It was a random insignificant day in November in my sophomore year. It had to be around noon when I arrived. In my bag, I brought some water and some leftover dollar store lollipops from Halloween.

 My friends and I made plans to meet up at Ashton Park to hang out like usual, however only two of them showed up. Josh, had his bike leaning against a bench table and quickly started complaining that his sweater got wet from sitting down on the bench. He, then suddenly, swiftly wiped the water off in my direction, getting my face wet. I used the sleeve of my sweater to dry my face off as he made fun of me. After a few minutes of me attempting to get him back and him making (the usual) short joke instead, Seth, my best friend, arrived by riding his bike very fast in my direction.

 I was terrified of this game they called “Bike Chicken.” I sprinted away towards a stocky tree behind the playground. Josh got a hold of my bag and his bike then rode behind me. I quickly gripped onto the lower branch as Seth swerved his bike, almost hitting me. 

Josh and Seth got off their bikes to join me on the tree. Josh placed my bag on the ground to grip onto a higher branch, while Seth went for the branch above me. I continued to relax my legs on the lower branches as I leaned my back onto the stalk. I watched them climb higher and higher for several minutes, when suddenly I heard, “Hewwo.” 

I looked down to see a small blond-haired boy, maybe around 5 years old bouncing his knees next to the tree while gripping onto it. I gestured to my friends about the child. We all steadily lowered ourselves off the tree. 

As Josh made it to the ground, the little boy said, “Caan you puth mee up tere?” Josh widened his eyes, we didn’t want to touch the child or risk him getting hurt. 

He asked, “Who did you come with?”

The little boy replied, “My mom, she hath pweety bwond hair” as he pointed to the playground which consisted of several blonde women.  

Josh gestured to Seth and me in an attempt for help, but we just stood there and gestured back, “No you do it.” Josh got a displeased look on his face as he asked the little boy to take him to his mom. We watched as Josh followed in an attempt to relieve us of this responsibility so we can be on our way. 

The mother stood up and followed Josh back to the tree.

Once they arrived, the mother replied, “Oh, this doesn’t look too bad, can you help him onto the tree?”

 We watched as Josh said, “Yes,” in the most maskable tone ever. Seth and I stood with a tremendous amount of guilt, however, neither of us said anything. Josh stared straight into our souls, I knew we were dead. 

The little boy happily tried to climb the tree as Josh supported his foot and directed him where to place his hands. After a few attempts, the boy sat on the low branch with a sense of achievement on his face as Josh continued to glare deep into our souls.

The mother said, “Thank you!” as she pulled her phone out to take photos of the boy. At that moment, we all took a look at each other and came to the conclusion that we should leave. 

I picked up my bag, they grabbed their bikes, and we headed out of the park towards the levy that leads to the river. 

As we stepped onto the levy, Josh stopped and looked at his bike.

“Get on the handlebars,” he said. I was extremely reluctant, but my guilt for not helping him with the little boy and their reassurance that we could get to the river faster convinced me. So, after that, they lifted me onto the bars as I had to lean slightly forward to maintain my balance. Josh started peddling as Seth hopped onto his own bike. 

We were going quite smoothly for a few minutes until Josh thought it would be funny to swerve the bike every few seconds, making me scream. I begged him to stop the bike several times, screaming as people passed by giving us that “teenagers” look. 

Suddenly, he stopped again. This was no good. I was terrified of whatever bad idea he had next. 

“You are going to learn to ride a bike,” he said. 

So, I had never learned how to ride a bike, my grandpa always put off teaching me how to. So, my immediate reaction was “No.” 

“Wrong answer,” he replied as he grabbed my bag of lollipops. I asked for them back as Seth reassured me that this was going to be a good learning experience.

I reluctantly agreed as I glared at Josh. Seth helped me onto Josh’s bike, which was far too small for him, but the perfect size for me. Once I got on, they gave me instructions on how to pedal. 

I only briefly paid attention to their words, my main focus was not falling. As I pushed down on the first pedal, I shook a lot. I had a strong temptation to move the handlebars, despite me knowing that wasn’t a good idea, I fell.

 I fell quite a bit. My knees and ankles were to be bruised all over. Seth walked beside me to make sure I wouldn’t fall off again as Josh pulled out my lollipops. 

He gave me an ultimatum, “If you stop pedalling, I will hit you with your lollipops.” I was quite upset that I may get hit with the lollipops一 that I brought 一 to share 一 with them. 

I, again, reluctantly got back on the bike and pedaled fast and balanced. I pedaled, foot after foot pushed onto the pedals and felt relieved. The wind sifted through my long curly hair, I could briefly hear Josh behind me yelling to continue. 

I stopped before a steep road that led into the river. I was about to walk down with the bike, when I suddenly felt something hit my head. I turned around to see Josh chucking the lollipops at me, as Seth held the bag for him. 

“What did I say?!” Josh exclaimed. I looked down to the road frantically. 

Seth reassured me, “You’ll be fine.” 

They both gave me a rundown on how to properly stop my brakes, to lean to turn, and how to slow down. 

Seth rode his bike down first as a demonstration and encouraged me to do the same. I, again, looked down at the road and gestured to Josh that I was ready. He checked his bike to make sure it was safe and assisted me onto it. 

I took a deep breath and released my foot off the ground, allowing gravity to pull me forward.