A/N: As I said, there are a few original characters, 5 of them race. I will spend chapters developing each of them; this chapter is Michael's turn. I'd like to thank Dentarg who is giving a lot of support behind this fic and asking me to update and really driving me to do it.
Linda had just walked into Snow town and saw Michael. That kid at school who worked with her on an assignment, they were top of the class despite Slash's attempts at making them nervous, although Michael did put him in his place by using him as an experiment. He disliked Slash as much as she did, which was good. Michael hadn't noticed her as he walked over to Mr. Dog's shop; wait a minute, he snowboards? Linda thought out, he never mentioned it and he knew she did because they were discussing the championship after they finished their work and her chances of winning which did no good anyway. He was kinda cool looking, now he snowboarded, was fairly intelligent, and disliked Slash. Linda decided to walk into the shop after him; Michael was standing talking to Mr. Dog.
"So if I've gotten a little better should I get a balance level 3 now?" Michael asked Mr. Dog
"I'd say so, but the Ferrero's are opening a new shop, it might be worth your time having a look there too" Mr. Dog replied
"Giving help to your competition?" Linda asked
"Ah Miss Maltinie good to see you" Mr. Dog replied
"So, who's the new competition?" Linda asked
"Oh they aren't competition, quite the opposite they are working with me, they have a new shop on Snowboard Street" Mr. Dog told her
"I see, so Michael, how long you been boarding?" Linda asked
"Well, not long, since we talked about it during our project I decided to get into it, so that was about 3 months ago" Michael said
"I see, why don't you come with me to Wendy's meeting, I think she's starting a new tournament but I'm not sure, my Dad won't tell me anything after I found out she's working on something secret with him" Linda told him
"I heard about the meeting but don't you need an invite?" Michael asked
"I'm your invite, I can get you in" Linda said
"Really?" Michael asked
"Yeah, I'm sure they won't mind" Linda said
"You should enter Michael, it would be interesting to see your progress compared to these guys, there are some other newer kids entering as well" Mr. Dog told him
"Ah ha! So it is a tournament!" Linda exclaimed after she had found out information, but Mr. Dog didn't seem too bothered by it.
"Well, yes, but it's a bit different from before, however all will be revealed later" Mr. Dog said giving a smile that implied he wasn't saying anything more.
"I'd like to see what you can do" Linda said to Michael
"Haha, not much, I can do basic tricks and my special one that I learned, aside that it's all normal I can keep on the board too I guess" Michael gave a shrug
"That's pretty decent for 3 months, let's go over to the Ferrero's just to pass half an hour" Linda said
"Ill just buy this first" Michael said pointing to the level 3 balance board
"Is this what you want?" Mr. Dog asked picking it up
"Yup" Michael replied as he handed over his money
"Thank you" Mr. Dog said handing the board as Michael accepted it.
"See you later" Michael waved as he walked out the store
"Come again!" Mr. Dog said as if it was programmed into him
Linda and Michael headed up to the top of Snowboard Street using the chair lift near the school the kids used to go to.
"There is only one good way to do this" Linda put the snowboard down that she had used for the race
"If you say so, but how far is the shop?" Michael asked
"A good distance but don't worry" Linda replied
"Well okay" Michael replied as he took out his own Snowboard
Linda took off first and Michael followed and Linda did a forwards flip with a tail grab while Michael not really bothering with it just went off the jump. They soon came to the bridges which Michael crossed easily and took the next corner quite nicely, Linda behind him slowed slightly to allow Michael to catch her.
"Yeah that's my castle" Linda pointed it out as they went past
"You live there?" Michael looked at it amazed
"Pretty cool huh" Linda replied
"Very much so" Michael gained a little bit of speed as they headed for the rocket section of the course both making it over the gap with ease.
Linda thought that he probably turned better then she did, just by the way he took the last corner, but he was definitely slower but he seemed faster then Nancy but it was tough to tell looking at it just for a few seconds. The strange surface added rockets to both their boards, Linda more used to this was ready for it, Michael was caught totally unaware but managed to keep his balance.
"You could have told me Linda" Michael shouted out as they took over both the jumps
"What fun would that be?" Linda asked giggling
As they came down the fastest section of the track with small corners they both gained speed. However Linda started slowing down.
"Michael this next turn is tough get ready for it" Linda warned
Michael too slowed up and the corner was a lot tougher then it looked but he didn't crash into the wall while Linda made it through only slightly clipping the wall. The two then went down the hill and underneath the bridge and Linda aimed for one of the shops and pulled up, Michael followed and looked around.
"Wait a minute, isn't this where we were before the lift?" Michael asked
"Yup" Linda winked
"You mean, I could have walked here!" Michael replied
"That's right" Linda repeated
"Why'd you do that for?" Michael said
"I wanted to snowboard and besides it was something to do" Linda smiled
"Ah, it was fun I guess" Michael replied but still rather annoyed that Linda didn't directly ask him to snowboard, he didn't mind but that wasn't the point.
"I knew you'd find it that way, you are too hard on yourself too. You are pretty alright" Linda continued smiling
"Well whatever, let's go…" Michael started
"Oh, sorry we are just closing up" A woman told her while a man locked up
"What do you mean closing up!" Linda shouted
"As in, going to Mr. Dog's meeting, you are Richard's kid Linda aren't you" The woman asked
"Yeah, well I guess we'll have to come later" Linda sighed as the two went back up
"Linda let's go, I know a shortcut to get there" Michael said
"Why there isn't any rush" Linda looked at her watch
"Ah let's take it anyway" Michael replied
Linda followed Michael into Snow town. He went past the restaurant, the shopping centre, the school and library, Mr. Dog's shop, Mr. Dog's paint shop and then went through a tunnel.
"Are you sure this is a shortcut?" Linda asked running behind Michael, she was tired from the race as well as snowboarding again just now.
"Sure I'm sure" Michael replied
However suddenly Linda knew Michael didn't have a clue where he was going. Then they came back to where they started.
"Michael, what are you… doing" Linda breathed in and out
"Maybe you'll think twice before fooling me next time" Michael replied
"Huh?" Linda said
"Honestly you've lived here for years you'd know this town better then I would" Michael said
Linda then worked it out that Michael had just fooled her as some kind of revenge, now they only had 5 minutes to get there.
"WHAT?" Linda shouted getting red faced
"Hey, I give what I get, sure it wasn't as clever as your little deception, I just wanted to see how fast you were on your feet" Michael laughed
"That is so cruel and annoying!" Linda picked some snow made a snowball at hurled it at Michael
"Geez can't you take a little bit of a joke?" Michael covered his eyes where it hit his face
Linda began to relax, she had been beat for a change and hated to admit it, it wasn't that great as he admitted but he fooled her into doing something stupid.
"Alright, you got me" Linda admitted
"I sure did" Michael threw a snowball in return right at Linda who was completely unprepared for it, it hit her right in the face also.
"Why you! You'll pay for that one!" Linda threw another snowball at Michael but missed.
12 snowballs later…
"Geez! Now we are late!" Linda shouted as she looked at her watch before taking another hit from Michael.
"Yeah, but I admit it was fun boarding which started this entire argument" Michael said
"Then you lead me on a silly chase, so stupid, maybe Slash is right, I get into arguments too easily" Linda sighed
"I wouldn't go as far as saying that Kamei is right" Michael said
"Yeah, I guess that would be wrong" Linda smiled
Both of them the laughed and headed to Wendy's Internet
At Wendy's Internet.
Linda and Michael walked in. Wendy's Internet was a lot bigger now, more of an internet café with tables with another part with a computers. What started with a service that could only connect to Wendy's own website has grown as much as Snow Town has. Usually her father would run it but they had reserved it for this meeting so only the kids were there.
Jam and Adam were sitting together while Slash, Damien, Kat and Erin sat on another table and Melissa on the other table wasn't looking in Slash's direction but seemed to be back in a good mood, Tommy was beside her with Nancy. Ellis and Mr. Dog were present as well. Standing at the front was Wendy and Linda's father Richard. The two decided to sit near Jam and Adam, for the simple reason to avoid fights with anybody.
"So as you know, you have all been gathered here because we have news for you" Wendy said
"Yes, as you may or may not know, Wendy and I have been working on a secret project to allow the broadcasting of our races in a much more organised system to make it easier for people to watch and follow at home on TV when we broadcast it in the US and in Canada and stuff. Best case scenario it works fantastic we get loads of ratings and people want to start seeing the racers themselves and you guys get a fan following" Richard said "Of course there will be a competition very soon, which you guys will compete in on TV, with loads of people watching" Richard finished
Murmurs filled the room.
"Obviously the stakes have never been higher, but try not to feel pressure and just have fun" Richard said
"Now we have invited Ellis and Mr. Dog, and also Fiona and Zack Ferrero for a few reasons. They obviously sell boards but despite them both being in the same chain they do give different services so you may want to see them if you need a new board" Richard told the group "Anything to add?" Richard looked towards Fiona and Mr. Dog.
"We are still doing up our shop so it's a bit of a mess but you can still have a look as we are supposedly open" Fiona said
"Yeah, just so you know, you will able to do more tricks mid air with our boards but it may become impossible to do some of your special tricks that I've seen you guys do, so this may appeal to your style or go against it" Zack added
"Anything else? Mr. Dog? Ellis?" Richard asked
Both shook their heads
"Excellent, the competition starts in 3 days" Wendy smiled
"What's the first course?" Slash asked
"Ah, now that is up to you" Wendy replied as she went around the room and handed everybody pieces of paper "Write down the course that you want to go to out of these" Wendy then spun around a whiteboard, the courses were Rookie Mountain, Sunset Rock and Jingle town.
"Just so you know, half of you will go to the most picked course, half of you will go to the second most picked course so there isn't too much congestion on the track but unless there is an overwhelming majority on one of the courses you will get the one you wanted to race on" Wendy said "In addition, there is a new points scoring system. Winner takes 10 points, second takes 8, third takes 5, fourth takes 3, fifth takes 2 and sixth takes 1. Winner is the person with the most points after 5 races" Wendy told them excitedly
"You guys vote now. You can't go to any of the 3 courses until this race is over, but you can go to the one that wasn't picked in this round when it is announced tomorrow. Keep your vote secret for this one, the course and who will be racing there will be revealed tomorrow. The next one I'll let you discuss with your friends. I'll take the votes when you are done" Richard told them
Everybody was quiet as they wrote down the course they wanted, a totally new system unlike previous competitions they had. After Richard had taken the paper from each kid discussion broke out, Wendy joined with Nancy, Kat, Erin and started chatting, while Slash, Damien, Tommy and Melissa were also talking after Melissa had finally decided to start talking to Slash again.
At Slash's area.
"Wow, TV that's really cool" Kat said
"Yeah, I've got to get better now" Slash added
"Me too" Damien sighed
"What do you guys think of the new system though?" Wendy asked as she came and asked for their opinion
"Well, it sounds cool, but I haven't been in competition before so I can't really give you a truthful answer" Melissa said from the other table
"It's great Wendy, should be interesting, especially with a lot of newer people around and the Ferrero's and their boards, and being on TV will be great" Nancy turned around paying attention to Wendy
"That's good, I was worried a few of you may not like the changes" Wendy gave a sigh of relief
Meanwhile…
"Hey, we better get a good amount of practice in" Michael said
"How about right now? I could do with a bit of boarding" Adam suggested
"Well alright, but I'm a bit tired" Linda replied "Jam you up for it?" Linda asked
"I guess so, but say Adam you are using the boards your parents make right?" Jam asked
"Yeah of course, if I'm not using them then that isn't good for the business is it" Adam replied
"Where should we go?" Michael asked
"Dizzy land sounds cool, we can go to the park afterwards" Jam said
"Today's a quiet day, I'm sure my father won't mind to make absolutely sure nobody is in the way" Linda gave a smile as she went up to Richard who pulled out his mobile and 3 seconds later Linda came back again.
"All done" Linda gave a perfect smile.
"Heh, you are great Linda" Michael said.
"Oh you are too kind, but hey Jam you know what day it is?" Linda asked
"What day is it?" Jam replied scratching his head
"Today is three years since I pushed you into the ice lake around Dizzy land after you won the race" Linda said
"Ugh, don't remind me. That was my first race win and you had to ruin it. I still remember the icicles hanging from my dreadlocks. I was freezing cold for days after that, and couldn't go to school or the race after cus I got sick" Jam said
"Come on, I said I was sorry" Linda replied
"About 6 weeks later" Jam countered "And only because Nancy made you" Jam continued
Michael and Adam watched Jam and Linda like a tennis match.
"What? Nancy never made me apologize!" Linda raised her voice a little starting to get into her red face mode… again
"Linda relax, it doesn't matter to me anymore" Jam replied not wanting to get into a fight with her, he used to try annoy her on purpose but stopped after he realised it would only do him harm when he got in the way of her stomping fits or when she'd try run people over when snowboarding. Slash usually gave as good as he got but Jam grew tired of it.
"Well okay, but honestly Nancy didn't make me apologize" Linda said
"Whatever" Jam stood up and Michael and Adam followed.
"No really" Linda said
"Whatever" Jam repeated
"Does Linda get into fights with everybody?" Adam asked Michael
"Probably" Michael replied
"I've only been here a month, it's going to take me time to pick up on all the politics" Adam said
"Really? Then you must be one of the new kids entering Mr. Dog was talking about" Michael replied
"Yeah, Jam got me in. Invites were given to 7 of them but you were allowed to bring another person if you wanted" Adam told him
"So who are the others and who invited them?" Michael asked
"Erin was invited by Wendy, Kat was invited by Nancy, and of course Melissa was invited by Tommy
"Should be interesting to see what they can do" Jam said as they got into a bus conveniently ready to go to Dizzy land.
A/N: Hey it would be like that in the real snowboard kids wouldn't it?
On arriving at Dizzy Land they saw Nancy with Kat.
"Hey guys!" Nancy said cheerfully and noticed Snowboards in hand "Racing again?" Nancy asked
"Why not" Jam said
"You both never give up do you, always eager to beat the other" Nancy laughed
"Well to be honest, since we are a little more tired then these two you can call it a handicap" Linda replied
"Mind if I join?" Kat asked
"Sure go ahead" Jam said as if it came out naturally
"You're the best Jam" Kat gave a big smile.
Jam only smiled politely then realised what he did, Adam gave a silly smile until Jam punched him on the shoulder. Maybe he'd find Kat to be a nice girl to be with, but he wasn't really into that sort of thing yet.
However as Erin was watching hiding behind a hotdog stand and hearing everything
"She's getting a little too close…" Erin said "Time to level the playing field" Erin laughed
"Hey that's a lot like me that laugh" Slash came up behind Erin
"Hey knock it off! You scared me!" Erin frowned
"You are going to need my help if you want to get back at Kat, I am the prank master after all" Slash gave a smile "I did invite you to the tournament remember, so be nice to me" Slash said
"What's in it for you?" Erin asked suspiciously
"Fun, nothing more" Slash replied
"What's your plan?" Erin asked
Slash started whispering into Erin's ear, a smile began to form on her face.
Sorry it's taken so long, when you are writing with certain characters it's very difficult to write. Anyway people who should review, (you know who you are), review if you can please