Bicycles

Amelia pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail and fastened her bike helmet underneath her chin. She whipped her bike around the garage clutter, corralling it outside onto the driveway. She stood nervously on the cement, gripping the handlebars, trying not to talk herself out of it. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her dad wave to her with an encouraging smile. She couldn’t turn back now.

She looked at her bike. Silver with purple accents. Ten speeds, which she had mastered during countless rides around her Northeast Portland neighborhood. Her parents only let her stay between 20th and 30th, and Skidmore and Alameda. The front of her bike had a basket. She planned to carry her backpack in the basket when she rode her bike to school this coming year after summer ended (she didn’t want summer to end, but she was excited to start third grade).

Loud voices echoed down the street. They seemed to move closer to Amelia’s house. Then, she heard the sound of bicycles racing at top speed. The boys came dashing around the corner and whizzed by Amelia’s driveway. But then, Bobby and Jamal screeched to a stop and returned to talk to Amelia.

“Hey!” Bobby shouted. “Come ride with us.”

Amelia hesitated. She looked at her feet.

“Where are you going to ride?” she asked.

“I think we’re going to Deadman’s Hill,” Jamal said.

Amelia’s heart began to race. Her eyes widened. Panic began to overtake her nerves.

“My parents won’t let me,” Amelia said honestly.

Bobby and Jamal laughed. Amelia’s face turned bright red and she started to feel angry, though she wasn’t sure who her anger was directed toward.

“You don’t have to ride down Deadman’s Hill,” Bobby said. “We know it’s probably too scary for you anyway.”

Amelia gritted her teeth and clenched her handlebars.

“Alright, I’ll come with you,” she said, “but I’m not going to ride down the hill. Not because I’m scared, but just because my parents won’t let me.”

Bobby smiled condescendingly. He hopped back on his bike and started to speed away. Jamal followed. Amelia jumped on her bike and pedaled hard to keep up.

Deadman’s Hill was only a few blocks away, but the ride seemed unending. The sun beat down on the concrete, producing a humid heat that drained Amelia’s energy quicker than usual. Her blonde hair darkened as she began to perspire.

As she pedaled toward Bobby, she noticed his bike getting closer, which meant she was catching up. She pedaled with more force, more motivation.

Bobby and Jamal were the coolest kids in school. They were strong, athletic, good-looking kids. Bobby was the best football player at recess, and Jamal was definitely the best soccer player. And they were both wicked smart. Amelia knew that they were becoming too cool for her, but she had been neighbors with both boys since she was born. But they were starting to become kind of mean. She sometimes felt like they were just bringing her along so they could be better than her at things.

As she rounded the corner of Alameda, she saw Bobby and Jamal stop. The street narrowed. Trees created a darkened archway. There it was. Deadman’s Hill.

Deadman’s Hill was the steepest hill in the neighborhood. It was so steep that cars weren’t even allowed to drive up it. Creepy old staircases jutted out from it so pedestrians didn’t have to strain themselves with its decline. The curbs still had metal loops that early Portlanders used to tie up their horses.

Amelia pulled her bike alongside Jamal’s and looked down. The hill seemed to go on for miles, ending in a six-way intersection. A shiver crept up her spine and into her neck.

“Alright, who’s first?” Jamal asked.

Bobby looked around at the trees like he didn’t hear the question.

“Hey, why is it called Deadman’s Hill, anyway?” Bobby asked.

“You don’t know the legends?” Jamal said.

Amelia and Bobby both shook their heads. Jamal settled into his bike seat and nodded his head, pushing his glasses down, giving him an aura of wisdom. He cleared his throat methodically.

“A hundred years ago,” Jamal said, “a thief robbed the old mansion down the block. He was speeding along the road on his horse. This very road. When he reached this hill here, his horse pulled up to a stop, too afraid to go down it. But the thief was determined, so he forced his horse to charge full speed. Halfway down the hill, a tree branch caught the thief in the neck, stopping his body on the branch. The horse kept going, never to be heard from again. When the authorities arrived, the man’s body was hanging from the tree, like a hangman’s noose”

Amelia and Bobby looked wide-eyed at Jamal’s tale.

“To this day,” Jamal continued, “the ghost of the thief haunts this very hill. As penance, he protects those who are deemed worthy to pass, and he offers no protection to those who are not.”

Amelia gripped her handlebars; her knuckles turned white with fear. Bobby’s knuckles did the same, but Amelia didn’t notice.

Jamal returned his glasses to their original position, and his expression of sage wisdom had vanished, leaving only the contented smile of a successful storyteller.

“So, who’s first,” Jamal asked.

“You’ve both ridden your bikes down Deadman’s Hill before, right?” Amelia asked.

Jamal and Bobby looked at each other with expressions of false confidence.

“Uh, well, um,” Bobby stammered.

“No, I haven’t,” Jamal said. “But I’m not scared to do it.”

“I haven’t either,” Bobby said, “but not because I’m scared. I’ve just been waiting for the right time.”

“So, why don’t you go first?” Amelia asked Bobby.

Bobby laughed, hiding his fear.

“You need to go first,” Bobby said. “We know we’re both going to do it. We want to make sure you don’t chicken out like a little girl.”

Amelia’s eyes flitted with anger. She wrung her hands along her handlebars and secured her stance on her bike.

“Oh yeah?” she shouted. “I’ll show you what little girls can do.”

Amelia slammed her right foot down on her pedal, shifting gears as she charged forward. She stopped her pedaling and began to glide, balancing her feet on both pedals as she lifted herself off of her seat. Deadman’s Hill approached.

The front tire tipped over the decline; she was committed. Her momentum carried her forward even faster. Wind blew her ponytail behind her, and her eyes squinted. Adrenaline charged through her veins. She felt like she was flying.

As she charged to the midpoint of the hill, she noticed a tree branch above her. The wind made the leaves dance, as if they were waving to her. She smiled.

Amelia began to panic as the stop sign approached. The end of Deadman’s Hill was getting closer. Too close. Too quickly. The crazy intersection was buzzing with cars.

After the stop sign, the hill immediately flattened out. Amelia slammed on her breaks and shifted her weight to one side. Her bike skidded to stop. Style points, she thought.

Amelia looked up the hill and waved to the boys, encouraging them to follow in her footsteps, in the trail she had just blazed. But when they didn’t make a move to ride down the hill, she jumped off of her bike and walked it back up the same way she came. As she reached the top of the hill, she noticed Jamal and Bobby silently looking around, avoiding eye contact with her.

“What’s the hold up?” Amelia asked. “Something wrong with your bikes?”

“Um, well,” Jamal said, “I, I think I have to get home for lunch.”

“Yeah, um, I, well,” Bobby said.

Amelia smiled proudly.

“You chickens.”