11. Baby Braking

Chapter 11 Baby Braking Before Gus went home, I asked him to let me keep the Ruff and Tuffs for one more day. I just wasn't quite ready to give up yet. It's hard to accept defeat. Especially when you get beaten by a sneaker. I sat near the garage, holding Gus's sneakers in my hands. Wondering where I'd gone wrong. Hazel was riding her pink bike up and down the driveway. She was singing "How Much Is that Froggie in the Window?" I watched her come and go. It's a long driveway, with a little bit of a hill. Hazel had to brake pretty hard when she got to the bottom. Her tires left a black mark on the cement. Aha, I thought. I ran to get my bike out of the garage. "I have only just begun to fight," I said.

I laced up Gus's Ruff and Tuffs and climbed onto my bike. I sped down the driveway at top speed. "Slow down, Roscoe!" Hazel called. I slowed down, all right. But I didn't use my pedals to brake. I used my Destructo-feet! I dragged those Ruff and Tuffs along the cement and stopped just in the nick of time. "Roscoe," Hazel said. "That's how babies stop their bikes." But I didn't care.

When I got back to the top of the hill, I checked my handiwork. "Yes!!!" I screamed. The toes were scuffed! Tiny little holes were starting! Victory at last! I went down the hill again, sneaker-braking for the last half. "Brothers are so weird," Hazel muttered. After ten more rides, the Ruff and Tuffs were looking quite scraggly. Suddenly I had a gulp moment. I thought about Gus's mom and dad seeing the destructo-ed Ruff and Tuffs. What if they weren't so happy about Gus's shoes dying? Oh, well, I thought. I was just trying to make Gus feel better. And like Mom always says, it's the thought that counts. Besides, it was too late to turn back now. I went down that driveway thirty-two more times. After ride number thirty-two, I checked Gus's sneakers again.

The Shoes that Refuse to Die were going to need a funeral.