Zach sighed. It was obvious that Caleb was stalling. They’d practiced foot braking and the glove-down slide for the past two weeks. Caleb knew how to do them; but he was just scared.

“Listen, we don’t have to do this hill today,” Zach said. “No one’s going to know.”

While he appreciated Zach’s offer to let him get out of boarding the hill, Caleb always wanted to succeed, and this was a new challenge. Yes, he was super nervous, but he knew he’d be totally disappointed in himself if he didn’t give it a shot.

“Just remember,” Zach said. “If you do start to fall, make sure you tuck and roll.”

Caleb recited what he was supposed to do. “Elbows bent, tuck, and try to roll over a shoulder.” To demonstrate, he crouched down and pulled his elbows in.

“Right,” Zach said. “The one thing you don’t want is a hard stop. But you’re not going to fall. You’re going to control your speed by…?”

“Carving!” Caleb answered. Last week Zach had shown him how to carve on a gradual slope. Carving was cool. Surfers carved. Snowboarders carved. And in a few moments, Caleb told himself, he, too, would carve.

“See you at the bottom.” Zach pushed off and gracefully wove down the long tree-lined road until he disappeared around the bend far below.

Caleb was left alone at the top of the hill. Now what? he asked himself. His heart was thumping in his chest. He knew he had to get down the hill one way or another. If he walked, it would take forever and Zach would know that he’d chickened out. Caleb didn’t want to think of himself as a wuss. Besides, he liked the idea of doing something purely for the sake of the thrill. Something that wasn’t going to be graded. That didn’t count for extra credit. Something that was just for fun. He wanted to lose himself in the exhilaration and adventure. When was the last time he’d done something solely because it was fun? Carving was fun. Caleb was willing to bet that going fast was fun. Well, going a little fast, at least.

He gazed down the hill again. It was a lot steeper and longer than the one he and Zach had practiced on. His heart was still thumping. Maybe this isn’t a good idea….

Oh, come on, you wuss. At least try….

He pointed the board down the hill and pushed off. He was rolling. He leaned and carved to the right, then carved left. Look, Ma, I can do this! Carve right, and…

Uh-oh. He was speeding up. Keep carving to control your speed! he told himself.

He tried to carve, but the result was more of a wiggle. The wind was in his face. He was still gaining speed. The wiggle got wigglier. Under his feet, the board began to rattle. Caleb wanted to stop, but he was already going too fast for the foot drag. He knew what Zach would tell him to do…the glove-down slide.