Seconds Page 6

  Everyone looked at Sam.

  “2, 10, 17, 62, 78…Guys—we did it. We did it!”

  A loud cheer went up from the circle of boys in silver shirts. Sam grinned. Paul jumped. Shawn whooped. Tony grabbed Jake’s wrist and pulled Jake’s arm up with his.

  “I can’t believe it!” shouted Sam. “Top three! Yellow has 187 points. We have 170. Red has 169. We’ve got second place!”

  Jake froze. Second? Second? He hated second. He thought he was done being second. No way. He had finished first. First.

  Jake pulled his arm down. Just then Dave jogged over. “Unbelievable! Do you guys know…?”

  “We know! Second place!” hollered Paul. “Sam figured it out for us.”

  Dave laughed. He winked at Sam. “Unbelievable,” he said again. “Well done, boys! Well done! I need to talk to you about a few things, and I think there’s some hardware coming your way, but first I want you to do a bit of a cool-down. Shawn, you come with me to the first-aid tent. The rest of you guys, take an easy jog away from the course. Meet you by our tent in, say, twenty minutes.”

  Jake jogged away toward the lake. He figured no one else would head that way, and he wanted to be by himself. He faced into the wind and tried to clear his head. His chest felt tight, and he had a hard lump in his throat. The team had missed first place by one point. One. If any one of the guys had run just a little bit faster and passed one more runner, they could have tied for first or had it all on their own. He was the only one who couldn’t have done that. There was no one left for him to pass. Yet everyone seemed so happy. Didn’t the rest of these guys want to win? Jake remembered Dave’s pre-race pep talk about doing their best. Their best did not seem to be good enough. Maybe they didn’t want it enough. What happened to winning will take care of itself? Sure, Dave.

  As he stood in the cold wind, Jake thought about all the times Dave had popped up along the course, offering advice, encouraging him to give it his all. He knew Dave had done that for all five of them. He thought about Sam running hard to the finish. He thought about Paul starting out way too fast but then pulling it back and running smart. He thought about Shawn crashing but not quitting. He thought about Tony powering his way through the pressure at the end. He thought about the way he had felt running today. And he knew something then. They had given it their all. They had run a good race. It wasn’t first, but it was their best. And maybe that was okay.

  Simon came up behind him. “Jake?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “The rest of the guys are waiting for you.”

  “Okay, I’m coming.” He paused. It occurred to him that Simon had given his all too. In more ways than one. Jake turned. “Simon?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for making the trip out here.”

  “It’s cool, and I’m not talking temperature. I like running.”

  Jake smiled. “Me too.”

  The boys walked up just as the convenor began calling out the names of the top three teams. Dave met them at the tent. “Hustle now, Jake. Go join your team.”

  Jake moved in quietly beside Sam. For a moment he held on to the silver medal the big man in the red jacket handed him. Then he took a deep breath and slipped it over his head. It felt good.

  They took down the tent, picked up their water bottles, said goodbye to Simon, who had to go meet up with his mom, and piled into Dave’s van. “Hey, guys, look at this,” called Shawn. He lifted a box from the front seat. BEN’S BAKERY, it said in big letters on top. Inside were a dozen donuts.

  “Awesome!”

  “Ben is the best!”

  Jake hadn’t eaten a donut in ages. They were not part of his regular, carefully regimented, results-oriented diet. He took a chocolate glazed. It was delicious.

  “Hey, Jake,” said Shawn. “Your friend Simon is a riot. You know what he said when I came back from the first-aid tent looking like a mummy? He said, Well, it looks like you’ve got things all wrapped up. Ha ha!”

  “Yeah,” agreed Paul. “He’s got a joke for all occasions. Bring him again.”

  Jake smiled. They all settled sleepily into their seats.

  “Dave,” asked Sam as they pulled out onto the highway, his mouth half full of donut, “wasn’t there something you wanted to talk about?”

  “Oh, right.” Dave smiled. He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Just a small item of information I wanted to pass on. The winners here today? They get to go on to the provincials.”

  “Oh,” mumbled Tony. “Good for those Bulldogs.”

  “The race is next Saturday.”

  “Guess they’ll be working hard this week,” said Paul.

  “It’s up north this year, about five hours from here,” continued Dave. “It’ll be a whole weekend away.”

  It got very quiet in the van. Jake closed his eyes. He would have loved to be going to that provincial race. Oh well. He tried to erase the disappointment from his face, but when he opened his eyes again, he saw the same look on the faces of all four of his friends.

  Finally Sam piped up, “Sounds like fun.”

  “Yeah,” said Shawn. “Up north, huh? Better bring their woollies.”

  Dave cleared his throat. “The top two teams qualify.”

  They all sat bolt upright in their seats. “What?”

  Dave dropped all the boys off at home. He told them he’d get them the information about the provincial race as soon as he had it. When he got inside, Jake found his parents having coffee at the kitchen table.

  “How’d it go, Jake?”

  “Well…” He grinned and showed them the silver medal. They grinned back.

  “Fabulous!” said his mother.

  “How’d it feel?” asked his dad.

  “Good.” Jake sat down with them. “It was a good run.” He looked up from the medal. “There’s another race this coming week, the championship run for the city league. It’s Tuesday, if you want to come.”

  “I’d like that,” said his dad. “I’ll be there.” He looked over at Jake’s mom, and she nodded. “Listen, Jake, you’ve been working so hard and doing so well. We’d like to give you something. We were thinking you could use a new pair of shoes.”

  “Really?” Jake thought for a moment. “You know what? I kind of like mine. I’ve finally got them worn in just right. But I have another idea. How about pizza at Sl-ice, all four of us? Tonight?”

  “You’re on.”

  Jake smiled. He figured he’d wait until then to share his news about the provincials.

  Jake took a shower and then slept for an hour.

  Just before they left for the restaurant, he got a call from Dave. “Listen, Jake. I don’t want you to come to Monday’s practice.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “You’ve got your championship race on Tuesday. Focus on that.”

  “Oh. Okay. But what about the provincials?”

  “Let’s not talk about that yet. I should know all I need to know by Tuesday. Do some light runs maybe. Lots of stretching. Stay out of the line of fire of any crazy dogs, okay? Or ducks, I guess. And Jake? Good job today.”

  “Thanks.”

  Jake hung up the phone slowly. Exactly what was it Dave would know by Tuesday? Maybe he only needed a team of four, and since Jake was the fifth runner to join the team…Something felt a little funny. Jake decided to hold off telling his family about the run on Saturday until he had spoken with Dave again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jake ran through the rain Monday morning, tried hard not to sleep through adverbs and adjectives and did some weights that night. It felt weird not being out with the team. He did a light run on Tuesday morning. After school he put on a T-shirt and shorts and pulled some sweats on over top. He missed wearing the Diamond jersey and the warm-up suit, but he knew he was just running for himself today. Better yet, he was just running today. Just running to run. At least, he’d try.

  It was cold. Jake made sur
e he did lots of stretching and didn’t take off his hat or sweats until they had called everyone to the starting line. This was it. Simon was there. Spencer was there too. Jake saw his dad in the crowd and got a thumbs-up. He saw Dave and caught another one. Okay. Run to run. He took a deep breath and took his place at the line. No knots in his stomach. No weight on his shoulders. Jake smiled.

  He jumped right with the gun and got off to a great start. Spencer, Max and a few others pulled ahead early. Not too fast, thought Jake. Not too fast. Just stick with the others. Watch out for obstacles. He ran steadily, pulling in the cold air. Through the woods. Along the creek. Jake saw ice had formed along the edges. A flock of geese flew noisily overhead. His ears were burning and his fingers tingled, but Jake felt good. He felt strong. He passed a guy in black. He passed Max.

  He could just see the pylons ahead of the bridge when he pulled even with Spencer. They were running in sync, matched stride for stride. They looked at each other as they crossed the bridge, grinned, nodded and took off in a sprint up the hill toward the finish. Jake felt the same surge of energy he’d had running through the tape in Deep Rapids. Dig. Dig. Dig. Dig. Go. Go. Go. Go. Side by side they ran. People were yelling. One, two, one, two, up to the finish. Finished. Spencer was first, but there wasn’t even a second between them. It was that close.

  Jake felt empty and full at the same time. His first thought was that Spencer Solomon was a very good runner. His second thought was that he’d really like some water. His dad came up, slugged his shoulder and handed him a water bottle. “Well done, Jakey. Well done.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  The guys from the Diamond team swarmed him seconds later, patting him on the back and giving him high fives. Tony, Shawn, Sam. Paul must have had trombone practice or something.

  “That was some cool running, Jake. Hey, guys, we’ve got to celebrate,” said Tony. “You think they still have snow cones?”

  They laughed and shivered. “I could go for some hot chocolate,” said Jake, “but I want to see Simon come in. He’s trying to break the top twenty today.”

  They all waited and watched and cheered as Simon came in. Tony, Sam and Shawn tackled him on the other side of the finish line. “Dude, your face is as red as your shirt!” said Shawn, laughing.

  Jake went over to shake his hand. “Good run, Simon.”

  “Thanks, Jake. You too?”

  “Yeah, me two.” He held up two fingers.

  “Sweet! Whew,” Simon panted, “I’m whipped. Fried. Pooped!” He stopped and shook his head. He put his hands together and bowed to Shawn. “Apologies,” he said. “I think the only one who may say that is a true veteran of the duck pond.”

  They roared.

  “I’m going to see where I end up on that board,” huffed Simon. “I’ve got high hopes for today.” The boys moved toward the parking lot. “Coming, Jake?”

  “Ah, I’ll catch up to you in just a minute,” answered Jake. He felt he still owed one more handshake. Where was Spencer? He scanned the crowd. There. Suddenly Jake felt like a blast of cold air had hit him, and it wasn’t just the November weather. Dave Driscoll had beaten him to it and was shaking Spencer Solomon’s hand. Now Jake understood why Dave had told him not to come to practice Monday and why he hadn’t wanted to talk about the provincial competition. He was waiting for the results of this race. He was going to go with Spencer.

  It made sense. Spencer was a great runner. The best. But still…Dave laughed at something Spencer said and then turned. He saw Jake and walked over, a big grin on his face. Jake steeled himself for what was coming. He stuck out his hand awkwardly to shake Dave’s. “Dave,” he blurted, “thank you for asking me to be part of the Diamond team.”

  Dave looked confused. “I’m glad I did, Jake.”

  “I understand why you don’t need me anymore.”

  “I don’t need you anymore?”

  “I completely understand why you’re asking me to step aside.”

  “I’m asking you to step aside? Why am I doing that?”

  “It’s for the good of the team. With that big race coming up, Spencer’s your man.”

  Dave looked back to where he’d just been chatting with Spencer, and suddenly he understood. He shook his head. He stopped shaking Jake’s hand and cuffed him on the shoulder. “Jake, what are you talking about? You’re still a member of our team. I’m not ditching you.”

  “You’re not?”

  “No way. I was just congratulating Spencer on a great run. Just like I want to congratulate you. Well done!”

  Jake let out his breath. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding it the whole time. “Thanks, Dave.”

  “Now, funny thing is, since we’re talking about the Diamond team, it does appear that we will need another runner for the provincial race. Seems Paul has come down with the chicken pox. I hear it’s been going around. I thought it was just for little kids.”

  Jake laughed. “Me too. Poor Paul,” he said. “He’ll have a tough time lying low for a bit.” They both nodded. “But Dave, if you have to do some recruiting, I think you should call Spencer.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. Definitely.”

  “Okay then. I’ll ask him. But I wonder if we can find some sort of job for your friend Simon too. He just seems to be able to keep everybody on the up and up. What do you think?”

  “Sounds great.”

  When Jake and his dad got home, they found the kitchen table covered with boxes.

  “How’d it go?” asked his mom.

  “Great,” answered Jake. “Second.”

  “Nice finish.” She messed up his hair. “Are you all done now?”

  Jake looked at his dad and laughed. Behind his back, his dad was holding the piece of paper he’d gotten from Dave, outlining the plans for going to the provincial race on the weekend.

  “Almost,” he replied. “What’s all this?”

  “Well,” said his mom, “there’s a big concert in a couple of weeks, and we’re helping to get the word out.” The boxes nearest Jake were full of flyers.

  “What concert? Is Luke going?” Jake lifted out one of the posters.

  “You could say that,” she said with a laugh.

  Jake looked at the page in his hand. Youth Concert. Featuring The Cave Dwellers, Pond Scum and Celebrated Solo Guitarist Luke Jarvis.

  Jake’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “People want to come and hear Luke play?”

  His dad grinned. “He’s really not so bad.”

  “So,” explained Jake’s mom, “we’ll have to get these posters out around town and help with some of the setting up at the hall, but what I really need to do is order some refreshments. I’m not sure who to call. Anyone have a good idea?”

  Jake had the perfect suggestion. “Mom,” he said, “you should call Ben’s Bakery.”

  “Are they good?”

  “The best,” insisted Jake.

  “Okay then.”

  “Hey, can I call Simon and invite him to this thing?”

  “Absolutely. You might want to make it a sleepover. It’s going to be late.”

  “Tell him we’ll make pizza,” threw in Jake’s dad. “We’ll have a movie too.”

  “That sounds like a great idea!” said Simon when Jake called. But when Simon suggested pickles as one of the toppings to try on their pizza, Jake found he couldn’t say the same.

  “I’ve got a good idea for a movie though,” offered Jake.

  “Spiderman!” they shouted together.

  Acknowledgments

  Even though my name appears on the cover of Seconds, I cannot take all the credit for it coming to be. There are several people I would like to thank. There would have been no book at all without the enthusiasm of Sarah Harvey and the wisdom and encouragement of Amy Collins at Orca Books. There would certainly have been much less excitement without the support of my family. And there would simply have been no story without all of the cross-country runners and coaches I’ve had the pl
easure of cheering for and with over the years. Their determination and dedication proved to be my inspiration. Thank you all.

  Way back when she was in grade school, Sylvia Taekema was asked to write about what she would like to do when she grew up. She wrote that she didn’t know exactly, but that it would probably have something to do with children. She was right. In addition to all the fun she and her husband have with their own children, Sylvia enjoys working as a supply teacher and as a volunteer in programs for children at school, at church and in the community. She loves to read, bake cookies and go on camping adventures with her family. She lives in Chatham, Ontario.