Leo stood by his bicycle on the sidewalk and watched the blue RC car zoom past. It went so fast its wheels blurred.
The car looped around the swings and the slide. Leo's thumb worried the seam of his scuffed shoe.
Leo held up his wooden truck. "Look at this," he said. But the neighbor boy didn't even glance over. His eyes stayed locked on the car.
Leo dropped the truck. The whir of the car swallowed the sound. He walked to the fence and leaned hard against it.
Leo kicked at the ground. A pebble bounced straight into the path of the car — CRUNCH. It flipped onto its back.
Leo stared at the overturned car. Then he looked at the neighbor boy's face. His shoulders curled inward.
Leo crouched down and reached for the tiny screw on the broken wheel. He twisted it with careful fingers until the wheel clicked back into place.
The neighbor boy picked up the remote. He held it out toward Leo. "You drive," he said.
They drove the car together — Leo steering, the neighbor boy pressing the boost button. The car roared through the playground in wide loops.
Leo laughed out loud, his feet slapping against the pavement as they chased the car together. It was the best loop yet.
