Alexis

by Erica Rodgers

  David seemed like he was being completely honest, but Alexis didn’t like the sound of his story. Why would an engineer ask a teenager to take apart a bridge? Didn’t they have their own people to do that stuff? Well, the story might sound shifty, but Alexis thought David was telling the truth. He believed he was helping not hurting the bridge. There was one way to find out for sure.

  “When did this engineer ask you to do this?” asked Alexis. Her face softened, and she was no longer glaring at him.

  “About two weeks ago. It takes about two days for me to get one stone loose.”

  “And didn’t you notice you were causing a crack to appear in the bridge?” said Elizabeth.

  “I do my work at night because I’m so busy during the day. And I wanted to make some extra money to help my uncle pay bills. I wanted to surprise him, so I’ve been working at night while he’s at work. I never saw the crack until earlier this week, when people started making such a fuss. I asked the engineer about it the last time I saw him, but he said not to worry about it.” David turned to Elizabeth. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

  Alexis turned around and looked at her friend. Elizabeth was still looking suspicious. Her eyes were narrow, and her arms were crossed. One of her feet at the end of a long leg was tap, tap, tapping on the wood of the dock.

  “No offense, David,” Elizabeth said, “but your story sounds crazy. You said you were supposed to meet this engineer today? Well, where is he?”

  David looked up the street toward town.

  “I’m not sure.” He glanced at his watch. “He’s late.”

  “Well,” said Alexis, “the engineers who are taking care of the bridge are staying at my hotel. We could go see if he’s there. Then you could give him the stones, and we can clear all this up.”

  “Sounds good to me,” said David. “You wanna help me put these things in the wagon? I doubt we’d be able to carry them all the way.”

  One by one they piled the old stones into the wagon. They were as gentle as possible. The last thing they wanted to do was break one of them in half. Twenty minutes later they were pulling the wagon into the lobby of the London Bridge Resort. The tourists and workers alike turned to watch them wheel the wagon toward the front desk.

  “Hi, Jane,” said Alexis. “Do you know where the head engineer is right now?”

  “I believe the engineers are eating a late lunch,” she said, pointing toward the restaurant at the front of the lobby. “What’s in the wagon?”

  Alexis didn’t answer. She turned and led Elizabeth and David toward a nearby table where a team of men in jeans and white polo shirts were eating.

  “Um, excuse me,” she said. The men stopped chewing and looked at her. One of them sat frozen with his sandwich halfway to his open mouth. “We’re looking for one of your engineers.”

  The men looked back and forth at one another, surprised. Then the one with his sandwich halfway to his mouth answered her.

  “I’m the chief engineer, name’s Cliff. Which one of my men are you looking for?” Alexis looked at David because he was the one who knew whom they were looking for.

  “I don’t remember his name,” he said, “but I think it started with a J.”

  “I’m John,” said a thin man at the end of the table with a bowl of pasta in front of him.

  David looked at Alexis and shook his head. The man he was looking for was not at the table.

  “This is all of us,” said Cliff. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Well,” said Alexis, “some engineer told David that he would pay him to take samples from the bridge for testing. They’re right here.” She gestured toward the wagon, and Cliff’s sandwich dropped onto his plate with a splat.

  “These are from the bridge? The London Bridge?”

  David nodded.

  “Where did you take them from?” asked Cliff, excited. He jumped up and flew to the wagon, picking up the stones one by one.

  “The second pillar, under the waterline,” said David. “That’s where the engineer told me to take them from.”

  “Let’s get one thing straight,” said Cliff. “A true engineer would never tell a kid to remove stonework from a bridge—especially a historical bridge like this one. I think you got duped, kid.”

  “I don’t understand,” said David. “The guy was so—”

  “Wait!” yelled Cliff. “Did you say you took these from the second pillar?”

  “Yeah,” said David.

  “Right under where the crack appeared?” said another engineer with gravy all over his chin. David nodded.

  Cliff jumped out of his seat.

  “John, Matt—finish eating, then check this out. I believe this explains the crack. If so, then there’s no real damage. These stones can be replaced, and the crack can be filled. It’s only surface damage!”

  Cliff called over to where Jane was standing at the front desk. “Call the mayor! Tell him the parade is on!” Everyone in the restaurant and hotel lobby erupted in applause. After a minute, David’s voice broke through the commotion.

  “Excuse me, sir,” he said. Cliff turned back toward the three young people. Alexis and Elizabeth were glad that the parade would go on, but David looked troubled.

  “I feel stupid,” he said. “I should have known that pulling chunks off the bridge wasn’t right, but the guy was so convincing. Why would he want these rocks anyway?”

  “Don’t worry, son,” said Cliff. “I believe that you didn’t mean to cause any harm. You’re no danger to anyone. The person who is a danger is that man who talked you into this. If you see him around, don’t let him know we’re on to him. You come find me, and we’ll get the sheriff. As for why he wanted them, well, maybe he was trying to tear down the bridge for some reason. He might be one of these kooks who wants to get on the news. If he wasn’t a kook, he was probably a crook bribed to do it—or he was doing it for money for some reason. You’d be surprised at how much people will pay for pieces of history.”

  Alexis elbowed Elizabeth. She was thinking of Dr. Edwards. All of this came down to history.

  Cliff ran off to help his crew get the bridge ready for the parade and left the three of them standing staring at the floor.

  “Well, I guess I’d better get home,” said David.

  “Yeah, it’s almost dinnertime,” said Elizabeth. They all walked toward the front doors. All at once, Alexis stopped and yelled.

  “Wait!” cried Alexis. David and Elizabeth spun around in surprise. “David! What are you doing tomorrow?”

  “Uh, watching the parade, I guess.”

  Alexis and Elizabeth exchanged excited glances.

  “Do you want to ride with us in the bed race tomorrow?” Alexis asked.

  “Please! You have to!” said Elizabeth. “I’m going to push, and Alexis is going to steer, but we don’t have a third person!”

  “You need a shifter,” said David.

  “A what?” said the girls together.

  “A shifter—someone to sit in the middle of the bed and shift from side to side as you go around corners. It keeps the bed from flipping over. You’re in luck. I happen to be the best shifter in Lake Havasu. Been on the winning float two years in a row.”

  “But that means you raced with Emily!” said Alexis.

  “Yeah, I did. Until she broke that guy’s arm anyway. She’s a good racer, but she’s too brutal. She’ll do anything to win.”

  “So you’ll ride with us?” asked Elizabeth.

  “Of course!” said David. “Where should I meet you?”

  “Outside of Bill’s Tarnished Treasures first thing in the morning,” said Alexis. “Don’t forget to wear your costume!”

  Alexis walked David and Elizabeth to the sidewalk, where the two of them peeled off in opposite directions—David to his home and Elizabeth to her hotel. Alexis turned to go inside and was almost bowled over by a round man in a flapping suit.

  It was the mayor.

  “Sorr
y, girl! Sorry! Didn’t see you in all the excitement!”

  Then he turned and continued running toward the bridge, yelling at anyone who crossed his path. “Did you hear? Did you hear? The parade is on! There’s no curse after all!”

  Alexis watched him disappear around the corner, half expecting him to do a hitch kick on his way.

  The Great Race

  The sun was barely up, but the people of Lake Havasu City were already gathering. A variety of beds were ready at the starting line. Racing teams were making final adjustments and getting into position.

  Alexis was reattaching a sequined fish that had fallen off when David leaned out over her head from his seat on the bed.

  “You almost done?” he asked. Alexis looked up. David’s dragon costume was hilarious. It was a glittery blue, and the hood was shaped like a horned dragon’s head, complete with three-inch fangs on the front of the snout.

  “Yeah, almost,” said Alexis. “This fish won’t stay put!”

  “Well, maybe if your decorations weren’t so cheap, they wouldn’t fall apart,” said a nasty voice from behind them. Alexis spun around and found Emily’s knees in her face. They were covered in sparkly tights. Alexis looked up and saw that Emily was dressed like a fairy. Even her makeup was gorgeous, and she had pointed ears and wings.

  “Don’t you have your own bed to attend to?” asked David.

  “Oh,” said Emily to Alexis. “I see you had to pick up last year’s leftovers to get a third. Well, good luck, girls.”

  She curtsied to David with her last word and traipsed back to her own bed.

  “Don’t worry about her,” said David as he helped Alexis climb over the wall and onto the bed. “She wouldn’t even be talking to us unless she was afraid we might beat her.”

  “And I think you just might!” It was Bill. He came out of the crowd and hobbled one last time around the castle-bed. “This thing really has a chance with a crew like you three!”

  Bill pointed at David and spoke to the girls. “You know this guy’s the best shifter in Lake Havasu, right?” he said. “Mary takes the credit. She used to go with his mom to ride go-carts, and she taught him how to take the corners!”

  David bowed, his dragon’s tail flying up in the air and knocking off Elizabeth’s tiara.

  “Be careful where you swing that thing!” she said. “Everybody ready? They’re about to start!”

  Alexis scrambled to the front and sat in the throne. She twisted her jester’s hat so she was looking between two of the floppy arms. There was no way she was going to let a couple of jingle bells keep her from seeing where she was going.

  Elizabeth climbed out of the bed and took up her station behind the tower, on the ground. She would be the one to start pushing when the gun went off. David plunked down in between the tower and Alexis’s throne. There he would squat, ready to shift to one side or the other each time they took a corner. Hopefully he could keep the bed from tipping up or—even worse—from falling over.

  “Alexis! Hey, Alexis!”

  Alexis looked over and saw her grandmother’s shocking red hair bobbing up and down in the crowd. She was waving frantically, elbowing Dr. Edwards in the side as she did so. He did not seem the least bit interested.

  “Hi, Grandma!” called Alexis.

  “Drive that thing well, baby!” called Grandma Windsor.

  “I will!” cried Alexis. “And I’ll meet you at the end of the parade!”

  Their conversation was interrupted by the mayor’s amplified voice. It roared over the noise of the crowd, causing a hush that was unnatural for so many people. The air hummed, as if the noise was just waiting for the right moment to explode again.

  “Ready! Set!” called the mayor, the cap gun raised high over his head. Snap!

  And they were off.

  Along the starting line, beds began to roll forward. All of them were slow at first, but after a few seconds they picked up some speed.

  “Come on, Elizabeth!” yelled Alexis. Just then David’s head appeared over her shoulder.

  “Alexis!” he said. “Just around the first corner is a hill! When I tell you to, lean forward as far as you can without falling out!”

  “What?” Alexis cried. “What for?”

  “You’ll see,” he said. Alexis didn’t like the grin on his face.

  The corner came faster than Alexis had expected. They were in the middle of the road with beds on either side. The street curved a little to the right, and David crouched down along the right wall of their castle.

  “I’m on!” cried Elizabeth. She had stopped pushing and was now standing on the back of the bed.

  “Now!” cried David. Alexis leaned forward, keeping her hands on the steering wheel. To her surprise, David was beside her, adding his weight to hers at the front of the bed. Soon she saw why they were doing it.

  At first it was only five inches, but soon their castle-bed was a good twenty feet in front of everyone else. Their weight was forcing the bed down the hill faster than all the others!

  The wind in her face made Alexis whoop in excitement. This is how it must feel to fly, she thought. The road continued straight at the bottom of the hill, so Alexis just sat back in her seat and held tight to the vibrating steering wheel. David returned to the middle of the bed, and Elizabeth got ready to jump off and push—but they were going too fast. She didn’t need to.

  “Whoo-hoo!” cried Elizabeth. Her head peeked up over the top of the tower. “You guys are doing great!”

  “Here comes another corner!” said David. “Alexis! Tap the brakes once, then lean into the turn!” Alexis did as she was told. She tapped the pedal with her foot—but she did it twice. The bed lurched and took the turn at a crawl. They had lost most of their momentum, and two beds flew past them.

  “Push, Elizabeth!” called David. Alexis felt the pressure from behind as Elizabeth struggled with the weight of the bed. She could see that the road up ahead dropped off in another hill, and she hoped they could catch up on the way down.

  “All right!” shouted David. “Let’s do it all over again! Elizabeth—get on! Alexis, lean forward and, no matter what you do, don’t touch the brakes!”

  Once again they were flying. In no time at all they had overtaken two teams. Now only one bed was ahead of them. Alexis looked up and recognized the sparkly wings of Emily’s costume.

  “We’re going to pass her on the curve at the bottom!” said David. “Put our bed on the inside of the turn! Between her bed and the curb! If we lean left, you won’t need the brakes! Plus,” he said with a smile, “even if we tip, all we’ll do is bump her a little. Ready? Lean!”

  And she did. Alexis leaned to her left with everything she had. The force pulling the bed to the right was crazy. Alexis thought for sure they were going to topple over. Once, their left wheels lifted into the air, but David’s weight put them back on the ground.

  They came out of the turn just ahead of Emily’s bed. An angry screech came from behind them. Then there was a jolt, and their castle-bed almost flew off the road and into the watching audience.

  Cheers turned to boos, and after she got control of her bed, Alexis looked over to see Emily passing her.

  “Oops!” said Emily. “Guess I got a little close. Sorry!” And she kept rolling.

  “No way!” cried Alexis. “She cheated!”

  “She always does,” said David. “One more curve, then it’s a slight hill to the finish. Don’t pass her yet. Stay behind her on the turn, and we’ll lean down the hill again, okay?”

  Alexis nodded. Elizabeth joined them up front. They were going so fast there was no way she could push anymore. The last turn behind them, Alexis gripped the wheel and leaned. David and Elizabeth leaned forward too, one on either side of her.

  They were even with the back of Emily’s bed—they were at the middle—they were nose and nose—

  The finish line was feet away. Without warning, David put his feet on the castle wall and leaped forward, grasping the finishing
ribbon in his hands before falling and rolling beneath the bed with a crash.

  Cheers erupted from the crowd. Alexis slammed on the brakes as the medical staff ran out to pull David from under the bed. He was fine, except for some minor scrapes, and one of his dragon’s teeth had been knocked out.

  “Dragons have tough hides!” he said with a laugh as Alexis and Elizabeth ran up to him.

  “That was crazy!” said Elizabeth.

  “Why did you do that?” asked Alexis.

  “I couldn’t let her win,” he said. “Not like that.”

  Alexis noticed there was quite a commotion near the side of the finish line. Most of the beds had finished, but the judges seemed to be fighting over something. Alexis led the way over to the judges, her jester’s hat flopping in her hands.

  “Where’s the picture? We have to have the picture!” called one of the judges. He was a short man with a huge mustache.

  “It’s coming, Wilbur,” said another judge. She was tall and was looking around the crowd. “Where’s the photographer?” she shouted.

  “I’m right here!” called a man in a tweed coat. He was running as fast as he could, huffing from the exertion. A digital camera was around his neck. He stopped near the judges and played with the buttons for a few seconds. Then he passed it to the judges. After a few moments of silence, the tall judge spoke.

  “I just don’t believe it!” she said.

  “Me neither,” said the little man with the mustache. “But the rules say—”

  “The rules say what, exactly?” said Emily. She had abandoned her bed and was stalking toward the judges. “They had better say that I won!”

  “Well, actually, young lady,” said the man, “you didn’t.”

  He showed her the camera. Emily’s mouth dropped open, and she shoved the camera at Alexis. Alexis grabbed the camera. There was the proof, clear as day. David’s long arms outstretched, grasping the finish line and beating the front of Emily’s bed by a good six inches.

  “But their bed didn’t cross before mine!” argued Emily. “He jumped off!”