J. Samia Mair - The Great Race to Sycamore Street

Cicada Surprise

H UDE had seconds to decide. The other motorcycles were closing in fast. He could ride down a steep mountain pass leading to who knows-where. Or, he could follow the train tracks into a mysterious tunnel. Either way, he was taking a big chance.

Hude grabbed the throttle and pulled a wheelie. He headed straight into the dark hole. A strange tingling feeling flowed from the handlebars through his hands, arms and shoulders. He checked the speedometer. He had reached the seventy miles-per-hour mark. That wasnt fast enough. He had to go faster if he wanted to escape.

Suddenly, an eerie golden glow raced towards him. It was a train! He had to get out of the tunnel and now.

Swish. The speeding train passed by him just as he exited. The wind almost knocked him down.

Too close, Hude thought to himself.

He was now riding on a narrow road, twisting down the side of a mountain. His bike was nearly horizontal through the curves. Showers of sparks flew up from the pavement.

Rainbows! Hude yelled when he saw puddles of oil in front of him.

He could not avoid them all, and his bike slid out of control. When he swerved to avoid a tree, he came dangerously close to falling off a cliff. Somehow he managed to get back on the road. But his troubles were not over.

A truck ahead of him blew a tire. Pieces of shredded tire littered the road. He weaved in and out, not daring to slow down.

Out of nowhere, the motorcycles chasing him appeared. He looked ahead. He was coming to a bridge. A section in the middle was missing! But he had no choice. He had to go for it. The other motorcycles screeched to a stop. Hude rolled the throttle. He lowered his head and torso close to the bike. The motorcycle soared into the air.

Come on, come on, come on! ... Bummer. I bit it!

What happened? Amani asked Hude, her ten-year-old brother.

They were sitting across from each other in a train, heading towards their grandmothers house in the country.

I leveled up in my new game Xtreme Motorcycle Meat Grinder II. I was riding a Busa Ninja X1000. If I had captured the nitrous, I could have injected it into my engine. It would have given me an instant power boost to clear the bridge.

Amani peeked behind her, not sure where the three boys had gone. They had been causing trouble on the train ever since Baltimore. All she wanted to do was to read and write in her journal. But instead she was worrying about flying paper airplanes, tossed peanuts and spitballs.

Do you see them anywhere? Amani asked, but Hude did not answer.

Hude, Hude, Hude! Amani said loudly. Will you stop playing that thing for a minute and listen to me?

What did you say? Hude said without looking up.

I asked you if you knew where those boys went. I dont see them. It makes me more nervous not knowing where they are than having them around. I just know theyre up to no good.

Hude looked up from his game and scanned the train compartment with his eyes.

Maybe they got off at the last stop. Just ignore them if they come back. Well be at Grandmas soon anyway. Youll never have to see them again.

Amani looked around. Maybe Hude was right. The troublesome boys were nowhere to be seen. She opened her book and resumed reading.

Amani wasnt your typical nine-year-old girl. She wasnt into fashion or celebrities or the latest school gossip. She liked books, especially adventure stories that took her to exciting places and put her in the middle of tricky situations. Everyone knew she was a bookworm. She even looked like a bookworm. She had short bangs that fell straight on her forehead. The rest of her hair was always in two braids that hung above her shoulders. She wore small, round, wirerimmed glasses that appeared even more round against her heart-shaped face. She dressed in four colors only: tan, green, blue and orange. Colors that she imagined her adventure heroes would wearsensible with a little flash, as she described it. And she never went anywhere without her small backpack that she got at the zoo. Inside it was everything an aspiring author would needbooks, journal, sharpened pencils, assorted color pens and, of course, a muse, something that inspired her writing. No respectable author would be caught without one. Her latest muse was a stuffed animal panda bear that she named Mr. Panda. Her mother had given it to her at the 30th Street Train Station in Philadelphia before they left.

Hude, on the other hand, was a typical tweenaged boy. He loved any and all things electronic. If it were up to him, he would spend most of his time playing on his Wii, behind his computer, or with his Sony PSP. But it wasnt up to him, as his parents would often remind him. Fortunately, he liked to play sports as well. Ice hockey had always been his favorite sport and living in Philadelphia, he was a big Flyers fan. But now he spent a lot of time shooting arrows. His grandfather had first taught him to shoot with toy arrows that had a rubber suction cup as a tip. Now he was regularly participating in competitions. Hanging on his wall was his grandfathers recurve composite bow, waiting for him to grow into.

While Amani was thrilled to be visiting their grandmother in the country for a few weeks, Hude would have preferred that his grandmother visit them in Philadelphia. He had everything that he needed in the city. The slow pace of country life bored him. And his parents had told him no video games at his grandmothers house. He didnt know how he was going to survive. At least he had entered a target archery competition at the County Fair. The top two winners took home prize money, and there were some new video games that he really wanted to buy.

Theyre back, Amani whispered to her brother.

Hude didnt hear her. Amani looked at the boys out of the corner of her eye. The three boys sat down two seats behind them and across the aisle. They had never sat so close before and they were looking at something in a white Styrofoam cup.

Hey, Bobby. Give me that! a boy said as he tried to grab the cup.

Just wait a second, Bobby told him.

Then the unthinkable happened. Bobby got up and passed by Amani. Before she knew what was happening, he dumped something from the Styrofoam cup on top of her open book.

AHHHHHH! Amani screamed.

She jumped up. She threw the book towards Hude and ran away down the aisle.

What is that? Hude said to no one in particular.

A huge black beetle-like bug with two enormous beady red eyes sat on the seat next to him. Orange veins ran through its clear wings. He had never seen anything like it before. He then noticed the boys laughing hysterically. He looked around. No sign of Amani. It wasnt hard for him to put the pieces together.

Next stop, Fairfax County, a voice announced over the intercom.

It was their stop. As the enormous beady eyes stared at him, Hude thought it was probably a good time to get up anyway. He collected their belongings, including Amanis backpack which she had left on the seat. He found her book on the floor and laughed when he read the title, Lost in the Amazon: The Daring Adventures of Tad Walker.

Must be a lot of bugs like this one down there, he thought.

The boys were now sitting quietly in their seats. It wasnt until he walked past them that he realized why. Across from them sat a man with a stern look on his face. He was wearing a dark blue uniform with red stitching and a gold patch. On top of his head was a matching blue cap with a black, shiny, stiff bill and gold trim. He was the man who had collected their tickets in Philadelphia.

I guess those boys are his problem now, Hude thought, as he walked into the next train compartment.

Before leaving, though, he noticed that one of the boys was wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of a blue bow strung with a blue arrow with red fletching. The word JOAD was written in big red letters across it. Hude knew that JOAD (pronounced JOE-ADD) stood for Junior Olympic Archery Development. Only serious archers belonged to that group. Although Hude didnt know it, the boy noticed him too. Bobby McPherson noticed the bow case that Hude was carrying.