"So, you gave up on learning how to ride a bicycle because of such a trivial matter?" My dear partner asked, finding some humor in my past misfortune.

"Look, it wasn't trivial; it hurt like hell for a few days afterward," I said, looking back at the tragedy of my youth: to make the story short, back before I had met Amanda, I read a romance novel where the couple decided to ride a bike with two people, the girl standing on the back wheel as the boy blissfully rode in front, carrying his fair maiden to God knows where. I thought this was just the single most romantic thing you could ever do and decided to attempt it with a friend. I did not, however, know of the existence of bike pegs, the little attachments you add to make it possible to stand on the back wheel. Be it childish overconfidence, pride, or just general stupidity - it resulted in him precariously standing on the bike's chainstays, which ended as well as you think it would.

I still have a scar from that and a possibility of never having children.

We were currently still in the car, outside a park near the shoreline, waiting for Ilya to arrive with the bikes. The sky was a brilliant orange as the sun was preparing to set. People in the park began to leave for their homes, and what few had remained were families and couples going out on a stroll. The dozens of trees and grassy fields of the area had all turned a shade of orange, as well, with only the white stone paths separating themselves from the near-monochrome scenery. It was a relaxing and scenic sight, which I admired from within the vehicle when I noticed a peculiarity on my partner.

"Hmm, what's the camera for?" I said, looking at the digital camera Myla had strapped to her neck,

"Alexandre told me to document this as proof of us not just going out with a company vehicle - it seems even for him this is a bizarre undertaking." She said, fiddling with the device and making sure everything was in order.

"I see, so I'll need to destroy that piece of evidence when I can," I said, eyes closed in a pondering manner, but it seemed my dear partner was unfazed.

"She's here," Myla said shortly, as she composed herself before leaving the vehicle. I got out of the car as well and waved to Ilya.

"Thanks for making time for us on short notice; we know it's a bit of a weird request."

She came out of the white pick-up truck wearing an outdoor outfit. It was composed of lightly-tinted sunglasses, a white shirt with a loose jacket, and bike pants while I and Myla stuck to our usual attire.

"It's alright. I'm still surprised, though, I'd thought you guys would be near-dead after a long day of work, but you still got it in you to go out on a stroll." She said with a smile as I laughed anxiously and faced my partner, who had an irritated and exasperated expression.

I'll pay you back for this one. How do a few trips to anger-management classes sound?"

I thought as I observed our newly arrived rides. Ilya had brought three bikes on her pick-up truck, and she opened up the back to lower each one. The first was a black road bike with red highlights. It was worn, and pieces of the paint had been chipped, but you could tell it was loved and well maintained. The second was another road bike. This one was white with black markings adorning it. It looked very new and had not a single scratch on it, with pegs on its back wheels being its most notable feature. The third and final bike was a cruiser bike, with a solid navy blue covering its frame. It looked as new as the previous bike and, as the name suggested, looked to be the most comfortable of the three.

"You really pulled out all of the stops for us, huh?" I expressed with a grateful tone and kind expression, impressed by her graciousness.

"Indeed, we hope it wasn't too much trouble," Myla said, consideration for once present in her tone.

Hey, can you like, I dunno, treat me like a human being like that too.

I thought as Ilya had replied to our inquiries.

"Well, it's not often I get to go on trips like these with other people, let alone people who aren't my friends." She said with a pleasant smile as she began to unload the rest of the gear, such as helmets, tumblers of water, and so on.

"You don't know how to ride a bike, right? Don't worry. The paths here are nice and smooth, so we can get you going quickly." She said with an enthusiastic smile which I responded to with my own. Myla let out a familiar sigh, but I shrugged it off and walked to Ilya, who had been motioning me to the black road bike. I sat on it, having not felt this sensation for almost a decade now; It felt unfamiliar yet welcoming - as if it wanted me to return and learn this skill that I had given up on so long ago.

Now I'm a bit pumped for this.

I thought as I gripped the handlebars tightly, put my feet on the pedals, and took off on the parking lot at a brisk pace, the cool wind from the land breeze colliding with my warmed up skin due to the sun's rays; it felt so nostalgic, though I'd never gotten to experience it in my youth; I experienced all of these emotions in the span of about 10 seconds as I began to lose my balance and fell off with a thud and my body impacted the hard concrete.

Ouch, if only I was younger, I could get right back up.

"Jeez, you should be young enough to at least get up from that," Ilya said as she came into view, shrouding the sky that I was currently staring at,

Thank you for reassuring me I'm still young.

"Or old enough to not be so reckless." Myla quipped as I heard her snap a few shots from her camera at me before moving over to pick up the bike.

Farewell, short-lived happiness.

I thought as I got up and rubbed my sides and brushed the dirt off from my uniform; the bike was fine, for the most part, but I still felt bad for my horrendous performance and let out a disappointed sigh.

"Hey, it's fine. We all gotta start somewhere," Ilya said, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a generous smile.

"Right, thanks," I said, reciprocating her kindness.

"Look, we have all day - so I can teach you for a bit." And so she did, for the next hour or so, I was at it. She mentored me, slowly but surely getting me to the point where I had balance, then coordination, then the proper motor skills. It wasn't instant, but it felt gratifying, and most importantly, it seemed Ilya was enjoying it as well.

"That's it! How are you liking it, Bridger?" Ilya hollered from behind me, watching her student start to enjoy himself.

"Ok, I think I'm getting the hang of this," I said as we made it through a straight path at a leisurely pace. It was quite nice getting to experience something like this. Having spent the past few months devoid of any real physical activity, it felt good getting to feel the refreshing winds and view the pleasing scenery.

"Oh, by the way, we're getting quite close to the route I wanna take; it's pretty far out, which is why not a lot of people go there," Ilya shouted from behind me as I slowed down and let her take the lead.

"Alright, after you!" I said with a determined expression as she smiled at me and moved at a swift pace. I turned to see Myla on the cruiser bike slow down and use one hand to pull up her camera, I gave a smile to the lens, and a quick *snap* could be heard as she put both hands back on the handlebars.

"Bridger, could you move out of the way? The scenery is being soiled."

Right, adding a step to my 5-step plan for revenge, destroying that camera in case it gets used against me in court.