The Running Dream

Every morning during the summer, Jessica and Gavin run together and then spend time with Fiona and Mario around town. Although cross-country practice has started, Jessica is forced to practice on the track and the streets due to the rough terrain of the cross-country courses. She has improved her mileage with the wheelchair to eight miles a day. Her father has modified the chair with bigger wheels, a padded seat, a seat belt, and a hand brake. For Jessica’s comfort, he gives her a pair of bike gloves for her hands, as well as added pouches to the chair for water bottles.

Finally, Jessica stops by Rosa’s house to propose the idea to Rosa’s mother. She explains what she has been doing for training, and Rosa becomes excited at the thought of “running” in the wheelchair. Rosa’s mother is doubtful and concerned, but at the girls’ insistence, she relents. Rosa wants to try the wheelchair right away, so she slides over to the wheelchair while her mother buckles her in. When her mother says she needs a helmet, Rosa violently objects, saying, “I don’t want to be the weird kid in the helmet […] And I want to feel the wind” (304).