Amber to the Rescue

Nia loved to zoom on her red scooter. It had a little silver bell that went ding-ding. At the park, her friend Max drew chalk roads, and Nia pretended to be a tiny bus driving along them.

“Ready, set, roll!” Nia laughed, pushing off with her strong foot. She wore her shiny helmet with a green stripe. The sun warmed the benches, and ducks quacked by the pond.

At the top of the small hill, Nia looked down and felt brave. She lifted both feet and whooshed. “Wheee!” The scooter went faster than she expected. It bumped a rock—thump!—and Nia tumbled onto the soft grass. Her knee stung, and her eyes filled with tears.

Max ran over. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Nia sniffled. “My knee is mad.”

A park helper waved and spoke into a radio. In the distance, a friendly sound answered: woo-woo, woo-woo. Around the corner came Amber the Ambulance, bright and clean, her blue lights blinking like quick little winks.

Inside Amber were Paramedic Jaz and Paramedic Theo. Jaz had stickers on her pocket. Theo had kind eyes and a calm voice. Amber hummed a soft engine song, as if she was saying, “I’m here to help.”

“Hi, Nia,” Jaz said, kneeling in the grass. “I’m Jaz, and this is Theo. Can we take a look?”

Nia nodded. Max held her scooter and stood very still, like a guard.

Theo smiled. “First, a big high-five for wearing your helmet.” Clap! “Would you tell us what happened?”

Nia stared at her shoes. She felt a wibble of worry in her tummy. She didn’t want to say she had tried the hill with both feet up. She whispered, “A dog pushed me.”

Amber’s lights blinked once, gentle and blue. Jaz’s voice was soft. “Dogs can be surprising,” she said. “Thank you for telling us. We want to help you just right. The true story helps us most.”

Nia took a breath. The truth felt a little heavy, like a backpack. “I went down the hill with my feet up,” she said. “I was trying to go super fast.” She touched her knee. “I took off my elbow pads, too. They’re in my backpack.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Theo said, smiling even bigger. “That helps a lot. Now we know where to check.”

Jaz cleaned Nia’s knee with a cool, gentle wipe. “This might feel tickly,” she said. Then she pressed on a cheery bandage with tiny ducks on it. “Ducks for the pond,” Jaz said.

Nia peeked at the bandage and giggled. “Quack-quack.”

Amber purred happily. Max relaxed his shoulders. “Can I be your helper?” he asked.

“You already are,” Theo said. “You stayed calm. That’s helper work.”

Jaz tapped Nia’s elbow and wrist. “Everything else feels good. Your helmet did great. Next time, feet ready to brake, okay?”

Nia nodded. “Feet ready,” she said. “And elbow pads on. And I’ll tell the truth fast, like a siren.” She rang her scooter bell: ding-ding.

Jaz laughed. “Truth is a fast helper,” she agreed. She handed Nia a shiny sticker shaped like an ambulance. “For brave telling.”

Nia stuck it on her scooter. “Thank you, Amber,” she said, patting the side of the ambulance.

Amber’s lights blinked again, like a friendly wink. Woo-woo, she sang softly, as if saying, “Anytime.”

Theo and Jaz packed up their bag. “We’re off to be ready for the next call,” Theo said. “Ride safe, Scooter Captain.”

“Bye!” Max and Nia waved. They watched Amber glide away, humming down the sunny street.

Max drew a new chalk sign: Slow Hill. Nia read it out loud and smiled. Together they rolled along the chalk roads, feet ready, bells dinging, and hearts feeling light. The truth, Nia decided, moved even faster than she did.