A Stones Throw by David Edgren

This is an unpublished book called A Stone's Throw. It's the first in a series I've written called Daring Danny's Dangerous Day. So book 1, Stone's Throw, and I'm going to read it to you on my LightBook e-reader. Chapter 1: Hardhead. Most of the blood on my face was dry by the time Mob drove up. It had only been a few minutes since the incident— or was it an accident? I sure know what I'm calling it. "He threw that rock on purpose!" I told the friends around me. "It hit me right in the head!" "Yeah, but there's a huge wooden fence between us and them," one friend said. "He couldn't have aimed specifically at you." Max, my shoulder monkey, climbed the fence and studied the angle of the throw. "It had to be a really high lob to get to you!" he shouted. He jumped off the fence and ran over to me. Max got back on my shoulder, the shoulder not next to the cut and the blood. He said, "It's just bad luck, Danny." He continued mumbling until Mom arrived. "Bad luck, bad, bad luck." The gooey mess on the side of my head where the rock had hit was still sticky and squishy. It felt like a sponge filled with day-old syrup. The kids standing around me kept telling me to stop touching it, but I couldn't. It felt weird and didn't really hurt anyone anymore. I pulled open the side door of the van. As the noise of the sliding door stopped, I said, "Mom, I think I need stitches." "What's new?" she said. "What happened this time?" "Sean threw a rock and hit me in the head," I said. "I better have a look. Come up here." I climbed onto the long bench seat behind Mom and leaned forward between the front seats so she could see the cut. The late afternoon sun lit my head up as it came into my mom's view. "Oh wow," Mom said. "You're right, there's a pretty big gash. Buckle in." "Told ya," Max said. "It's gross too." As we drove to the hospital, Mom asked lots of questions. Yes, I was sure it was Shawn. Because I heard him laughing after it hit me. No, I didn't do anything to deserve it. I couldn't even see him when he threw it. No, I don't know why he threw it. He's just a bully. Yes, it hurt. Not as much as when it first happened. When we got to the hospital, we waited for a long time in the waiting room. Long enough to eat 2 chocolate bars from the vending machine and drink a can of 7-Up while while watching an entire episode of M*A*S*H on the TV in the corner. Finally, we were taken into a small room and two people made short work of my cut. A male nurse cleaned the area around the wound, put some numbing cream on it, and shaved the hair around the cut. Then the doctor stitched it up with a needle and thread. "Seven stitches," he said. "Good thing you've got a hard head. This could have been much worse." "Your skull is fine. Just a surface cut." "Just?" I said. "Well," the doctor laughed, "compared to the other things I've stitched up today, you can count yourself lucky." "Oh," I said, "thanks, I guess." I wasn't sure what was so lucky about getting hit in the head with a rock. When we were back in the van, driving home, Mom said, "You've had a pretty amazing day. I'm sorry it ended up this way." Now, tell me the whole story. What happened? Chapter 2: The Big Day. The day started early in the morning. It was an hour before we needed to leave for school. I was sitting at the table with Mom, Dad, and my sister, Jo. "You're going to need a healthy breakfast to have enough energy for today," Mom said as she walked up to the table holding a stack of plates. She laid the top plate filled with pancakes in the middle of the table. Then she put the other 4 plates in front of us and sat in her chair. "Yeah," I said as I grabbed 3 pancakes. "I can't wait for the jog-a-thon this afternoon." "You've done getting— you've done a good job getting sponsors," Dad said as he loaded his plate with pancakes. "How many did you end up getting?" "17," Joe answered for me because my mouth was full of pancakes. Dad looked at Joe. "17 sponsors?" Are you his manager? I laughed. Yeah, she manages to annoy me a lot. Max jumped to my shoulder and smacked me on the side of the head. Be nice, you bully! I tried not to flinch too much from the smack. Nobody else could see Max, and he knew it. He was always trying to tell me what to do. Sometimes I responded to Max and everyone acted like I was crazy. This time I held my cool. Dad asked, "How much money did you raise?" "42 dollars a lap," I said proudly. "That means I'm easily going to make hundreds of dollars for the school, maybe even thousands." Dad laughed. "Well, we will be proud of you no matter how many laps you do. You've told a lot of people about the good things the school is doing in the community." "That's true," Mom said. "Now, what about this morning? Have you decided which animal—" To take to the animal parade? Jo clapped her hands. Take Thumpy! He's so cute! It was true. Thumpy, my sister's rabbit, was very cute. What category will he win? I asked. There will be lots of cute things. Winning that one will be the hardest. What are the other categories? Dad asked. I slid off my chair and ran to my room. I'll go get the list! I shouted as I went. It's on my bed. Moments later, back in my chair, I read the bottom of the advert for the animal parade. Each child must lead their animal a short distance. Animals be expected to walk in front of a panel of judges. Awards will be given in the following categories: cutest, fastest, tallest, smallest, loudest, quietest, funniest, most amazing, most intelligent, and most obedient. "We have a lot of animals to choose from," Mom said. She was right. We lived on a small farm and had goats, chickens, rabbits, ducks, geese, cats, dogs, fish, and birds. "Maybe you should think about which animal could fit each category." I was deep in thought. Suddenly I blurted, "I know! We can win the Most Amazing category!" "How?" Joe asked. "With Goose Goose," I said confidently. "She follows my red wagon wherever it goes." Dad laughed. "Does she really?" "Haven't you seen that?" said Mom, clapping her hands. "What a great idea, Danny!" "So," Dad said, "what happens?" "Go get the wagon," Mom said. "Walk in front of the windows. Show your dad." I jumped down from my chair and headed towards the back door. "Wash your hands first," Mom said. After a quick stop in the kitchen, I headed to the barn. I grabbed Redzie, my little red wagon, on the way. I went to the pen where Goose Goose slept and opened the gate. Then I walked back to the house, pulling Redzie behind me. Max sat facing backward on my shoulder, looking at the wagon and Goose Goose following close behind. He said, "That goose is seriously in love with Redzie." As we walked past the front window, Joe was clapping, Dad was laughing, and Mom was nodding her head. I came into view first. Redzie Redzie bounced along behind me, and clucking away, her head down, eagerly following the wagon, waddled Goose Goose. When I came back into the house, Dad was still laughing. "She does that every time you pull the wagon." "Yep," I said. "Every time." "Well," Dad said, shaking his head, "that is certainly amazing." Chapter 3: Goose Goose. "Let's clean up the table," Mom said. "Then we can get packed up and head to school." "I don't want to be late," I said as I put my fork on my plate and carried it to the kitchen sink. "The animal parade starts at 10, but everyone has to go to class first for roll call at 9:15 before we are allowed to get our animals ready." "Go brush your teeth," Mom said. "Then you'll need to find an animal carrier in the barn the right size for Goose Goose." A few minutes later, I was in the barn looking at plastic boxes. They were designed to hold animals. Each was made of rugged plastic with a wire door that had a special handle that a person could open, but an animal couldn't. I found one the right size for Goose Goose and carried it out to find her. Goose Goose was easy to find. When the wagon had stopped moving, she curled up underneath and fell asleep. It was her favorite spot. Getting her in the carrier was another story. Getting a goose to do something it doesn't want to do is nearly impossible. Luckily, I had grabbed a handful of corn from the barn. I called her name and threw the corn into the carrier, which I had set down next to her before waking her. She stuck her head in the carrier, I pushed against her tail feathers as if trying to pick her up, and she scuttled away from my hands and into the carrier. I quickly shut the door behind her. Good job, Max said. Looks like you've done that before. I knew he was just teasing. I've been catching animals since before I could walk. Max helped and watched me catch hundreds of critters over the years. Trained barnyard pets were a lot easier to catch than wild animals. I picked up the carrier, which now had the goose inside, and placed it in the bed of my wagon. Taking Redzie's handle firmly in my grip, I walked back to the house. Max ran down my arm, down the long metal wagon handle, and jumped to the top of the goose carrier. He leaned over and stared in through the grate at Goose Goose, who was now laying on the bottom of the carrier eating corn. I pulled Redzie to the front yard and stopped in the grass next to the driveway where Mom's van was parked. I turned to head back into the house. Goose Goose would be fine waiting there for the next few minutes. Max jumped off the carrier and ran up behind me. With practiced skill, he climbed up my pant leg and leapt to my shoulder. We walked back into the house together. Mom met us in the kitchen. "Did you get a bowl of food and water for Goose Goose?" she asked. "Oh," I said. "I forgot." Mom handed me two plastic containers with lids on them. "Here you go," she said. "Fill one with corn from the barn and the other with water." I knew it was important to look after our pets, especially when they are traveling or penned up in a cage. They have no way to get their own food. I ran out to the barn and filled up one container with corn. Then I went to the water hose on the side of the house and filled the other with water. I took the two containers back into the house and showed Mom. "Good," she said. "We can give her those when we get to school. Do you have everything else you need?" "Yeah, I'm wearing my running clothes under these warmer clothes," I said. And these are my running shoes. Okay, Mom said, we're running late, so let's get going. Chapter 4: Roll Call. When we got to the school, there were lots of cars already there. One had a horse trailer behind it. Oh wow, I said, Christy brought her pony. She will win something for sure. I hopped out of the car and ran to my grade 3 classroom. When I got there, Miss Mahoney was already taking roll. I slid into my seat just as she said, "Danny?" "Yes, Miss," I said in a loud voice. "I'm here." As the teacher continued calling roll, I thought through what I would do with Goose Goose. I needed to go slow enough that she keeps up with the wagon and doesn't get distracted by the other animals and noise. And I needed to go close enough to the judges that they hear her saying her name as she walks. Goose Goose basically named herself when she was young. One day when Mom was feeding the animals, she sat on the ground and pulled a gosling onto her lap. When she started patting the baby goose in long strokes down its neck and back, it started making a goosey cooing kind of noise that sounded a lot like "goose goose goose goose goose goose." So Mom started calling her Goose Goose. Later we realized she says her name whenever she's happy. Nothing makes her more happy than following Redzie. The first time Mom saw me pulling the wagon across the yard with Goose Goose in tow, she could hear the goose goose goose goose from across the yard. She laughed and said, "I think Goose Goose is in love." "Danny," Miss Mahoney said, "are you with us?" Max was sitting on my desk facing me. He cupped his hands and yelled into my face, "Earth to Danny! Earth to Danny!" Yeah! I nearly shouted. I'm here! Good to have you back, the teacher laughed. You were lost in Imaginationland. Always in la-la land, Max said, crossing his arms. Sorry, I said. I was just thinking about the parade. I'm going to win Most Amazing Animal. Are you now? Miss Mahoney said. I'll look forward to that. The teacher walked over to me and knelt down next to my desk and Danny. Don't ever feel bad for having a great imagination. It's a gift. Yes, ma'am. A smile spread across my face. Then I turned to Max and raised my eyebrows as if to say, take that, monkey face. Max got my meaning and stuck his tongue out, blowing me a raspberry. Please stand next to your desks, the teacher said, walking back to the front of the room. It's time to head out to the animal parade. Everyone stood. Max jumped to my shoulder, his favorite spot. Miss Mahoney continued, "Those of you who brought animals, you can go to your parents and get set up for the parade. Those of you who are watching, please go sit on the grass in the middle of the oval." Following the teacher, everyone walked out of our classroom and headed to the animal parade. Chapter 5: Show-Stealing Secret. When I arrived at the van, Mom had already taken Goose Goose out of the carrier. They were sitting on the grass in front of the van. The goose was snuggled up on Mom's lap saying her name while Mom patted her neck in long slow strokes. Hi, Mom, I said. It's time to get ready for the parade. I headed to the back of the van and opened it. As the back door rose into the air, I saw the animal carrier sitting inside Redzie's bed. I removed the empty carrier and set it aside. Then I took Redzie out of the van. Jumped up to grab the door and pulled it down from above my head. The door slammed tight. As I started to pull the red wagon back to Mom, she said, "You might want the carrier too." "Nah," I said. "Goose Goose will follow the wagon." "Yes," Mom said, "but do you want everyone to see the show-stealing act before the show begins?" "She's right," Max said from my shoulder. "Don't give away the secret." I stopped. "You're right." I laughed. Don't want to give away our show-stealing secret. As I turned the wagon around and headed back for the carrier, Max said, "I see what you did there. Show-stealing secret." He said the three words slowly. "You mean the alliteration?" I asked. "Not only that," Max said. "Yes, they all start with the same letter, but you also combined your mom's words with mine." 'Did I?' I asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. 'Yes,' Max said. 'You did. You are a word thief.' I laughed out loud. 'You're crazy. Leave me alone. Let me do what I gotta do.' We'd reached the van. I opened the door, grabbed the carrier, and put it in the bed of the red wagon. Max jumped from my shoulder onto the top of the carrier. I yanked down the van door and headed back to Mom. As I pulled Redzie, Max balanced on one foot atop the carrier. 'Woo-hoo! Look at me!' Max said. I'm a crazy circus clown. You're right about that, I said. Mom looked up. Hmm, right about what? I thought quickly. The carrier. It was a great idea to keep Goose Goose's secret until the judges and the crowd are ready. That's what I thought, Mom said as she scooped the goose into her arms. Open the carrier, she said. I grabbed the metal clasp and squeezed. One piece went up, the other went down, and the carrier door popped open. I opened it wide and Mom slid the goose inside with ease. She was a practiced professional and made it look like no problem at all. She didn't need a handful of corn to trick Goose Goose like I did. I closed the carrier door and lifted it into the wagon. "Did you bring the food and water?" Mom asked. "Oh, drat," I said. "It's back in the van." "That's okay," Mom said. "I'll get it. I need to grab my purse and lock the van up anyway." Moments later, Mom was back and we headed to the parade ground, our secret safely stashed inside the carrier. Chapter 6: Registration. Arriving at the school's sport field, we saw people and animals everywhere. There was a long series of tables, probably about 6 of them, with judges sitting behind them. Around the field there were cats, dogs of all sizes, a couple of rabbits, a goat, and a horse. Each animal had a student holding a leash to control the animal. During the parade, every animal had to march in front of the judges, led by their student, and they would be judged in each category. The winner at the end would each get a prize for the category they topped. "This is going to be easy," I said to Mom. "Like taking candy from a baby." Mom laughed. "Don't get too confident. Some of the other kids could have secrets up their sleeves as well." "Guess," I said. "But Goose Goose could win any category. She's cute, smart, funny, and amazing." Mom said, "Wow, you really love Goose Goose." "I can just see the newspaper headline now," Max said, still standing atop the carrier. Max cupped his hands like a megaphone and shouted, "Step right up! Read all about it! Boy marries goose!" "I'm not in love with a goose," I said quite forcefully. "And I'm certainly not going to marry her." "Mary Goose Goose?" Mom laughed. "I don't think that's legal." "Good," I said. Mom ruffed up my hair with her hand. "You've got quite the imagination," she laughed. "Yeah," I said. "I know. It keeps monkeying around with me." I stared menacingly at Max. Max ducked left and right as if I were shooting lasers at him. There was a long line of students at the tables. A large sign above the first table said, "Register here." "Looks like I need to go register," I said. "Can I leave you here with Goose Goose?" Mom nodded. "Sure, see you in a bit." I turned and headed toward the long line of kids entering the parade. Max jumped from the carrier and ran after me. He shimmied up my pant leg and onto my shoulder. 20 minutes later, we walked back to find Mom sitting on the grass, leaning against the wagon, holding Goose Goose and reading a book. "Tough life," I said. Mom looked up from her reading and said, "Yeah, but somebody has to do it." She smiled. "How did the registration go?" I held a piece of paper with a red number 27 on it, dangling from a long loop of string tied to both top corners of the label. "Goose Goose has to wear this," I said, "so the judges know which entrant she is. It has to be on the side of her facing the judges." "Okay," Mom said. "Easy enough." She held the label against Goose Goose's left side and wrapped the two strings all the way around the goose. A piece of string on both the front side and back side of Goose Goose's legs. Then she looped it around the label and pulled it tight. It looked kind of like a saddle on the side of Goose Goose, and it worked perfectly. A voice came over the loudspeaker: All students registered for the animal parade, please form a line starting at the registration table. Once the line is formed, we will begin the parade. I picked up Goose Goose. Mom said, just keep her tight against you until you're ready to start the parade. She will be good if you hold her firmly. "I will. Thanks, Mom," I said. "Here we go." Chapter 7: Animal Parade. Holding Goose Goose tight against my chest with one arm, I grabbed Redzie's handle. Leaving the carrier with Mom, we joined a long line of students. As we walked to the line, Goose Goose could hear the wagon bouncing along and stretched her neck to look behind me and at Redzie. Max said, "I think the wedding should be for Redzie and Goose Goose. This goose is in love." Once the line had formed, the voice came over the speaker again. The voice belonged to the guy at the registration table. Okay kids, we're ready to start the parade. When your number is called, please lead your animal in front of the judges. The only time your animal will be judged is when you pass in front of the tables. The rest of the parade you do not need to worry about your animal's performance. When the judges are ready, I will call the next number in line. And introduce you and your animal from the registration notes in front of me. Is everyone ready? I joined the rest of the kids in shouting, "Yes!" One by one, the animals passed in front of the judges. Bunnies trying to hop on command, cats on leashes—that was crazy funny! Dogs doing tricks, a pony prancing sideways—this was tough competition. Finally, I was standing in front of the first table. The judges nodded and the announcer said, "Number 27, Danny and Goose Goose." I paused to make sure all the judges were watching. Once I had their full attention, I sat Goose Goose down on the ground as if I were done playing with her, held tightly to the wagon handle, and walked away at a slow steady pace. I didn't look back. It either worked or it didn't. It was now or nothing. I had only walked a few paces when I heard a familiar noise. Goose goose goose goose goose goose. I kept my chin up, face forward, and continued my steady pace. They are eating this up, Max laughed. Goose goose is a star. When I was well past the judges, I stopped, turned, and picked up Goose Goose. The crowd erupted. I hadn't realized they'd all gone quiet. Everyone was definitely amazed. I waited patiently until the announcer introduced the next competitor, and then I walked back to Mom. "Well done," Mom laughed. "You held the secret until the perfect time. That was certainly impressive." "Thanks, Mom," I said as I handed her Goose Goose. "Now we will see if the judges think she was the most amazing animal. There are a lot of really good ones." It seemed like forever until the parading animals finished. Then we had to wait for the judges to make their decisions. When they finally started calling the awards, they went through all the categories in order. Cutest: Lonnie's rabbit Fluff Bucket. Fastest: Joe's dog. Tallest: Kristy's pony. Loudest: Bart's barking dog. Quietest: Shannon's rabbit Tiptoe. Funniest: Jack's backflipping dog. Most amazing: Bo's tail-chasing cat. Most intelligent: Sam's dog Count. And most obedient: Jenny's Jack Russell. That was all the categories. We hadn't won anything. I let out a slow breath. My shoulders sagged. I looked over at Mom. She shrugged and raised her palms in frustration. Max was quiet. He wrapped his legs around my neck and hugged me reassuringly. How had we lost? The announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes all the awards planned for today, but the judges have decided to add one more award based on a unique entry." I sat up. Mom smiled a one-sided crooked smile. Max's grip tightened around my neck. "Due to a truly Outstanding and unexpected performance, the announcer continued. The category of show stealer has been added to today's awards, and the award for today's show stealer goes to A Goose, a Boy, and Their Little Red Wagon, Danny and Goose Goose. The crowd went crazy again. Max jumped to the top of my head and started pumping his fist and shouting, that's what I'm talking about, boy! I jumped to my feet and ran to the tables to accept my award. Max swung around my neck like a hula hoop as I ran. The announcer handed me a newly written award. He leaned over and said into my ear, "Good job, Danny. We all loved couscous." Chapter 8: Number 32. When I got back to Mom, she had spread some sandwiches and fruit on the blanket. Lots of people came up during lunch and congratulated me. Most of them also rubbed Goose Goose's neck. After lunch, Mom said she needed to take Goose Goose home and then run some errands. She said she would be back after the jog-a-thon and that I should meet her at our usual pickup spot next to the road in front of the school. I said goodbye to Mom and Goose Goose and waved as the van pulled away. As I finished my sandwich, I scanned the crowd for where my friends were sitting. I found them and headed over to join them. I had barely started chatting with my friends when the voice on the announcer came over the loudspeaker again. "Those of you who are running in the Jog-a-thon, please bring your sponsorship booklets to the registration table. The run will begin in 15 minutes. Those who have already turned in their books to a teacher, you also need to come to the table to get your number pinned on your shirt." I hopped up, as did a lot of other people, and joined the long line of runners. I'm a good runner. I'm not fast, but jogathons aren't about being fast. They're about being consistent. I spend most of my free time at home riding my bike. I can ride for hours without resting, so I know I can jog for hours too. Slow and steady wins the race, Max said. He was sitting on my shoulder, waiting patiently as the line got shorter and shorter. Soon we were at the registration table. Finally, standing first in line, I saw a student finish registering at the table in front of my teacher. As they walked away, I walked up. "Danny," Miss Mahoney said with a smile, "I saw your booklet. Good job on getting so many sponsors." "Thanks," I said. "$42 a lap should raise a lot." "That depends on how many laps you do." "Yeah," I laughed. "I've been thinking about it. I should be able to get at least 24 laps in 2 hours." "¿Cómo lo calculaste?" she asked. "One lap every 5 minutes," I said. "I should be able to do that easy." "¿No piensas en descansar?" "No, no voy a necesitar descansar," I said. "No voy a correr, solo caminar." "Hmm, sounds like a good plan," Miss Mahoney said. She held up a piece of paper. "¿Estás feliz con el número 32?" "Sí," I said, as I stepped forward and turned around so she could pin the number on my back. "Here's another one," Miss Mahoney said, handing me another number 32 with 2 safety pins. "Can you pin that on the front of your shirt?" "Yes," I said, taking the paper before walking away. "Oh, Danny," Miss Mahoney said from behind me. "Congratulations on your show-stealing goose." "Thanks," I said. Chapter 9: Jog-a-thon. When the gun sounded, starting the jog-a-thon, I was in the middle of the crowd. We started slowly. Well, most of us did. Sean, a grade 6 boy, took off like it was the Olympics and he only had to run for 10 seconds to win. He was rounding the corner at the far end of the track before I even crossed the starting line. "Sean's gonna win," a kid next to me said. "Yeah," another kid chimed in. "He's the fastest in the school." "Tell them what you think, Danny," Max said into my ear. "He may be the fastest," I said. "but this isn't about speed." "What do you mean?" the first kid asked. "Nobody can sprint for 2 hours," I said. "He's going to be laying on the side of the track soon." The other kids laughed. They knew I was right. About after 2 laps, I was proved right. As we passed the water tables, there was Shawn laying on the ground panting like a tired puppy. Max started laughing and fake panting as if he were running really fast. "He looks like a dying fish!" I said to Max, but the other kids around me heard. They passed my joke through the crowd, and everyone laughed as they passed Shawn, realizing who I meant. "Good one," Max said. I didn't mean for everyone else to hear. Whoops. Less than a minute later, Shawn ran through the crowd and past us all. "Hmm," I said. "He has a strategy too." "What do you mean?" the boy next to me asked. "Run, rest, run, rest," I I said. "If he can keep passing us, he will still win." "It's not a race," a grade 5 girl said. "My dad said it's about doing your best and then collecting the sponsorship money to help the school." "With Shawn, it's always a race," I said. "Because he's fast," a boy said. "Yeah," I said. "Let's see how he goes after an hour." Sure enough, Shawn kept resting and running, resting and running. He passed us and we passed him so many times that by the time an hour had passed, I had no idea who was on the most laps. There were lots of other kids in other groups too, and they all rested now and then and ran different speeds. Every once in a while, I was jogging alone. A few minutes after the 15 minutes left announcement, I was alone again. I said to Max, "It is impossible to know who's in the lead." "Yeah," Max said. "That's why the judges are keeping track of your number each time you go past." True, I said. I'm not even sure how many laps I've done. A whistle blew and the announcer's voice told us to finish our final lap. There were only 2 minutes remaining. We crossed the line a minute or so later. The other runners dribbled across the line in the next few minutes. Soon the judges were finished comparing notes. The loudspeaker crackled and the announcer said, "Well done, kids! We had a very close race today." Please join us on the stage as your names are announced. Amazingly, there were 4 runners who tied for 3rd place. On 29 laps, we have Joe, Shelley, Sam, and Henry. That makes sense, Max said. They were running and resting together. Yeah, I said. They are friends. As the 4 walked forward, people patted them on the shoulders and cheered. Unfortunately, the announcer said once they had reached the stage, this means we will need to get 3 more trophies before giving them to you kids. But please everyone, give a loud round of applause to the 4 fine runners. When the cheering died down, the announcer continued, in 2nd place we have one speedy young man running 30 laps. Please come forward, Sean. Again everyone cheered. As Shawn walked to the stage, he didn't look as happy as the third-place winners. When the judges gave him his trophy and as the crowd cheered for him, his eyes scanned the crowd. "He's trying to figure out who beat him," Max said. "And now our winner," the announcer said, "on 32 laps, the boy who never rests, Danny!" Even though I had followed my strategy and kept jogging, I was still surprised. Wow! I laughed. It worked! I made my way through the cheering crowd and walked onto the stage. As I passed Sean, he mumbled, "You got lucky." "Not really," I said. "Slow and steady wins the race." "Whatever," Sean said as I stood next to him on the stage. My strategy had just been better than his. Max quietly said into my ear, "I don't think he's impressed with your strategy." I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. The judge handed me the first-place trophy and said, "Congratulations, Danny! Everyone put your hands together for our first-place winner today, Danny!" As the crowd cheered, Max lifted my hand and waved it at the crowd, and my face pulled itself into a tired but satisfied smile. What a day! Chapter 10. Waiting at the gate. I always waited outside the front of school for Mom to pick me up. There was an entry and exit loop into the school car park, but that was always clogged with cars. This was faster. And as I stood waiting for Mom, lots of kids wanted to see my trophy. It was fun showing them and receiving their kind words. I explained my strategy over and over to anyone who asked. The question came in different words and sizes. "Dave, how did you win? How could you keep running for 2 hours without resting? What did you think when kids kept running past you?" My answer was always, "Slow and steady wins the race." It was a good answer because it was a good strategy. I had run the most laps because of my strategy. I had won the race. It was a story that did not get old. As I repeated my strategy proudly for the umpteenth time, I heard a voice from the other side of the fence copy me. In a mocking tone, the voice repeated over and over, "Slow and steady wins the race. Slow and steady wins the race." I couldn't see who it was because the fence was very tall and made of solid wood. The voice continued, "Slow and steady wins the race. Slow and steady wins the race." Then the voice changed, and in a shout that I recognized, it said, "Only for losers!" Max said, Uh-oh, Danny, you know what Shawn is like when he gets angry. Just keep quiet. But the kids all around me were starting to laugh. So I shouted back, who's the loser today? The crowd of kids on both sides of the fence went quiet. They all wanted to hear what Shawn would say next. What did you say? Shawn's voice came menacingly through the fence. He was right on the other side. Feeling braver than usual with the fence between us, I walked right to where I heard his voice come from and faced the fence. "Don't do anything stupid, Danny!" Max shouted. I was probably standing inches from his face, but he couldn't see me. It was like we were toe-to-toe in a boxing ring. Then I shouted, "I said you are a loser!" Oh boy, you should have heard the crowd erupt. It was like a volcano of laughter and ooh and ahh. Then someone shouted, "Take that, Sean!" Shaking on my shoulder, Max said, "You better run, Danny. He's gonna kill you." I looked down to one end of the fence to see if anyone was coming around. Then I looked at the other end. No one came. It sounded like the crowd was still right on the other side of the fence. Sean shouted from the same place as before, "You guys are the losers!" Good, I thought, he's not coming around to chase me. "Let's see who the luckiest loser is!" Sean shouted. The crowd on Sean's side of the fence started laughing. What happened next keeps happening over and over in my mind, like a TV replay of a football player getting hurt over and over. Then again, In slow motion. "What is he talking about?" I asked Max. "Dunno," said a boy standing near me. "Dunno," said Max from my shoulder. I stepped away from the fence, 2 steps, maybe 3. Then whack! Something hit me on the side of the head, just above my left ear. It hurt bad. Stunned, I put my hand to the pain and felt something warm, wet, sticky, and lots of it. "Blood!" someone shouted into my now-soaked ear. "You're bleeding, Danny!" I stumbled sideways and sat down. A voice on the other side of the fence started laughing. "Are you kidding me?" Sean shouted. "I got him? That is too good!" The kids around me wanted to go get a teacher. "No, don't," I said. "Mom will be here soon. I'm okay anyway." "Not really," one boy said. "There's lots of blood." "Yeah, head cuts always bleed more," I said. "I know. I get hurt all the time. Doesn't bother me. I'm tough." "How did he even hit me?" I asked. "Just a lucky throw," the boy answered. I laughed and grimaced at the same time. Lucky for him, maybe. I talked to the kids standing around me until Mom pulled up. I stood and stumbled into the van. Chapter 11: Visiting the Truth. "So that's the whole story," I said as we drove home from the hospital. "Goose Goose and I stole the show, and then I won the jog-a-thon. It would have been a perfect day if Sean hadn't been a sore loser." "The rock came from the other side of the fence, right?" Mom asked. "Yes." "So how do you know it was Sean?" "he said he threw it." "Was it just random luck that it hit you?" "Well, maybe for him," I said. "It sure wasn't lucky for me." I saw the 7-Eleven go past my window. "This isn't the way home," I said. "No," Mom said. "It isn't." "Where are we going?" I asked. "That boy is going to give you an apology!" Mom sounded angry. Max, who had been nearly asleep on my lap, looked up at me. Not good, Danny. Don't worry about it, Mom, I said. I just want to go home. I'm sorry, Danny, Mom was determined. When someone hurts another person, they need to apologize. If they haven't learned that yet, they need to be taught compassion. Um, okay, I said. What are you going to do? I'm going to explain it to his parents, Mom said. I'm sure they will encourage Shawn to apologize to you. Mom pulled the van to a stop and got out. I watched as she walked to the front door. Max was shaking his head. "You deserve this." "I do not," I said. "I told you not to say mean things to Sean," Max said. "Then you lied to your mom." "I didn't lie. I told the truth." I paused, thinking back. "Well, mostly." Mom was walking back to the van. She looked madder than before. Her door flew open. "Did you call Sean a loser?" "Maybe," I mumbled. "Get out," Mom commanded. I got out and followed my mom to the house. Sean and his mother stood at the door. "Go ahead, Danny," Mom said. I stared at the ground. "Eye contact, Danny," Mom said. "And I want to hear it like you mean it." I lifted my eyes. Sean looked like he was about to laugh. I'm sorry, Sean, I said. I shouldn't have called you a loser. That's right, Sean said. Sean! His mother said his name like the house was on fire. Sean stopped talking suddenly. What do you have to say for yourself? Sean's mom said it more as a statement than a question. Um, Sean's voice went down to the floor and his eyes followed. Eye contact, Sean! his mom demanded. His eyes met mine. They were filling with tears. "I'm sorry for calling you a loser too." "And?" his mom said. "I'm sorry for hitting you with a rock." I extended my hand. Shawn took it and we shook. "Wanna see the stitches?" I said. "They're really awesome." "Okay," Shawn laughed. I reached up and yanked the bandage off. "Annie!" Mom said. I turned my head so Shawn could see. "Oh, wow," he said. His mother covered her mouth and breathed in sharply. "Seven stitches," I said proudly. "Cool," Sean said, staring at the wound. "Man, you are tough." "Thanks," I said. "Let's go," Mom said. "You've had a big day." Sean patted my back as I turned around. "See you at school tomorrow." I smiled. "Yeah, see you then." We were about halfway to the van. The door of the house behind us opened again. Hey Danny! Sean called. Yeah? I said. Good running today. Thanks, Sean.