Chapter I
What the hell am I doing here?
I am standing on the top of the biggest iceberg in the world, almost as tall as Mount Everest, freezing my buns off in -30°C weather, waiting for this presentation to start.
Why did I decide to do this?
I had the bright idea of auditioning for the Super Sonic Snowboard Cross League, or SSSX for short. Now I'm here, waiting for someone to make the announcement of who the ten new competitors this season will be. The already existent forty were waiting inside the gigantic heated building towering over everything else. Those lucky bastards…
Why am I talking to myself again?
Who knows? I must be bored.
An event organizer FINALLY came out onto the podium. He looked like he knew some stuff, but I wasn't really sure.
"Hello, contestants!" he said into the microphone he had brought up with him.
The whole crowd I was standing in went wild with cheers of excitement. "I'm Denny the Hedgehog, and I am pleased to be the one to announce this season's ten new SSSX competitors!" he said again, receiving more applause.
"Without further ado, let's get started!" he exclaimed. It's about time, there wasn't anywhere to sit, and it must've been a good half hour since I came outside.
"Hey," someone beside me said. I looked up to see a forest green fox with cyan hair looking at me. "Um, my name's Kristina the Fox. How about you?" she asked.
"Uh, I'm Sydney the Hedgehog." I replied, sounding stupidly shy. At least it felt like that anyway.
"Cool! Just call me Kristi! Do you think you'll make the cut?" she asked. "I'm hoping…" I responded. Man, I can tell she talks a lot already.
"Me too. Good luck!" she said kindly.
"You too."
"Alright," Denny began. "This season's first qualifier for the SSSX League is… Scourge the Hedgehog!"
The crowd cheered as a lime green hedgehog with a devilish smirk stepped onto the podium beside Denny. And not just lime green, a lime green that would burn your eyes if you looked straight at him too long.
"Next up, is Bradley the Bat!" Denny announced. Again, more applause as the golden yellow bat stepped up onto the podium. He looked pretty strong, and he had a dark tan, so he must be a player. Definitely NOT my type…
Come to think of it, Scourge looked pretty snobby too. "Our first female qualifier is… Jasmine the Hedgehog!" Denny shouted over the crowd. The amethyst hedgehog had black hair and two pigtails that were messily put together. Something noteworthy: She wasn't actually wearing a shirt, she was wearing a black and green coat that covered some of her chest, but was disturbingly revealing. I can tell she's a slut.
Why do they keep picking stuck-up looking riders? Why don't they pick someone nice like me or Kristi?
"Our fourth qualifier is Kristina the Fox!" Denny exclaimed. I must be psychic…
"Yay!" Kristi shrieked as she ran up to me and squeezed the living daylight out of me. "You gave me good luck! Thank you!" she exclaimed.
"No problem…" I managed awkwardly.
When she got to her spot on the podium, Denny started again, "Number five is Jupiter the Falcon!"
An amber bird strutted onto the podium. Her "top" -which barely even qualified as that- was even worse than Jasmine's! At least she had a scarf that was "covering up" a bit. Except when it swayed side to side and I accidentally got a glimpse of her true self. It was as if she was naked! She was wearing black short shorts too! I would never wear that in this weather…
"Alright, alright. Settle down, everybody. The show is just half over! There's still five more of you coming up here!" Denny said, as the crowd just erupted even more.
"New competitor number six, Spark the Raccoon, come on up!" Denny announced excitedly. The crowd cheered as a young electric yellow and tawny raccoon shyly came up to the podium. He was clearly freaked out a bit. I couldn't blame him; he looked no older than sixteen. I myself was a bit uncomfortable, and I'm nineteen!
He took a spot standing beside Kristi, as she was seemingly the most normal person up there so far. Although I was having my doubts…
"Lucky qualifier number seven is Neptune the Cat!" Denny said surprisingly enthusiastically. The crowd cheered, although not as loudly as before. I could feel the tension rising as there were now only three spots left.
The orchid cat had midnight blue jeans, a long striped shirt, and orange hair. Oh my god, what is wrong with these people? I would never, ever, EVER color my hair THAT atrocious colour. I'd rather keep my chocolate brown and blonde hair that I already have attached to my scalp.
Well, at least they seem creative…
"Please welcome our eighth qualifier, Viggo the Hedgehog!" Denny announced. Again, the crowd cheered, but not as enthusiastically. He didn't seem to mind though. He was grinning from ear to ear, clearly ecstatic no matter the amount of applause he received.
He was a yellow hedgehog with orange hair and a vest with no sleeves! Geez, these people are crazy…
"Now, now… There may be only two spots left, but let's hear your loudest for our ninth qualifier, Tane the Hedgehog!" Denny exclaimed. The crowd applauded for the navy blue hedgehog as he stepped up onto the podium. He looked pretty decent, maybe a nice guy, but that shirt with a thousand different colours on it that he was wearing was hurting my eyes.
"Alright, everyone." Denny started, and everyone went completely silent. I suppose that 'Twas the moment before the final qualifier would be announced, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.' would be fitting for this situation.
There were five girls and four guys already up on the podium. They would almost certainly pick another guy, just to make it even. That means I wouldn't get picked…
"Our final qualifier…"
I really don't have the best luck either. Aww… this is gonna suck.
"Is…"
But I'm not one to give up on my dreams…
"Sydney the Hedgehog!"
My jaw dropped to the ground as I processed that last sentence. Did he really just say MY name?
"Sydney, come on up!" Denny repeated excitedly. I ran up to the podium and took my place as the crowd cheered loudly. With the view up here, I could tell who the respectable contestants were, and which ones were the sore losers. It felt good. And powerful…
"Alright, everyone! Give a big hand for this season's ten new SSSX competitors!" The remaining crowd cheered as I faintly blushed in happiness.
"Thanks, guys. You were great! Now, let's go get this season started!" Denny finished, and saluted the crowd accompanied by a chuckle. He turned off the microphone and faced us.
"Alright, you guys. Follow me!" he said happily. He must like his job…
xXxXx
After a short walk, we followed him inside the big building to go get suited up for the season's opening race. Just as we got inside, Kristi came up to me.
"Congratulations, Sydney! I knew you'd make it too! You're too lucky to not have been chosen!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, thanks. Congratulations to you too." I replied calmly.
"Aren't you happy?" she asked. "You don't seem too thrilled to be accepted…"
"Believe me, I am. I guess I'm just not as enthusiastic as you." I answered.
"Well, I do get to see my old friend who was accepted last year, so I guess I might be a bit more excited than everyone else." she stated, her smile never leaving her face.
"Oh cool! I know someone who was accepted last year too! Who's the one you know?" I asked, interested in the new topic.
"Allegra the Tiger! She's really nice, and she may be a tomboy, but she has a wonderful sense of fashion!" she replied. "Who's the one you know?"
"Ryan the Cat. He's also an old friend of mine. He's pretty funny, and he's really good at pulling off tricks. He's also Blaze's cousin!" I responded.
"Veteran Blaze?" Kristi asked. "The one that's been in the league since Year 1?"
"Yep, that one! They're related, believe it or not!" I confirmed.
"Wait, are you talking about Ryan the Cat?" some random raccoon interjected.
"Um, yeah. Why? Do you know him somehow too?" Kristi questioned.
"Not directly. My best friend Marine has a crush on him, so she's told me a lot about him, and I've wanted to meet him ever since I heard about him." the raccoon explained.
I felt kind of awkward with this raccoon just throwing himself in our conversation. "So, you're Spark, right?"
"Yeah, and you're Kristina and Sydney?" he said shyly.
"Yep!" Kristi replied enthusiastically. "Don't be shy, dude. Just call me Kristi! How old are ya anyway?"
"I'm fifteen." he answered.
"Hmm, I'm nineteen myself. So we might be the three youngest new racers here!" Kristi pointed out.
"Probably." I agreed. "But remember, we aren't just racers, since there's also trick events and panic events as well. Ryan makes sure I never forget that…"
"Do you know what those events are called?" Spark asked, seeming a lot less timid now.
"Nope. But let's go catch up with the rest of the group. I'm sure they'll tell us sooner or later." Kristi suggested.
"Okay, let's go!" I said, and we ran off to join the others.
xXxXx
"Alright, you guys." Denny started, "Before you go to get your gear for the opening race, I'd like you to meet a couple special competitors… Come on out you three!"
Three hedgehogs walked out from behind a wall to show us who they were. They were the three who tied for first place overall last season.
Scarlet the Hedgehog. A crimson animal with matching quills poking out the back of her head. She wore a black hoodie with no sleeves which exposed her peach arms, a pair of baggy pants with a camouflage pattern displayed all over them, ruby red half-gloves, sienna boots, an ash gray belt that was probably just for looks, and a black headband across her forehead to keep her dark orange hair back, safe for the two bangs that still hung across her face.
Sonic the Hedgehog. An azure animal with six downward-curving matching quills on the back of his head. He wore an open emerald green leather jacket that exposed his peach, fuzzy chest and matched his eyes that anyone could get lost in, plain white gloves, scarlet pants so shiny they could blind you if you wanted them to, his signature red and white shoes, and a pair of sapphire and white goggles hung around his neck. He was the "mascot" for SSSX, and he was very popular.
The Night Rider. There were very few who knew what the Night Rider really looked like below his black and gray boarding uniform. It was known that "it" was a hedgehog, but male or female, I don't know. I've never heard them speak. I do know that the Night Rider is REALLY good, and the mystery of who could be behind that helmet has always intrigued me.
"These special three competitors all tied for first place last season!" Denny explained. "Give them a round of applause!"
The ten of us clapped, along with the odd snide comment from some other qualifiers. "I am SO going to win this season, it'll be easy!" Jupiter boasted.
"Alright, you three. Go get geared up while I explain some stuff to the newbies." Denny told last season's champion hedgehogs, as they walked away to do so.
Denny turned back towards us, "Alright, I have a couple things to explain before today's first race." We all went silent and listened attentively.
"Today's race is the season opener, you will travel from here, -the top of the tallest iceberg in the world- across Iceland, to cross over another iceberg to travel to the Scandinavian mountains, where you will travel down them to central Europe, also known as the base of the Alps, where the SSSX League's first destination will be." Denny explained.
He continued, "There are ten destinations in total, and we will tell you what they are when we travel there. At each destination, there will be multiple events, Quickkie for racing, Trickkie for tricking, and Panickkie for panicking events. After a while, some competitors will be eliminated, until the final race down Mount Everest where the winner will be declared."
"To determine the winner, points will be awarded for your placement in each event. 200 for first, 175 for second, 150 for third, 130 for fourth, 120 for fifth, 110 for sixth, 100 for seventh, 90 for eighth, 85 for ninth, 80 for tenth, 75 for eleventh through fifteenth, 60 for sixteenth through twentieth, 50 for twenty-first through twenty-fifth, 30 for twenty-sixth through thirtieth, 20 for thirty-first through thirty-fifth, 10 for thirty-sixth through fortieth, 5 for forty-first through forty-ninth, and 0 for last." Denny explained thoroughly all in one breath. A bit too thoroughly in my opinion, as there were a few of us yawning by the time he finished.
"I think that's enough explaining for now." Denny stated apologetically. "Now without further ado, let's get this fifth season of SSSX started!"
The ten of us cheered, some louder than others. *cough* Kristi… *cough*
"Follow me!" Denny finally finished, as he motioned for us to follow him deeper into the building.
xXxXx
We arrived at the large, gymnasium-like room where all the contestants for the qualifications had put their gear in case they would have gotten chosen. Now, only our ten sets of gear lay in the almost empty room.
I walked over to my set as the others did the same. I slipped on my black and white half-gloves, rolled up the sleeves on my striped magenta and maroon shirt, adjusted my white and cobalt skirt so it would go down just past my knees, and made sure my short, chartreuse, yellow and white boarding boots were snugly tied. I was all set, so I picked up my lime green and orange goggles and my dark purple, burgundy, and black board and walked over to the small group of the other qualifiers that were already finished with their preparations.
As soon as I arrived, I was shortly followed by Kristi and Jasmine. Now we were all ready, and Denny once again motioned for us to follow him. Time for the final preparations!
xXxXx
When Denny ceased his walking, we had arrived at the semi-outdoors preparation area. I had heard that this is where devices are handed out, last-minute customizations are made, and alliances are formed for the race.
Denny took ten communicators from a nearby shelf and handed them to us. "These are your new communicators." he explained, "They will allow you to be able to hear your fellow competitors, listen to music while you ride, and stay up to date with any announcements made by our commentators: Flash the Hedgehog and Charmy the Bee. They'll tell you what's happening on the course, who's in what position, and just anything interesting that's going on. They also allow the league officials to know where you are, and any other important information which I won't get into."
Denny also took some pickaxes off a different shelf and handed two to each of us. "These save your life! End of story." he stated.
"And you all have wingsuits already, correct?" he asked. We all nodded in unison.
"Alright, then it looks like you're all ready to race! You can pretty much pick whatever starting gate you want." Denny said, as he pointed to the starting gates at the edge of the floor we still had underneath our feet.
"Good luck!" he finished with the same salute he had done earlier, and ran off to do some other organizer stuff.
I slowly walked over to the starting gates. There were thirteen still open, fifty in total. Three open in the middle, and the rest on the ends. Just as I had taken note of that, Sonic, Scarlet, and the Night Rider walked past me in a confident manner. They took their spots in the three middle gates. Maybe those were assigned to the three best racers.
Now only two spots remained, with one of them being beside Kristi, I chose that one so I would have a friendly face to see until the race started.
I got to the area where the snow started, and I stepped on my board. There weren't any bindings on boards these days, just magnets where your feet went and on the soles of your boots, so you could easily pop out your feet to do Uber tricks, or simply spin the board underneath your foot without the hassle of bindings getting in the way.
I slid over to my starting gate, and Kristi immediately noticed me. "Hey, Sydney! Isn't this great? We get starting gates next to each other!" she said happily.
"Yep, it's fantastic." I said nonchalantly, but without sounding sarcastic.
"So, do we have a truce, or what?" she asked innocently.
"Um, yeah. We do. I'll watch your back and you watch mine." I replied, not wanting to disappoint her.
"Can I join the truce too?" Spark wondered hopefully from Kristi's other side.
Kristi turned towards him. "Sure ya can, pal!" she said.
"Alright, thanks! I'm sure Marine would help us out too!" Spark exclaimed.
"Which one is she?" Kristi asked.
"She's the raccoon in the white leather jacket. She's also one inch shorter than me, and the same age as well." Spark exclaimed.
Kristi and Spark continued their conversation as I looked to see who was on my other side.
It was Scourge. Well isn't this wonderful…
Not really.
I might as well give him a chance. I glanced at him instead of looking straight at him so my eyes wouldn't burn. "Hey, Scourge."
He turned to face me. "Well, well. If it isn't the LAST qualifier for this season." he commented condescendingly.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?" I asked him.
"It OBVIOUSLY means that you're the worst qualifier this season. They pick the best riders first, -that would be me- and the worst ones last –that would be you-." he said as he grinned devilishly. I've only seen that smirk twice and I'm already prepared to shoot myself next time I see it.
"If I'm so terrible, I'll make you a deal…" I said before gesturing to Kristi and Spark. "Last one to the bottom is waxing snowboards. All four of 'em."
"Fine. It's already confirmed that you'll be doing some waxing tonight, but I'll give you the thrill of losing." he stated cockily.
"Fine, whatever you say." I replied sarcastically.
I turned to Spark and Kristi. "Guess what, guys! Scourge is going to wax our snowboards tonight!" I told them.
"Cool!" Kristi responded.
"Are you sure we'll be done the race by then?" Spark asked, "It's almost eleven already!"
"This will only take eight hours or so." Kristi confirmed. "Plenty of time for waxing!" she said as she winked at me.
"That's for sure!" I said in response.
"Alright, competitors!" a voice over the intercom said. "Take your starting positions!"
"Good luck, guys!" Kristi said before putting on her yellow and white goggles.
Spark and I nodded in agreement as we both put on our goggles as well.
"Have fun losing!" Scourge said to me with that same smirk plastered on his face. Somebody get me a gun!
"Same to you." I replied.
"Competitors get set!" the intercom voice said as I slipped on my communicator.
"3…"
My first race. How exciting!
"2…"
There's going to be lots of challenges…
"1…"
But here goes nothing…
"GO!"
END OF CHAPTER I
A/N: Well, how was it? Was it ok? Any feedback would be extremely appreciated!
Has this chapter introduced my concept and made you want to keep reading. I hope it has!
Next time, the opening race will take place. Lots of action, new characters are introduced, plenty of brawls while travelling at 150km/h, and new alliances and rivalries are made!
If there's anything you didn't understand, just let me know!
Thanks for reading, everyone!
If you read, please review! =P