Almost three months later were the SSX Championship Finals at Alaska. The
six remaining were Moby, Brodi, Marisol, Kaori, Psymon, and . . . you
guessed it. Mac. All were suspended high above the air from a helicopter.
They peered down anxiously, eager and excited to have made it this far
against their allies and, in some cases, their foes.
Mac was perched between Psymon and Kaori, both gripping the siding with intensity so great, their knuckles were white. Although he wasn't used to it, being so high gave him an overwhelming feeling of superiority and greatness. Before he jumped, he tapped his friend on the shoulder. She turned to him, a hint of fear in her eyes. "You're not scared of heights, are you?" he teased.
"Just a little. I don't really like jumping from heights is all." Kaori's English was certainly improving since when they first met. She still had a noticeable accent and all, but all in all, it was still coming along well.
"If we live through this horrible experience, what's say we go out for pizza or some hot chocolate? My treat."
"Mac, you're a nice guy." she smiled, but when the horn honked once, she knew it was time to get into position and get ready to start the race.
Rahzell's familiar voice came over the speakers. "Aight, aight! Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the final round for the SSX World Circuit and the Championship! Let's begin!"
The traffic light-looking-thing before them blinked red, yellow twice, and finally green. The gates opened and everyone went free falling to the icy ground. As soon as their boards hit, they all sped off. It was quite hard to go three feet without hitting someone, taking into consideration the narrow alleyway they were in at the time.
The race was awfully close, everyone not but one second behind the other. They all had at least three month's practice and previous races helped their speed quite a lot.
To the racers, the course ended too soon. Five minutes from the starting, they were stationary at the bottom of the large Alaskan mountain. Sixth was Psymon, Fifth was Brodi, Fourth was Moby, Third was Kaori, Second was Marisol and Mac came in first (well, what did you expect? He's the main character. You gotta have the protagonist always win ^_^).
Mac stepped up to the edge of the stage and preformed a backflip out of pure joy. He grinned happily from ear to ear. Rahzell placed a rather large gold medal around his neck and raised his arm in victory. Then he spoke, "Mac Fraser came in here the youngest player known in the SSX. He leaves most experienced and the best snowboarder this SSX has." The stands erupted into applause and he began to chuckle for no reason.
After everything died down, Kaori leaped into his arms, her scent of perfume and shampoo filling Mac's nose. "Great job! You were great! Terrific! Ichiban!" she cheered. When she saw the quizzical look on Mac when she mentioned he was 'ichiban', she sighed and explained, "Ichiban means number one in Japanese. You are number one!"
He wrapped his hands around her, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks! You were awesome yourself. Third isn't bad at all."
"Yeah, but first is the best."
He pretended to ponder it for a moment before responding. "Yeah, you're right, huh?" they both laughed and hugged some more. But they pulled away when Moby stomped over to them.
Moby ripped his sunglasses from his face, his eyes squinted in rage. "You cheat! You waltz into this competition, and come in first! What's the fairness in that? I work my butt off for two years and have yet to place second at best! You had this race rigged! You and your gang of friends and buddies. Well, wait till next year. I'll be ready next year. Until then . . ." he looked ready to slap his enemy across the face but stormed away, cursing under his breath all the while. When he was out of earshot, both burst into laughter. But, alas, were interrupted again when Brodi approached them.
"I just wanted to congratulate you both for your spectacular performance as well as in your relationship with each other." he seemed to flinch when he said so, not fully healed from his love taken by someone else.
Mac placed his arm around Kaori's shoulder and smiled. "Thanks. I was struggling to stay ahead of you. Through most of the time, that is."
"Yeah, you've gotten so much better since when you got here. My condolence." Brodi nodded and walked off, saying what he had to say. Although, true that Mac and Brodi were on good terms since their fight, they still weren't as great of friends as before.
Kaori faced Mac, her face glowing with pride at her boyfriend. "So, about that pizza . . ."
Mac was perched between Psymon and Kaori, both gripping the siding with intensity so great, their knuckles were white. Although he wasn't used to it, being so high gave him an overwhelming feeling of superiority and greatness. Before he jumped, he tapped his friend on the shoulder. She turned to him, a hint of fear in her eyes. "You're not scared of heights, are you?" he teased.
"Just a little. I don't really like jumping from heights is all." Kaori's English was certainly improving since when they first met. She still had a noticeable accent and all, but all in all, it was still coming along well.
"If we live through this horrible experience, what's say we go out for pizza or some hot chocolate? My treat."
"Mac, you're a nice guy." she smiled, but when the horn honked once, she knew it was time to get into position and get ready to start the race.
Rahzell's familiar voice came over the speakers. "Aight, aight! Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the final round for the SSX World Circuit and the Championship! Let's begin!"
The traffic light-looking-thing before them blinked red, yellow twice, and finally green. The gates opened and everyone went free falling to the icy ground. As soon as their boards hit, they all sped off. It was quite hard to go three feet without hitting someone, taking into consideration the narrow alleyway they were in at the time.
The race was awfully close, everyone not but one second behind the other. They all had at least three month's practice and previous races helped their speed quite a lot.
To the racers, the course ended too soon. Five minutes from the starting, they were stationary at the bottom of the large Alaskan mountain. Sixth was Psymon, Fifth was Brodi, Fourth was Moby, Third was Kaori, Second was Marisol and Mac came in first (well, what did you expect? He's the main character. You gotta have the protagonist always win ^_^).
Mac stepped up to the edge of the stage and preformed a backflip out of pure joy. He grinned happily from ear to ear. Rahzell placed a rather large gold medal around his neck and raised his arm in victory. Then he spoke, "Mac Fraser came in here the youngest player known in the SSX. He leaves most experienced and the best snowboarder this SSX has." The stands erupted into applause and he began to chuckle for no reason.
After everything died down, Kaori leaped into his arms, her scent of perfume and shampoo filling Mac's nose. "Great job! You were great! Terrific! Ichiban!" she cheered. When she saw the quizzical look on Mac when she mentioned he was 'ichiban', she sighed and explained, "Ichiban means number one in Japanese. You are number one!"
He wrapped his hands around her, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks! You were awesome yourself. Third isn't bad at all."
"Yeah, but first is the best."
He pretended to ponder it for a moment before responding. "Yeah, you're right, huh?" they both laughed and hugged some more. But they pulled away when Moby stomped over to them.
Moby ripped his sunglasses from his face, his eyes squinted in rage. "You cheat! You waltz into this competition, and come in first! What's the fairness in that? I work my butt off for two years and have yet to place second at best! You had this race rigged! You and your gang of friends and buddies. Well, wait till next year. I'll be ready next year. Until then . . ." he looked ready to slap his enemy across the face but stormed away, cursing under his breath all the while. When he was out of earshot, both burst into laughter. But, alas, were interrupted again when Brodi approached them.
"I just wanted to congratulate you both for your spectacular performance as well as in your relationship with each other." he seemed to flinch when he said so, not fully healed from his love taken by someone else.
Mac placed his arm around Kaori's shoulder and smiled. "Thanks. I was struggling to stay ahead of you. Through most of the time, that is."
"Yeah, you've gotten so much better since when you got here. My condolence." Brodi nodded and walked off, saying what he had to say. Although, true that Mac and Brodi were on good terms since their fight, they still weren't as great of friends as before.
Kaori faced Mac, her face glowing with pride at her boyfriend. "So, about that pizza . . ."