Chapter 2

"Hey, Jimmy," a voice called from outside his bedroom window. "You ready?"

It was Jimmy's best friend Wallace. Jimmy finished tying his black and white Chuck Taylors and went to the window.

"Hey, Wallace," Jimmy yelled back. He always called his friend Wallace. Not Wally. That's the way Wallace wanted it. "I'll be right down. Oh. Watch out. Carlson almost ate Nicky this morning."

Wallace looked nervously around and then hurried his somewhat chubby body up to the front stairs. Seconds later Jimmy came out of the door.

"Weather man says it's 60 degrees out,'' Wallace said. He always greeted his friends with a weather update. He was obsessed with the weather. While other boys were watching the news for sports highlights, Wallace waited for the local weatherman to step in front of the giant map and point out all the highs and lows coming towards his town. "It's going to get up near 70 with a slight breeze coming out of the southwest," he said, very proud of this knowledge. "Perfect racing weather."

"The southwest?" Jimmy asked. "Will that be behind us on the hill or in our faces?"

"Um. I don't know," Wallace said as they walked into Jimmy's back yard.

They went behind the shed where Jimmy's dad stored the wheelbarrow and some concrete blocks. Next to the wheelbarrow was something covered under an old brown plastic tarp. Wallace and Jimmy each grabbed ends of the tarp and pulled it away, uncovering a wooden go-kart. It made them smile every time they pulled off the tarp and revealed the go-kart's 7-Up design on the front panel that Jimmy's dad had helped them paint. 7-Up was their favorite drink. And seven was both the boys' favorite number in honor of their favorite Boston Bruins hockey player. Phil Esposito.

Jimmy got behind the kart and pushed as Wallace walked along steering the kart towards the driveway. They parked it in the center of the asphalt and stood there admiring it. They were very proud of their kart. It was the third one they had built together and this was by far the best.


The go-kart was a plywood plank about four feet long and two feet wide framed by two-by-fours under it for support. On the front half was a box that the driver could slide his legs into. The top of the box sloped away from the driver like the hood of a car. The sides were painted dark green and the top panel bright white. The large 7-Up logo had little green bubbles painted all around it. At the bottom of the panel were each of the boys' names in cursive in the dark green color. At the top of the hood facing the driver was a bright red metal steering wheel that they had taken from Nicky's old ride-on fire truck. The steering wheel was connected by wires to another two-by-four that was attached like an axle under the front of the kart by a large bolt, allowing it to move back and forth for turning.

Everything about the kart was perfect. Except the wheels.

They were shopping cart wheels. The kind that wobbled down the aisle at the grocery store. Jimmy had found an old cart behind the Stop & Shop and he and Wallace dragged it home and screwed the wheels off. They put the small wheels on the front and larger wheels on the back so the kart leaned forward in what they thought was a menacing way.

But, like all the other wheels they had tried, they didn't work too well.

"Maybe we should switch back to the tricycle wheels," Wallace said as he and Jimmy circled the go-kart. "They didn't wobble as much."

"We lost to the Curtain brothers every time with those," Jimmy said. "We never even came close. Those bike wheels are just too slow."

"Ya," Wallace said as he sat in the kart and started turning the steering wheel. "These wheels are fast. Just wobbly."

"What are you doing?" Jimmy asked.

"What?" Wallace said.

"Why are you sitting down? I'm driving," Jimmy answered.

"Why are you driving? I'm a better driver," Wallace said as he leaned forward and made an intense face as if driving down Ledgehill. "You get nervous if the kart goes too fast."

"What?" Jimmy answered with a forced laugh. "You're crazy. Besides, you are a better pusher than me. A fast start is important."

"Ya. I know. But remember the last race? We were right behind them heading into the curve at the bottom of the hill when you lost control and we spun out. We could have won."

"I spun out because I thought you were going to fall off the back if we took the curve that sharp," Jimmy said. "I didn't lose control. I told you that."

"You always drive and the Curtains have beaten us eleven times," Wallace continued. "Maybe I should take a turn at the wheel."

"You're a better pusher and better at breaking," Jimmy said, growing annoyed. "We've lost because they have a faster kart. Not because I'm a lousy driver. Come on."

Jimmy started to push the go-kart out of the driveway. Wallace climbed out and helped him push. The discussion was over. He'd let Jimmy drive. That's why they were best friends,

They pushed the kart towards Kilmer Road. As they walked along they chatted anxiously about what had gone right and wrong in all their other races. Mostly wrong. They had raced the Curtain brothers down Ledgehill eleven times and had never  won. They only came close three times. A few races their kart didn't even make it to the finish line.

"You have to cut the corner tight," Wallace said over the clatter of the wheels. "The only times we came close was when we cut the corner like they do."

"We have to be ahead of them before we get to the corner," Jimmy said. "We have to get off to a fast start. If you get us that last big push we can get ahead of them."

The boys stopped talking as they got to the corner of Kilmer and Glenellen. They slowed the kart down so the tires wouldn't rattle as loud as they passed by a small white house. It had a little green picket fence all around a yard that was filled with lots of flowers. They passed by the driveway and Jimmy looked around the yard out of the corner of his eyes. He only saw a small golden retriever sleeping on the grass. He kept looking to see if the dog's owner was outside. Her name was Peggy and she was in Jimmy's grade. She wasn't out there.

"If we hurry," Wallace said. "We can get there in time to make a few practice runs before the Curtains get there."

"Ya," Jimmy said, still glancing behind him as they went down Glenellen. "We could use a few practice runs."