CHAPTER 12: Andrew's Accident

I couldn't wait to tell the big-house family about Jason's singing. Even though the words to the song didn't make any sense to me, I still liked it, mostly because it had Danny's name in it. Well, actually, he said "Daniel", instead of "Danny", but you get the idea.

The three of us were finishing our homework when we heard a car horn honk outside. Daddy was here to take Hannie and me home. "'Bye, Nancy," I said as we put on our backpacks and headed to the door.

"'Bye," Nancy answered.

When we got out to the curb, we saw something in the very back of the car, but we couldn't quite make out what it was.

"Hi, girls," Elizabeth said as we got in the car. That's when we saw what it was: a bluish-green bike with training wheels and a Shrek helmet!

"Wow!" Hannie said. "Where'd the bike come from?"

"We got it at a yard sale," Daddy answered as we left Forest Drive. "Karen, do you remember Mr. Washington, who gave us the rocking chair when Mommy and I brought you home from the hospital?"

"Not really."

"Oh. Well, he and his wife are moving to Ft. Lauderdale for their retirement. This bike used to belong to their grandson before he outgrew it, so they sold it to us."

"It's for Andrew, right?" I guessed. I knew it couldn't possibly be for me, because I've long since taken the training wheels off my bike. Besides, Andrew was getting pretty sick of that trike, to tell you the truth.

"Yup," Elizabeth said.

I just knew Andrew was going to love it.

Boy, did he ever! In fact, when he saw it, he ran and jumped all over the yard like the Energizer bunny on a cappuccino binge!

"Whoa, slow down there, little buddy!" Daddy laughed as he grabbed hold of Andrew. "I'm glad you like the bike, but don't you think you should learn how to ride it first?"

Andrew instantly pulled himself together. "Oh, that makes sense," he said.

"Good," Daddy said. "And we'll be more than happy to help you learn, okay?"

"Okay," Andrew said. "Thanks a lot, Daddy."

"You're more than welcome, son."

"So, who gets Andrew's trike?" I asked.

"We'll be giving it to Emily when she's old enough," Elizabeth answered.

Makes sense, I thought. After all, that trike had been mine first; then when I got my bike, I gave it to Andrew, and now that he's getting his own bike, it would be Emily's when she's a little bigger. After that, who knows?

Over the next few days, all of us took turns teaching Andrew how to ride his new bike, and he turned out to be pretty good at it. In fact, when Kristy saw how well he was doing, she suggested taking him, David Michael, and me on a bike ride that following Saturday.

"Oh, that would be so awesome!" I exclaimed. "It'd be just like watching The Sound of Music without actually renting it!" (The Sound of Music, by the way, happens to be one of my family's favorite movies.)

Kristy laughed. "Great," she said. "Let's go ask my mom and your dad if it's okay."

Daddy and Elizabeth thought it would be all right. Naturally, they reminded us how important it was that we wore our helmets. We promised them we'd be careful, especially my brothers and I.

Well, Saturday finally came. The four of us wheeled our bikes out to the curb.

"Wait, wait!" Sam called, running inside. "I want to get a picture!"

He returned with his camera. "Okay, everybody stand close together now, but not too close, okay? And yes, I promise to get everyone in the picture, or your money back."

"Sam!" I laughed. He's such a tease.

He took the picture. "Beautiful," he said, in perhaps the worst-sounding French accent I'd ever heard. "This will look great on the front cover of GQ."

We all laughed as we got on our bikes and pedaled down the driveway. It was a beautiful sunny day. There were red, yellow, orange, and brown leaves everywhere. After seeing the way the sunlight shone through them, I could understand why Nancy thought they looked like fireworks.

I knew we were supposed to stay with Kristy, but Andrew was so excited to have his own bike that he started pedaling faster than the rest of us.

"Andrew, wait!" I called, pedaling after him. I'd just caught up with him to tell him to slow down, when out of nowhere, a little gray squirrel darted out in front of us! Andrew jammed on his brakes to stop himself from hitting it, but at the same time, he started to lose his balance. He tried to put his foot out in an attempt to regain control of the bike, but his shoelace got caught in the chain. And that's when he fell.

BAM! The front of his helmet hit a little brick wall that was beside him, and he collapsed in a heap.

"Oh, my God!" I exclaimed as I skidded to a stop. I jumped off my bike, threw it on the ground, and ran to him. He wasn't bleeding, but he was screaming. A whole, whole lot.

"KRISTY!" That scream came from me.