On Friday morning James is back at home, looking out of his window just like he used to. I give him a wave as I head down the hill. I’ve got my school bag over my shoulder. Ranga comes out of his house and we walk past the roundabout and around the corner acting natural. Once we are out of sight we duck down the path into the middle of the park, where no one can see you from the road, and sit on the swings waiting. After about fifteen minutes Jess comes in from the other side of the park where her house is. It’s just like being spies.
We hang around, planning how to surprise James. Jess keeps looking over her shoulder so I turn around to see why. There’s no one there. I’m relieved. For a moment I thought we were about to be busted.
‘What?’ says Ranga, looking at us both.
‘It looks like it’s going to rain,’ Jess says.
‘No way!’ says Ranga. ‘I watched the news last night. It’s not going to rain until Sunday.’ He looks confident, but then again, he always looks confident.
I didn’t see the forecast but big, black clouds are building up on the horizon. It does look like it is going to rain — soon. For the next half an hour we wait, every few minutes stealing glances at our watches and then at the clouds. Ranga keeps getting up and sitting down until it’s time.
At exactly 8:30 we walk back up the street. All of us are straining our eyes to see if any cars are still in the driveways of our houses but it looks all clear. Our parents are at work. Cool! James’ mum is working today as well and his carer won’t be here until ten o’clock so we’ve got an hour and a half.
The way we’ve got it planned is like this: Jess and I go into the garage and get the couch ready behind the garage door while Ranga knocks on James’ door. When James comes out we’ll press the door opener and we’ll stand there with the couch like we’re about to go where no man has been before. If only we had a smoke machine. Anyway, then we’ll load him up and off we’ll go. Ranga is going to steer for the first run. Jess and I are going to push off and I’ll jump in the couch once it gets going.
Jess will get a ride down the next time while I’m steering and then she can have her turn driving.
Jess and I roll the couch to the front of the garage door. She stands next to it, ready. By the time I get to the little side door where I can see Ranga’s signal he has already rung the doorbell. It seems like ages before the front door opens and James appears. Ranga talks to him for a while and then James rolls his chair out to the top of his driveway. Ranga signals like a maniac behind him.
The garage door takes a while to open but when we finally see him it’s worth it. He’s staring at us and his mouth is hanging open. He still hasn’t got a clue what is going on but he drives his chair across to get a better look — fast.
Jess and I bring the couch down to meet him at the road, ready to go. For the first time I start to wonder if James will be keen. It would be scary to do something like this if you couldn’t move your legs or arms like you wanted. I don’t need to worry. From the look on his face it will be hard to stop him. He’s seen the T-bar on the front of the couch and he knows what it means. In about five seconds he’s hassling us to give him a ride.
Ranga gets on one side of James’ chair and I get on the other. He’s lighter that he looks and we lift him out easily, but when it comes to getting him down on the couch it’s much harder. We have to lean forward to put him on it and the couch keeps rolling backwards. Jess gets behind it and holds it steady but even then we wind up having to half dump him like a bag of groceries and then help him to sit up and move into position. We put a cushion between him and the armrest to stop him leaning too far out that side when we turn.
Once he’s set we line the couch up on the road and Ranga gets into the driver’s seat, feet on the T-bar. No cars have come past since we started so we figure it’s a good a time as any for our first run.
Jess and I shove the couch off and once it’s rolling I jump aboard. At first it sways everywhere but Ranga holds the steering bar steady with his feet and things settle down. James is on the other side of Ranga but I can hear him hooting. It’s just like I imagined but somehow this feels different from when we practised. The couch feels unsteady. It lurches from side to side every time Ranga turns a little. Maybe it’s because James can’t brace himself properly. He’s flopping around a little, especially when Ranga turns left to line up the roundabout. I’m a little edgy. Apart from the dodgy steering the couch feels like it would be too heavy for just two of us to stop quickly. What if a car appears now? The noise of the skateboard wheels and James hooting drowns out any chance of hearing one coming from the side street. No. No cars are likely to be driving around here at this time of day. The streets are usually empty. We’ll be right.
Still, as we approach the roundabout I lean out, trying to see around the corner. The couch is barely in control and I’m gripping the armrest as we swing wide around the centre island. James leans on Ranga and Ranga leans on me but I push back, keeping things balanced. I’m trying to look out for cars but Ranga’s and James’ heads are in the way so I just brace myself. Then we’re through. It’s not until we slow up at the bottom of the hill that I realise I’ve been holding my breath.
James is still hooting when we turn the couch around. He wants to go again — straightaway. Danger boy! We might have created a speed monster.
This time we’re organised for the push back up the hill to the top. Ranga has some rope that we attach to the T-bar so we can steer the couch as we push it. It’s not pretty but it works like a beauty — much easier than last time. All the way back up the hill James describes how good the ride was. Ranga has a huge grin on his face and I figure my smile is just as wide. This is going perfectly.
For the next run Jess gets to ride on the couch and I’m driving. I get Ranga to go down to the roundabout and look for cars. I know we won’t get going as fast with only Jess pushing off but we’ll still roll all the way down. Ranga reckons I’m like an old granny, worrying too much, but in the end he agrees after Jess says it’s probably a good idea. No cars come while he walks down there and after a quick glance from side to side he signals. Jess starts pushing and eventually we get rolling. James just sits there as we cruise through the roundabout like a bunch of pensioners on a slow-motion Sunday drive. He’s not hooting at all but he’s still smiling.
Ranga walks down to us and helps me get the couch turned around. ‘Well, you got down here in the end,’ he says. ‘What do you reckon, James?’
‘It was fun,’ James says, ‘but the first time was way better.’ As we push the couch back up the hill he tells us about all the best bits of the first run again, in detail. Ranga keeps giving me meaningful glances.
At the roundabout we check the side streets. Still nothing!
‘There hasn’t been a car since we started,’ Ranga says, ‘and there won’t be one either. And what’s the use of the couch if we roll so slowly that it’s boring. We have to have a two-person push-off.’
I still think it’s risky but Jess says that the whole point was to let James feel what skateboarding is like. She says skateboarding is a bit risky — that’s what makes it so good. So finally we all agree, especially James.
‘You’re turning into a hoon,’ I say and he laughs.
When we set up the couch for the next run Jess doesn’t want to drive. ‘I saw how the couch swerved from side to side when Ranga was driving. I don’t reckon I’m good enough to handle it.’
I try to tell her that she’s just as good as me and that she can go slow like I did, but she won’t try so it’s Ranga’s turn to drive again.
‘Go hard,’ he says as Jess and I push off.
James hoots. We shove as hard as we can and then I jump into the passenger seat. This time the take-off is super fast. We’re flying by the time we reach the roundabout. James is hooting his face off again, loving it, and then I see the car. Ranga’s seen it too because I hear him swear. It’s coming from our left and the driver hasn’t seen us. Ranga tries to turn the couch away from the car just as it slams its brakes on and its tyres screech. I can’t believe how loud that screech is. Then the T-bar hooks around, flicking Ranga’s feet off and the couch slides across the last part of the roundabout and slams into the curb opposite. It feels like it’s all happening in slow motion. I hear the wood crunch and splinter and then the couch tips up and throws me forwards. As I fall I get a glimpse of James flying off the high end of the couch. His face is pulled tight with fear like he knows what’s coming but there’s nothing he can do. In that split second I know that he can’t move well enough to protect himself. I land in the dirt and roll. Then I’m sitting up and I hear someone whimpering. At first I think it must be James but then I realise that it’s Ranga.
‘Are you hurt, Ranga?’
He shakes his head. He seems frozen, curled in a ball, making a weird high moaning noise.
I look around for James. He’s sprawled in a heap by the footpath on the other side of Ranga. I jump up and run over to him. He’s silent, not moving, just lying there so I reach out to turn him over.
‘No,’ says a voice next to me. ‘Don’t move him. He might have spinal injuries.’ It’s the car driver.
The words hit me like a punch in the stomach. I feel like throwing up. I can’t breathe and then Jess comes pelting down the hill, her face as white as a ghost.
The driver hands her his mobile as he crouches down beside James. ‘Ring the emergency number,’ he says. ‘We need an ambulance.’
It’s one of those flip phones and, when she’s got it open, she stares at it for a second.
‘Zero, zero, zero,’ the driver says. Then he goes back to James. ‘Can you hear me?’
James moans a bit and nods his head.
‘Good,’ says the driver. ‘Does anything hurt?’
I can’t believe he just asked that question of a boy lying there like that. It looks like everything hurts.
James nods.
‘Your back? Your neck?’
James shakes his head.
‘Can you move your arms?’
James doesn’t answer. He looks like he’s gone to sleep. It scares me more than when he was moaning.
Carefully, the man lifts James’ right leg up and tips him more onto the side. He gets one of James’ hands and puts it under his cheek.
‘Just lie still,’ he says. ‘Don’t move until the ambulance drivers have checked you out.’
Ranga is still making this keening noise, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth, his eyes fixed on James.
Jess walks over and puts an arm around his shoulders.
Just to make things worse, a few big drops of rain splatter on the road while we’re waiting. The sky is so dark it feels like the end of the world.