English
From the excerpt, why do you think Squeaky runs the relay all by herself? There is no track meet that I dont win the first-place medal. I used to win the twenty yard dash when I was a little kid in kindergarten. Nowadays, its the fifty-yard dash. And tomorrow Im subject to run the quarter-meter relay all by myself and come in first, second, and third. The big kids call me Mercury cause Im the swiftest thing in the neighborhood. Everybody knows thatexcept two people who know better, my father and me. He can beat me to Amsterdam Avenue with me having a two-fire-hydrant headstart and him running with his hands in his pockets and whistling. But thats private information. Cause can you imagine some thirty-five-year-old man stuffing himself into PAL shorts to race little kids? So as far as everyones concerned, Im the fastest and that goes for Gretchen, too, who has put out the tale that she is going to win the first-place medal this year. Ridiculous. In the second place, shes got short legs. In the third place, shes got freckles. In the first place, no one can beat me and thats all there is to it.