"You sure you're okay?" Lucy asked skeptically. James waved casually. "Absolutely. No doubt about it."
Lucy's eyes moved from her boyfriend's white face to James's helmet on the ground. She grimaced. James followed her gaze. "Yeah...I'll buy you a new one. Just don't tell the guys about it."
"Whatever..." Lucy said with a shrug, leaning against his chest, enjoying the view over the city. "You really feel free up here, don't you?"
"Yeah, definitely a lot freer and safer than on that hell machine," James muttered. Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Are you really sure everything's okay with you?"
James grinned. "Hey, if you survive Death Hill as a nine-year-old, you survive anything."
"Death Hill?"
"Yeah, that's what we used to call the highest and steepest hill around town back in Minnesota. All the parents and teachers forbade us from going up there."
"Let me guess, you did it anyway?"
James nodded. "Yes, Carlos and me. It was the day before New Year's...and all because he wanted to cheer me up."
"Why, what happened?"
"Well, my parents' relationship was already broken, but they just wouldn't stop fighting, Christmas had already been a disaster, and I was hoping that they would at least pull themselves together on New Year's Day, but then..."
The day before New Year, ten years ago:
Nine-year-old James Diamond sat in his room, talking to Carlos on the phone, trying to ignore his mother's angry voice.
"Are they still fighting?"
"Yes," James sighed. "And they're not even in the same house."
"Hmm...Hey, you know what? I was just at Logan's house to borrow Wagonie from him. Unfortunately he doesn't have time to come with us, neither does Kendall, but the two of us can go out to chase some adventures, right?"
"But we've already experienced every exciting route with Wagonie."
"Well, no, not quite. There's one place we haven't tried yet."
"You're not talking about-?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Death Hill. So, are you in or what?"
"I don't know, Carlos..." James muttered, flinching as he heard the sudden sound of shattering glass. Another object that had fallen victim to his mother's rage. And suddenly, all doubts were forgotten. He straightened up. "You know what, I'm in. Let's do it."
"And you're really sure that Logan doesn't have a problem with us having his wagon?" James asked as he and Carlos positioned themselves high on the hill with the Mitchell family's red wagon.
"Totally," Carlos assured, putting his helmet on. He tapped it twice, like he always did, and said, "All right, J, are you ready for the coolest, greatest adventure of our lives?"
"I'm ready, Carlitos."
"Kendall and Logan are going to be so jealous when they find out what we did."
"Not just Kendall and Logan, everyone at school will be jealous and impressed."
"We'll be the coolest kids in school."
"You know it," James said with a laugh and they fist-bumped. Then James took a deep breath, forcing himself to stop thinking about his arguing parents. "Carlitos, start the countdown!"
"Alright, J. Five. Four. Three. Two. One!"
"You boys really have more luck than sense. And if we didn't know how much this night meant to you, you'd both be grounded immediately," Officer Garcia grumbled as he drove his police car toward the Mitchells' house.
"Oh, they will be grounded, no doubt about it," Sylvia Garcia said from the passenger seat, shooting a stern look at the back seat where Carlos and James sat. "Plus, you owe Logan an apology for breaking his wagon."
"Yes, Mommy," Carlos mumbled quietly.
"Yes, Mrs. Garcia."
"James, your parents already know. I really wonder what they will think of such stupid and dangerous behavior."
James shrugged. "Probably nothing. They're just arguing anyway," he murmured, staring out the window, not noticing the sympathetic expression on Sylvia's face. Carlos's dad parked the car. As they got out, the door opened and Kendall and Logan ran out and towards them, followed by Logan's parents and Kendall's mom.
"Hey, why are you so late?" Kendall wanted to know. Then he took a closer look at his friends. "And what happened to you?"
"We survived Death Hill," Carlos shouted brightly, but then he met his parents' stern looks and the excitement disappeared from his voice.
"No way," Kendall cried out.
"No one is allowed to go up there," Logan argued.
"Damn right," Officer Garcia said. "Fortunately, the two of them took a route that wasn't so steep, so they obviously had more luck than sense."
"But how did you-" Logan began to ask. Carlos's dad cleared his throat. "Yeah, that's a really good question." He opened the trunk and Logan stared open-mouthed at the remains of his red wagon. Kendall's eyes widened. "Is that...Wagonie?"
"It was," Logan muttered, then he turned to Carlos indignantly. "How dare you steal my wagon?"
James looked at Carlos in surprise. "You stole Wagonie? You told me Logan was okay with it."
"I didn't steal it, stealing is just wrong. I borrowed it. And now I'm bringing it back...kind of..."
"Don't worry, Logan," Kendall said encouragingly, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder. "We'll all help you fix it."
"I'm afraid, Kendall, only you will be able to help him with this. Because these two will be grounded. Well, at least Carlos will," Sylvia said grimly.
"But I'm sure they'll be happy to pay for the repairs with their allowance," Carlos's dad added. James and Carlos exchanged a silent look.
"Hey, where are your parents, James?" Kendall asked.
James shrugged and was about to answer when at the same moment a car parked in front of them and, to James's utter surprise, both of his parents jumped out of the car and ran towards him. Brooke reached him first. "James Diamond, how dare you scare me like that? You have no idea how worried I was after I got that call."
"Yeah, you could have gotten hurt, really badly, son. That wasn't cool at all," Mr. Diamond added. James stood there with his head down. Carlos stepped forward. "Please, Mr. and Mrs. Diamond, if you have to be angry with someone, please be angry with me. It wasn't James's fault, it was mine. It was my idea. I just wanted to distract him a little. He was so sad because you two were always fighting. Please don't be too hard on him, he has already suffered enough."
James's parents looked at each other and on both faces you could see the sudden realization that with their constant arguments they were neglecting the only thing that still connected them, their son.
The sound of a church clock suddenly sounded nearby.
"Hey," Kendall exclaimed. "It's midnight." He looked at Logan, who nodded, and together they went to James and Carlos. Kendall put an arm around James, Logan put his arm around Carlos. James looked up at the night sky, it was starting to snow. "Happy New Year, guys," he said.
"Happy New Year, James," the other three replied in unison. Logan's dad clapped his hands. "Well, how about we all go inside and have a toast to the New Year?"
"Oh, actually I was going to-" Mr. Diamond began, but then he stopped at the look on Brooke's face. He cleared his throat. "Ah, why not. One glass can't hurt," he then hastily added. Kendall and Logan followed the adults into the house. Carlos waited until everyone else was inside, then he tapped James on the shoulder. "James?"
James looked at him questioningly.
"I'm sorry you got in trouble because of me."
James shook his head. "Ah, it's okay, Carlos."
"But your parents are mad at you."
"Yeah, but...they're mad at me together, you know?"
"And it is New Year's and they're not fighting. That's what you wished for, right?"
"That's true, and all because of you and your crazy, stupid ideas."
"Hey, that's what best friends are for," Carlos said beaming. James laughed and they exchanged their friendship handshake ritual before walking into the house.