Chapter 1: Loss
I'm a Hawk. Ready to fly. Just relax and go! My foot dropped mechanically, but barely a centimeter. I sighed and held my hand up. Another chance... sorry. I took a deep breath and relaxed. I'm like Jordan, Hawk, Woods and that swimming dude combined. I can do this.
The half-pipe was steep. I knew once I dropped down, It'd be like jumping off a cliff. The sun glared on the polished wood of the beast so I couldn't even look down. I had to rely on my wild imagination to apply dimension to the monster. A cool breeze blew and snapped me out of my fears. I looked around the skate park.
'FreeSkate Skate Park for Skaters!' as the sign had put it, was buzzing with activity. It was competition day. A massive banner with that exact phrase – 'Competition Day!' - was displayed at the entrance. Every course, from the EEE-Z-Ride to the Firestarter was full. Kids were watching their friends skate to their best, watching their cousins execute flashy moves on their BMXes. No one, save Nate - who founded the park - under the marquee, was watching me. He waved a hand to see if I was 'still game'. Yeah, I'm game man.
Perspiration gathered on my fore. My cheeks and neck were wet, soaking my shirt. My lips were chapped and burned as soon as I gave them a good licking. A single drop of sweat made its way to my nose. My palms curled up into fists and I flicked my fingers a bit, blinking wildly as I did so, which helped nothing for my nausea. I gritted my teeth, my breathing quickened. In, out, in out, like a hyperventilating asthmatic. It's not as easy as you see in cartoons, hurling yourself down a half-pipe.
This was the first time I was competing. Having seen Tony Hawk level skaters absolutely own, demolish and embarrass the half-pipe I was struggling with, named the Abattoir, I felt like a massive loser and just plain stupid. You would too had you seen the way their boards just worked with them, even when hanging up-side down... yes, upside down in mid-air. Just make sure you're having fun. I let out a deep breath, closed my eyes and then opened them. I took five deep breaths. I grinned at Nate. He grinned and gave me a thumbs up. I could see the hope in his eyes, hidden behind shades. “Alright!” he mouthed. He scribbled something on a piece of paper. I nudged my legs forward and dropped, flailing my arms and screaming, my board shooting across the half-pipe with expert level finesse, me embarrassing the inanimate, plank of wood on wheels.
My board... I was wobbly. My feet were jelly and I was having some trouble with control. Please, if you haven't skated before, put yourself in my position. Picture learning to ride a bike. Remember the shaking, how you had to throw your weight around to balance? How your hands would slide off the grip they were so moist? How you crashed again either grass if you were lucky, or hot, burning asphalt? Yeah, how did you overcome it? I wished I could remember how I learned to skate, and what made me love it, and how I pulled amazing tricks at practice, because I looked so pathetic up there I was sure Nate was falling over laughing.
Nate.. laughing at me. Okay, the guy wasn't my full-time hero, that's Gandhi's post. But he was the coolest guy in the city and the thought of him laughing at my pathetic, wobbly, mini-Ollie (for those of you who don't know, an Ollie is the jump a skater makes, the one where they don't even touch the board.)... when I looked at him, he was smiling. I was convinced though, he was hiding his true humor which definitely wasn't supportive as I drew a squiggly line on the pipe with my board. The thought of anyone laughing at me, it spurred my temper. The one my dad had given me. The one my dad – who had run away leaving me and Mom alone and broke, always begging – had passed down into my genes. He'd run away and left me and my mom... Mom! My sick mother at home, she was probably dreaming of how I was ripping up the course. I couldn't let her down.
Emotions rushed me and barraged me like a tornado of coconuts. But they only willed me to be awesome. This, combined with the rush and ride and wind in my face which didn't sting my eyes anymore, but rather, tossed my hair in what I thought to be a rather cool fashion, and the fun that is skateboarding, culminated in a burst of energy that sent me flying with one kick of my right foot. My body cooled off and I focused. I let my arms swing backwards. I still felt like gravity was urging me to fall face first. Gravity means nothing to me.
“Eat it, world!” I shouted, grinning, my heart pumping out adrenalin. As I went down the pipe again, my feet lifted off the board for a second. I was defying gravity. Gravity means nothing, really means nothing to me. I hit my board again. A second later, I shot high into the air. The wind was magnificent, up my back and through my hair. I caught a few lyrics from Green Day that blared away on the speakers. I took in a deep breath and prepared to execute a trick.
I grabbed my board and jerked to the right and spun in the air, one full turn. Gravity pulled me... I let gravity pull me back down. The next moment, I hit the wooden 'monster' again, I rode the back of the dragon. I spun a three-sixty as I darted the course, so that I was facing in the opposite direction. I bent my knees. I pursed my lips and concentrated. At the bottom of the pipe, I kicked and sent myself flying. It wasn't enough to make the jump, but as I hovered on edge for a few seconds, I grinned and shouted, “Yeah!”
It was five minutes, a few Ollies, a couple grabs and half a liter of sweat later when I walked up to the podium, skateboard in hand. Nate was grinning as he spoke into the microphone, “Yo guys! Well, best under fifteen, without a doubt... Jack Gareth! He was amazing. Well done, little dude! Epicity!”
“'Epicity' indeed,” I chuckled. For the first prize, he handed me a medal, which wasn't pure gold, more like iron with a cheap covering. But that didn't matter, it made me grin. He raised the second prize in the air – an iPod Shuffle. With my medal, iPod and skateboard, I rushed down the stairs. I could hear joyful laughter from the crowd behind me as I rushed off before the ceremony had fully begun. I didn't care. First thing, I thought, Tell Mom.
Ω
My mother and I lived in an apartment building along the quiet, Bronze Drive. As soon as the door swung open, I was a blur. I climbed the stairs two at a time, I tripped but catapulted myself with my hands. Like a dog on caffeine I tore down the hallway, skidding to a halt and passing my door. I crashed into the small room and threw my helmet on the couch, jumped over the next couch and caught myself in the mirror, grinning with mouth and eyes, sweat soaked dark brown hair. My mother's door was the final barrier in my energetic rush. I burst into her room and said, “I won!”
Her fan was on. The dark blue curtains were closed, illuminating dust particles with a blue light. From the way she jerked, took a deep breath, tossed and relaxed, then repeated the cycle and flipped over her pillow to hit the cool side, I could tell my mother had just got down to sleeping and was having trouble. “Mom, I won!” I threw open the curtains and bounced on her ocean of orange cotton. “Mom? I won, I won.” I whispered in her ear. She was so silent, I nearly thought she wasn't breathing. Coupled with her history and condition, this was enough to stop my heart. But she suddenly coughed and slowly woke up. Her hair was wrinkled and she was trying, unsuccessfully, to look as if she'd just crossed the milky way on her way from dreamland, I knew she had never seen the milky way being a city girl and all. “I won,” I repeated.
She yawned and said, “Jack... did you win?” I grinned.
After we chatted for a while, she asked, “So, are you gonna meet up with Jason now?” Oh man, my day was turning out awesome. Jason was my best friend who had a dad in government, he'd had to ditch the last month of school and the first month of this epic summer vacation to go to Washington, D.C. Meaning I hadn't seen him in two months.
“Jason's here?” I exclaimed, mouth open in expectancy.
“Yep, he called us from the park.”
I was nearly out the door when I stopped. “Hey mom, you want the money?”
“Jack-”
“Please mom, It's about...” I began to count it.
“No. Jack, go enjoy yourself. Don't worry about expenses. I'll just borrow from Dora or someone else. It's your day! Have fun. Take care of that now, it's yours.”
My mother was so better than Mother Teresa. Her brother, the breadwinner of her family, had died in a crime. It was messy. And her dad had, like mine, left her and her mom all alone in the world. They'd had to fend for themselves. Grandma helped out a bit, but she died last year. It's one thing to be family, another to be the only family to each other in the world. My mom and I were the only of kin. She worked her butt off to make sure I was healthy. A world without her I couldn't imagine. I felt my throat paining and tears welling up. Before I got all choked up, I said, “Okay Mom. Take care.”
I sprayed some deodorant, grabbed my new iPod and rushed out the house, ignoring the steaming iron at the edge of the room and my mother's muffled warning.
Ω
The leaves of trees danced in the wind. They shadowed the audience, the grass, which swayed in the wind which was a melody so sweet, so cool. The birds sung some rock song I couldn't remember the name of. Something by Elvis I think. A few kids were rapping by the fountain, they were good. Can you move your legs in moonwalk fashion while rapping, and standing on your head? The three o'clock sun was milky orange, getting ready to begin to get ready to leave. Large in the distance. Girls were talking and laughing by the benches. A small family, a dad, mother and baby, were playing in the grass.
Jason was dressed in jeans. He wore a gleaming white shirt and cap. From his pocket were two earphones, in his ears were two earphone heads. As previously mentioned, Jason's dad had a job in government. He never talked about it, except for that little piece of info. Whatever, I didn't care. He was my best friend ever.
In the classic way of greeting, I decided, I was going to tackle my best friend. I threw my weight forward, and missed horribly. Jason had had his ears plugged with music, how had I missed. I couldn't have missed. Weird. I rolled down the hill playfully and hit a tree. Sore, I stood up and made my way back up the slope.
When I saw him eye to eye, he didn't look happy. I ignored that. “Dude!”
“Not cool, Jack. People are staring.” I frowned and looked around. True enough, people were staring. A mother with her kids gaped at us and muttered something, ushering her kids away frantically. Two senior citizens, both male, were blinking rapidly at us in disbelief. I made out a word on their lips, Teleport. Mrs O'Grady at the pond was feeding ducks, she had taken no notice of us but when she did look our way, I smiled politely and waved. “Oh!” she said, shriveling up her face in a smile “Hello, Jack. So tall you've grown.” I smiled and waved more.
Turning back to Jason, I said, “Funny, they've never stared before. Funnier, you've never dodged my tackles. Dude, how was the capitol?” I asked.
“I found something, that would scare the pants off you. And I met this cool Asian girl, Oh my gosh Jack- whatever. Never tackle me again, okay?”
“Okay. Dude, we have some catching up to do.”
“Yeah, whatever. I've grown about an inch. Er... you?”
“Half that, still shorter than you.” Jason smiled at this. “Oh, remember Nate's competition?”
He stiffened, tensed and slowly looked up from the grass. “Yeah?”
“Well, I'm incredibly please to let you know, dear friend.” He closed his eyes tightly, I felt the heat drain from him. “I won.” Jason cursed so loudly Mrs O'Grady let out a shriek by the pond, “Eek! Watch your tongue boy!”
The Skating Scene: You did a great job. You described skateboarding in a way that even people who have never tried it could understand it. You helped the reader understand what skateboarding is really like.
)
Gender:
Points: 7650
Reviews: 147