Stone Investigations (Stone Series Book 4) by Bob Blanton (open ebook txt) 📗

Brianna and Mrs. Winthrop said together.

“Then sure.”

Matthew headed out onto the veranda where Jason had set up atable.

“Hey, Matt.  I guess you met the new coach.”

“Yes, what’s that all about?”

“Brianna wants to turn pro.”

“Already?”

“She was hoping to launch her career with a win at the Open. Now it’s not as clear cut.”

“So what does it mean for her to go pro?”

“More matches.  But I’ll let her explain all that to youlater.”

◆ ◆ ◆

After a bit of an awkward dinner where Mrs. Winthrop haddeclared there would be no work talk or tennis talk, Matthew and Brianna wentout onto the veranda to talk before he headed home.

“So, Jason says that you’re planning to turn pro.”

“That’s been my goal.  I was hoping that I could use a win atthe Open to start me out.”

“And now?”

“I have to wait and see if I can get the right kinds ofinvitations.”

“Why didn’t you talk with me about it?” Matthew asked.  Itwas obvious that he was feeling hurt by the exclusion.

“I didn’t want to say anything until it was a sure thing.”

“Why?”

“Because my going pro is going to make it hard on us.  I’llbe traveling a lot.”

“So?”

“We would hardly see each other.”

“What about school?”

“Mommy’s hired a private tutor for me.  She was with us inNew York.  After this semester, I’m going to homeschool.”

“Oh,” Matthew said as the realization of what she was sayingfinally sunk in.

“How much travel are we talking about?”

“I can play in ten pro tournaments between now and when Iturn sixteen.  Then I can play in thirteen the year after that.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of tournaments.  You’ll be on the road allthe time.”

“Most of the tournaments are only one week.  But the big onesare two weeks.”

“So you expect to be gone most of next semester.”

“Yes.  But, Matt, you’re going to college after the summer. That would make it almost impossible to keep dating.”

“I guess.”

“We can still be friends.  We can date, but we have to realizeit’s just as friends.  We both have different lives to lead.”

“I knew that.  I just thought we had more time.”

“Maybe we do.  I might not get any invitations.  I might notmake the cut on the tournaments I enter.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen.  You’re too good. And I really do wish you the best.  . . .  I justneed to think.”

Matthew gave Brianna a hug and a kiss before he went aroundthe back way to get his bike and ride home.

Chapter 7Crazy Bikers

“Remind me again why we’re here?” Matthew asked Emily.

“I’m here to report on how girls are breaking into the sportof stunt cycling.  You’re here to report on who the top cyclists are and whowins.”

“I know that but why this event?”

“Because Ms. Honeycutt said we have to report on anon-mainstream sport.  We flipped a coin to decide between stunt cycling andskateboarding.  Quit complaining, it would be just as hot in Lakeside as it ishere.”

“I guess.  I’m still not ready to forgive you for tricking meinto volunteering for the school paper.”

“It’ll look good on your college applications.”

“What about yours?”

“I’ve got tennis; besides, I’m more of a freelance kind ofgirl.  Why didn’t Brea come?”

Matthew snorted.  “She’s not interested in BMX biking;besides, she still has some work to catch up on.”

“I thought she was using a tutor to keep up.”

“So did Cara, but Brea managed to forget a paper.  She’swriting it this weekend.”

“Lucky for you.”

“Yeah, right.  I’ll see you later.”  Matthew didn’t want totalk about the fact that he and Brianna had all but broken up.

Matthew moved out into the crowd.  They’d gotten field passessince they were with the press.  Matthew was amazed that they could transformthe stadium so much and still have it ready for the Aztec football game thenext Friday.  The large bowl-like structure was huge, similar to what was atthe skateboard park but on a grander scale.

“Hi,” Matthew greeted a young man who was wandering aroundthe area like him.

“Hi, pretty cool isn’t it?”

“Yeah.  This is my first time,” Matthew said.

“First time?  How did you get field passes?”

“Press pass, student newspaper,” Matthew said.

“Sick!”

Matthew was pretty sure that was a good thing.  “Yes, somebenefits to taking journalism.  And you?”

“Just a fan.  I paid through the nose for my pass.”

“So, who do you think will win?”

“Travis, I guess.  He seems to be the top dog right now. Butthere is this chick competing that might give him a run for his money.”

“A girl?  I thought they had a separate division.”

“They do.  But there weren’t enough entrants in the undereighteen group, so she made a stink and they’re letting her compete.”

“Good for her.  So she’s pretty good?”

“Fearless.”

“I guess you’d have to be.  Who else looks good?”

“Williams, Morris, the usual suspects.”

“By the way, I’m Matt.”

“Carlos.”

“So, Carlos, how many of these do you go to?”

“Four or five a year.  I’m trying to catch on as a mechanic,but it’s tough.  It’s a tight community.”

“What does it take to get picked up as a mechanic?”

“I think you have to be related to someone,” Carlos said.  “Iwork at a bike shop up in L.A. and I hand my card out at every event, but nada.”

“Do you compete?”

“Nope, I like to fix bikes, not crash them.”

Matthew laughed, “I guess looking at the wreckage would makeyou a bit cautious.”

“Definitely.  Hey, see you around.”

Matthew made his way over to the staging area for thecompetitors.  They each had a small space around the edge of the stadium so thecrowd could see them working on their bikes as well as preparing to ride up tothe top of the bowl to begin their routine.  He saw Emily talking to a girl, heassumed she was the one Carlos had mentioned.  He checked his program.  AnnikaSorenson, from Tempe, Arizona.

After wandering a bit more, he spotted Travis checking hisbike out.  He had two young guys with him and an older man.  They were allinspecting his bikes.  There were two identical bikes, Matthew guessed one wasa spare in case he crashed.  There were three runs.  The top twenty got asecond run, then the top five a third.  The best score from their three runsdetermined their standing for the final awards.