Up ahead I could see a couple of little
kids coming down. That was sort of a good sign.
Mr. High-Pants Jackson turned to the rest of
us and announced, "The first section is the most difficult." Then
he stepped up onto Uluru and marched off like he was some famous
explorer.
Harry whispered to me, "Can we go up
together?"
"Sure," I replied. I couldn't tell him we
had to try to beat his older brother before I probably fell off
Uluru and died.
No one talked as we went up because it was
slippery as well as steep. We had to concentrate. By the time we
reached the chain rail, all I could hear was huffing and puffing. I
listed the fifty US states in alphabetical order to stop myself
thinking how I was so puffed I might run out of breath. By the time
I got to 'Rhode Island', Mr. High-Pants Jackson had decided we
should all stop for a breather. No one complained. Everyone took a
few gulps from their water bottles.
Harry tugged at my Manchester United shirt.
"Let's go,' he said. 'They're too slow."
"Don't you want to get your breath?"
"Got it," he said.
Great. I couldn't really say that I needed a
bit longer. I nodded and he bounded away. Far out, I had to keep up
with him!
7. THE
CLIMB
" N ot too fast. You need to
pace yourself," I yelled out to Harry. My soccer coach yelled that
out to me every week at training.
Like me, Harry didn't answer. He just kept
bounding up like he was one of those goats who ran up and down
mountains. His hand wasn't even touching the chain.
I heard Harry's father yell out not to race
ahead. Then Dad yelled out, "It's not a competition, Max!" We
ignored them.
Somehow I kept up with Harry. The tips of my
fingers brushed along the chain. I was ready to grab it in case my
time was suddenly up and the wind tried to blow me off Uluru. The
backs of my legs were killing me, but I had a responsibility. Harry
was only seven years old and I couldn't let him climb on his own. I
glanced back down. Tyson was a fair way behind.
I called out to Harry, who was up ahead,
"Let's stop for a sec."
"Why?" he yelled back.
Was he stupid? I kept going and tried to
remember the rest of the US states. A blue cap flew past me. I
pulled my cap down; the wind was getting stronger. I turned round
to see where Mom, Dad and Charlie were. I saw Charlie's green
T-shirt. It looked like they were heading back down. Could Charlie
have got scared of the height already? It didn't matter; if I kept
up with Harry, I'd beat Tyson. Turning back, I saw Harry was
getting too far ahead, so I made a big effort to catch up. Now it
wasn't as steep, but it was getting harder to walk with the wind
blowing me sideways.
Lots of people were coming back down. They
were talking to each other in a strange language. Actually, it
seemed like only Harry and me were going up and everyone else was
on their way down. They were all holding on to the chain real
tight. Still, they weren't huffing and puffing like me.
A guy with heavy walking boots and a funny
accent said to me, "Hurry, to top. The climb close soon - the
wind."
I nodded because I was too puffed to answer.
How did they close the climb? Wrap this humungous rock in a big
black curtain and pretend it wasn't there? And who would close it?
Two giants at the bottom who stopped people climbing and two giants
at the top who made people go back down? I went faster, cutting
through the wind.
When I reached the end of the chain, I
wanted to lie flat on my back and recover. I knew how Nanna must've
felt when she tried to keep up with Charlie and me when we'd walk
to the shops near her place. But I kept going. Now broken white
lines showed us the path. Harry was way up ahead - the
smarty-pants. At least it wasn't steep any more. Uluru changed -
now it was like sand dunes made of red rock. I caught up to Harry,
who, of course, wasn't puffing at all.
Eventually, the path turned, so we must've
been on the top. But still it went up and down and up and down.
Some of the rock dunes were so steep we had to
kids coming down. That was sort of a good sign.
Mr. High-Pants Jackson turned to the rest of
us and announced, "The first section is the most difficult." Then
he stepped up onto Uluru and marched off like he was some famous
explorer.
Harry whispered to me, "Can we go up
together?"
"Sure," I replied. I couldn't tell him we
had to try to beat his older brother before I probably fell off
Uluru and died.
No one talked as we went up because it was
slippery as well as steep. We had to concentrate. By the time we
reached the chain rail, all I could hear was huffing and puffing. I
listed the fifty US states in alphabetical order to stop myself
thinking how I was so puffed I might run out of breath. By the time
I got to 'Rhode Island', Mr. High-Pants Jackson had decided we
should all stop for a breather. No one complained. Everyone took a
few gulps from their water bottles.
Harry tugged at my Manchester United shirt.
"Let's go,' he said. 'They're too slow."
"Don't you want to get your breath?"
"Got it," he said.
Great. I couldn't really say that I needed a
bit longer. I nodded and he bounded away. Far out, I had to keep up
with him!
7. THE
CLIMB
" N ot too fast. You need to
pace yourself," I yelled out to Harry. My soccer coach yelled that
out to me every week at training.
Like me, Harry didn't answer. He just kept
bounding up like he was one of those goats who ran up and down
mountains. His hand wasn't even touching the chain.
I heard Harry's father yell out not to race
ahead. Then Dad yelled out, "It's not a competition, Max!" We
ignored them.
Somehow I kept up with Harry. The tips of my
fingers brushed along the chain. I was ready to grab it in case my
time was suddenly up and the wind tried to blow me off Uluru. The
backs of my legs were killing me, but I had a responsibility. Harry
was only seven years old and I couldn't let him climb on his own. I
glanced back down. Tyson was a fair way behind.
I called out to Harry, who was up ahead,
"Let's stop for a sec."
"Why?" he yelled back.
Was he stupid? I kept going and tried to
remember the rest of the US states. A blue cap flew past me. I
pulled my cap down; the wind was getting stronger. I turned round
to see where Mom, Dad and Charlie were. I saw Charlie's green
T-shirt. It looked like they were heading back down. Could Charlie
have got scared of the height already? It didn't matter; if I kept
up with Harry, I'd beat Tyson. Turning back, I saw Harry was
getting too far ahead, so I made a big effort to catch up. Now it
wasn't as steep, but it was getting harder to walk with the wind
blowing me sideways.
Lots of people were coming back down. They
were talking to each other in a strange language. Actually, it
seemed like only Harry and me were going up and everyone else was
on their way down. They were all holding on to the chain real
tight. Still, they weren't huffing and puffing like me.
A guy with heavy walking boots and a funny
accent said to me, "Hurry, to top. The climb close soon - the
wind."
I nodded because I was too puffed to answer.
How did they close the climb? Wrap this humungous rock in a big
black curtain and pretend it wasn't there? And who would close it?
Two giants at the bottom who stopped people climbing and two giants
at the top who made people go back down? I went faster, cutting
through the wind.
When I reached the end of the chain, I
wanted to lie flat on my back and recover. I knew how Nanna must've
felt when she tried to keep up with Charlie and me when we'd walk
to the shops near her place. But I kept going. Now broken white
lines showed us the path. Harry was way up ahead - the
smarty-pants. At least it wasn't steep any more. Uluru changed -
now it was like sand dunes made of red rock. I caught up to Harry,
who, of course, wasn't puffing at all.
Eventually, the path turned, so we must've
been on the top. But still it went up and down and up and down.
Some of the rock dunes were so steep we had to
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