ANDY

Day 2, 10:30 AM

"So this is what Andy Carson looks like when he's not riding a bike."

I didn't recognize the voice behind me. It was a surprisingly deep voice, even for a guy. I turned and saw a huge guy in front of me.

"Um… I don't know you, do I?"

"Yeah, you do," he said. "You probably just don't remember me. But I'll bet you remember the tricks that you beat me with yesterday."

"It was the first round," I said, a little defensively. I was starting to get a little nervous. Was this that guy that cracked McEllen's rib? "The first round doesn't even matter."

"You're wrong, rookie. The way someone gets noticed and famous is by ripping the first round."

"Well, um-"

"You'd better pray you fall today. For your own sake. If you're lucky, maybe you can break a few bones and have my pity." He slammed into my shoulder as he walked past me.

~*~

"Hey, dude," I said to Jay when I walked into the stadium. "Did you catch that one guy's score yesterday? The one that McEllen's freaked out about?"

Jay smiled. "Briggs? I don't know. Why?"

I almost told him about my encounter, but then decided not to. I'd look like I was scared, then. And the last thing I wanted to do was look like a wimp in front of these guys.

"No reason."

"Uh-huh. Really, now."

"Really," I said. "No big deal." I turned my attention to the rider that was up hoping he would do the same, but Jay wouldn't let it drop.

"He said something?" he pressed. I shook my head. "Threatened you, didn't he?" I shook my head again, but stayed silent. "Fine, keep it a secret. But a word of advice, Carson? This guy doesn't play games. He isn't all talk. If he says he'll kill you, he will kill you. Trust me. McEllen got nailed 'cause he didn't give Briggs' threats the attention they shoulda got."

I kept my expression neutral, but I inwardly squirmed. Really? So… I had to fall today if I didn't wanna get into a big fight?

Don't let Briggs push you around, I told myself. If you do good, he'll just have to deal with it.

Then again, if I fell, no one would know I whimped out except for Briggs. Everyone else would think I just made a mistake. Maybe taking a fall would be less humiliating than getting into a serious fight with a guy twice my size.

But then… would it really? Falling from 100 feet up? What if I got some serious damage done? At least facing Briggs I'd be able to fight back, maybe do a little damage myself.

I needed to talk to someone. Quick. I was up in 15 minutes. But who? Andie? Normally she'd be a good bet, but not now. She'd been really moody lately, she was probably still mad at me. Dean? No, I didn't really know him. He was closer to Andie than me. Kori? No, I didn't know her, either. But then… maybe she wasn't such a bad option. I had dirt on her. If she dared tell anyone…

And she was sensitive. She'd listen, and have the right answer. All of those poetry-types gave good advice.

"I'll be back in a sec," I told Jay.

"Where you goin'?"

"Crazy," I replied with a smirk. I walked away fast and went into the seat-area. Where did Kori and Dean sit? I looked around and found them a few rows above me and a lot of seats away. I got there as fast as I could.

"Hey, guys," I said.

"Carson, what are you doing?" Dean asked.

"Um, actually, I have to talk to your cousin. Can I borrow her?"

Dean blinked. "I don't care. Why?"

"I don't have a lot of time. I'll tell you later." Was that a lie? I wasn't sure. It just kind of shot out of my mouth. "Kori?"

She smiled and stood. "I'll be back in a sec," she told Dean. We walked away, out into the empty halls. "What's up?"

"I don't have a lot of time, so I'm just gonna spit this all out. But before you repeat it to anyone, remember that I know your bike's name." She smiled. "OK, here's the deal. There's this freaky guy here that I've been strictly warned various times to stay away from. I beat him the first day and he told me that I'd better fall today if I hoped to survive his wrath. My sources tell me that when this guy makes a threat, he carries it out. What do I do? Fall?"

Kori blinked. "Wow, Andy, I didn't know we were close enough to share life problems with each other from just one night at a coffee house."

"I know, I know. But you were my best bet. None of my friend are here, and Andie's mad at me."

"You're Andy."

"No, I mean Andrea. My sister."

"Oh, yeah. Now I remember. Dean told me-"

"I don't have a lot of time," I cut in. "I hate to sound like a jerk, but cut the crap and tell me what to do."

Kori smiled. "I've never met a guy that told me to tell him what to do."

"That's great. Now talk."

"Personally, I'd fight the guy."

"Yeah, except he's twice as strong as me. He cracked this one guy's rib last year."

Kori stared at me. "Wow. Ooooookay, then. You know what? Don't fall."

"Really?"

"Definitely. Do good, then fly to Canada."

I smiled. "Thanks. If you dare fell anyone, even Dean, I'll-"

"Don't worry. This'll be our first friendship secret. In China that's the final step to being good friends."

"Great. My first real X Games friend and she's a girl."

"Hey!" Kori gave my shoulder a playful smack. I pretended that it hurt.

"Ow!" I grabbed my shoulder to exaggerate my pain.

She laughed. "Get out there before I kill you."

"Yes, ma'am."

A/N: everyone say thank you to pinkchick (let's hear it: "Thank you pinkchick.") It's because of her review that I updated so quickly. The first one was short, and I felt a little guilty, so I decided to update again right away.