CHAPTER 5

  COMING CLEAN

  The next day, Nick ran into Mr. Swanson on his way to gym class.

  “Hey, Nick,” Mr. Swanson said. “No more crutches! Is your ankle feeling better?”

  “Yeah,” Nick said. “Actually, I need to talk to you about that.” Nick took a deep breath. “I made up the story about twisting my ankle. I didn’t hurt it. It’s fine.”

  Mr. Swanson folded his arms and stared at Nick expectantly.

  “I’m really sorry,” Nick said. “It was dumb. You gave me another chance, and I blew it.”

  Mr. Swanson was quiet for a minute. “Why did you do it?” he asked. “Why put up such a huge fight about running?”

  Nick sighed. “I hate running,” he said. “I’ve never liked it. I’m not good at it. It’s not nearly as fun as basketball or football. I get so tired and sweaty and out of breath. And I’m always the slowest runner.”

  Nick paused for a moment. “Running with three other guys who love it made it even worse,” he said. “I was embarrassed. I figured they’d be grateful they didn’t have me slowing the whole team down.”

  “Well, first of all, I accept your apology,” Mr. Swanson said.

  “Thanks,” Nick responded. He was afraid he’d end up in huge trouble for lying in the first place.

  “But it doesn’t matter if you don’t like to run,” Mr. Swanson said. “Running is part of the class and a significant portion of your grade. And you’re not bad it. Running takes practice, just like any other sport. That’s the only way you’ll get faster.”

  “I guess,” Nick said.

  “And finally,” Mr. Swanson continued, “you need to apologize to the guys on the team. They were really upset about losing you. They’re worried about this next race.”

  “I plan on apologizing,” Nick said. He meant it. “Can I do it at practice tonight?”

  “I thought you didn’t want to run with them,” Mr. Swanson said.

  “I need to give it another try,” Nick said. “I just hope they’ll take me back.”

  * * *

  Nick met the rest of the runners at the track after school. Andy was the first to talk after Nick explained what he’d done.

  “So you faked the whole thing?” Andy asked. He crossed his arms angrily. “Who does that?”

  “Someone who hates running,” Nick admitted. “But I want to give it another try. For real this time. If you guys will give me another chance, that is.”

  “I don’t know,” Tyler said. “What if you decide to quit or come up with another fake injury? Then we’re really in trouble.”

  Nick shook his head. “Not going to happen,” he said. “I promise.”

  Everyone looked at Drew. He was the only one who hadn’t said anything. He brushed his hair out of his face and shrugged.

  “Look at it this way,” Drew said finally. “He came clean, didn’t he? That’s got to count for something.”

  The other guys nodded and looked to Mr. Swanson. The gym teacher put up his hands and took a step back.

  “It’s up to you guys,” Mr. Swanson said. “This is your team.”

  Andy was quiet for a minute. Then he smiled. “All right,” he said. “Welcome back to the team, Nick.”

  “Thanks guys,” Nick said. “I won’t let you down … again.”

  CHAPTER 6

  HIT THE GROUND RUNNING

  The runners quickly got down to business.

  “I’ll bet you were pretty sore after your first practice,” Tyler said, grinning. He pulled his knee up to his chest and held it there.

  “Yeah,” Nick admitted. “I felt like I got hit by a truck.”

  “Stretching, man,” Tyler said. “Always stretch before you run.”

  “You won’t stop being sore right away,” Drew added. He was on the ground with one leg tucked underneath him. He leaned over his outstretched leg and grabbed his foot. “But stretching makes it less horrible.”

  Less horrible, Nick thought. This is sounding better all the time.

  Nick sat down on the grass and had the guys show him different ways to stretch. It worried him that even stretching made him sore. He wondered again what he’d gotten himself into.

  Even so, Nick kept quiet. He’d made a promise, and he was going to keep it. After several minutes, the team was ready to run.

  “Here’s what we’ll do, Nick,” Mr. Swanson said. “To get started, I want you to run an entire lap, as fast as you can.”

  Nick eyed the track around the football field. It looked even longer than it did a couple of days ago. “I thought I just needed to run half a lap for the race,” he said.

  “True,” Mr. Swanson said. “But if you run more during practice, doing 200 meters during the race will seem like nothing.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Nick said.

  “Trust me,” Mr. Swanson said. “Get to the starting line, and when I blow the whistle, run as fast as you can.”

  “Here,” Andy said. He slapped the baton into Nick’s hand. “You’ll need to get used to carrying the baton when you’re tearing around the track.”

  Nick approached the starting line and cleared his mind. All that mattered was getting around the track.

  “Don’t drop the baton,” Tyler shouted.

  Also, don’t drop the baton, Nick thought.

  The whistle blew, and Nick took off running as fast as he could.

  Nick wanted to stop after just a few seconds. He was already out of breath. But he pushed on. He pumped his arms and tried to lengthen his strides. From the middle of the field, he heard the other guys yelling.

  I’m going as fast as I can, Nick thought. It took him a moment to realize they were cheering.

  Nick rounded the first bend. Sweat streamed from his hair and dribbled into his eyes. Nick wiped it away and pushed himself even more. A long straightaway was ahead, and before he knew it, he was halfway done.

  Almost there, Nick thought. He focused on the end of the track.

  As he rounded the last bend, Nick’s legs felt like jelly. He was gasping for breath. Mr. Swanson shouted too, looking at his stopwatch.

  Great, Nick thought as he crossed the finish line. He’s timing me! When he slowed to a stop, the other guys clapped.

  “Oh, man,” Nick said, panting. He bent over and tried to catch his breath. “That was awful.” He tossed the baton to Tyler and groaned.

  “Not bad,” Mr. Swanson said. “You did that in just over a minute. For a guy who doesn’t like to run, you didn’t do half bad.”

  Doesn’t feel like I did half good, either, Nick thought.

  CHAPTER 7

  CHANGING IT UP

  Running was hard, but Nick stuck with it. He showed up for every practice. Running laps over and over again seemed to be getting a bit easier. He wasn’t as out of breath as he’d been the first time.

  I’ve definitely run more than a mile, Nick thought while they practiced handing off the baton. He’d gotten better at the handoff. He even yelled “Stick!” to Tyler when he ran second during a practice.

  It still felt strange to be part of a running team, but Nick actually enjoyed it. He still didn’t totally love running, but he liked working with his new friends.

  Even on weekends when they didn’t have practice, Nick ran at the school track. The race was getting closer, and he wanted to practice as much as possible ahead of time. It was one thing to run in front of the guys and his coach. But there would be a lot of people watching at the race.

  Nick cut a piece from an old wooden broom to use as a baton so he could practice running with it. He even started timing himself. He was getting a little faster each time. His time for a 200-meter run was down to 27 seconds.

  At least I won’t be the slowest guy there, Nick thought. I hope.

  * * *

  After all of the stretching and running and practicing, the Saturday of the big relay race finally arrived. Nick’s mom dropped him off at the school for the meet. He headed to the track and nervously joined the rest of his team. Mr. Swanson stood in the center of the group. Everyone looked tense.

  “What’s going on?” Nick asked.

  “I don’t want to do it anymore,” Drew said as Nick walked up. “I’m not up for it.”

  For a moment, Nick thought Drew didn’t want to run at all. If that was the case, they were finished.

  “Drew was supposed to run anchor,” Andy explained, looking upset. “And now he doesn’t want to.”

  Nick sighed. He could understand why Drew was freaking out. The anchor was crucial to the race.

  “Well, why don’t you run it?” Nick asked, looking at Andy.

  “Me?” Andy exclaimed. “I run first! I always run first. It’s tradition!”

  Nick turned to Tyler.

  “Don’t look at me,” Tyler said. “I’m happy running third. I just won’t have someone to hand the baton to now.”

  “Well, someone has to run last,” Nick said. “Otherwise all of this practice and running around was for nothing!”

  The group was quiet for a moment. Finally, Drew spoke up. “Why don’t you run anchor, Nick?” he suggested.

  Nick felt like someone punched him in the stomach. “Me?” he asked. “Are you serious? I’m the worst runner in the group!”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Drew replied.

  “Neither would I,” Tyler added.

  Nick turned to Mr. Swanson for help, but the gym teacher just stood back and smiled. “It’s your call, Nick,” he said. “And for the record, you’re a pretty good runner.”

  Pretty good doesn’t win races, Nick thought. He could feel the guys on his team watching him. They waited for Nick to say something.

  “Fine,” Nick said. “I’ll do it.”

  CHAPTER 8

  A HARD SAVE

  “Are you nervous?” Drew asked Nick as they took their positions on the opposite side of the track. Runners from other schools were lining up in their lanes too.

  “Yeah,” Nick admitted. “I was supposed to run second, but now I’m taking your spot. Thanks for nothing.”

  Drew shook his hair out of his eyes and laughed. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “Besides, anchor was never my spot. It was Ben’s.”

  Nick took a deep breath and stood off to the side while the second-leg runners found their spots on the track. He knew his mom was somewhere in the crowd, but he couldn’t see her from where he was standing. Nick looked across the track and saw Andy getting into position to run.

  It won’t be long now, Nick thought.

  Within moments, the starter pistol fired. The runners leaped off the starting line. Andy got a fast start. By the time they rounded the first corner, he was in the middle of the pack. Andy overtook one of the guys as he headed into the straightaway.

  Drew started running a little as Andy approached. As Andy got closer, Drew put his hand out to grab the baton.

  “Stick!” Andy shouted. He slapped the baton into Drew’s hand. Drew grabbed it and took off at full speed. A perfect handoff.

  As Nick watched, one of the runners from another team flew around the curve. He had a solid lead over the rest of the group. Drew was in third place out of six, but gaining fast. In a matter of moments, their team had made up some ground.

  Jeez, he’s fast, Nick thought. He watched as the lead runner handed the baton off to his teammate. A moment later, Drew passed his baton to Tyler.

  Nick got into position on the track and watched out of the corner of his eye as Tyler passed the third-place runner. Tyler was fast, which made Nick wonder why he wasn’t running anchor instead of him.

  Tyler rounded the last corner, but he couldn’t pass the other two runners. As they got closer, Nick watched the runner in first place. In moments, the other team had passed the baton.

  Nick started running as Tyler got closer. He put his hand out behind him at hip level and looked forward like he’d been taught.

  “Stick!” Tyler shouted. He swung the baton down and hit Nick on the wrist instead of the hand. To Nick’s horror, the baton bounced off of his arm and tumbled to the ground.

  “No!” he heard Tyler yell.

  Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Nick watched the baton fall. He knew that if it crossed the line and landed in another runner’s lane, they were all disqualified.

  Without thinking, Nick dove for the baton.

  His knees struck the track hard. Small, sharp rocks dug into his skin. He ignored the pain and reached for the bouncing metal tube. Just as the baton was about to cross into another lane, Nick wrapped his hand around it. He barely managed to stay in the narrow lane.

  Two runners flew past him.

  “You’re still in it, Nick,” Tyler shouted. “Run!”

  CHAPTER 9

  THE FINAL PUSH

  Get up, get up, Nick thought. He could hear the runner in last place closing in on him. With the baton in his hand, Nick pushed himself to his feet and ran.

  Any ground Andy and Tyler had gained was gone. Nick knew that he had to run faster than he ever had before. His knees hurt with every stride, but he pushed on.

  Nick heard people in the stands cheering. That made him run even faster.

  His feet pounded along the track as he fought to make up lost ground. Both of his knees felt shredded. When he glanced down, he saw that they were bleeding.

  Keep going, Nick told himself. You can bandage them later.

  He raced past the guy in fourth place. A moment later, Nick passed the third-place runner as he barreled into the bend. Coming out of the turn, Nick was in third.

  Once he hit the straightaway, Nick pumped his arms even harder. The back of the runner in front of him was getting closer.

  Just finish strong, Nick thought. His lungs burned and sweat ran down his face. His knees stung where he’d fallen on them, and he wondered how scraped up they were. He didn’t dare look. He had a race to finish.

  “Go, Nick!” He heard Mr. Swanson shout from the sidelines. “You’re almost there!”

  It was true. In a matter of seconds, he would cross the finish line, and the race would be over. If only the handoff had been better! If only he hadn’t dropped the baton!

  Nick passed the runner in second place. He was startled to find himself on the heels of the lead runner. The crowd went crazy as they both drew closer to the finish line.

  Come on, Nick thought as he pushed himself harder. But the other runner crossed the line a second before he did.

  And just like that, it was over.

  * * *

  Nick slowed to a stop as his teammates ran over to him and looked down. He knew they’d be disappointed. He’d blown the race.

  “Dude!” Drew shouted. “I knew we made the right choice switching you up!”

  Nick looked up, surprised to see smiles on the faces of his teammates. Even Mr. Swanson was smiling.

  “Great run, Nick,” Mr. Swanson said. “That was an awesome recovery.”

  “Are you serious?” Nick asked. “I fumbled the baton and almost got us disqualified.”

  “That was my fault,” Tyler said. “I was worn out, and my aim was off. I hit your arm, not your hand.”

  “With the way you ran, we could have won if the handoff had been better,” Andy said.

  “Second place is fine by me,” Tyler said. “We’ll get them next time.”

  “Next time?” Nick asked, a little confused.

  “Yeah. We have another race in a week,” Andy said.

  Mr. Swanson laughed. “Slow down, guys,” he said. “Nick just needed to run this one race to pass.”

  Nick was quiet for a moment. He was sweaty, his knees were bloody, and his heart was racing. But he’d actually had fun.

  Maybe I don’t hate running as much as I thought, Nick thought. Besides, being on the team is pretty fun. He grinned at his teammates.

  “Yeah, I’ll run another race,” Nick said. He looked at Mr. Swanson. “Besides, I could use the extra credit.”

  About the Author

  Thomas Kingsley Troupe writes, makes movies, and works as a firefighter/EMT. He’s written many books for kids, including Legend of the Vampire and Mountain Bike Hero, and has two boys of his own. He likes zombies, bacon, orange Popsicles, and reading stories to his kids. Thomas currently lives in Woodbury, Minnesota, with his super-cool family.

  About the Illustrator

  Eduardo Garcia has illustrated for magazines around the world, including ones in Italy, France, United States, and Mexico. Eduardo loves working for publishers like Marvel Comics, Stone Arch Books, Idea + Design Works, and BOOM! Studios. Eduardo has illustrated many great characters like Speed Racer, the Spiderman family, Kade, and others. Eduardo is married to his beloved wife, Nancy M. Parrazales. They have one son, the amazing Sebastian Inaki, and an astonishing dog named Tomas.

  GLOSSARY

  baton (buh-TON) — a short stick passed from one runner to another in a relay race

  crucial (KROO-shuhl) — extremely important

  disqualified (diss-KWOL-uh-fyed) — banned from taking part in an activity, often because a rule has been broked

  guilt (GILT) — a feeling of shame or remorse for having done something wrong

  injury (IN-juh-ree) — damage or harm

  relay (REE-lay) — a team race in which members of the team take turns running and passing a baton from one runner to the next

  significant (sig-NIF-uh-kuhnt) — important or meaning a great deal

  sprint (SPRINT) — a very fast race run over a short distance

  tense (TENSS) — nervous or worried

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. All the members of a relay team have to work together for the team to win. Have you ever been on a team? What kind? Talk about what it means to be part of a team.

  2. Nick hates running, but in order to pass gym class he has to do it. Talk about something you don’t like doing but have to do anyway.

 

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