by Megan Sparks
Coach Ritter looked around at the pairs and changed a few people around. “In this game I’d like you to be with a girl who has opposite skills to you so you can learn to work together. If you’re quick, then I want you with someone who’s slower.”
Annie and Lauren leaned into each other and grinned. They were probably the two biggest extremes on the team both in appearance and skills. Lauren was about seven inches shorter and ten kilos heavier than Annie. While they were both great skaters, Annie had the speed while Lauren had the stability. Together, they’d be unstoppable!
“Liz and Sharmila will start being IT. If they tag you, count to five and then you’re IT. The pair that gets tagged the least times will be our winners. Here’s the catch. You and your partner have to be in contact all the time, whether you’re tagging or being tagged. If you are not touching for more than a second, you’re out. Jesse, you want to help keep score and monitor the pairs?” Coach Ritter asked.
Annie grinned as Jesse nodded eagerly as he put on some skates. Although he was more into skateboarding, he was just as good on roller skates. If the roller derby league were co-ed, Annie was sure Jesse would be on the team. Would Tyler even consider playing roller derby?
Coach Ritter blew her whistle and Annie pushed that thought out of her mind. No point in wondering, as the league only allowed girls. Besides, she and Lauren had Liz and Sharmila to avoid. They dodged them easily but a minute later Tashi and Natalia were IT and Natalia’s hand reached out to touch Annie’s shoulder. Now Annie and Lauren were IT!
Hands clasped together, Annie and Lauren dashed towards Carmen and Holly skating together on the other side of the rink. Annie’s hand almost slipped out of Lauren’s but Lauren held her tight. Annie reached out with the other hand and caught Holly just as the short girl was trying to twist out of the way.
Annie and Lauren knew Carmen and Holly were going to try to tag them right back. Annie and Lauren skated away as fast as possible with the other two girls hot on their tails. Annie was sure they were going to catch them when instinctively she and Lauren switched to backward skating, changed hands, and watched Carmen lose her balance and land laughing on her kneepads.
Annie and Lauren passed Jesse and he gave them a discreet thumbs up.
By the end of the game, Annie and Lauren were the only pair caught just once; everyone else had been tagged lots of times. It didn’t matter that they were an odd couple. Together they made the perfect team.
“Great work, everyone,” Coach Ritter said. “Now let’s try out some strategies for the championship bout.”
It was a gruelling session and by the time they finished everyone was completely wiped out. Annie couldn’t speak for the others, but she at least felt ready to take on the High Rollers – and win.
If she could move by then, that is. Just taking off her pads felt like an effort. The others seemed to think so too. Liz was guzzling water and Lauren was sprawled out on the floor. Still, it was a good feeling. Being tired and sweaty from roller derby was always a good thing.
“On the first day of derby, my tough coach said to me...” Carmen started to sing to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. She paused for a moment and Lauren improvised instead.
“You’re the girl in a helmet panty!”
Everyone, including Jesse and Coach Ritter, laughed. By the time all the skates and pads were off, they had rewritten the whole carol. It wasn’t musically perfect, but still they made it work to the tune.
“Twelve fans a-cheering, eleven seconds ticking, ten skaters skating, nine bruises aching, eight wheels a-rolling, seven holes in bright tights, six players swearing, fiiiiive points ahead! Four blockers down, three referees, two jammers score, and a girl in a helmet pann-teee!”
Everyone cheered and started hugging each other. Ever the show-off, Holly stood on a threadbare bench and started blowing kisses at everyone. Right now, surrounded by her roller derby friends, Annie felt like she could take on the world. No matter what happened at the championship bout, she knew her friends would still be together, regardless of the final score. And that was more important than winning or losing. A good friendship should last for a long time.
Not just a couple of months.
With a pang, Annie thought of Lexie.
She had been ignoring the situation for a while. She knew she hadn’t been a good friend to Lexie. She was going to change. Effective immediately.
Chapter Sixteen
Annie had inherited her dad’s sense of humour and her mum’s determination, but neither of her parents had passed on any artistic genes. She had spent half the night preparing cupcakes for Lexie and they still weren’t as detailed as Lexie could have made them with her eyes closed. Even if they weren’t perfect, Annie hoped the message was clear and that in the end, it would be the thought that counted. And the taste. That part at least had turned out perfectly.
Now to find Lexie before classes started.
And corner her so she wouldn’t run off again.
Annie found her friend by her locker. Lexie’s hair was back to its wild ringlets. In terms of fashion, today Lexie almost looked like everyone else at school with skinny jeans and a jacket. But on closer inspection, Annie could see that the jacket had been a patchwork quilt in a previous life. And yet Lexie made it look fabulous.
“Lexie, I’m really, really sorry I’ve been a self-absorbed idiot.” Annie spoke quickly, afraid that Lexie would run off. Lexie shifted her weight but didn’t move from her place. Nor did she look at Annie. Annie took a deep breath and kept on. “I should never have let anyone get between us, no matter how gorgeous they might be. I was daft and I’m really sorry. I promise it’ll never happen again. I’ve brought a peace offering.”
Annie held out the container she had lined with Grandma’s lace napkins – Dad had made it clear he didn’t mind if the napkins never found their way back to the house. The two coloured pencils she had picked up under the park bench were perched on either side of the cupcakes as if standing guard.
Lexie looked into the plastic container and her eyes widened. She glanced at Annie for the briefest second and then looked back at the cupcakes. Annie saw that as a hint to continue.
“I used the Earl Grey with lavender icing recipe we invented together and then added food colouring as a tribute to your favourite artists. This one,” she pointed to the cake with a banana on top, “is the Warhol one, obviously. It was a real pain to make. But I thought a banana would be easier to do than a Campbell’s soup tin.”
Lexie made a sound that sounded almost like a chuckle. Annie’s spirits lifted just a bit as she pointed to the abstract one with graphic squares.
“This one here is supposed to be Mondrian. I know the lines aren’t perfectly straight but it turned out better than I expected. And this is—” Annie pointed to the cupcake that said, “Ceci est un cupcake.”
“Magritte,” Lexie interrupted with amused eyes. “But isn’t it supposed to say, ‘Ceci n’est pas’?”
Now it was Annie’s turn to be amused. She knew French fairly well, but had looked up the artist’s logic last night. “His painting of a pipe says, ‘This is not a pipe,’ because it wasn’t really a pipe. It was just a painting of one. But this really IS a cupcake, so I wasn’t going to say it wasn’t.”
Lexie nodded. “Obviously. And this last one?”
Annie grinned at the cupcake which had erupted over the sides. It was definitely her favourite and had been the easiest to make since it had happened accidentally. Still, she felt quite clever for seeing the potential in the mistake. “That’s the Dalí one.”
Lexie’s face twitched as if she was trying hard not to give in and break into a smile.
Annie placed the cupcake container in Lexie’s hands. “I know I’ve been a horrible friend and I’m sorry. Will you give me another chance?”
Lexie set the container in her locker, but not before she broke off a piece of the Dalí cupcake and savoured it. “I suppose.”
Annie
squealed and flung her arms around Lexie. “I’m so glad. This afternoon, what are you doing? Are you free? What would you like to do?”
“Thrift store browsing?”
“Perfect!”
Lexie took the remaining Dalí cupcake out before sealing the container and shutting her locker. “These are amazing. Cheers m’dear.”
Annie linked her arm through Lexie’s and cheered herself inside. Lexie was using British expressions she’d picked up from Annie again. They were good. Life was good. Everything was good. School was great.
Well, maybe that was going too far.
Annie and Lexie went separate ways when they got to Annie’s English class. The first sight that met Annie’s eyes was Kelsey and Tyler talking. To make it even worse, Kelsey was perched on top of Tyler’s desk.
Just because Kelsey’s putting on moves doesn’t mean Tyler’s interested, Annie tried to convince herself. OK, she and Tyler were cool now, maybe even better than before. Still, his comment about girls dying to go out with him still left a wound. Probably because she knew it was true.
“Hi, guys,” Annie said, trying to sound as cool and nonchalant as she could. Tyler got up and came over to give her a kiss. It was a good one, no doubt, but it didn’t leave her weak at the knees like his kisses used to. Maybe it was better that way. She liked having more control of the relationship.
“Hey, want to hang out after soccer practice?” Tyler asked. “Some of the guys were asking about you.”
Annie knew that was a bit far-fetched, unless by “some of the guys” Tyler meant Javier, but it was still nice of him to try and make her feel included. “Sorry. Lexie and I are going shopping.”
“Hope she’s not taking you to get a jacket like the one she’s wearing today,” Tyler teased. “I think she stole it from my grandmother’s sofa.” It was meant as a joke, she knew that, but it stung as a snide remark towards her best friend.
“Actually, she got it from my grandmother’s sofa,” Annie teased back, but gave him a look that warned him not to comment further. It worked on Tyler, not on Kelsey.
“Oh, god. That girl dresses like such a freak.” Kelsey scrunched up her nose in disgust.
Even though the dreaded “f” word made Annie flinch inside, she still smiled sweetly at Kelsey. “You’re welcome to join us. We might find something for you to wear that isn’t totally boring and lacking in personality.”
Tyler’s mouth twitched and a couple of other kids giggled while Kelsey gave Annie the finger. Mission: “Fire Clever Comeback at Kelsey” accomplished!
Ms Schwartz called the class to settle down. “All right. You should have all finished reading The Taming of the Shrew. If you didn’t, and you watched the movie or read a summary online, trust me, I’ll know. So, what did we think? Is it cruel and misogynistic? A love story? A satire? Anyone who speaks up gets extra credit.”
Three hands immediately shot up in the air. Annie’s was one of them. The C+ from that last essay was still painful and she wanted to improve her overall grade.
Ms Schwartz rubbed her palms as she looked around. Finally she nodded at Annie.
“It’s partly a love story,” Annie said. “But mostly it’s about knowing how to play the game. Petruchio’s pride is damaged by Katherine getting the better of him. He can’t accept that a woman is his equal.”
Ms Schwartz mulled over Annie’s words for a few seconds before nodding her head in agreement. “Very good point. Who else? Elijah?”
“Surprise, surprise. A feminist roller girl,” Kelsey hissed while Elijah offered his take on the play. “When’s the next bra-burning?”
Annie didn’t say anything. Not because she couldn’t think of a good comeback – she could think of several – but because Kelsey was right. And Annie didn’t mind in the least. Roller girls were feminists, and so was she.
Like Mum.
Like Lexie.
Annie was in good company.
* * *
Annie and Lexie met outside school and headed straight downtown. There was only one cupcake left in the container, the Warhol one, and Lexie offered it to Annie, who declined. Annie had all her botched attempts at icing a banana at home and it was never polite to eat the gifts you’d given.
Downtown Liberty Heights was streaming with people making a start on their Christmas shopping. Not only that, it looked like the city had invested in every single Christmas decoration known to man, elf, and reindeer. And Annie had thought the Thanksgiving decorations were impressive! Lights adorned everything. If it didn’t have lights, it had garlands, wreaths, and ribbons. A window artist had painted festive scenes on different shops. Snowflakes made from paper, plastic, or foam hung from shopfronts. Live animals stood behind a fence for a church’s nativity scene. A man in a Father Christmas costume was ringing a bell for donations for the homeless shelter.
Annie couldn’t believe Christmas was just around the corner. In a few weeks she and Dad, as well as Aunt Julie and her family in Seattle, would all fly down to Florida and spend Christmas with her grandparents. Time seemed to go by so fast lately.
They went into the second-hand shop and came out with lederhosen, a multi-coloured hat shaped like a glove, fifteen-centimetre platform heels, and sparkly silver leggings. The leggings were for Annie; they’d be perfect for roller derby.
At the jewellery shop, Annie found some stunning earrings made by a local artist. They were turquoise and amber and the proceeds went to a charity supporting women’s education in developing countries. Perfect for Mum.
“I’m really bummed I didn’t get to meet her,” Lexie said after Annie filled her in on what had happened during the visit. “That day in the park, I’m sorry I ran off. I should have just told you I was feeling hurt, instead of sulking.”
Annie paid for Mum’s present before giving Lexie a squeeze. They headed to a gift shop that had a lot of novelty items. “I don’t blame you for running off, after the way I treated you. But have you any idea how fast you are? With some training, you could run the hundred metres.”
Lexie laughed. “No way, not happening. My legs were killing me afterwards. I’ll leave the running to you jocks.”
“I don’t think Mum would appreciate being called a jock,” Annie teased.
Lexie nodded. “I don’t blame her. Speaking of jocks, how’s the king of jock-dom?”
Annie noticed the sarcastic tone but at least Lexie was making an effort by asking.
“Tyler? He’s fine. Just not as fun as you are. Especially when it comes to shopping.”
Lexie turned away from the mirror with a pink wig, chunky clip-on earrings, and tiny round sunglasses that barely shielded her pupils. “Really? I wonder why.”
Annie put on some reindeer antlers and galloped around Lexie. “Gooooo, Stags!”
Lexie laughed. “And to think you could have been a cheerleader.”
The shopkeeper gave them a scolding look that said, “Buy something or get out, and don’t you dare think of taking a five-finger discount.” Because of the shopkeeper’s rudeness, the girls didn’t buy anything, although Lexie swore she would return on a different day for the sunglasses.
The sun had set but it was hardly dark with all the festive lights on. “Where to next?” Lexie asked.
“I drew Sharmila in the Secret Santa exchange. I thought of getting her make-up,” Annie said.
“I know just the thing. I got it for myself the other day.” Lexie led the way to a small accessories store. From the shelf Lexie pulled down a glittery make-up kit in a pretty case.
“All natural products, no animal testing, and comes off easily without any irritation,” Lexie said.
“Perfect.” Annie hadn’t needed any persuasion. As soon as Lexie handed it to her, Annie knew it had Sharmila’s name all over it.
Back outside, snowflakes started to fall. Lexie caught some on her tongue while lots more clung to Annie’s eyelashes.
“I still owe you a hot chocolate with whipped cream and extra marshmallows. Let
’s go to Rosie Lee’s?” Annie asked.
Lexie sighed as if it were a huge compromise. “If you insist. And I’ll take that scone you offered me the other day too.”
Annie grinned. Mum had been right: sometimes talking wasn’t enough. But baked goods always did the trick. Especially when they came from Rosie Lee’s. “That particular scone has already gone to Happy Tummy Land, but I’m sure I can find you a suitable replacement.”
Lexie pretended to stomp on the ground and pout, but slipped on the icy pavement. Annie caught her friend’s arm before Lexie fell on her bum. With Annie holding her steady, Lexie was able to regain her balance. “Thanks. Now I know why I like roller derby. There’s no bringing you girls down.”
Annie pretended to show off her muscles and then laughed. “I’ve been doing extra training to get ready for our championship bout. Will you come? I’ve really missed having you cheering us on.”
“Me too. I’ve missed seeing the Liberty Belles kicking butt.”
“If I ever act like such an idiot again, you have full permission to kick MY butt – or at least send me to the penalty box.”
Annie linked her arm through Lexie’s and started singing the Pogues’ “Christmas in New York”, but changed the lyrics from New York to Liberty Heights. Lexie laughed, then joined in. To the amusement of the other Christmas shoppers, they sang loudly all the way to Rosie Lee’s. Mum was so right. Romance was great, but nothing beat a true friendship.
Chapter Seventeen
“We have gingerbread, we have almond shortbread. Lebkuchen and pepparkakor. Chocolate truffles covered in powdered sugar to look like snowballs. What other Christmassy treat do we need?” Dad called from the kitchen at Rosie Lee’s several days later. There were no customers in the café at the moment but it had been busy all day so Dad was happy. As always, slow periods were a chance to tidy up, restock, and bake. There was always something to do these days; it had been a long time since Annie had been bored at Rosie Lee’s.
