Freerunner

Chapter 8

We slinked into the main block and opened up one of the store rooms between the classrooms and offices. Inside were many odds and ends but I reached straight for the handcarts. I wheeled out two of them and put them in the hallway.

"Alright Alex, grab the floor wax and the carpets then come over here."

"I have a really bad feeling about this Rosie. Can we go home and make paper airplanes or something?"

I chuckled. "No way. Come on Alex, you can trust me. Now, what we're gonna do is wax the hall and make it super slippery. Then we get a handcart and you can guess the rest!"

He looked horrified. "Rosie," he said shakily. "Rosie, I'm sorry I complained. Seriously, let's go home."

I waved him away and started waxing the floor as quickly as I could. Punishment gave me a lot of experience with it so I was finished in no time. I bunched up the carpets at the end, shoved the contraption back into its closet and made my way back to my brother.

"Okay Alex, jump on. I'll push you first."

He reluctantly sat down on the trolley. "If I fall off, how much will it hurt?" He asked nervously.

I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine. I've done this before."

He nodded and clung tightly to the sides. I started off slowly, holding my balance on the slick surface. We built up speed and I jumped on the back of the cart.

"Woaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

We screamed, for different reasons I was sure. The churning in my stomach was nostalgic but I wanted more. I kicked off the ground and the cart went faster and faster.

"Rosie! Wall!"

I opened my eyes to find us heading straight for a wall at top speed. "Lean left!" I yelled. The trolley swerved to the right and we continued down the complex. We swerved again and again until we reached the end. I threw on the brakes. We both flew forward and slammed into the carpets.

"Haha! Wasn't that amazing?" I shrieked.

Alex sat up and searched his skin.

"I'm alive," he said incredulously. "I'm okay, I'm not injured and... That was awesome!" he concluded, thrilled. I gave him a friendly punch.

"See, I told you so. Come on, now it's your turn to push me!"

For the next hour, we skated down the hall, taking turns to push one another. Once Alex got the hang of jumping on a cart, we brought out a second and raced each other. I tried standing up on mine and held onto the handlebar for support. It was a lot harder than it looked but somehow, Alex managed to do it too.

After several crashes, some harder than others, we collapsed against the carpets.

"You know Alex, I thought you were smart," I panted.

"Huh?"

"At the start, you panicked when we headed towards a wall. I thought you knew right to turn left and left to turn right."

His face burned up. "I did know that! I just... momentarily forgot." He leaned forward and rested his head on his knees.

"What's wrong?" I tilted my head.

He inhaled deeply. "It's just... It's just that you've always been braver than me. More level headed at the expense of sensibility. I accept that because you're older than me. But... what am I supposed to do when I turn 18? I mean, I'm sure I can hold onto my position with strategic planning and reports for a while but what if we get invaded? What'll I do? As you saw, I lost my mind when there was a possibility of pain in the equation. So when I think of how easy you have it, how you've prepared in the case where you have to run or you're forced into participating, I wish that I'd gotten to know you better earlier. Maybe I would've ended up as fearless as you. "