“Are you crazy?” I said to Josh when Max was gone.

“What do you mean?” asked Josh.

“I’ve never gone down Cherry Hill in my life!” I said. “It’s really steep.”

“So?”

“So tomorrow I won’t be able to race Max, and he’s going to make fun of me in front of everybody and call me a baby like he always does.”

“Why won’t you be able to race Max?”

“I told you. The hill is too steep,” I said. “I’m too afraid to go down it on my sled.”

“Why?” asked Josh.

I pretended to knock on Josh’s head. “Hello? Anybody in there? Are you listening to me? I said I’m afraid.”

“It’s all in your head,” said Josh.

“What?”

“It’s all in your head,” Josh repeated.

“Can you speak English, please?” I said.

“You think you can’t go down that hill, so you won’t even try,” said Josh.

“No, I know I can’t,” I said.

“Exactly,” said Josh. “That’s because you’ve convinced yourself you can’t. When I was first learning to surf, I was just as scared of the waves as you are of Cherry Hill.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Really.”

“What did you do?”

“My dad told me what I’m telling you. He said, ‘It’s all in your head. You have to change your thinking.’ ”

“How do I do that?” I asked.

“You have to tell yourself that the hill isn’t really that scary,” Josh said.

“It is a big hill,” said Robbie.

“And it is scary,” I said.

“The waves were really big, too,” said Josh, “and I was scared, but I just told myself that it probably wasn’t as scary as I thought. My brain was making me think it was worse than it really was.”

“Then what?” said Robbie.

“Then my dad told me to paddle out on my board. He said I had to face my fear, and then I would realize that it wasn’t really so bad.”

“Did you do it?” I asked.

“Yep. I got on my surfboard, and as I was paddling out, I just kept telling myself, The waves are not that scary. I can do this. I can do this.”

“Did talking to yourself work?”

“It did. When I changed my thinking, I felt my fears disappear, and the next thing I knew, I was riding my first wave!”

“Wow! That’s awesome!” I said.

“It was awesome,” said Josh. “After that, I was never afraid of the waves again. My dad was right. It was all in my head.”

“So, Freddy, you have to change your thinking,” said Robbie.

“It’s worth a try,” I said. “I don’t really have a choice. If I don’t race Max tomorrow, he’ll call me a baby for the rest of my life.”

“You can do it, Freddy,” said Josh. “I know you can.”

“You think so?”

“What’s the worst thing that can happen?” asked Josh.

“I’ll hit a huge bump, go flying off my sled, and do a giant face-plant in the snow.”

“That’s the worst?” said Josh.

“That sounds pretty terrible to me,” I said.

“I think it sounds like fun,” said Josh.

“You do?”

“Yeah. Flying down a hill like that, catching some air, and face-planting? I can’t wait!”

“Like I said before, you’re crazy.”

“So you get a little snow in your face.”

“A lot of snow in your face,” I said, “and it’s cold.” I shivered just thinking about it.

“Just brush it off,” said Josh, laughing. “Do you know how much water I’ve swallowed learning to surf?”

“How much?”

“Probably gallons and gallons. It’s all part of learning not to be afraid, and how to take risks. I’m glad my dad didn’t let me chicken out. Surfing is, like, my favorite thing to do, but I would never have learned if my dad let me walk away. I’m not going to let you walk away, either, Freddy.”

“Josh, are you going to be there?” I asked.

“Of course I am,” he said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“How about you, Robbie?”

“Freddy, you know I’m always there for you,” said Robbie. “Josh and I will be cheering you on.”

“We’ll be screaming, ‘Go, Freddy, go! Go, Freddy, go!’ ” said Josh.

“You really think I can do this?” I said to Josh.

“I know you can,” said Josh. “You’re not a baby. You’re a cool kid.”

I smiled. “You think I’m cool?”

“Yep,” said Josh. “Really cool. Max just thinks he’s cool, but he’s not. You need to stop being so afraid of him.”

“I can’t help it. He’s just so big and mean,” I said.

“It’s all in your head,” Josh repeated. “It’s all in your head.”

“All right,” I said, and gulped. “I’ll do it. I’ll race Max.”

“He’s going to be so surprised, he won’t know what to do,” said Robbie.

“Wait until Freddy wins the race,” said Josh. “Then he really won’t know what to do.”

“I can’t wait to see his face,” said Robbie.

“Me, either,” said Josh. “It’s going to be great!”

I sighed.

“I just have one question, guys,” said Josh.

“What?” Robbie and I said together.

“Where’s Cherry Hill?”

We both laughed.

“It’s on Potter’s Farm.”

“Where’s that?”

We laughed again. “Just meet me at my house at ten o’clock tomorrow morning,” I said to Josh.

“I can’t wait!” said Josh. “My first snow day ever! Woo-hoo!”