Free Rogue by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Page A

where we’ve left the bikes, staying close to me and far away from Chad. “You know, Max helped build this trail. It took about a dozen of us for the mountain bike trail and another dozen for the BMX track.”
    â€œI ride BMX,” Chad calls out.
    Antonio whirls around. “Did I ask you, dirtbag?”
    Chad shrinks back, head lowered.
    â€œIt’d be cool if you could come here after school and work with us on the trail, Kiara. Keep up the family tradition,” Antonio says. “I won’t say anything to Max about the . . . the other thing, but I’ll tell him you’re helping out.”
    â€œPromise?” My muscles unclench as I see my way out. I’d never thought of my brothers’ friends becoming my friends. They were just a bunch of guys who would hang out in our living room talking and laughing, and crowding our backyard with their bikes.
    â€œI promise,” Antonio says.
    I survey the path we take back to our bikes. This part is wide, but splitting off from it are narrow tracks carved out of the side of the hill. I can see why Max liked riding here and why Antonio got so mad at that guy who caused the explosion.
    When we get to the tree where I left my bike, Antonio lifts the two bottles from my saddlebags. He holds one in each hand by its neck and moves in slow motion toward Chad’s bike. There, he rearranges the bottles to fit upright rather than lying on their sides. He rolls my bike away from the tree and holds it out for me.
    â€œYou need to stay at least a hundred feet behind him.” Antonio pats the seat. “In case he falls or runs into something and this stuff blows up.”
    â€œIt only blows up if you open the cap,” Chad mumbles.
    â€œYeah, right. Now get out of here and don’t come back.” Antonio picks up the chain saw and waves it in Chad’s direction. “And keep away from Kiara. She doesn’t need to be involved in your garbage.”
    I give Chad a head start and stay a hundred feet from him, as Antonio told me to do. Even though this part of the trail is a gentle uphill wide enough for two bikes, I worry with every little bump that Chad will wipe out and blow us both up. My sweaty palms make it hard to grip the handlebars. My mind returns to the bottles Antonio pulled from Chad’s saddlebag and mine. Chad had promised to leave me out of his family’s business, and he broke his promise. Like Gambit in the
X-Men
movie, he turned evil. He couldn’t get away from his family’s criminal activities even though he promised Rogue he would be her friend and join the X-Men. That’s why I’ve always liked the comic books better than the movie. In the comics, Gambit was Rogue’s friend and he was good.
    I don’t think Antonio will tell anyone about the bottles. And I believe him when he said he’s my friend and Chad’s trouble.
I’m done with Chad,
I tell myself. It’s the first time I’ve ever dumped a New Kid. Antonio will be proud of me for doing it. But I’ll have to figure out how to make Max’s old bike get me all the way to College Park. I’ll have to scrape off the rust so the bike looks nice, straighten out the brakes so they don’t rub against the tires, and tighten the derailleurs so the gears shift like they’re supposed to.
    Antonio will be a better friend than Chad. He’s way older, like Wolverine. He’s the kind of friend who’ll protect me when other kids pick on me or take advantage of me. He won’t make me do things that are wrong and dangerous.
    Chad’s bike wobbles on the uphill part of the trail. Right before the spot where the trail meets the road, he stops.
    I don’t want to stop for him. I don’t want to ride anywhere near him. Cruising past him, I call out, “Meet me at the park for your bike.”
    He doesn’t answer. Maybe he didn’t hear me. I circle back to where he has stopped