He probably just sits around all day readin’ spell books and castin’ really neat spells.”
“Well, it doesn’t sound like much fun according to him,” Thomas answered. “Hey, we’re next in line to sign up.”
The boys signed up for the chariot race and eagerly awaited the announcement of who would be racing. While they were waiting, they took in a puppet show. It was a reenactment of a battle. Thomas noticed most of the children seemed to know the characters and the play by heart. It was a valiant knight named Sir Harold fighting a dragon.
The evil dragon had been terrorizing local farmers. It would casually fly overhead and delight in reigning it’s fiery breath down on the crops, thereby ruining them. The dragon was eventually tracked down by Sir Harold and slain after a long and arduous battle. The children cheered and chanted “Harold! Harold!”
By the time the show was over, they were ready to announce the names of those who would be racing. Thomas and the other boys gathered around to hear.
It was then that Thomas got a look at what they would be racing; ponies with crude chariots made up to look as if they were made of the finest gold with encrusted gems. He was very excited to race and yet nervous. He tried so hard to fit in with the other children, but he knew nothing about horses and the like. Just then, “Thomas!” His name had been called.
He smiled and cast a nervous look at the other boys. They didn’t notice because right after that, Clayton’s name was called as well. The boy jumped up and screamed with delight. “All right! About time!” he shouted. “I’ve been signin’ up for this darn thing ever since I was big enough.”
“Maybe next year,” Brandon said as the man announced the last name. “Can I at least ride with you, Thomas?”
“Sure,” he said somewhat relieved. At least now there would be somebody aboard that knew what to do.
The boys that were chosen walked forth and were shown to their chariots. Thomas stepped up into his grabbed the reigns. He played with them a little and seen how the horse turned his head from side to side as he pulled on the respective reigns. So this is how you steer, he thought to himself, this doesn’t seem to hard.
Brandon and Clayton were busy trash talking each other and making outrageous bets about who was going to win.
The man who announced the names walked in front of the horses shouting the rules. He gave directions through the city that the boys must follow using street names that Thomas was totally unfamiliar with. “You payin’ attention Brandon?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good, you can navigate while I try to drive this thing,” Thomas said seeing the smile come across the smaller boys face. He knew that now he would really feel like part of the race and it would help him from getting lost.
The man continued on about not cheating and hitting and ramming the chariots. Many of the other boys booed at this. The man finished his speech and walked to the side of the line of chariots. He waved a red flag and all the boys got ready. He spun the flag three times around his head and let it drop. When it hit the ground, all the boys took off. Thomas just sat there.
“Are you goin’?” Brandon asked.
“I thought I was,” Thomas answered pulling on the reigns; back and forth, but nothing happened.
“Yah!” Brandon shouted and the horses bolted forward knocking Thomas off balance. He caught a handhold on the side of the chariot and struggled to pull himself back up to grab the reigns. When he finally got his footing and was able to stand, he seen that they were well down the main road chasing after all the other boys.
“Thanks!,” he shouted to Brandon who was holding firmly onto the side and smiling as big as he could. He focused back on the race and seen they were closing in on the other racers when all the boys pulled on their reigns and quickly turned their horses down another road. Thomas nearly lost his grip as the sweat on his palms got worse. He calmed himself by explaining the situation in his head. Pull back hard, and then steer right by pulling this reign, he said to himself as he readied for the sharp turn.
They came up on the turn fast and Thomas positioned his body to make the maneuver that he had planned just split seconds earlier. He moved one foot back to brace himself and pulled hard and then right. He was able to brace against the sudden slowing but the turn caught him off guard. He fell to the side and hit Brandon. Both of them were pinned against the side of the chariot as it came up on just one wheel, nearly tipping over. Thomas did manage to keep hold of the reigns this time and he pulled on them and snapped them down hard. The pony sped forward and brought the chariot back down on both wheels. “No problem,” he said smiling at Brandon.
Brandon’s eyes were wide with more fear than excitement now. “Have you ever done this before?” he asked through clenched teethe. He now gripped the side of the chariot with all his might as the color in his face disappeared.
“Nope,” Thomas said as he smiled and urged his horse on even faster. He seen the other boys up ahead and knew that he probably would not win, but now he was in it for the shear fun. “Yah! Yah!” he shouted at the horses and whipped the reigns.
Another turn was coming up and Thomas looked over at his passenger. Brandon seen the look and slumped down into the chariot still clutching the side. “I don’t wanna watch,” he said trying to smile.
Thomas strategically slowed well ahead of the turn this time and made it through on both wheels. This apparently made Brandon feel a bit better since he was now peeking above the chariot. They were actually gaining on some of the others now quite fast. He could even see Clayton four racers ahead. He new if he couldn’t win the race, he should atleast try to beat Clayton.
He focused on his friend ahead of them and urged his pony onward. The road they were on was long and straight. The rough cobblestone tore at the wheels of the chariot and provided for a very rough ride. The chariot rocked back and forth and bounced up and down. Thomas guessed that this road ran parallel to the main road they had started on. There should be only two turns left and then the home stretch.
He passed the two chariots at the end of the pack and closed in on Clayton. “We’re comin’ to get ya!” Thomas yelled.
Clayton glanced back and snapped his reigns but it was too late. Thomas’ chariot had closed the gap. His pony was breathing heavy but he urged it on shouting encouragement. He was now tied neck and neck with Clayton.
“Where’s Brandon?!” Clayton asked.
Thomas smiled and glanced down into the chariot. Brandon’s head peaked up above the chariot; eyes wide and face still colorless. “How ya doin’?!” Clayton yelled. Brandon said nothing and disappeared again into the depths of the chariot.
Clayton laughed and turned his attention back to gaining the lead against his friend. He surged forward and quickly took the lead. He didn’t realize that Thomas had let him gain against him because he was slowing for the oncoming turn. Clayton pulled back on the reigns and tried to turn hard right but he didn’t have time to brace his body against the pull of the turn. He lost his grip as he spun around and slammed into the side of the chariot. He struggled to grab hold of something, anything, but it was too late. The chariot started bouncing and tipped hard to one side and flipped completely on its side. Clayton took what footing he could find and leapt from the back landing hard on the rough road.
“You ok?!” Thomas asked as he slowed his pace around the turn.
“Ungh! Yeah!” he raised his head. “I’ll be alright. You better hurry! Just a few scrapes; I don’t think anything’s broken,” the last part he said to himself as he slowly tried to stand and brush the dirt off him.
Thomas had already sped onward and was now second to last. Not bad for my first time, he thought to himself. “You hangin’ in there buddy?” he asked Brandon which was answered with only a nod of the boy’s head. “Only one more turn to go! I think if I speed through this one I can gain some ground on the two guys ahead of us!”
Brandon shut his eyes as tight as he could and tightened his grip. His hands were no
w aching from the strain of holding onto the rail so tightly and his heart pounded in his ears. He hummed to himself trying to block out everything around him and put the oncoming turn out of his mind. The rocking of the chariot was making him more seasick than the one time he’d been out in a boat. He vowed then that he would never again ride in a chariot again, especially with his friend Thomas at the helm.
Thomas went to the outside and tried to cut the turn in close. He had hoped this maneuver would work just like it did in the races his Dad used to watch and it did. He sped past the two racers in front of him and was quickly gaining on another. This was the final stretch of the race and Thomas could see the finish line far away in the distance.
He also noticed, looking ahead, that there were only five boys in front of him. By the time the thought of finishing in the top three entered his head, he had already passed another. Now there were only four. Brandon glanced up over the edge and gave a half-hearted smile. Thomas wasn’t sure if it was because they were doing good or because the race was almost over. He didn’t care. He ducked down low and snapped the reigns hard against the pony. “Sorry! Only a little bit further! You can do it!” he shouted. “Yah! Yah!”
Despite all his efforts, he was only able to secure fourth place in the race. They passed the finish line and