Chapter Two :: Tagging the Bus / Showing Off
The Next Day...
"Whoa!" I squealed as the huge tour bus swerved around. Tony, Stacey, Jay and me were all holding on the end of a tour bus on the way to Zephyr Skateboard & Surf shop, Skip's store. Our skateboards were swerving, and we all held on, cracking up. Jay made a hilarious face to the bus driver, who saw us. The bus driver purposely was violently moving the bus until all four of us swerved off on our own, skateboarding right through traffic. Cars beeped at us, and a woman screamed at us. But we kept skating, avoiding cars smashing into us. I laughed as Jay grabbed an old guy's hat and put it on himself while skating by.
I kicked up my board as I got into Zephyr; Jay, Tony and Stacey went to talk to Chino in the back. Skip, as usual, was mixing whiskey with O.J., and I rolled my eyes. Sid, the least cocky out of our group, smiled and me. "Hey, R.J." He hugged me. "Hey, Sid. How's your ear?" I asked, still embracing him. We both let go. "Ah, it's fine." Sid smiled modestly. "It doesn't hurt unless someone makes loud noises." Sid snorted, eyeing Skip. I should have figured. Skip is a jerk. "Where's Avery?" I asked, referring to Sid's younger sister, one of my good friends. "Ah, she'll be here later today. Mom flipped out on her when she found out she dyed parts of her hair." Sid shrugged. I giggled. J.J. would dye her hair.
I reminded myself that I needed a new wetsuit, and I leaped up onto the counter. Skip smirked at me. "Skip, I need a new wetsuit." I said, resisting glaring at him. "Hah, it's one-fifty for the cheapest one. You got that much cash?" Skip slurred as he lit his cigarette. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Skip. I do." He shrugged. "Be right back." He slurred yet again, heading to the back room. I jumped off the counter and started looking at all the articles that had Skip in them, which were plastered on the wall. Sid smirked at me. "Why don't you like Skip? He's not that bad." He asked.
I arched an eyebrow at Sid. "You're not serious, are you? He's a drunk and a jerk." I snorted. Sid shrugged, "You're gonna have to like him, he's the one who coaches and runs the Zephyr skateboard team. And I know you really want in." I sighed. Skip came back out and tossed me the wetsuit, and I handed him the money.
"Nice job yesterday, love." Skip said as I re-adujusted myself on the counter, "You're pretty gnarly at surfing." I shrugged. "Thanks, Skip." He smirked at me, then Jay, Tony and Stacey came piling into the store, falling on top of each other. Skip snorted. Tony flipped out when he saw the new wheels Billy had given Skip. "Skip, c'mon, let me try 'em out!" Tony pleaded. Skip waved his hand and nodded.
In the skatepark near Zephyr...
"Which one of you has got bad karma?" Skip slurred, standing on top of one of the tables in the middle of the skatepark. Everyone gathered around by Skip, grabbing for the skateboard. Tony jumped up and grabbed it, jumped to the ground, and started skateboarding. Avery and Kathy Alva, Tony's sister, arrived. Avery's hair was pink in a few places, and I grinned.
As the "adults" (Skip, Billy, Chino) sat at the top, watching us skate, Jay and I were tearing up the empty pool. Avery was too, and Kathy (the non-skater) was watching her brother and her boyfriend, Stacey. Skip was watching us all closely, making sure we were qualified for his top-notch skate team.
"R.J.!" Skip called out. I stopped skateboarding and looked up at him. "Show me some of your stuff, girlie." He slurred. I nodded impatiently. I stood from the top of the pool and skated down, pulling two swerving driving turns. As I clutched the pool's edge when I went up, I came back down and did a 360 Royal Christie. The boys whistled and hollered. Finally, I pulled a 180 Power Slide right in front of Skip, then looked up at him. I got up. He smirked at me. Everyone clapped. Jay, Tony and Stacey hugged me tight, they were like my brothers. Skip eyed me. "Where the fuck did you learn to skate like that?" He asked, smiling. I shrugged. "I kinda learned from the best," I said to him. He smiled again.
"Hey Billy man if we make a decent skateboard we could be raking in the money." Skip said quietly when he had sat back down.
"I don't make toys, bro. I'm a shaper." Billy said getting up.
"We should start to make a skateboard team, man." Skip said.
"Hey, Sid! Get out of here, ya maggot." Skip said pushing Sid away, taking the beer Sid had snatched. Skip came down and hopped on a skateboard. I took a couple shots of him rolling around, you know, artistic purposes. I started laughing when Skip, Tony and Jay were goofing with Sid. Skip stood, walking over to me.
I put the camera down as Skip walked up, taking off his black sunglasses, revealing his brown eyes, which I rarely saw. "Hey, R.J., listen, love. We're starting the skateboard team, and you've definatly got in. You're joining, right?" I shrugged, "Are Jay, Tony and Stacey on the team?" Skip nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." I nodded too. "Count me in, then."
I watched the guys fool around below me. Skip picked up Sid and was tackling him with Jay, which made me crack up. Skip started to skateboard, and he was amazing at it. He didn't miss a turn and didn't mess up.
It was getting late when Skip clapped his hands to get our attention. "Okay, ya maggots," he slurred, "I gotta close up the shop. Show's over, practice starts tomorrow at tweleve noon. Come to the shop first."
