Marvin shrugged.
“We could ride bikes,” suggested Stuart.
Marvin got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. “There’s nowhere to go,” he said.
“Hey, didn’t you get a new mountain bike?” asked Nick.
Marvin felt sick.
“That’s right!” said Stuart. “How come you haven’t shown it to us?”
Marvin shrugged. “It’s just a bike.”
“I know!” said Nick. “Let’s ride our bikes down Suicide Hill!”
Just hearing those words made Marvin feel like he was falling down a very steep cliff.
“I’ll go home and get my bike,” said Stuart. Marvin couldn’t believe it. Nick was a daredevil, but he thought Stuart was smarter than that.
“I’ll bring my stopwatch,” said Nick. “Maybe we can break the record.”
“Cool,” said Stuart.
Marvin didn’t care about breaking records. He was more worried about breaking bones.
Linzy returned to the back door. Marvin was glad to see her. He thought it might be fun to play unicorns after all.
“Mom wants to see you,” Linzy said.
As Marvin walked into the house, Linzy said, “You’re in big trouble now, mister.”
They walked to their mother’s office.
Marvin’s mother was sitting at her desk, in front of the computer. She worked as an accountant. She helped people figure their taxes. She normally didn’t work on Saturdays, but it was getting close to April 15, so she had been very busy lately.
“Did you yell at your sister?” she asked Marvin.
“Kind of,” he admitted.
“You need to tell her you’re sorry,” said his mother.
Marvin turned to Linzy. She was wearing her sad and pitiful face.
He got an idea. “Why should I?” he asked boldly.
“I beg your pardon?” said his mother.
“Linzy is a pest,” Marvin said.
“Marvin!” exclaimed his mother.
“Now he owes me two sorry’s!” said Linzy.
“You’re the one who should be sorry,” said Marvin. “For bein
g so stupid!”
Marvin’s mother looked at him for a long moment. She didn’t yell at him. She simply said, “You need to tell Nick and Stuart it’s time for them to go home. Then you will spend the rest of the afternoon in your room.”