Servo 10:1
Servo 10:1
Tomorrow came a lot sooner than expected. Dagwood was knocking on the door at quarter past nine. We’d barely finished our Saturday breakfast of blueberry pancakes. He was eager to help me. I’m not sure why, perhaps it was because I was willing to be his friend when others shunned him. “Mornin’!” Dagwood said in a boisterous tone.“Good morning,” I replied, stepping onto the porch. “You wanted to meet Jimmy Pineapple, right?”“Yes.”“Well, we gotta go over to his house.”“Where is that?”“’Bout three miles away.”“Oh.” I noticed he’d ridden up on a bicycle. “That far?” “Yeah.”“I don’t have a bicycle, and that’s a long walk.”“Your grandpa doesn’t have one in the barn?”“Haven’t seen one.”“Well, that’s okay. If you don’t mind walking over to my house, I have one you can borrow.”“Ah, thank you.” I quivered slightly. It had been a long time since I’d been on a bicycle. Normally we took either the metro or were driven to school. The last bicycle that I’d ridden belonged to a friend of mine, and I’d crashed it in dramatic style. Dagwood hopped on his bike. “Come on!” He shoved off and began pedaling slowly down the long dusty drive. I scampered to catch him; my feet thudded along trying to keep up. The whole journey was probably a quarter mile, but I realized I was not in good physical shape. My mind might have been exercised daily, however, the body wasn’t. We pulled up to a massive old faded black barn and I stopped, bent over, and put my hands on my knees as I gasped for air.“Jonah? You tired?”I tried to straighten up. It didn’t help my desperate need for oxygen. “I’ll be fine.”“Do Inner States kids go out and play much?”“Evidently…” I took in several ragged breaths. “…not enough.”“So what did you do for fun?”“Computers.” I was finally getting my wind back. “We played on computers.”Dagwood waved his hand. “How boring!” He flipped the kickstand down on his bike and got off. Going to the barn, he opened a huge door. I waited outside while hearing him rummaging around. A few moments later he appeared pushing out a dusty bicycle. “Sorry, it’s my sister’s bike.” He parked it in front of me.“You have a sister?”“Yeah, but she’s away at college.” He made the word sound extra important for my benefit.“Do you have any brothers and sisters still at home?”“Naw, just me. Ma and Pa only had Gracie and me…And I was an accident.”“Accident?” I couldn’t comprehend to what he was inferring. In the Inner States, pregnancies were planned. Accidents just didn’t happen. “Ma didn’t expect to get pregnant with me.” He hopped and stomped both feet on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust, and thrust both arms out wide. “But here I am!”I couldn’t help but chuckle at his antics. If anything, Dagwood was entertaining. He got back on his bike. “Saddle up!”I gave him a blank stare.“Get on, Jonah, let’s go.”“Ah, I see.” I grasped both handlebars and swung my leg over. The bicycle was a bit on the large side for me, so I had to tiptoe in order to get my butt on the seat. I watched Dagwood pedal off. With a good push, I launched forward and got my feet on the pedals. Soon I was sitting on the seat, my legs pumping away. I felt good. Yes, I can do this. Well, until I realized that my steering capabilities were sorely lacking and I strayed off the driveway, falling into a shallow ditch with a loud crash.Dagwood stopped and immediately came back. “Jonah? Are you okay?”I quickly stood up, dusted myself off, grabbed the bike, and wrested it from the ditch. “Yes, I’m fine.”“What happened?”“Uh, it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a bike.”“Oh, sorry.” I could tell he was trying to hide a smile. “How about we take this slow?”“I was!” he said, sputtering a little laugh.Once again I threw my leg over and tried to get the bike going. This time I managed to make it all the way to the end of the drive before stopping and almost falling over. “Better!” Dagwood said as he pulled up next to me. “Now for the road.”Cars zipped by and my confidence sagged. I wasn’t sure I wanted to die today. “The road?”“Sure, the fastest way to get to Jimmy’s house.” He pointed. “It’s due north that way.”A massive semi-truck roared by. “Three miles that way?”“Yup.”“On this road?”“Yup.” He looked both ways and ventured out. “Follow me!” I panicked and did my best to keep up. Just getting onto the road had my nerves frazzled. These country kids were tougher than I ever imagined. How would I ever survive?
Tomorrow came a lot sooner than expected. Dagwood was knocking on the door at quarter past nine. We’d barely finished our Saturday breakfast of blueberry pancakes. He was eager to help me. I’m not sure why, perhaps it was because I was willing to be his friend when others shunned him. “Mornin’!” Dagwood said in a boisterous tone.“Good morning,” I replied, stepping onto the porch. “You wanted to meet Jimmy Pineapple, right?”“Yes.”“Well, we gotta go over to his house.”“Where is that?”“’Bout three miles away.”“Oh.” I noticed he’d ridden up on a bicycle. “That far?” “Yeah.”“I don’t have a bicycle, and that’s a long walk.”“Your grandpa doesn’t have one in the barn?”“Haven’t seen one.”“Well, that’s okay. If you don’t mind walking over to my house, I have one you can borrow.”“Ah, thank you.” I quivered slightly. It had been a long time since I’d been on a bicycle. Normally we took either the metro or were driven to school. The last bicycle that I’d ridden belonged to a friend of mine, and I’d crashed it in dramatic style. Dagwood hopped on his bike. “Come on!” He shoved off and began pedaling slowly down the long dusty drive. I scampered to catch him; my feet thudded along trying to keep up. The whole journey was probably a quarter mile, but I realized I was not in good physical shape. My mind might have been exercised daily, however, the body wasn’t. We pulled up to a massive old faded black barn and I stopped, bent over, and put my hands on my knees as I gasped for air.“Jonah? You tired?”I tried to straighten up. It didn’t help my desperate need for oxygen. “I’ll be fine.”“Do Inner States kids go out and play much?”“Evidently…” I took in several ragged breaths. “…not enough.”“So what did you do for fun?”“Computers.” I was finally getting my wind back. “We played on computers.”Dagwood waved his hand. “How boring!” He flipped the kickstand down on his bike and got off. Going to the barn, he opened a huge door. I waited outside while hearing him rummaging around. A few moments later he appeared pushing out a dusty bicycle. “Sorry, it’s my sister’s bike.” He parked it in front of me.“You have a sister?”“Yeah, but she’s away at college.” He made the word sound extra important for my benefit.“Do you have any brothers and sisters still at home?”“Naw, just me. Ma and Pa only had Gracie and me…And I was an accident.”“Accident?” I couldn’t comprehend to what he was inferring. In the Inner States, pregnancies were planned. Accidents just didn’t happen. “Ma didn’t expect to get pregnant with me.” He hopped and stomped both feet on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust, and thrust both arms out wide. “But here I am!”I couldn’t help but chuckle at his antics. If anything, Dagwood was entertaining. He got back on his bike. “Saddle up!”I gave him a blank stare.“Get on, Jonah, let’s go.”“Ah, I see.” I grasped both handlebars and swung my leg over. The bicycle was a bit on the large side for me, so I had to tiptoe in order to get my butt on the seat. I watched Dagwood pedal off. With a good push, I launched forward and got my feet on the pedals. Soon I was sitting on the seat, my legs pumping away. I felt good. Yes, I can do this. Well, until I realized that my steering capabilities were sorely lacking and I strayed off the driveway, falling into a shallow ditch with a loud crash.Dagwood stopped and immediately came back. “Jonah? Are you okay?”I quickly stood up, dusted myself off, grabbed the bike, and wrested it from the ditch. “Yes, I’m fine.”“What happened?”“Uh, it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a bike.”“Oh, sorry.” I could tell he was trying to hide a smile. “How about we take this slow?”“I was!” he said, sputtering a little laugh.Once again I threw my leg over and tried to get the bike going. This time I managed to make it all the way to the end of the drive before stopping and almost falling over. “Better!” Dagwood said as he pulled up next to me. “Now for the road.”Cars zipped by and my confidence sagged. I wasn’t sure I wanted to die today. “The road?”“Sure, the fastest way to get to Jimmy’s house.” He pointed. “It’s due north that way.”A massive semi-truck roared by. “Three miles that way?”“Yup.”“On this road?”“Yup.” He looked both ways and ventured out. “Follow me!” I panicked and did my best to keep up. Just getting onto the road had my nerves frazzled. These country kids were tougher than I ever imagined. How would I ever survive?
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