Chapter 2
"Oh, Ryder; thank goodness you and the pups made it!" Mayor Goodway exclaimed when the crew got to the soccer field. "If we don't hurry and get this track set up, the teams can't have their special match."
"One I will be intereted in," Ms. Marjorie echoed. "I used to skate roller derby back in my day."
"That's why we got Rubble and his Ultimate Construction Crew ready to roll," Ryder announced. "Do we know how they want us to set this up?"
"I think she can tell you." Goodway motioned towards the Princess of Barkingburg, who had arrived with the Earl of Barkingburg, Sweetie (as an anthro), and one of the team members.
"Hello, Your Highness," Ryder greeted the Princess. "Sorry you weren't able to host the game."
"Well, you know how it is," the Princess replied. "Sometimes things happen, such as bad weather."
"How do you want us to set this up? It has to be something we can later take down, so that the grass can grow back and it can be a soccer field again."
"I'm not really familiar myself with the sport of roller derby, but I've seen the game played on both concrete and on hardwood floors."
Just then, Al arrived in his truck with the materials. "It turns out it's one of my deliveries," he said after he got out of the truck, and the pups and Ryder helped him unload all the equipment. The surface turned out to be wood, and some other adults who were experts on transformations like this gave the pups advice on how to cover the grass so it wouldn't get damaged. Afterwards, the crew began to put the wood on the ground.
"Chase, let's use your winch to secure the wood so that it doesn't move," Rubble instructed.
"Chase will put them in place!" Chase announced. "Ruff! Winch!" The winch popped out of his portable vehicle that detached from Rubble's ultimate construction rig.
"Rocky, you can put the bolts in."
"Ruff! Screwdriver!" The recycling pup began working with Chase to insert the screws and other supporters.
The other pups also helped out; the twins and Tracker moved each wood section to the right place so that Chase and Rocky could put the supports in. When all was said and done, Zuma and Marshall took charge of marking the track with tape according to the rules that were to be followed. "Is this the start line?" he asked while doing so.
"This is where the pack begin each jam, yes," the Princess confirmed, looking at an instruction book herself. (This was played according to the current flat-track rules in use, and not as it was allegedly played back when it was basically trying to be pro wrestling on skates.) "That's everybody but the jammers."
"Jammers?"
"The ones who score the points."
"Oh."
Ms. Marjorie then took a walk around to stretch her legs, and gave Marshall some pointers on how to play the game, although she said, "Do bear in mind it is slightly different from when I did it, because when I did it, itw as played on a banked oval track. This is a flat surface."
"But you still have to lap the other team, correct?"
"Yes. You get one point for each you lap, so you have to pass them, and then you have to go around and pass them again. Then you can start scoring."
"Okay. I think I'll stick to the sports I know."
"It'll make more sense once the game begins."
"Sure."
"Can you help me put the borders up, Marshall?" Rubble called. "This way, the crowds in the stands don't go on to the track."
"This pup's on the level!" Marshall grabbed his gear and continued working.
Skye's construction copter helped her work with Everest and some of the human workers Rubble was directing install the scoreboard. "I don't think I've ever seen a scoreboard with two clocks," she said.
"That's because one is the period clock and one is the jam clock," said one worker. "There are 2 30-minute halves each, and each half has as many jams as possible. Each jam is 2 minutes long or until the lead jammer calls it off."
"How long is overtime if the score is tied?"
"There isn't a set time limit. They just do as many jams as needed until there is a winner."
"Oh, I see." Skye backed up to look at the scoreboard as some other pups and workers put it in place. Then she landed back on the ground so she could examine it.
It was about dinner time by the time everything was done, but prior to doing that, the pups were rewarded for their hard work by taking a skate around the track, using roller skates. They weren't trying to play roller derby, though; they were just skating around giving the track a test. Everything was in the proper working order, and the track was sturdy, so that the skaters could have their big game.
Marshall, unfortunately, was struggling to keep himself skating, as he kept falling down the most. He didn't whimper, though; he remember to keep on trying; being in the PAW Patrol meant one never gave up and keep on doing their best. The other pups helped him up and encouraged him to keep on trying, and eventually he got the hang of it. It was the first time he had ever tried roller skating, just as it was for many of the pups. Chase and Rocky, however, were proving surprisingly agile at it.
"Not bad for a pup who never had a lesson," the police pup commented. "But keep trying, Marshall; you can do it!"
"Thanks, Chase," the Dalmatian replied, continuing to skate.
TO BE CONTINUED
PAW Patrol © Spin Master, Nickelodeon, and everybody else who owns the rights, and created by Keith Chapman.