It turned out that Ricken’s best was better than Danny’s after all. Of course, Ricken actually cared and Danny was tired. He hadn’t passed himself through a gate, so he was still fatigued from the two longer races. Truth to tell, though, he might have been able to stay ahead of Ricken when he made his move at the end. But Ricken wanted it, it was his event, and Danny didn’t want to be an asshole.

“You asshole,” said Ricken, still panting after the race. “You let me win.”

“You mean I didn’t trip you?” asked Danny. “I didn’t shove you?”

“You didn’t sprint.”

“I ran the thirty-two and the sixteen already today. I didn’t have a sprint in me.”

“You moron!” shouted Lieder as he approached.

“He talking to me or you?” asked Danny.

“Must be me, because you’re not a moron, you’re an asshole,” said Ricken. But he punched Danny lightly in the arm and moved off. They both knew it was Danny that Lieder was yelling at.

“I send you into the 200, you run the 200!”

“Ricken and I left all the Rockbridge guys licking our sweat,” said Danny. “And Ricken didn’t show injury, did he?”

“I don’t send you in to inspire the other guys,” said Lieder. “I send you in to win.”

Danny stood there.

“You got anything to say for yourself?”

“Besides how I already won two races?”

“Without trying.”

“But without losing.”

Again a silence.

“You’re still at war with me, aren’t you?”

“No sir,” said Danny. “The 200 is Ricken’s distance. He trains for it. He’s better than me.”

“Bull pucky,” said Lieder.

Danny leaned close and talked softly. “I told you I don’t compete. I hate competing. Ricken competes. He cares.”

“Start caring,” said Lieder.

“If I cared about track,” said Danny, “would I be at Parry McCluer, with you as my coach?” Danny turned his back and walked away. Not toward the stands. Not toward the team. But toward the fence, which he scrambled over almost like a hop, and then across the road. To the untrained eye, it might have looked like he was walking off the team. But to Danny’s more discerning perceptions, he was merely walking off the field because his last event was over.

Lieder must have seen this too, because he didn’t yell at Danny to get his butt back with the team, and all the usual abuse.

Or maybe it was because Nicki was there talking to her dad. Calming him down maybe. Or telling him that she liked putting her tongue in Danny’s mouth and so he’d better not piss the boy off. Whatever.

Danny didn’t go to the parking lot where the team bus was waiting. Instead, he started running up Greenhouse Road, away from Highway 11. Let it look like he was blowing off steam.