by: Essy Jane

Bo began the weirdest project Luke had ever seen. He took eight bicycle
tires. Bo got some gears and various things that had been thrown away out of
old bikes. He played with gears and wood and made a bed like structure. The
pedals were up by his head. The gears switched just like any other bicycle
but it seemed weird. Where did Bo get the supplies? Well from Tara of
course.

She went through helping him pick the right supplies right down to the
paint. Bo painted the vehicles with orange and went for the confederate
flag. He put the numbers ’02’ and ‘03’ signifying that nothing could replace
their General Lee. But these would have to do.

As Bo showed Luke the finished product he smiled. “Let me get this straight,
these are fully controlled with our hands?” Luke questioned.

“Right down to the steering Larry, one of the best creations yet though the
General has its strong point. He’s the car of all cars,” Bo replied.

“Made with our own sweat and spit.”

“If it was made with your sweat and spit I wouldn’t touch it.”

“Neither would I.”

“You just gave yourself a good cuss.”

“That’s life Larry, sometimes you win some.”

“So do we test them?”

“If I said that I didn’t want to test them I’d be lying though my skin.” Bo
and Luke rolled the machines outside and got on. “No cheating okay? I want a
clean race. And if these things break down in the middle of the race, I’ll
kill you.”

“How can you get me if I’m dead?”

“I’ll think of something.” Luke laughed. He was becoming his own self again
since their big discussion. Bo had a way with getting Luke out of his moods.

Luke could do the same with Bo. They began to petal. The only thing was that
Bo was better with his arms than Luke so this wasn’t going to be easy for
Luke. Bo was ahead at first until Luke made a little short cut around the
hill with a jump.

“I thought you said no cheating!” Bo yelled.

“I fibbed!” Luke yelled back.

“Oooh, Uncle Jesse’s gonna tan your hide.”

“Uncle Jesse’s not here.”

“Well then, I’ll tan your hide.”

“Not if you don’t catch me first.” Luke began to petal harder, but Bo had a
scheme of his own. He picked up a few things in science class. Bo turned the
corner sharply and gained speed.

Luke looked beside him and saw Bo go up the hill. He wondered what he was
doing. Luke then saw a fair stretch of flat land.

Bo began speeding down the hill. He went way faster than Luke ever could. Bo
made another sharp turn and that was his lap. He’d won the race. As he
pulled himself out of the vehicle, Bo heard clapping behind him. He looked
up to find Tara’s face.

“I changed jobs. I wanted to be with you two. Nursing unconscious ones isn’t
exactly the thrill of my day,” Tara stated.

“Well you’re welcome here,” Bo replied. They looked at each other softly. Bo
wondered about her. Tara’s personality was like no other he’d ever seen
before. Tara felt the same way about him. It wasn’t a question why they
shouldn’t be together. The two edged closer and closer together.

“Hey Barry,” –Luke interrupted. The two jumped and pushed away fast- “What
do you do when you want to use it with your feet? I mean if we get our
movement back?” Bo snarled at his cousin.

“Well Lar, you flip the pedals over. I designed it that way.” Bo
demonstrated. He flipped a metal bar that was underneath the racer. Bo
tightened the clamp and slid on. He placed his feet on the pedals. “See? Now
you push on the pedals and away you go.” Bo’s right toe moved ever so
slightly.

“Barry!”

“What?”

“Your toe!”

“What about my toe?”

“It moved!” Bo’s eyes widened. His face lit up and he tried it again. He was
able to move it. What of the Duke tradition? Bo let out a big yahoo that’s
what. Luke was in tears. All the time pulling him self on the bars was
finally paying off.

Bo started working all the more. He tried harder than he ever wanted to.
Tara was there helping him use the walker and using his legs. Luke was so
happy. He hoped that his legs would start moving too. After all, Bo did it,
why couldn’t Luke?

But the hardest thing for Bo was learning how to walk again. Each step was
hard. He had to move himself without using the walker to his advantage. Tara
caught Bo doing so on many occasions.

Bo would walk at least five times a day if not more. He was an anxious
critter wanting to walk on his own. But it was harder than it looked. It was
like Bo was a baby and he had to start from scratch.

“Okay Bo, let’s start again. Slide step, step,” Tara started once more. She
wanted him to slide the walker and take two steps. But Bo had other plans.
He slid the walker but then used it to pull his own weight. Tara tapped her
foot on the ground.

“It’s hard Tara, I can’t seem to do this,” Bo whined.

“If it wasn’t hard you wouldn’t be practicing.”

“But I can’t seem to get it.”

“I have the same trouble with coma patients. Half the things they have to
remember how to do. Even eating was hard for you at first.”

“Yeah but I got used to it.”

“And you’ll get used to this.” Bo rolled his eyes and began again. This time
he was doing it right. Tara smiled. Bo took another two steps when he fell.
He let out a big grunt and pulled himself up with his hands. He wanted to go
back in the wheelchair but Tara held him back.

“Oh come on!”

“You can make it down this hallway. You’re all ready halfway there.”

“It took me 20 minutes to walk this far.”

“Then it’ll take you 20 more.” Bo glared at her. He aimed to beat this at
any cost. Bo had to do it for more reasons than one.