Moon Runner by Carolyn Marsden

Author:Carolyn Marsden [Marsden, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7712-1
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2015-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

“I’m in the fifty-meter sprint,” Mina told Mom as Mom fixed celery and peanut butter for Paige.

“My goodness, what big news,” Mom said. “Such a surprise, Mina.”

Mina ran her fingertip along the sharp edge of the countertop. She wished the news was as good as Mom thought.

Mom continued: “I want to see this with my own eyes, honey. Let’s go practice at the park. I haven’t jogged in weeks. I could use a run.”

Mom handed the celery sticks to Paige. “Bring these along, sweetie.”

The park lawn had just been mowed, the marks of the tractor mower imprinted in the soft, flattened grass. A eucalyptus tree cast dark green shadows.

Paige dashed to the swings and pumped her way up.

“Fly high, little hummingbird!” Mom shouted at Paige.

Mom jogged in place, then moved onto the grass. “I feel like I have two sacks of potatoes tied to my hips!” she shouted.

Mina had to laugh. She began to sprint, passing Mom.

“Go slow,” Mom said.

But Mom’s jogging looked like a funny walk. Mina wanted to show off. She wanted Mom and Paige to see her as the champion that she was. She went once around the edge of the park as fast as she could. Then she got a cramp in her side. She bent over and pressed on her ribs, but the pain didn’t go away.

Mina sat down on a bench and observed Mom’s slow progress — twice around, three times, four times.

Paige pumped the swing as high as it could go, the chains creaking against the horizontal pole.

Mom just kept plugging along. At least Mom was still running while Mina sat, a champ with a cramp.

Finally, Mom stopped and joined Mina on the bench. She rested her forearms on her thighs, her hands clasped together, and caught her breath.

“There’s more I haven’t told you,” Mina said suddenly. She put her feet side by side so that the toes of her sneakers lined up exactly. She hadn’t planned to talk about the painful stuff.

“About the team?”

Mina squeezed her feet tightly together. “I didn’t get chosen for the relay team. Ruth’s on it, but not me.”

“Well, at least you made a team. That’s a big deal.”

Mina sighed. Could Mom understand? “But I’m running against Ruth in the fifty meter. She’s on the individual, like me. If I win, our Fellow Friends group will fall apart for sure.” Her voice grew high and thin. “If I let Ruth win, I’ll feel icky about myself.”

“I’m beginning to see.” Mom straightened up and stretched her arms across the back of the bench.

“Something important happened the other day: Ruth has always been the fastest girl, but I tied her.”

“That’s quite something, Mina. Maybe Coach put you and Ruth both on the individual to break the tie.”

“Maybe.” Mina considered Mom’s idea. “And there’s something else.” She told Mom about the running times Alana had seen on Coach’s clipboard.

Mom whistled. After a moment, she stood up and took Mina’s hand, lifting her from the bench.

The two set off across the grass. Mina jogged as slowly as Mom did.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.