[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes were tilted
up like he could see through his skull. Finally, he turned the double
knot to the side so that it was at the right angle.
You re pretty good at that. I was damn impressed. Though it
did seem weird that he couldn t tie his shoelaces, but he could tie a
bandana.
Thanks. His Vans started bouncing against the wall. I
mimicked the motion. Right foot, then left, right, right, and back to
left. Stop that. He giggled. I can do it cuz I m a kid.
Whoa. Who says I m an adult?
I don t know. He shrugged his little shoulders. You just
are. That was scary.
" 176 "
SEX AND SKATEBOARDS
Heads up, dudes, Trevor said from behind us. He handed me
a bottle of water then jumped up and sat on the other side of Theo. I
gave Theo the sweating bottle after opening it.
Thanks. He started giggling again when the condensation
dripped down his arms. He chugged a quarter of the bottle then
slowed. Trev, I don t want any more.
That s cool, T. Trevor took the bottle back.
Can I skate more now?
Sure. Helmet and pads first. Trevor knocked on Theo s head.
Can I still wear the bandana? He looked at me. I nodded and
handed him his helmet. He smiled and carefully put on the helmet
over the headband.
Hey, Trevor, a voice from behind us called out.
Trevor turned around. What?
You gotta help me. It was a kid who worked at Cayucos Surf
Co. He got close enough so he wouldn t have to yell. The bank
called. There s some problem with our deposit from earlier.
What s the problem, Chris?
I don t know. They re on the phone. They want a manager and
it s just me and Nikki right now. The kid was stressed.
Go ahead, Trevor. I got this. I nodded at Theo.
You sure?
Totally. I don t have anything else going on.
All right, thanks. I ll be right back. He jumped down to the
street. If you need me, I ll be inside. Cayucos Surf Co. s backdoor
was literally twenty feet away.
We ll be fine. He took off. I helped Theo put on his elbow
pads and handed him his skateboard.
Are you gonna watch me? It didn t take much for Theo to
get excited.
Of course.
Cool. I m learning how to grind. Watch, kay? He waited until
there was a break in traffic on the half-pipe then skated across. There
was a low bar for grinding beyond the pipe. Theo was relentless. He
would ollie up and fall back. He was landing like he was supposed
" 177 "
ASHLEY BARTLETT
to. Both feet planted on the ground. The move ensured that he could
have kids if he wanted.
Hey, Alden. It was Trevor. He leaned against the wall. I
have to go up to the bank to straighten some shit out. Are you guys
still cool?
We re fine.
Chill. It s that bank up by the liquor store. He pointed up the
street.
All right. Take your time.
Thanks, dude.
I looked back at Theo. When he finally managed to grind, he
still didn t land it. He glanced back to see if I was watching. I waved
and gave him a thumbs-up. Weird. I wasn t a thumbs-up type of
person. Satisfied, he returned to skating.
Behind him, a teenager set up his board on the quarter pipe.
The kid started down the ramp looking shaky. I got that sick, shitty
feeling when he started gaining on the little guy. Just as Theo ollied,
the older kid sideswiped him. Theo s hand smacked the ground
followed immediately by his body.
I was already through the half-pipe when Theo landed.
Another second and I was kneeling next to him. His eyes were
big. He looked stunned, like he didn t know what had happened. The
arm he landed on was still under him. He rolled onto his back and
looked up at me, his arm stretched out on the ground next to him.
Theo. Hey, kiddo, look at me. His eyes locked onto mine.
They looked clear and his pupils were normal looking. I didn t know
what that meant, but that s what people always check for, right?
I fell. Theo sounded freaked. My arm hurts. His wrist was
already swollen and that was not good.
Does anything else hurt? Wes was so going to kill me. I
broke her kid.
Just my arm. He tried to sit up.
Don t move, okay, kiddo?
Okay. Then I realized that there was a small circle of skaters
around us. The one who had knocked Theo over was standing there
with his mouth open.
" 178 " [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes were tilted
up like he could see through his skull. Finally, he turned the double
knot to the side so that it was at the right angle.
You re pretty good at that. I was damn impressed. Though it
did seem weird that he couldn t tie his shoelaces, but he could tie a
bandana.
Thanks. His Vans started bouncing against the wall. I
mimicked the motion. Right foot, then left, right, right, and back to
left. Stop that. He giggled. I can do it cuz I m a kid.
Whoa. Who says I m an adult?
I don t know. He shrugged his little shoulders. You just
are. That was scary.
" 176 "
SEX AND SKATEBOARDS
Heads up, dudes, Trevor said from behind us. He handed me
a bottle of water then jumped up and sat on the other side of Theo. I
gave Theo the sweating bottle after opening it.
Thanks. He started giggling again when the condensation
dripped down his arms. He chugged a quarter of the bottle then
slowed. Trev, I don t want any more.
That s cool, T. Trevor took the bottle back.
Can I skate more now?
Sure. Helmet and pads first. Trevor knocked on Theo s head.
Can I still wear the bandana? He looked at me. I nodded and
handed him his helmet. He smiled and carefully put on the helmet
over the headband.
Hey, Trevor, a voice from behind us called out.
Trevor turned around. What?
You gotta help me. It was a kid who worked at Cayucos Surf
Co. He got close enough so he wouldn t have to yell. The bank
called. There s some problem with our deposit from earlier.
What s the problem, Chris?
I don t know. They re on the phone. They want a manager and
it s just me and Nikki right now. The kid was stressed.
Go ahead, Trevor. I got this. I nodded at Theo.
You sure?
Totally. I don t have anything else going on.
All right, thanks. I ll be right back. He jumped down to the
street. If you need me, I ll be inside. Cayucos Surf Co. s backdoor
was literally twenty feet away.
We ll be fine. He took off. I helped Theo put on his elbow
pads and handed him his skateboard.
Are you gonna watch me? It didn t take much for Theo to
get excited.
Of course.
Cool. I m learning how to grind. Watch, kay? He waited until
there was a break in traffic on the half-pipe then skated across. There
was a low bar for grinding beyond the pipe. Theo was relentless. He
would ollie up and fall back. He was landing like he was supposed
" 177 "
ASHLEY BARTLETT
to. Both feet planted on the ground. The move ensured that he could
have kids if he wanted.
Hey, Alden. It was Trevor. He leaned against the wall. I
have to go up to the bank to straighten some shit out. Are you guys
still cool?
We re fine.
Chill. It s that bank up by the liquor store. He pointed up the
street.
All right. Take your time.
Thanks, dude.
I looked back at Theo. When he finally managed to grind, he
still didn t land it. He glanced back to see if I was watching. I waved
and gave him a thumbs-up. Weird. I wasn t a thumbs-up type of
person. Satisfied, he returned to skating.
Behind him, a teenager set up his board on the quarter pipe.
The kid started down the ramp looking shaky. I got that sick, shitty
feeling when he started gaining on the little guy. Just as Theo ollied,
the older kid sideswiped him. Theo s hand smacked the ground
followed immediately by his body.
I was already through the half-pipe when Theo landed.
Another second and I was kneeling next to him. His eyes were
big. He looked stunned, like he didn t know what had happened. The
arm he landed on was still under him. He rolled onto his back and
looked up at me, his arm stretched out on the ground next to him.
Theo. Hey, kiddo, look at me. His eyes locked onto mine.
They looked clear and his pupils were normal looking. I didn t know
what that meant, but that s what people always check for, right?
I fell. Theo sounded freaked. My arm hurts. His wrist was
already swollen and that was not good.
Does anything else hurt? Wes was so going to kill me. I
broke her kid.
Just my arm. He tried to sit up.
Don t move, okay, kiddo?
Okay. Then I realized that there was a small circle of skaters
around us. The one who had knocked Theo over was standing there
with his mouth open.
" 178 " [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]