Short Story: Wheelie Bin Win
‘Hey, everyone, watch out!’ Alex cried. ‘Wheelie Bin’s on the way!’
Squeak. Squeak. A girl in a wheelchair came around the corner.
‘Better stand back,’ Alex told Mike, ‘Or she’ll run you over!’
Mike laughed.
Alex walked up behind Wheelie and took hold of the handles on her wheelchair so she couldn’t move forward.
‘Hey Wheelie,’ he stooped over her. ‘I think you need oiling.’
Wheelie didn’t reply.
‘Hey, what’s wrong? Can’t you speak either?’
Wheelie didn’t reply.
‘Hey, I know. Why don’t we have a race? How about that, wanna race?’
Wheelie didn’t reply.
‘Hey, that’s okay, I under…’
‘You’re on.’
‘Excuse me?’ Alex looked at her in surprise.
‘You want to race? You’re on.’
‘This should prove interesting,’ Mike smirked.
Alex rubbed his chin, wondering where they should race to. He snapped his fingers and laughed. ‘Okay, Wheelie. We race. First one to the fifth floor. I’ll even give you a head start, just to make things fair.’
‘I don’t need a head start,’ said Wheelie.
‘Suit yourself. Mike count us in.’
Mike looked at his watch. ‘On the count of three. One…two…THREE!’
Alex sped down the corridor, jumped onto the stairs and leapt over every other step. He turned around. Wheelie Bin was nowhere in sight. When Alex reached the third flight of stairs, he began to tire and his legs were starting to ache. He came to a halt and caught his breath.
‘Ah, screw it,’ he said. ‘Might as well walk it.’
As he approached the top of the fifth floor, he looked up in horror to see Wheelie sitting in her chair at the top of the stairs.
‘What took you?’ She said smugly.
‘How…how did you…?’
Ding.
Alex turned towards the noise and saw people walking out the lift. Heat rushed to his cheeks and he clenched his fists tight.
Wheelie raised an eyebrow. ‘Problem?’
‘This isn’t over.’
‘Bring it on.’
‘Tomorrow. By the river. Twelve of o’clock. Be there.’
‘You’re on.’
The next day, Alex and Wheelie met by the river. I’ve got her this time, he thought.
‘What have you got planned today?’ Wheelie asked.
‘River,’ Alex pointed. ‘No Bridge. First one to find a way across is the winner. Time starts now.’
Alex watched as Wheelie pushed herself down the riverbank, searching for a way to get across. Alex went the other way and searched a while around the trees, looking for a long branch. When he found one, he heaved it over to the river. He lifted to its full height and let it fall, so that the top landed on the other side of the bank, creating a bridge. With arms out stretched, he walked carefully across, until reaching the end, where he jumped triumphantly on the bank.
‘Ha!’ He cried.
‘Nice to finally join me.’
Alex froze at the sound of Wheelie’s voice. No, she couldn’t have…but there sitting on the grass was Wheelie Bin.
‘But…but…where’s your chair?’
Wheelie glanced to the side. Her chair was still on the other side of the bank. Next to a rope. Hanging from a tree.
Wheelie raised an eyebrow. ‘Problem?’
‘This isn’t over.’
‘Bring it on.’
‘Tomorrow. At the park. Twelve of o’clock. Be there.’
‘You’re on.’
The next day Alex met Wheelie in the park.
‘What have you got planned today?’ Wheelie asked.
‘Footballs,’ Alex two footballs out of a plastic bag and handed one to Wheelie. ‘Whoever kicks theirs the furthest wins.’ Alex put his football on the grass and took five paces back. He then made a run towards the ball and kicked it with all his might. It soared through the air and landed several meters away. ‘Beat that,’ he said.
Wheelie put the ball in front of her wheelchair. For a moment she just sat there, not moving.
‘Oh well, you can’t…’ Alex began, but before he could finish, Wheelie pulled a lever on her chair and suddenly her footrest sprung out in front of her, hit the ball and it went high, high into the air. After what seemed like a long time, it finally came down, landed and rolled a few feet in front of Alex’s ball.
Wheelie raised an eyebrow. ‘Problem?’
‘This isn’t over.’
‘Bring it on.’
‘Tomorrow. School. Twelve of o’clock. Be there.’
‘You’re on.’
The next day at school, Alex went up to the lift and stuck an ‘out of order’ sign across the door. He then met Wheelie and Mike in the corridor.
‘We’re having another race,’ he said. ‘Up to the fifth floor. Mike do the count down.’
‘On the count of three,’ Mike said. ‘One…two…THREE.’
Alex sped down the corridor, jumped onto the stairs and leapt over every other step. He turned around and saw Wheelie stuck on the ground floor with nowhere to go. ‘Ha!’ He said. But just then, he tripped. Alex toppled backwards, and he felt his legs crack as they bent in the wrong direction. He landed at the bottom of the stairs and yelped in pain as a rush of school children huddled round him.
The next week, Alex pushed himself into school in a wheelchair, with a cast on his leg.
‘Hey, everyone, watch out!’ Mike cried. ‘Wheelie Bin’s on the way!’
Alex felt the heat rise to his cheeks as everyone watched him come down the corridor. Wheelie was among them. She wheeled herself up to him.
‘Hey,’ he said quietly.
She didn’t reply.
‘Hey, Abigail, look, I’m sorry.’
She didn’t reply.
‘Hey, can’t you say anything?’
‘Wanna race?’ She asked.
Alex smiled. ‘You’re on.’
