Read Online Mountain Bike Mania by Matt Christopher - Free Book Online

All this attention made him very uncomfortable, and he was afraid the club
     might get in trouble for it. Worse, he could sense that they were just turning more people against them with their annoying
     tactics.
    Still, Will figured, he was in it this far, and he might as well go with it all the way. He opened his mouth and chanted along
     with the others, trying to ignore his sense of impending doom.
    The protest was the talk of the school all afternoon. When classes let out, Will got his book bag and started off to the library
     as usual. Then something stopped him in his tracks. It was the image of Danny’s face in his mind. Danny, who would surely
     be sitting there at his usual table, doing his homework or studying up on something he was interested in. Danny, who obviously
     hated his guts by now.
    Will retreated back onto the sidewalk. No, he didn’t have the nerve, or the desire, to face Danny. Not right now. Not today.
    Instead, he headed over to the bike racks. Maybe he’d take a little ride around town himself, just for the fun of it. He knew
     better than to head for woodland trails on his own, but on-road biking was another matter.
    As he walked over, he spotted Ace talking to Candy and Mitch. The twins looked upset.
    “Hey, Will!” Mitch called out. “Guess what?”
    “What?” Will asked.
    “The principal read the petition, saw our demonstration, and decided to review the club’s status,” Ace explained calmly. “No
     meetings until further notice.”
    “What?” Will gasped. “That stinks!”
    “Ace says it isn’t really that bad,” Candy said.
    Ace jumped in to explain. “It just means Mr. Rivera’s listening to both sides. Once he looks at the facts, he’ll let us ride,
     and then there won’t be any more petitions.”
    When nobody responded, Ace went on. “We sure got his attention!” he said, nodding in satisfaction. “We showed him there are
     two sides to the story.”
    “I don’t know… ,” Will said, shaking his head. He didn’t finish, but inside, he was thinking, If theprincipal was so impressed with their protest, why was he suspending the club until further notice?
    “Come on,” Ace said. “I say we just go riding. So what if we can’t have a club? They can’t stop us from biking!”
    “Yeah!” Mitch agreed.
    “Wait, though,” Candy said. “We have to go home, Mitch. We’re going to the dentist, remember?”
    “Oh, yeah. Right. Oh, well, see you tomorrow,” Mitch told Ace and Will. “Or whenever we get to meet again, that is.”
    He and Candy biked away, waving good-bye. Ace turned to Will. “Wanna go ride someplace?” he asked with a mischievous grin.
    “I’m supposed to stay at the library this afternoon,” Will said truthfully.
    “You know,” Ace said, making a face, “that is the dumbest deal I have ever heard of. I mean, what do your folks think, that
     you’re going to magically fall in love with reading all of a sudden if they force you to go to the library? That is so lame!”
    “Yeah,” Will said, just to avoid talking about it. He didn’t want to tell Ace he was reading his third book in the past two
     weeks. In fact, ever since he’d beenhanging out at the library, Will had been reading every night for at least half an hour before bed. His grades had improved
     a bit, too. Getting a head start on his homework didn’t hurt, and neither did the extra studying he’d started doing.
    “You wouldn’t catch me in there unless I absolutely
had
to be. I wouldn’t care what my parents said.” Ace snorted in disgust. “Look, let’s just go for a ride, huh? Just you and me.
     The two latchkey kids. Rebels, that’s us! Come on. Your parents don’t have to know.”
    “Okay… I guess… ,” Will agreed tentatively. “As long as I’m back home by six.”
    “Sure, I’ll get you back by then,” Ace said, strapping on his helmet. “Hey, I’ve never shown you the ramps! Follow me!”
    “The ramps? What are they?” Will called after