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When his family moves into his recently deceased grandmother’s house, ten-year-old Charlie meets a boy who also likes to skateboard, but then finds that his own special skateboard is missing.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Little, Brown and Company

Hachette Book Group

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New York, NY 10017

Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

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The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.

Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental
and not intended by the author.

Matt Christopher^® is a registered trademark
of Catherine M. Christopher.

First eBook Edition: December 2009

ISBN: 978-0-316-09441-2

CHAPTER ONE

Charlie Abbott put one foot on his skateboard and pushed off with the other. He gained some speed, then put both feet on and coasted. It was one smooth ride on a beautiful end-of-summer day. But Charlie wasn't enjoying it.

Another new neighborhood! he thought dismally.

Charlie was ten years old. He and his parents had moved seven times. He'd lived in seven new houses, been to seven new schools, gotten to know seven new neighborhoods. And seven times, he'd tried to fit in and make friends.

Now they'd moved for the eighth time. And did he believe his mom when she said this was the last house he'd live in? No, he did not!

Immediately, he felt guilty. The new house was special to his mother. It had belonged to her mother, Charlie's grandmother. Grandma Beth had died a few months ago.

"I'm not selling it," his mother had said to his father. "It's the houseI grew up in. I want Charlie to grow up in it, too." And just like that, they sold their old house, packed up their belongings, and moved —again.

Charlie zigzagged down the sidewalk. His mom was so sad when her mother died. Charlie was sad, too. He had always been able to tell Grandma Beth anything. Sometimes, she seemed to understand Charlie better than his parents did.

Take sports, for example. Charlie liked to play catch with his dad and shoot hoops with his mom. Whenever they moved, his parents encouraged him to join one of the teams. "It's a great way to make friends!" his dad would say.