Ghost (Track #1)(36)

“Castle!” my mother called from the living room. “They here! Let’s go!”

I came out the bathroom and my mother almost hit the floor. She put her hand over her mouth, which I only ever saw her do when somebody on one of those movies said something corny about not wanting to live without the other person and then they kiss.

“Look at you,” Ma said, hugging my neck, her eyes instantly wet. “You look like a champion.”

“You look like a superhero,” King said. “I’mma call you Runnin’ Man.”

“Yeah, like the dance?” Aunt Sophie asked.

“What dance?” I replied, totally confused.

“Doesn’t matter,” my mother cut in, now back to business. She grabbed her purse. “We gotta go.”

We went dashing down the block toward the bus stop, only to see the bus pulling off just before we got there.

“No!” Ma shouted, turning toward me. I could tell she wanted to cuss, but she didn’t. She just bit her lip, then looked at me and said, “I’m so sorry, baby.”

But it was okay. I had walked it so many times, and I knew that it was only like a fifteen-minute trek. With all the stops the bus was going to have to make along the way, we could probably get there quicker if we walked anyway. So I told them to follow me, as I took the short way, for once. Imagine it, my mother in yellow pants with flowers all over them (not scrubs) and lipstick and red cheek stuff on her face, and my aunt with jeans and sneakers, with a bright pink T-shirt and a baseball cap, and my cousin, King, dressed in shorts and a tank top and the same shoes as my beat-up ones, holding a big neon sign. Imagine the three of them, following behind me, Castle Cranshaw, dressed in an electric-blue track uniform. The Defender.

We walked past the fish market, the wig shop, and Everything Sports, before I realized that I had to make one quick stop. Mr. Charles’s store. Luckily, it sits right in the middle of everything. At least it seems like it does. Like I can always get to it no matter where I am in the city. I think maybe that was Mr. Charles’s plan. He’s smart like that, and I can see it even if his family don’t. He’s the smartest person with a store in the whole city, and maybe even the world. That’s what I think.

When we got there, I told Ma and Aunt Sophie and King to give me a second.

“Just need to get something,” I explained.

I pushed the door open and there Mr. Charles was, standing behind the counter as usual, staring at his television.

“Castle! How are you, my friend?” Mr. Charles said, holding his hand out. “What’s with the getup?”

“This is my track uniform. The Defenders,” I explained, pointing to the gold word printed across my chest.

“Who?” Mr. Charles leaned in so he could hear me.

“The Defenders,” I said louder. “The track team I told you about. Today’s my first race, and I just wanted you to see me.” There was no way I could hide the excitement in my voice.

“Ahhh.” Mr. Charles flashed a huge smile. He grabbed a bag of sunflower seeds off the wall. “Then take these for good luck. Pretend they’re power pills,” he said, which I thought was funny because for me, they kinda were. At least in my head.

“Thanks, Mr. Charles. I’ll tell you how it goes,” I said, reaching out for his hand.

“Yes, yes, please do, son,” he practically shouted, squeezing my hand. “Now, get out of here. You can’t be great if you’re late!”

After four or five more minutes, my mother, my aunt, and my cousin and me came up on the park. I was used to seeing it sprinkled with only a few parents—mainly Lu’s mom and a few others—and us, the runners on the track. But on race day, there were people everywhere. From the street, you could hear the buzz of the crowd and the sounds of whistles and you could see snack vendors and all the different-color jerseys as coaches had their teams stretching and warming up. Once we got closer, I found my squad, that electric blue standing out.

“Ghost!” a voice came from behind me. It was Sunny.

“Sunny! Wassup, man?” We dapped. “This is my mom, and my aunt, and my cousin, King.” Sunny shook everybody’s hand, then told me to come get stretched and warmed up. My family lined up along the fence with who I guessed were the parents of the rest of my teammates. I saw Sunny’s father, Mr. Lancaster, still dressed up in a suit, but with sunglasses on. Patty’s (white) mother, holding her little sister, Maddy, up on her shoulders. Lu’s mom was there holding pom-poms, of course, and next to her was a man who looked just like Goose, the flashy dope man who hangs out at the basketball court. But it wasn’t. At least I didn’t think it was. Couldn’t have been.

When Sunny and I got to where the rest of the team was, everyone was sitting down with their legs out in front of them, holding the tips of their feet and pulling. It hurts like crazy, but Coach said it was good for us. The team looked at me as I sat down. They all noticed the uniform. And the silver bullets. I was dressed. I was a Defender. I was ready.

“Okay,” Coach said, needing to speak much louder than usual so that we could hear him over the noise. “I’ve got the lineup. Let’s start with the distance race. Running the mile, we have Sunny for the guys. Lynn for the girls. For the eight hundred, Mikey, you’re taking Chris’s place. Outlaw, you’re second heat. For the girls, Patty, you got this. Deja, you got second heat.” When Coach got to the two hundred meter, he looked at me and Lu. Then he looked down at his clipboard. Then back at us.