“Baby’s scared,” Sheila taunted.

“Am not!” The staunch denial lost cohesion in Alex’s trembling lip as he stood atop the big boy’s silver speedster. He pushed off, flew through the metal corkscrew, and burst from the chute.

Fists pumping, grin spreading, he stuck his tongue out at Sheila. “Am not!”

Suzi Harris is a retired technical writer working on her first novel while living in Nashville, TN with her Canadian husband and two psychotic cats.