by Jo Cotterill
‘Pardon?’
Jasmine nodded. ‘You’ll see.’ She gave Megan another strange look before hurrying away.
Megan stood still for a moment, her head spinning. She felt like she’d just spent time in an alternative world of some kind. It was almost as though Danny and the others spoke a language she didn’t understand. What they said seemed to mean something else entirely . . . Megan rubbed her face briskly. Snap out of it! she told herself. They’re just a bit different to what you’re used to, that’s all. But Danny seemed to like you . . .
He remembered her from before. He wanted to teach her how to ride his skateboard. He thought she was interesting . . .
Megan had the oddest feeling her parents wouldn’t approve, but she couldn’t help smiling all the way home. And she couldn’t wait for tomorrow!
Chapter 5
want to see my scars?
MEGAN STARED AT the computer screen and deleted the three sentences she’d already written. Why was it so hard to tell Jake about Danny? Jake was her best friend. He knew her better than anyone. He’d understand, wouldn’t he? Or would he? Megan shook her head in frustration. She’d never had a boyfriend before. Jake hadn’t had a girlfriend either. They’d both had crushes on people, but this . . . well, this felt a bit different. How did you talk to your best friend about boys if your best friend was a boy?
from: Megan
to: Jake
sent: 26 September
subject: salsa and skateboards
Hey you!
Salsa is going OK – actually, I’m kind of having fun. You remember I told you about Mari? She was telling me all about her friend who’s in a TV series – how cool is that! And apparently this friend had a nasty accident in the summer when she was acting in Romeo and Juliet and fell off the ladder leading to the balcony. Only it wasn’t an accident because this other girl put oil on the rungs so she’d fall off. Don’t you think it sounds like something out of a book? If it hadn’t been Mari telling me, I’m not sure I’d have believed it. But I don’t think Mari can lie. She just opens her mouth and all her feelings come spilling out. She’s the main reason I’m still going to salsa, actually. She’s got no rhythm at all but she tries really hard and she’s always asking me for help. You’d think I was the teacher, not Corinne! In fact, Corinne has even asked me for help in the classes too!
I’ve been meaning to tell you. I met this group of kids skateboarding yesterday. They’re really cool, but they try to do stuff that looks so dangerous! This boy called Danny started to teach me how to skateboard but I was a bit rubbish. He said I had good balance though – I told him it was all these years of dancing! Maybe it’s time I learned a new skill? I’m not sure I like skateboarding much but then you have to practise to get good at something, and Danny was really patient with me. He said he’d meet me today and teach me a bit more.
How’s your mad mum and your stepdad? How did the drinks thingy go next door? You haven’t told me anything about the new people there! (I know I told you not to, but now I kind of want to know.)
Mx
Megan sat back. Should she have said more about Danny? But Jake hated girls who went all ‘gaga’ over the boys they fancied. She didn’t want to make it sound like she was going on about Danny all the time.
She clicked on ‘send’ before she could change her mind. It was late Sunday morning, and since she had met Danny and the others at 11 a.m. yesterday, it seemed likely that they would be there now.
‘You’re going where?’ asked her mum in some surprise.
Megan tried not to blush. ‘You know I told you I’d met some kids in the skate park yesterday?’ She saw her mother’s expression and hurried on. ‘They’re really nice, honestly. They showed me how to skateboard.’ Nicola’s eyebrows climbed even higher. ‘It was fun,’ Megan said defensively. ‘They said they’d teach me a bit more today. Can I go?’
‘Well . . .’ Nicola hesitated. ‘It’s Sunday morning . . .’
Megan looked hopefully at her dad. Bryan looked puzzled. ‘Why can’t she go out this morning? It’s not as though we’re doing anything.’
‘I never said she couldn’t,’ said Nicola. ‘I just – I don’t know. Sundays are family time, aren’t they?’
Bryan smiled at Megan. ‘You go and have fun, love. You’re going to stay in the skate park, right? You’re not going anywhere else?’
‘No,’ said Megan. ‘Just practising in the park.’
‘I think it’s great you’ve met some new friends,’ said her dad.
‘So do I!’ retorted her mum. ‘You always make me sound like the bad cop!’
‘Bad cop bang bang!’ said Owen gleefully. ‘With a big gun!’
Nicola’s attention was immediately diverted. ‘I don’t want you talking about big guns,’ she told him. ‘They’re very dangerous.’
Owen nodded. ‘I know. Moses at playgroup told me he saw a man get shot in a film. His head blew up and went splat.’
‘Your friend Moses watches the wrong sorts of films,’ said Bryan.
Owen shrugged. ‘He said it wasn’t as good as Finding Nemo anyway.’
‘So I’m going out then,’ said Megan.
Nicola turned to her. ‘Of course you can, love. Just take your phone.’
Megan’s heart was pounding as she walked to the skate park. Would he be there? What would she do if he wasn’t? She felt strangely itchy all over, as though her skin were tingling on the inside. This is ridiculous! she told herself. You don’t even know him! And the others didn’t seem that keen to have you around, did they? Why do you even want to see him again?
But Megan knew the answer to that one. Danny had a magnetic quality; he seemed to draw her into his world. He was wild – and she’d never met anyone like him before.
As she rounded the corner to the park, Megan felt slightly sick with anticipation. But there he was! Grinding the board along a railing! Paul followed a few feet behind, both boys whooping and yelling with excitement.
Megan looked around quickly. At the far end was a children’s playground; bright and colourful. She could just make out the figures of Samantha and Jasmine on the swings. She felt faintly relieved that they weren’t looking on.
Danny finished his run and crashed into a wall at some speed. At the last minute, he flung out his hands and managed to stop himself from ending up on the ground. Two seconds later, Paul did exactly the same thing and nearly knocked Danny flying. ‘Watch it!’ Danny protested.
‘Should have got out of the way,’ said Paul, grinning.
Danny was about to reply but his head suddenly lifted and he looked round. Megan felt a jolt. Did he know I was watching? she wondered. Danny’s mouth curved up at the sides, and he beckoned her over. ‘Megan Hirst,’ he said. ‘Good to see you.’
‘That looked amazing,’ said Megan.
Danny nodded. ‘It’s the best feeling ever, going that fast. You get an awesome buzz.’
‘Like dancing,’ suggested Megan. ‘I get a buzz from dancing.’
‘Yeah,’ said Danny, examining the base of his board for any damage. ‘So, you want another go?’
‘Sure.’ She stepped onto the board.
‘Remember what I told you yesterday,’ Danny said.
‘I remember.’ She lined up her feet the way he had showed her. It felt just as wobbly as before, but at least this time she was prepared.
‘Good,’ said Danny. He smiled at her. ‘Let’s see what you can do.’ He made her skate along the flat area a couple of times. ‘Now you’ve got the hang of that,’ he said, ‘this is how you change direction . . .’
Megan wasn’t convinced she had actually ‘got the hang of it’ at all, but she was pleased that Danny thought she was doing well. His gaze was fixed on her as she skated up and down – in fact, it was amazing she managed to stay on the board at all with his eyes on her! Paul watched for a while and then got bored and started practising some kind of jump. Megan caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye. ‘How does he
do that?’ she asked curiously. ‘It looks like the board is stuck to his feet when he jumps.’
‘Deck, not board,’ said Danny. ‘It’s called a deck.’
‘Sorry.’
‘I’ll show you how,’ he said, taking the board from her. ‘It’s called an ollie. It’s about the most important move you can do on a skateboard.’ He paused for a moment, and then leaped a couple of feet into the air. The skateboard rapped smartly on the ground and then lifted into the air with him, almost as though by magic.
‘That’s amazing,’ said Megan. ‘Why’s it called an ollie?’
Danny shrugged. ‘Some bloke called Ollie made it up, I guess. You want a go? I can show you how to do it.’
Megan laughed. ‘I can’t do that. I can hardly stay on the board as it is!’
‘All beginners have to learn how to do an ollie,’ said Danny. ‘I’ll talk you through it.’
Megan shook her head. ‘This is going to be a disaster.’ She stepped onto the board and Danny started to explain what she needed to do.
‘You put your back foot as far back on the tail as you can . . . then you push off with the right, and slap the tail to the ground . . .’
Megan tried hard to follow his instructions, but her feet just didn’t do what she wanted, and she ended up tripping over the board and stumbling gracelessly to the ground, twisting her ankle slightly as she did so. ‘Ow.’
‘You OK?’ Danny was grinning. ‘Not bad for a first try.’
Megan felt her ankle gingerly. ‘It’s all right, just a bit sore.’
Danny helped her up. ‘Have another go,’ he said encouragingly.
Megan laughed. ‘No thanks. I’ll sit down on this bench for a minute and wait for my ankle to stop throbbing.’ She twirled it experimentally in the air. The ligaments felt tight, but she knew the ankle would be all right within a few hours.
Danny looked disappointed. ‘Best thing to do after you fall is to get straight back on again.’
Megan grinned. ‘Maybe that’s why you have so many injuries?’
He gave a sudden laugh and Megan was astonished at how his face changed. It was as though the stormy grey of his eyes flashed with silver sunlight and for a second he looked almost like a different person. ‘Yeah, maybe.’
Megan settled herself comfortably on the bench. ‘Why don’t you show me again? The ollie, I mean. It’s easier to understand when you see someone else do it.’
‘All right.’ Danny’s face lit up with enthusiasm and before too long, he was showing Megan all the other tricks he could do. Her head spun with words like ‘kickflip’, ‘nollie’ and ‘goofy’. She tried to nod at the right times, and make appreciative noises, but after a while she realized that Danny didn’t really need her to say anything at all. He just wanted her to watch – and that was something she was quite happy to do, because he truly was amazing. Paul came over to join them but although he was good, even Megan’s inexperienced eye could see he didn’t have the flair and daring of Danny.
‘Don’t you mind falling off?’ she asked, after he had tried to demonstrate jumping a flight of concrete steps and landed heavily on his back.
‘Nah,’ he said, brushing down his jeans. ‘You get used to it.’ He grinned. ‘Want to see my scars?’ He pulled up a trouser leg. There was a livid red graze from the accident yesterday, but Danny pointed to a pale jagged line underneath. ‘See this one here? I got it when I split my knee open. I was trying to jump a swimming pool and I crashed into the side. Couldn’t walk for three weeks. Had twenty stitches.’
Megan stared at the jagged scar. ‘Wow. That must have hurt.’
‘Course.’
‘But it didn’t put you off?’
A slow smile crept over his face, and his eyes flashed silver again. ‘No way. I live for this. Without skating – without bikes and speed and all that – I’d just crumble away and die. Do you know what I mean?’
Megan looked out over the skate park. It didn’t hold the same appeal for her, but she recognized the passion in Danny’s voice. He lived for it. She knew what that felt like. ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I feel the same way about dancing.’
‘Dancing?’ Danny was momentarily startled. ‘What, you mean like ballet?’
‘No. I do ballroom dancing.’ She saw the incomprehension on his face. ‘Like – er – waltz? And rumba? Um . . . like on Strictly Come Dancing?’
‘Oh.’ Danny’s face cleared. ‘I get you. I don’t really watch that stuff. Seems a bit lame to me.’
‘That’s because you don’t know anything about it,’ retorted Megan. ‘It’s just as difficult as your ollies and kickthings.’
He grinned at her. ‘Whatever you say. Let me show you a manual. It’s like a wheelie on a bike.’ Off he went again.
I’ve never met anyone like him, Megan thought to herself. It’s weird because he loves skateboarding and I love dancing but it’s as if we feel the same way about them. Almost like we’re in two different worlds but are somehow connected. A smile crept over her face as she wondered what her friends back home would think of Danny. What would Jake make of him? Danny and Jake were total opposites! Jake was quiet whereas Danny was brash; Jake was careful whereas Danny was wild . . . She watched him twist and flip his board along a ramp, and then trip and crash to the ground again.
‘You finished yet?’ called a voice, and Megan looked up to see Samantha and Jasmine heading towards them. Paul was busy trying to do something that looked like a twirl on his board at the far end of the park.
‘No,’ said Danny, sounding annoyed. ‘Why?’
‘Mum said she wanted us back for lunch,’ said Samantha, glancing over at Megan. ‘Oh, hello.’
‘Hi.’
‘Aunt Yvonne is coming, remember?’
Danny scowled. ‘Don’t see why I should be there. She doesn’t like me anyway.’
Samantha rolled her eyes. ‘It’s not that she doesn’t like you. But you didn’t help last time by wearing that shirt with the bleeding skull on it. She thinks you’re scary.’
Danny grinned. ‘Even better.’ He winked at Megan. ‘I like being scary.’ Megan couldn’t help but smile back. ‘What can I wear today?’ he mused. ‘The shirt with the big knife on it?’
‘Don’t you dare, Mum’ll have a fit,’ said Samantha. ‘And besides, Aunt Yvonne usually gives us money, so don’t do anything crazy.’
Danny’s expression changed. ‘That’s right, I’d forgotten. Maybe I can tap her for a tenner for new trucks.’
‘You and your skateboard,’ said Samantha. ‘So are you coming then or not?’
Danny glanced at Paul. ‘Oh, I’m off too, mate,’ said Paul. ‘Got some stuff to do for tomorrow.’
Samantha said to Paul, ‘Am I coming round yours after school tomorrow?’
He shrugged. ‘If you want.’
Megan felt puzzled. Why would Samantha be going round to Paul’s house? Her jaw dropped when Paul walked over to Samantha and kissed her. Samantha accepted the kiss and waved goodbye before heading back up towards the playground. Jasmine turned and went too, having not said a single word.
Danny laughed at Megan’s expression. ‘What?’
‘Are they . . .? I mean, I didn’t realize . . . Are they going out or something?’
‘Or something,’ agreed Danny. ‘Can’t think why. Samantha doesn’t usually go for Paul’s type. Think she’s a bit off track at the moment, after what happened over the summer.’
Megan was going to ask what he meant, but he leaped onto the board and skimmed across the park again, calling, ‘I’m going to do another kickflip, only this one on the end of the ramp!’
‘Aren’t you supposed to be going home?’ she called back.
‘In a minute!’ He paused for a moment at the end of the park, his eyes fixed on the ramp, before pushing off and building up speed. As he hit the edge of the ramp, he kicked up with his feet and the board seemed magically to spin in mid-air before attaching itself to his feet again for a secure landing.
When Danny finally skidded to a halt in front of her, he did a silly bow. Megan laughed and said impulsively, ‘Do you ever go other places? I mean, apart from hanging out here?’
He looked at her enquiringly. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Do you – go out?’
‘Yeah. All kinds of places.’ His gaze suddenly snapped up. ‘You want to come?’
Megan felt breathless at the intensity of his gaze. His eyes had turned a stormy grey. It was almost like she was being pulled into some kind of cloud. ‘Yes,’ she said in a weak voice. ‘I’d like to. If that’s OK.’
He shrugged. ‘Cool. I’ll talk to the others.’
‘Oh.’ Megan took a breath. ‘Could we go somewhere just us?’ What am I doing? she wondered. The words were coming out of her mouth by themselves!
He looked surprised. ‘Just us? Why?’
‘Well – I’m not sure the girls like me that much.’
‘You don’t want to take any notice of them. Girls are weird.’ He caught her eye. ‘I don’t mean you.’
Megan blushed. He thought she was different from other girls! A faint tingling started at the nape of her neck. ‘But don’t you think it would be nicer just us? We could talk properly.’ Megan wasn’t sure where this courage was coming from, but somehow she knew she really wanted to see Danny alone. ‘Not a date,’ she added hastily in case he’d be put off by the thought. ‘Just a chance to get to know each other a bit more. After all, I haven’t made many friends here yet.’
Danny studied her for a moment and then smiled. ‘Sure. I’ll take you somewhere really cool. I know just the place.’
‘How did it go?’ Megan’s dad asked as she let herself in the front door. ‘You were only gone forty minutes after all that.’
‘Was I?’ Megan was taken aback. Was it really only forty minutes since she’d left the house? ‘It felt like longer.’
