in closer. Adele was right: The site was crazy. There was insider information on everything from acceleration mods to tire saturation. She paged through to a thread on cornering, his Achillesâ heel in the race he lost to Fitz.
Sure enough, there was a technique called âheel-toe braking,â a way to brake though a corner while still revving the engine. To pull it off, you controlled both the accelerator and brake with your right foot and the clutch with your left. With toes on the gas and heel on the brake, you could come out of the turn like a bullet. An online video showed just how effective the move could be.
âSweetâIâll try it tonight,â said Charlie.
âWish I could see how it works. I got a bunch of new tricks I wanted to try myself, stuff even you havenât thought of.â
âWhy canât you?â
Her voice sagged. âIâm taking Doug and Dennis to the fair.â
âOh man.â Charlie knew all about Doug and Dennis Perry, nine-year-old twins who lived about three blocks over from his apartment. A month earlier, the two of them had holed up in their tree fort with a water-balloon launcher and conducted a fierce assault on Seminary Street traffic. It took two squad cars to get them to stop and come down.
âI swore I wouldnât sit for them again,â sighed Adele. âThen their parents offered to pay me double because everybodyâs so afraid of what the monsters will do.â
Charlie winced. The Perry twins had twice the mischief-making power of his brother, Tim, and heâd destroyed sitters when he was their age.
The second bell rang, signaling the start of class.
âYou going to the fair?â Adele whispered.
âYep. My brother works out there,â Charlie griped. âI have to go.â
âMaybe Iâll see you?â
Charlie tried to untie his uncooperative tongue. âS-s-sure,â he stammered, sounding like the giant trying out an unfamiliar phrase. The teacher began talking, giving him an excuse to turn around.
The rest of the morning crawled by as he waited for a chance to test the range of the walkie-talkies. Finally, lunch arrived. Charlie took his backpack into the cafeteria, slammed his crummy sandwich, and split for outside.
The usual game of touch football was under way on the grassy field behind the school. All-time quarterback Mr. Spees, the math teacher, shouted the snap count âGo nutsâ to send eager receivers out for passes. Charlie played it cool as he slid by. His plan was to hide out behind the equipment shed. If somebody saw him talking on an overgrown walkie-talkie, the ridicule would be endless.
He made it to the secret spot in no time, then peered around the shed to make sure no one had followed. He unzipped his backpack, pulled the antenna up on the walkie, and turned it on.
âCheck one, check one. You there?â
âCharlie?â The giantâs voice crackled through almost immediately.
Charlie hit the Talk button. âYep, man, itâs me. This works awesome!â
âSmell!â
So much for formalities , Charlie thought. âSomething smells?â
âBad.â
Charlie remembered the smelly box in a corner of the warehouse, but he didnât think that was what the giant meant. âIs the smell coming from outside?â
âYep.â
Charlie chuckled. âI know, right? Thatâs Donovan Dairies.â The dairies emptied some kind of steam into the air every day and it stank like crazy. Since they moved close by, Charlie smelled it all the time. It was even worse in the summer, when it got hot. âHas something to do with making cheese. You know what cheese is?â
âNope.â
âYouâre in Wisconsin, dude. Iâll have to get you some.â He looked around the corner and saw a group of kids chasing a kickball in the shedâs direction. âI gotta go. Somebodyâs coming.â
The giant