Heartbeat

Annie looks through old photographs with her grandfather and marvels at the passage of his life throughout the pictures, “how that young boy / turned into an old grandpa” (84). She even sees some of her own life, as she looks at pictures of her grandparents holding her as a baby.

When Max joins her on a run, he runs faster than usual, and when they stop, he checks his watch and claims that she slowed him down. They get into an argument, as he pesters her once again about joining the track team and calls her a chicken for not joining. She tells him that she isn’t afraid, she just doesn’t understand why someone needs to win or lose when they run. Max runs off in anger.

In “Grandpa Talk,” Annie draws her 45th apple in her grandfather’s room and tells him about Max and why she doesn’t want to join the track team. She says that everyone tells her she will regret it. He says that everyone told him the same thing when he ran, and he never regretted it. He falls asleep, and Annie draws a picture of his profile.

In “Mad Max,” Annie is excited to mow Ms.