's steep, isn't it?" Marvin nodded again. "You sure this is something you want to do?" she asked. "You don't have to if you don't want to." "I know," said Marvin. He looked back down the hill. He wrapped his fingers around the handlebars. The bike felt sturdy. Not like his old baby bike. This bike was made for this hill. "I want to," he said. It felt good to make his own decision. Not for anyone else. For himself. He looked back down the hill and whispered, "Oh, I'm a very brave unicorn. Yes, I am." Then he stepped up on the pedal and swung his leg over the other side. He shifted the gears as he watched the front tire slowly roll over the edge. The trail was narrow and steep. He squeezed both brakes as he tried to stay in the middle of the dirt path. He went between a couple of jagged boulders, then around a large bush. His tires skidded from side to side.

At last he came to a place where the trail was straight, so he eased off the brakes. That was a mistake. The next thing he knew, he was speeding toward a cliff. He gripped the brakes hard and turned sharply. The

wheels skidded inches from the cliff. He had to jerk the bike back the other way to avoid a sharp-edged boulder —once again he was heading toward the cliff. Gripping the brakes with all his might, he leaned into the turn. The trail then widened and got easier. He caught his breath. He came to a point where he went uphill for a short distance and needed to pedal. He shifted to a lower gear. Then the trail turned back downhill. He went through a series of wide, smooth turns that were fast and fun.

As Marvin made the last turn, he could see the bottom of the hill. The rest of the way was very steep, but straight. Then it opened up into a wide, flat area. He let go