Ariel dashed out the school entrance, frizzy red hair flying, green eyes gleaming. “Can I hitch a ride?” “Sure,” Bertrand answered reluctantly, unlocking his bike and straddling the seat. Ariel jumped onto the foot pegs bolted to the rear axle. “Whee!” she whooped as they rolled down the path. “Jeez, Airhead, settle down, will ya?” Bertrand grumped. It was bad enough having all the other kids staring, but if Mr. Menzie, the Principal at Blacklock Elementary School, heard they were riding double, without helmets, on school property, there would be a stern lecture about the need for senior students to model safe behaviour and good decision-making and so on. “But it’s the weekend!” Ariel whooped, as if he didn’t know already. “Aren’t you excited?” “You can be excited . . . quietly,” he sniped, bumping over the curb then wobbling in the general direction of the Forestview Townhouse Complex. He wasn’t going home, actually, but it would be easier dropping Ariel off than explaining where he was going.
