by Pat Flynn
“Well … yeah. And to find out what you’re going to do about Jimmy.”
“Does Jimmy know?”
“Not yet.”
She was quiet for a few moments and Alex could see her mind ticking over. “Don’t tell him anything,” she said.
“I was thinking you’d do it for me.”
She was quiet again.
“Sarah? You’d better tell him.”
“Why?”
“Because …”
“That’s a good reason.”
“Because if you don’t, I will.”
She looked at him and her expression changed. Alex had only seen her mad once before and it wasn’t the best experience of his life.
“Everyone makes mistakes, you know,” she said.
“You cheated on your boyfriend. My best mate. Either you tell him or I will.”
“You’re so gay.”
“What?”
“You heard me. You’re a poof.”
Alex’s right hand made a fist without him realising it. No one said that to Alex Jackson, skateboarder and slayer of the female species. “You had a crush on me for five years, what does that make you?”
She ignored him. “You think you’re good but you’re not. You’re a homo.”
“You’re a two-timing tart.”
Her face instantly tensed and for a second Alex thought she was going to cry. “I’d worry about your own girlfriend if I were you,” she said quietly.
“What?”
“Why don’t you ask her if she likes Italian boys? Especially rich skiers named Roberto.”
“You’re a liar.”
“You ask her if she went skiing with Roberto at his chateau in Switzerland. Or if she rides on the back of his motorbike. I have email too, you know. Maybe she tells me what she doesn’t want you to know?”
Alex wanted to swear at her, hit her, even. But he didn’t. He got up and walked out.
“You don’t like it, do you?” she said to his back. “Well, Jimmy won’t like it either so don’t tell him. He doesn’t need to know.”
Alex had been taught that it was polite to shut the door on your way out. He made sure he was very, very, very polite.
CHAPTER 12
Weeds
Alex thought about going straight to Jimmy’s place but he needed time to think. He hung out at the railway station and did some boarding — grinding and sliding along the metal seats.
Becky and an Italian skier? There’s no possible way.
But how did Sarah know about Becky’s skiing trip, and about her riding on the back of a motorbike? When Becky told Alex she had done these things with a friend, he naturally thought she meant a girlfriend. But friend could mean boy or girl, couldn’t it?
He weighed up the evidence. On the one hand, Becky had always been honest. On the other, people always said that you can’t trust anyone — and even he had lied to Becky last year. Sarah would have wanted to hurt him after he called her a two-timing tart. Then again, Sarah and Becky were friends, so maybe Becky did tell her things she wouldn’t tell Alex.
A voice broke his train of thought. “I thought you only skated where it is legal.”
It was Kim. “Sometimes I come here,” he said. “It’s not like I can do any more damage to these seats.”
“How was the party?” she said.
“Pretty average. Steve’s ollie was the highlight of the night.”
“He’s crazy, that guy. Just like his brother.”
“Lots of skaters are.”
“Are you?” she asked.
“I try not to be. But it comes naturally.”
Kim jumped on her board and tic-tacked till she had enough speed, then ollied up onto the long seat. She slid on the nose for 30 centimetres before she dropped off and landed sketchy.
Alex had a go. He’d practised noseslides at the skatebowl heaps of times, and he slid almost the entire length of the seat before popping off and landing smooth.
“You want me to tell you you’re good,” she said.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“One minute you’re running yourself down and the next you’re cocky.”
“I told you, skateboarders are crazy.”
They skated for a long time. Kim took a few falls but jumped right back on. Alex nailed some good boardslides but he still had Becky lingering in the back of his mind. He thought that while he had a female here he should try and get some advice.
“Hey Kim, do you think long-distance relationships can work?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Well, because you’re a girl, and I want to know how girls think.”
“Not all girls are the same.”
“Yeah, I know. But tell me anyway.”
“I don’t think any relationships work.”
That is different.
“My parents are divorced. Steve’s too. I think commitment stuffs things up,” she said. “People are meant to be free.”
“That’s not what I want to hear.”
“Your girlfriend’s in Italy, isn’t she?”
“How do you know?”
“I saw you with her last year. I knew who you were before the skateboarding demonstration. You had a reputation around Beeton as a skate-grom.”
Alex liked the sound of that.
“Are you and your girlfriend having trouble?” she asked.
“Maybe. I’m not sure.”
He looked at his watch. His mum would be getting worried. “I’d better take off,” he said. “Thanks for the skate.”
“Come skating with us Friday night.”
Alex noticed her smile. It was different from Becky’s, but nice. “I’ll think about it.”
* * *
“The kid’s finally home,” Chief said as he walked in.
“How’d Ben go?” Alex asked. Chief had been at a boxing tournament most of the day.
“He won in 2. TKO. I tell you that kid will be World Champ one day.”
“He has to beat the Russians first.”
“You’d better go see your mother,” Chief said. “She’s not happy with you. We have phones here in Beeton, you know.”
“Yeah, sorry. Where is she?”
“Out the back.”
Alex passed Sam who was doing Mandy’s hair. Dresses were laid out on the bed.
“Where’re you two going?” he asked.
“Megan Bell’s party,” said Sam.
“Will boys be there?”
“Of course!”
“Ooohhh. Boys.”
“Shut up.”
His mum was in the backyard gardening. She was on her hands and knees attacking weeds with a blunt knife.
“They’d die quicker if you had a real knife,” he said.
“I’d be tempted to use it on something other than weeds.” She stood up. “You said you’d be gone for an hour and you’ve been out all day. You didn’t even come home for lunch.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Where were you?”
“Around.”
“Try again.”
Alex sighed. “Library, Sarah Sceney’s place and skateboarding. Mostly skateboarding.”
“What did you do that was wrong?”
“I forgot to call.”
“That’s right. I don’t want you gallivanting around Beeton all day without knowing where you are. It’s not safe.”
“Beeton is not that bad.”
She ignored him. “What were you doing at Sarah Sceney’s house?”
“Talking.”
“You’re a waterfall of information, aren’t you?”
Alex started rocking from one foot to another. His mum always seemed to know when he had a problem and she usually gave good advice. Dr Mum, Alex called her. However, he didn’t feel in the mood to tell her that his girlfriend might be cheating on him with an Italian skier named Roberto. He didn’t feel like telling anybody.
“Sarah’s all screwed up since her dad left,” he said. “She and Jimmy m
ight be breaking up.”
“That’s a shame.”
Alex looked at his mum’s knife. It was black from the dirt. “Why do couples always split up?” he asked.
This caught Sharon off guard, but only for a second. Her two specialties were making banana cake and answering life’s tough questions. “Not all couples split up.”
“A lot of them do. What goes wrong?”
She looked down. “Relationships are like this garden. It used to be so beautiful. Lots of flowers and no weeds. But underneath the weeds are there, waiting for a chance to grow. If you don’t spend time pulling them out they take over.”
“Why don’t people just pull them out?”
“Too busy. Or sometimes it’s too hard.”
“What about when they find someone else? Like Mr Sceney?”
“They see a new garden that already has beautiful flowers and no weeds. But maybe they forget that every garden has weeds below the surface, waiting.”
Alex looked at his mum’s garden and could see what she was talking about. It was a mess after the storms they’d had during the summer. “What are you going to do with this garden?” he said.
“I want to get rid of the weeds,” his mum said softly. “I really do. But it’s not easy. Sometimes I’d love a bit of help.”
“Have you ever asked Chief to help you?”
“Chief? In the garden pulling out weeds? I don’t think so.”
Alex bent down and grabbed a weed, pulling hard at its roots. It was stubborn but eventually gave way. He helped his mum for 20 minutes, and pulling out one weed at a time they cleared about a third of the back garden. He went inside for a drink.
Sam and Mandy were almost ready.
“Oohh, boys,” Alex said, waving his dirty hands close to their sparkling dresses.
“Get lost!”
Chief was watching a video of Ben’s fight. “Look at his footspeed,” he said excitedly as Alex walked in. “I’ve never seen a bloke so quick.”
“Chief,” said Alex. “You ever pulled out weeds before?”
“What?”
“Weeds. In the backyard. You ever helped Mum pull them out?”
“Don’t think so.”
“Well I reckon you should. It’s good training.”
“What for? Your legs, when you squat down?”
“Nah. Your marriage.”
Chief gave him a funny look. “You’re not on drugs, are you champ?”
CHAPTER 13
Turning Rebel
“Skateboarding is a way of life,” said Mr Graham. “That’s what the magazines and videos tell us. But what sort of life are they promoting? One with crime, drugs and risk taking? Is this what most skateboarders are really like? This is what you will be answering in your presentation next week. Get to work.”
Next week? We’d better hurry up.
Alex looked over at Jimmy. He hadn’t talked to him since Friday night and it was time to find out how much he knew. “You talked to Sarah lately?” Alex said.
“She rang me Saturday,” said Jimmy. “She said she went home from Emma’s party early because she wasn’t feeling well. That’s why you couldn’t find her.”
He doesn’t know much.
John came over. “Hey dudes, what’s up?” He’d learnt most of his English watching American television.
Mr Graham was right behind him. “How are you guys going with your assignment?”
“We’re right on schedule,” Jimmy said. “Our video is ready to go, and our talk is on PowerPoint on my computer at home.”
“Do you have anything I can look at?”
“Umm, not today, sir. I’ve been having trouble with the printer. Don’t worry, we’ll be ready to go on the day.”
“Mmmm. I hope so. Remember, if you are late it’s an automatic fail. I expect something special from you boys — especially with a champion skateboarder in your group.”
“That’s right, sir. Action Jackson won’t let you down,” said Jimmy.
Mr Graham went to check on another group. “Jimmy, we haven’t even started!” said Alex.
“I’m just telling him what he wants to hear,” said Jimmy. “The truth is overrated.”
John started rapping, tapping his pencil on the desk to keep the beat. “The truth can cut you deep, when you wake and when you sleep. I only tell my girl what I want for her to keep.”
Alex ignored him. “Does Sarah ever talk to you about Becky?” he asked Jimmy.
“Not really. She says they email each other once a week. Why?”
“No reason.”
John started rapping again. “A reason, a season, it all adds up to treason …”
The rap was cut short when Billy Johnstone walked past and swiped the pencil out of John’s hand. Billy snapped it in two and threw the pieces at John.
“That’s for spilling my beer,” Billy said.
“Arsehole,” whispered Jimmy to his back.
“What’s that, Homan?” Billy turned around.
“He called you an arsey hole,” John said to Billy.
There is a fine line between guts and stupidity, and John had casually jumped over onto the wrong side.
Billy looked at Jimmy. “Now that your girlfriend’s tasted a real man, Homan, I doubt you’ll get any girl action for a while. No wonder you and John are best buddies.”
“What?” said Jimmy.
“You haven’t heard, have you?” said Billy, smiling. He gestured towards John and Alex. “You stick close to your boys. Coz after me she won’t settle for what you got.”
A few kids sniggered. Alex wasn’t one of them. He stood up, seriously invading Billy’s personal space. “I think you’d better shut up, Johnstone.”
“Who’s gonna make me? Yo’ mama?”
“Nah, me and my eight friends.” Alex clenched his fists.
They eyed off, waiting for the other to throw a punch. Johnstone versus Jackson III was only a nervous twitch away. The fact that they were standing in the middle of a classroom didn’t seem to make a scrap of difference.
“Billy, sit down!” ordered Mr Graham from across the room.
He didn’t move.
“Billy, NOW!”
Slowly Billy swaggered away, his shoulders pulled back and his cereal-box chest puffed up. “Sarah’s tasted a real man now, Homan. There’s no going back.”
Jimmy’s face went a light shade of grey.
“Jimmy, come with me tonight. We burn down his house!” said John.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?” Jimmy said to Alex.
Alex looked down. This was going to be a long week.
* * *
At lunchtime Alex filled Jimmy in on what he saw at the party and his visit to Sarah’s place. Jimmy said he wanted to be alone for a while. He couldn’t believe that Alex hadn’t told him straightaway. “I thought we were best mates?” he said.
“We are.”
“Best mates tell each other important stuff. How would you like it if I knew something about Becky and didn’t tell you?”
“Do you?”
“What?”
“Know something about Becky?”
“No. If I did I’d tell you. That’s my point.”
Jimmy headed towards the Graphics block and Alex made his way to the library. On his way he saw Kim and the guys sitting at one of the picnic tables outside of Block 4. She called him over.
“How do you get along with Yatesy?” she asked.
Mr Yates was the school librarian. As far as Alex knew he had no overdue library books, so there was no reason to think that his and Mr Yates’ relationship was anything but civil.
“Okay, I s’pose.”
“Good. We were wondering if you’d do us a favour. We want to watch this skateboarding video in the AV room but we’re banned from the library.”
“Why?”
“They reckon we’ve been writing on the books. Even though there’s no proof they’ve still banned us. Typical of this school.”
“You book an AV room and we’ll sneak in through the window.”
Alex scratched his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea …”
“It’s a sick video. You should see the tricks they do. You’ll love it.”
“Yeah but …”
“If we get caught we’ll take the blame. We’ll say we forced our way in and there was nothing you could do. Don’t worry.”
“Live life on the edge,” said Steve. “You a skateboarder or what?”
Alex knew he was succumbing to peer pressure, but he thought, what the heck. What else was he going to do this lunchtime? He went into the library and asked Mr Yates if he could use one of the AV rooms.
“What sort of video is it?” he asked.
“It’s a skateboarding video, sir. We’re studying it in English.”
“Skateboarding? In my day we studied my friend Shakespeare in English. Far more educational I would think.”
“Can I, sir?”
“Can you what?”
“Use the AV room?”
“Okay, then.”
Alex went inside and set up. He heard a tap on the window, quickly opened it and five Year 10’s piled in. They had cans of coke and twisties, even though eating and drinking weren’t allowed in the library. Kim threw Alex a Redskin.
Alex found it hard to fully enjoy the video as he was nervous that Mr Yates would walk in any second and go ballistic. Kim was right, though, it was sick. He couldn’t believe it when a 17-year-old named Mark Appleyard pulled a nollie heelflip to boardslide down a long handrail. Alex was still learning how to do a normal boardslide, let alone attempting to nollie heelflip first.
The video showed the police hassling the skaters, and when a cop asked a boarder why he wasn’t giving him any respect the boarder said, “You’re talking to me like I’m an animal, not a human being.”
“Amen,” said Steve.
The bell rang and the Year 10s jumped out the window without being seen. Before she left, Alex noticed Kim drawing something on the wall with a red texta.
He got the hell out of there.
So this is the gang everyone is talking about. He wondered what it meant.
Outside he was relieved that they hadn’t been busted. As he was walking back towards Block 2 John Carson-Zanger ran up to him. He was breathless. “I look for you everywhere,” he said. “Jimmy and Billy big fight. Billy breaks Jimmy’s nose.”
