Val blearily opened one eye to squint at the digital clock on the VCR. 8:32 AM. She glanced toward the couch. The upper half of Otto's body was hanging downward. It was a miracle he hadn't fallen on his face. She quietly slipped into the downstairs bathroom to change her clothes. She emerged in a fresh pair of jeans, black sneakers, and a T-shirt. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder, a black skateboard helmet dangling from it. She decided to brush her teeth before going out.
The light in the upstairs bathroom was on, but the door was ajar, so she walked in. Otto was standing in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth. Wordlessly, Val collected her toothbrush from the two-way medicine cabinet. A second later, Otto felt a not-at-all-gentle poke between his ribs.
"Move over; I gotta spit," said Val, whose mouth was full of toothpaste.
"So do I," Otto argued.
They leaned over at the same time, though Otto missed the sink. He grabbed a towel to mop up the floor while Val flicked a brush through her hair.
"Where are you going?" Otto questioned a bit roughly.
"Just out and about," Val answered evasively. "Nowhere interesting."
Satisfied, she put down her brush and turned to go. "Bathroom's yours, runt."
Otto snarled quietly at her retreating back.
Downstairs,Val nearly collided with Twister as he exited the bathroom, where he'd been changing.
"Aren't we having breakfast?" he asked Val as she walked toward the front door.
"I guess that might be a good idea," she said at length.
She entered the kitchen; she came out a second later, holding a pair of cereal bars. They walked out the front door into the cul-de-sac. The weather was much warmer than it had been the previous day. Maybe they could go surfing later...
"Wanna go to Madtown?" Twister asked as they walked along the pier.
"Sounds fine to me," said Val, tossing her cereal wrapper in a trash can.
They entered the park, waving as they passed Conroy. Val paused at the bench, exchanging her sneakers for roller blades. She and Twister walked over to the half-pipe. Val took off down the ramp first. She executed a sole grind, followed by a textbook invert. Twister was impressed. Most girls he knew didn't have the upper body strength to pull off that trick. Even Reggie couldn't do an invert. Val shot into the air again, this time for a 540. Another impressive manuver, though her landing was a bit sketchy.
"You warmed up, Lightning Girl?" Twister said half-jokingly.
"Almost," she called back.
Val performed a fly-fish well over head-high. Then into a mid-vert, another trick Twister had never seen a girl do successfully. She was clearly a very gifted skater.
"Race ya!" said Val, rolling off the half-pipe.
Twister jumped on his skateboard and followed her. They skated all over the bowl, dodging in and out of the path of a few locals and some shoobies, laughing the whole time.
"You sure gave me a workout," Twister panted as they left Madtown.
"I'm really thirsty." said Val, brushing sweat off her forehead.
"Me too."
"Is there any place to get a frappuccino around here?"
Twister had no clue what a frappuccino was, so he shook his head. Val's face fell slightly. "But we could get a freezie-freeze at the gas station." Twister suggested.
The gas station was a few blocks away from the Pier/Rocket Beach. Twister headed directly for the freezie machine. He got a large cherry freezie for himself and a small lime one for Val, smirking a little to himself. Red and green: Christmas colors.
"You hungry?" Val asked, jerking her thumb in the direction of a small fast-food counter.
Twister ordered two soft pretzels and a large of order of nachos for them to split. Val tried to give him a five-dollar bill for her share, but Twister said, "This is my treat."
They took the nachos and pretzels outside and sat on the sidewalk to eat them.When they finished, Val jumped to her feet.
"Last one to the amusement park as a shoobie!" she called, breaking into a run.
Twister, though fast himself, could barely keep up with Val, probably because she had longer legs than he did.
"I win," Val said, leaning over to catch her breath.
They went to buy tickets (Twister again insisted on paying), then headed for the rides.