BY PARKER RHODES, AGE 9.
I climbed the last flight of stairs and rang the doorbell.
¨Hi Ruby!¨ said my friend Zara, ¨come on in!¨ I stepped inside her apartment and sat down on the couch. My other friends Katie, Lilly, and Liz were already there. Around Lilly’s neck was a shiny brass medal.
¨I got it for the track,¨ she said. They all did track, but not me. I was more into cooking and dolphins. But boy, I wish I could run as fast as them!
¨Guys!¨ said Katie,¨I have a surprise for you!¨
¨What is it?¨ screeched Liz.
¨I signed us all up for the NYC marathon!¨ shouted Katie.
¨Eeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!¨ they all screamed. What! I thought. I am so bad at running! What they are thinking!
¨This is gonna be so fun!¨ shouted Zara.
¨I’m gonna ace this!¨ said Liz.
¨Ya,¨ I said softly.
Then they all started chanting ¨NYC! NYC!¨
¨Ugg,¨ I said to myself. ¨There is no escaping this.¨
¨Running is harddddddd¨ I huffed. I flopped down on my couch. That morning I ran around Central Park, training for the marathon. The marathon was tomorrow! I was scared and excited at the same time. But I was also dreading it. Ohhh, I thought to myself. I should check in with Zara. I dialed her number.
¨Hi Zara!” I said. ¨Are you excited about the marathon?¨
¨Oh Ruby,¨ she said, ¨I forgot to tell you something. We quit the marathon.¨ I hung up right away.
¨WHAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¨ I screamed at the top of my lungs. It was too late to quit now. How could they not tell me! Not only did I have to run a marathon that I did not even train for, but I had to run it by myself!
“People, get in your places!” someone called over a megaphone. I, number 134, and about a million people, (I think) lined up at the starting line. It was my time to run the marathon. I had done some warm-ups before and I was ready to go. After everyone got in their places, the countdown started.
“3,2,1 Go!”
Everyone started sprinting and the race began. Right away I started to fall behind. “Keep going,” I said to myself. My friends were waiting for me at mile thirteen. But at mile ten I felt like I could collapse. I had blisters on my feet and I was covered in sweat. But I pushed on to mile thirteen, the halfway mark where my friends were waiting for me. Then I saw them. I ran up to them and I just collapsed.
“I cannot do it,” I huffed.
“Yes you can,” said Zara.
“I’m not the running person you guys are!¨ I shouted. “I never wanted to do this but you guys made me! I thought we were all gonna do this together! Instead, you canceled and did not tell me!¨ Then came silence, and more silence.
Then Katie finally said, ¨We did not mean to make you do it. I just thought it would be fun.”
“Yes fun for you guys but not for me!”
“We’re sorry,” said Liz. “How can we make it up to you?”
“I have an idea,” said Lilly. “What if we ran on the sidewalk next to Ruby?”
“That’s a good idea,¨ I said ¨Let’s do it.” The rest of the run was just a blur. Each mile went by so fast. And before I knew it we were almost at the end. I saw the finish line and sprinted over it. We all high-fived each other.
¨Good job,¨ they all said to me. I can’t believe I finished a marathon!
That night we were chilling in my apartment.
¨Do you want me to read the leaderboard?¨ I asked.
¨Sure,¨ said Liz. I read the list.
¨And number ten is… Ruby Green? Wait that’s me!¨
What a day, I said to myself when they left. I could not believe I was in the top ten! Maybe I was good at running after all.
All about the Author
Parker Rhodes loves acting, legos, and her family and friends. She is almost ten years old and in fourth grade. She has done 6 plays. Her dad and stepmom live in Pennsylvania. She lives in Maplewood, New Jersey. The inspiration for this book was that her mom owns a physical therapy company. She always is cheering on the sidelines. Hope you liked this book!