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

onto the ground. “I’m telling you, if your mother really cared about you, she wouldn’t
     work full-time. It’s totally selfish.”
    “Well —”
    “It’s all about ‘me, me, me and how much money can I make,’ right?” Ace demanded.
    “I guess —”
    “Do your parents really need all that money?” Ace asked. “Tell the truth. I mean, you’re the one who told me your dad works
     till eight at night.”
    “Seven, actually,” Will corrected him.
    “Seven, eight, whatever.” Ace waved him off. “And he drives a nice car, right? And look at the house you live in. Your parents
     have plenty of money, but your mom would rather work than bewith you.” He poked a finger at Will’s bike. “And to top it all off, they were too cheap to spend some of that dough on new
     goods for you.” He shook his head. “Take it from me, kid. It’s pure selfishness.”
    Will didn’t say anything. Part of him felt like sticking up for his mom. Yet another, angry part of him suddenly realized
     that what Ace was saying was something he himself had been feeling for months. It came as a big shock to Will to realize that
     he had such feelings. But he knew it was true, and the knowledge left him feeling hollow.
    They rode some more, but Will’s heart wasn’t in it. He mostly kept silent, thinking back again and again to the day in June
     when his mom had first told him about her new job. And he felt his anger rising inside him, like a great, hot, black blob
     that had been kept down too long.
    Will checked his watch. Dang! He was late for dinner. And he still had to stop at school to pick up his backpack. His mother
     was going to be mad. She knew the library closed at five-thirty. It was already six-thirty. She was going to let him have
     it, all right.
    Well, so what if she’s mad? Will asked himself.He was mad, too! He was madder than her, and had been for a long time. She and his father didn’t care about him. So why should
     he obey their rules? And if they wanted to fight about it, that was fine with him!

8
    B y the time Will came home, he was steaming mad. He came in, slammed the door behind him, and dropped his backpack right there
     in the front hall, where he knew he wasn’t supposed to leave it.
    He could hear his mom in the kitchen, taking out plates to set the table. Even from here, he could smell the Chinese food.
     He remembered when she used to cook meals, back before she went to work full-time. It seemed like years ago. The good old
     days.
    “Will? Is that you?” she called. When he didn’t answer, she repeated, “Will? Come in here, please. I want to talk with you
     about something.”
    Great. Just great. Now what? Was she going to tell him she was working late at the office all nextmonth? He shuffled off to the kitchen with a big chip on his shoulder.
    “Yeah? What is it?” he asked in a sour tone of voice as he entered the room and sat down on one of the breakfast stools.
    What she said took him totally by surprise. “I just got a call from Mr. Rivera,” she said. “He said you were involved in some
     trouble today. Do you want to tell me about it?”
    Will couldn’t believe it! If the principal had called his house, he must also have called the houses of all the other club
     members. This was not good news. It meant that Mr. Rivera felt they had done something really bad.
    “What did he say?” Will asked.
    “Never mind that,” his mother said. “I want your version first.”
    “Well,” Will began, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, “these other kids were having a petition to ban mountain biking around
     Montwood and disband the mountain biking club, so we all thought we’d fight back.”
    “By disrupting the school recess and vandalizing the school?” she asked, looking dismayed. “Will, Ithought you had better sense than to get involved in this kind of thing!”
    “But Mom, all we did was make noise and chant slogans and sort of ride around the basketball courts so kids