“Mom!” Caleb didn’t know where the shout came from. Well, it came from him, obviously. But from where in him?

His mother froze. Caleb was sure they were both thinking the same thing. Had he ever shouted at her before?

“I think I’d know if I tore a ligament,” Caleb said calmly. “Just give me a cold pack, okay? That’s all I need.”

His mother went back to the kitchen and got one of the cold packs they kept in the freezer in case of emergency. Caleb took it and then limped into the bathroom.

Half an hour ago he’d been on a skateboard going way too fast. The road curved to the left, but he’d gone straight…into a patch of tall grass and shrubs. And he actually had tucked and rolled! Maybe not on purpose. But he’d definitely rolled before landing on his back in some wet grass. He was breathing hard. His heart was pounding. His right knee throbbed painfully, and he could feel the dampness from the recent rain seeping through his clothes. But as he stared up at some white clouds in the blue sky, he felt something else. Pride. He’d tried something new and scary, and it had been fun. And the craziest thing of all? Even though he lost control and fell, it felt great.

In the bathroom, Caleb sat down on the edge of the bathtub and pressed the cold pack against his knee. Just then his phone buzzed. It was a text…from Brooke Ford! She’d gotten permission to do the story. A shiver of excitement raced through him. He was going to be on KFKN!

Thanks to Ms. B’s stupid lecture about the Nazis, the Axis team missed the late bus. Gavin and Mackenzie walked home. But Crosby and Tyler lived farther away and decided to see if they could get a ride. Tyler called his mother, but she didn’t pick up, so Crosby tried his aunt. Because of all the medications his mom was on, she wasn’t allowed to drive, but Aunt Mary said she’d come.

“Don’t say anything about gaming in front of her,” Crosby told Tyler.

When Aunt Mary pulled up in her car, she stared at the boys. Crosby realized why: They were still wearing their gray shirts and Iron Cross medals. He wished they’d taken off the medals before she got there. Now he was worried that she would say something embarrassing.

The boys got in the back. As Aunt Mary drove away from the school, Crosby waited for her to make a comment about their outfits, but instead she said, “What happened to the late bus?”

“We missed it,” Crosby said.

Aunt Mary looked at him in the rearview mirror and narrowed her eyes skeptically, as if she knew there had to be more to the story. Crosby braced himself for whatever totally humiliating thing she might say in front of Tyler.

But all she said was “Where are we taking you, Tyler?”