Falling Hard

by Megan Sparks

  As the bout continued, Annie kept seeing herself in the jams. The other day when she ran into Kelsey was no fluke, she was a fairly good skater. But she’d never been in a position where other people were deliberately knocking into her.

  It was a close contest, 72-69 to the Illinoisies. Waiting for Mrs Jones to come and get them, Annie noticed some leaflets on the merchandise table.

  Fresh Meat Junior Roller Derby three-day workshop.

  Girls 14–18. All skill levels. Get fit and have fun.

  Mrs Jones honked. Annie hesitated for a minute, then grabbed a leaflet.

  “C’mon, my mom hates to be kept waiting,” Lexie said.

  Annie folded the leaflet in half and slipped it under her vest top before running to the car. She was pretty sure Mrs Jones in a bad mood would be even scarier than the roller girls she’d just watched!

  Chapter Six

  Annie checked her bag to make sure her leotard and shorts were there. When she’d finished conjugating French verbs, she ran through her cheer in her mind, “Give me an S, give me a T, give me an A...” Cheerleading try-outs were happening after school, and Annie was having a hard time thinking about anything else.

  It didn’t help that Kelsey was obviously trying to psych her out. During lunch, she walked by with her two wannabes.

  “I don’t know why we’re even having a try-out. We already know who we want. Obviously no one freakishly tall,” Kelsey said loudly. Pretending that she’d just noticed Annie, her voice turned candyfloss sweet. “Oh, hi, Amy. I didn’t see you there. Good luck today. You’re going to need it.”

  Annie slouched into her seat while Lexie shouted, “Her name’s Annie, you dumbass.”

  Of course Kelsey knew her real name. Just like she knew Annie has been there listening to her. But was it true that they had already selected their new members?

  “Am I really freakishly tall?” Annie asked the bacon sandwich she’d brought from home.

  Lexie put an arm around her shoulders. Sitting side by side they felt like the same height. “You’re not that tall, she was just trying to strike a nerve. She’s just jealous of those supermodel legs of yours. You’re so not a freak.”

  Annie sighed. “I guess. But maybe I shouldn’t bother trying out.”

  Lexie shifted so she could stare right at Annie. “Look, you know I don’t like cheerleaders. But you can’t let someone like that stop you from doing what you want. That’s what she wants. She only said it because she knows you’ve got a good shot.”

  Lexie did have a point. Of the kids who were there last Friday, Annie was definitely one of the top gymnasts. And her dancing wasn’t half bad either. It was that perky, rah-rah, smile-until-your-lips-fell-off part that was her problem. “You’re right. I’m not going to let her scare me off. I just wish she wouldn’t make me feel so nervous.”

  “I’ll tell you my secret.” Lexie looked around the cafeteria like cartoon characters do when they’re trying to be inconspicuous. “In my head I draw a moustache on her every time I see her. The result is actually pretty good.”

  Annie laughed. Thank goodness for Lexie.

  * * *

  The locker room was like a ghost town with no one speaking or even acknowledging each other. They were too focused on primping up in front of mirrors, curling or straightening their hair, and reapplying make-up. One girl was even stuffing what looked like chicken fillets into her sports bra. When Annie sat down on the bench to change, the girl next to her moved her make-up bag away like she was afraid Annie would use it.

  “I’m not going to touch it,” Annie said. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her for a few seconds, then returned their attention to whatever they were doing. Except the girl next to Annie; she got up and sat somewhere else.

  They filed out to the gymnasium and waited to be called forward. Annie hadn’t expected to see so many people watching the try-outs; it seemed like half the school was there. She glanced around, wondering if there was anyone she recognized. Lexie had her manga club so Annie knew she wouldn’t be there. But she didn’t expect to find Tyler sitting with his friends on the second row.

  Oh God. Breathe, Annie, breathe.

  He caught her staring at him and jerked his chin up in greeting. Annie raised her hand a bit and turned away shyly. Crowds didn’t usually make her nervous, but now that Annie knew that Tyler was there, her hands began to sweat.

  “Listen up,” the coach said in a voice that echoed throughout the gym. “You’ve got two minutes to show us what you’ve got in cheering, jumping, and dancing. I don’t care if you do each element individually or one act that incorporates them all, just as long as you have a bit of all three in the two minutes. Quintana, you’re first.”

  A girl with a high dark-brown ponytail and too much make-up came forward with a perky smile. Her cheer was loud enough for everyone outside the gym to hear and her dance moves were spot on. She didn’t seem to have too much of a gymnastics background, but she could jump high and do cartwheels and backbends in good form.

  The next one was a guy who thought he was a great breakdancer. Annie was sure head spinning was very hard, but the poor guy was so awful that it was more painful than impressive to watch.

  “Turner,” the coach called Annie forward.

  Deep breath. Annie chose to do the cheer part first to get it over with quickly.

  “Give me an S—”

  “Louder,” the coach yelled.

  Annie tried to project more. Except her tongue just got muddled in her mouth. “Give me an S. Give me a, uh, T. Give me an S-T-A-J, I mean G, and S. What do you, uh, get? The Stags! Yay.”

  She pretended to wave pompoms in the air (Why hadn’t she grabbed some real ones?!) and slid into a split. She ended it with a terrified, showing-all-her-teeth smile.

  The crowd clapped politely but Annie’s attention was on Kelsey. Her face was set in a smug grin and she held out both her hands in the shape of a fat zero.

  Annie’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head slightly. Sorry, mate. You’re not winning that easily.

  Annie chose to modify a previous floor routine to show off her jumps and dance abilities. It was a high-energy number that displayed her flexibility, coordination, and ten years of gymnastics. Hands-free cartwheels, 360-degree straddle jumps, fancy footwork, and the sassy attitude she hadn’t managed in the cheer. She ended it with a series of back handsprings into a back tuck, which she landed perfectly.

  Take that!

  The crowd went wild. Tyler was on his feet, clapping his hands above his head, and he gave her a heart-stopping smile.

  Annie walked back to the bench feeling like her legs were made out of jelly. The rest of the hopefuls stared at her with mouths agape. Annie almost felt sorry for the next girl, though she wouldn’t have done her routine any differently. Kelsey’s smug smile had morphed into an ugly grimace and her stare was attempting to laser through Annie. Annie shrugged and wore a real smile for the rest of the try-out. Who cared what Kelsey thought? Annie had performed a great second part, and everyone, including the best-looking boy in school, knew it.

  * * *

  Annie was still feeling pleased with herself as she headed to Rosie Lee’s after the try-outs. She just hoped her old floor routine was good enough to make up for the disastrous cheer. If only they’d let her get away with just doing the tumbling and dancing parts of cheerleading and leave the “rah-rah” rubbish to the ones who were good at it. And actually liked it.

  She opened the door to the café to find Dad rushing around muttering, “Fire, fire!”

  “What? Where?” Annie looked around in a panic and sniffed.

  “No. Meant fire marshal. Must set appointment. Can’t open.” Dad ran around the kitchen looking up and down for something.

  “What do you need?”

  “Keys. Car keys.”

  Annie spotted the bunch of keys in the front pocket of his shirt and pointed. “Dad, there they are. It’s OK. I’ll go with you, help you sort
it out.”

  Dad took the keys from his pocket and finally seemed to notice she was there. “No, there’s nothing you can do, unless you can give me a brain transplant. I’ve got to get more organized if I ever want to get this place going. Thanks though.”

  Dad kissed the top of her head as he headed out.

  Typical Dad; he could whip up the world’s best crème brûlée but filling out paperwork was beyond him. He’d already taken the Illinois Food and Sanitation Course, and passed with flying colours, as well as setting up the business licensing, but she wasn’t surprised there was still more to do. She just wished she could help him in some way. Do something that was sure to make Rosie Lee’s a great success. She stared at the naked off-white walls and the raw floor with the paint stain still on it, and they stared back at her.

  That was it!

  Annie grabbed her phone from the bag. “Hey, Lexie?”

  “Hey, how did the cheer-weeding go? I mean cheerleading.”

  Annie didn’t want to think about that. “First part was awful, second was pretty good. But that’s not why I rang. Listen, how would you like to help me decorate Dad’s café?”

  “Decorate how?”

  Annie paced around the café. Mum did the same thing when she was on the phone; it used to drive Dad crazy. Crazier, rather. “We painted it off-white over the weekend and now have two blank walls in need of some character. Maybe a mural like you did in your room or something? Any ideas?”

  “Loads! But wait, are you serious?” Lexie asked.

  “Of course. You should see the space. It needs an artist’s touch.”

  “I’ll bring sketches to school. Wow, ’K, gotta go. Too many possibilities already. Bye!”

  “Bye.” Annie hung up and looked around the naked room. Dad was going to love her surprise. Right?

  Chapter Seven

  Annie watched Tyler and his teammates flirting with the cheerleaders as she waited for Lexie after school. The confidence she felt yesterday after her routine was gone. Even if she made the squad there was no guarantee that Tyler would flirt with her. He was sixteen, an upperclassman. From her few weeks at Liberty Heights, Annie already knew they didn’t usually hang out with lowly freshmen.

  “Hey, ready?” Lexie came up to her.

  Annie sighed and turned away from Tyler and the cheerleaders. “Is it true the cheerleaders don’t cheer at the girls’ games? That’s what a girl on the soccer team in French class was saying.”

  “Yup,” Lexie said. “Same as they don’t get pep rallies.”

  “But why don’t they cheer for them?”

  Lexie shook her head. “If you’re asking that, then maybe cheerleading isn’t your thing.”

  Annie let it go. She kind of knew what Lexie meant. No matter how much people talked about equality and not discriminating, it still happened. Maybe if she made the squad, she could suggest they attend at least a couple of the girls’ home games. She didn’t see why not. From what she’d heard, the girls’ teams were quite good.

  “I know something we’d both be into.” From her backpack, Annie pulled out the junior roller derby leaflet she took from the bout over the weekend and waved it in front of Lexie. “They have a three-day Fresh Meat programme starting tonight. We should do it together.”

  Lexie laughed. “Me, a roller girl? Not in this lifetime.”

  “Aww, come on! Give it a go.” Annie pressed her hands together and looked at her with sad eyes. “For me?”

  “Stop it.” Lexie held up a hand in front of her eyes. “Seriously, me and sports don’t mix. I don’t even know how to ride a bike. But you could totally rock it.”

  Annie sighed. She was going to try the Fresh Meat, just to see what it was like. But it would be nice to have a friend there doing it with her.

  They got to Rosie Lee’s and Lexie pulled out her sketchbook so they could look through her ideas. One had black and white geometric figures which Annie thought was a bit too psychedelic. Another was a country landscape with quaint cottages and rolling hills – great sketch, but not right for the café. Turning the next page, Annie knew she’d found it.

  “This one. It’s perfect.” It was a traditional red London double-decker bus filled with very realistic famous British characters and historical figures waving from the windows. Right away Annie recognized the Queen, James Bond, Mary Poppins, Shakespeare, Jane Austin, the Beatles, Robin Hood, Paddington Bear, Naomi Campbell, and Peter Pan who was sitting on top of the bus instead of inside.

  Looking at the bus and the “people” in it made Annie’s stomach twist. She missed sitting on the upper deck and squealing with her girl friends that the driver was going to crash into the vehicle in front of them. And there was that time she and Dad pretended to be American tourists and asked the driver if he stopped at Hogwarts.

  “Ah, who or what is that?” Annie distracted herself by pointing at a green figure in the middle of the bus.

  “The Loch Ness Monster!”

  “You have Nessie on holiday in London? That’s brilliant.” Annie laughed.

  Lexie grinned, very pleased with herself. “I’m glad you like it, this sketch was my favourite too. Woke me up at two in the morning; artistic brilliance has that tendency. So do bean tacos. Anyway, I’m going to go check my supplies and see what I need to get.”

  “Would you like some money?” Annie had no idea how much paint cost.

  Lexie brushed away the offer. “Are you kidding? This is like having a free art space. It’s my dream.”

  Annie grinned. “All right then. I’ll make sure you get a lifetime supply of scones once we’re open.”

  “Deal.”

  * * *

  After dinner, Dad drove Annie over to the roller rink in the old white pickup he’d bought off a friend. The building was more than a bit run down with the paint peeling and the roof looking like it had been patched more than once. Most of the lights on the sign were burnt out, so instead of saying “ROCKERS’ ROLLER RINK”, it only said “O K S L I K”.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?” Dad asked.

  Annie didn’t know. “That’s what the leaflet said.”

  They walked in together, Annie with her rollerblades tucked under her arm. The rink was just as shabby on the inside as it was on the outside with faded carpet and chipped plastic food tables. At the far end of the rink near the skate rental booth some girls were getting geared up. A woman with long wavy auburn hair and a Celtic-style tattoo banded around her left bicep skated over the carpet towards them.

  “Hi.” She held out her hand to shake Annie and Dad’s. “Susan Ritter. Are you here for the Fresh Meat workshop?”

  Dad straightened his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair, which only make it stick straight up. “Yeah, about that. I’m not really sure if roller derby is the right fit for Annie. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

  Annie was about to argue but Coach Ritter beat her to it. “I completely understand – I have kids too. I’m not going to lie; girls do get hurt sometimes. But I’m a nurse and I make sure we keep a fully stocked first aid kit onsite. No girl is allowed on the rink without proper pads, helmet, and a mouth guard. We take safety very seriously.”

  Coach Ritter smiled and Dad immediately relented. “I suppose. Annie really wants to try it.”

  “I really, really do,” Annie said.

  Coach Ritter nodded. “Part of this Fresh Meat workshop is to get the girls familiar with safety and avoiding injuries, along with the rules. We only use quad skates though. So Annie, why don’t you get fitted into skates and pads, while your dad registers you and signs the waiver. You’ll need to buy a mouth guard. We don’t share those.”

  Annie thrust her rollerblades into Dad’s arms, and headed to the skate rental booth before Dad could change his mind. She stopped short when she saw the cute skater boy she met the first day. His shaggy black hair covered his light blue eyes but he grinned when he saw Annie.

  “Hey, I was hoping to see you here. Annie, righ
t?” He pulled out some skates without waiting for Annie to say her size.

  Annie blinked and looked over her skates. They weren’t pretty: brown and tatty with lots of scratches, but still seemed to be in great working condition. She sat down to try them on. “That’s right. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

  He brushed the hair out of his eyes. “It’s Jesse. How do those skates fit?”

  Annie wiggled her toes and laced one up. “They’re spot on.”

  Jesse shrugged even though he seemed quite pleased with himself. “I got a knack for anything with wheels. If you don’t buy your own, I’ll keep these tucked away for you.”

  “Ta.” Annie took the wrist, elbow, and kneepads he held out. Blushing slightly, she looked down from his intense gaze and found herself leaning closer to him instead. She stared at his T-shirt, which had a black and white image of four guys with paper bags over their heads. “Is that The Damned?”

  “Yeah, my Velvet Underground T-shirt was dirty. Wait...” He looked up from helping her with her pads. “You actually know The Damned?”

  Now it was Annie’s turn to shrug. “Of course. ‘New Rose’ is a classic.”

  He looked at her as if she were a goddess. “I have Damned, Damned, Damned on vinyl.”

  “Really?” Annie gasped.

  “Five bucks at a garage sale,” Jesse said.

  “I hate you.” She grinned.

  “All right peeps.” Coach Ritter clapped her hands. “Let’s get rolling.”

  Annie buckled the helmet Jesse held out for her and stood up. The last time she was on quad skates was when they were plastic and fitted over her shoe. It was a bit awkward to move in them, but more because she was on the carpet than anything else.

  Annie ran her tongue over her top teeth and remembered the guard Coach Ritter had mentioned. Luckily Dad was still where she left him. In his hand was a white container. Annie skated over to him, opened it up, and popped in the blue mouth guard.