CHAPTER 15: CHASING GHOSTS, PART 4
Sam Dullard has been almost at one with machines since a child. Like many young boys living as shut-ins in their youth, his interests and attention were focused primarily at technology. With the home computer coming to fruition as a common household item with access easing with every new operating system released, Sam had an easy learning curve around the device, making him well-versed in machinery.
His passions were soon expanded to extreme sports after his move to Ocean Shores, where he came to make friends with his fellow neighborhood kids of Otto Rocket, Reggie Rocket, and Twister Rodriguez. Though the newest to the group and the least experienced, earning the moniker of 'Squid' for his inexperience, he nonetheless came into his own in many sports with his friends.
Now, both of those passions have been combined when his old friends reunited at the discovery of a group of criminals with highly-advanced technology have come to threaten Ocean Shores, and their primary method of transportation being what now sits in front of Sam for him to study and learn:
A hoverboard.
Deep in a flow state, the inner workings of the board and its circuitry are like a mixture between an art and simplified math problem put before him, naked and open for him to interpret and solve on his own intellect. Prying apart pieces and moving parts around, he takes note of everything he sees both in his mind and on paper, deep in study of this groundbreaking new invention.
The opening of the house's door to the garage would usually be more than enough to interrupt anyone in such a deep study, but it has no effect on Sam. It is only when he hears deep breaths coming from a feminine voice that leads him to turn to the door, recognizing it as the one and only female in the house, and who might as well be the only female in the world, as far as he is concerned.
Reggie Rocket has been hard at work trying to clean up what is undoubtedly the worst-kept household she has ever laid eyes on, attempting to make the domicile at least tolerable to live in. It is not a job she expected to take on when coming to Otto's house at all, but neither is the discovery of the hoverboard or running into Sam, two events which has turned her life in a significantly different direction in a matter of hours.
Having put in copious amounts of work inside, Reggie wiped the sweat off of her brow, taking a sip of a bottle of water she took for herself.
"Oh, hey, Reggie. You doing okay?" Sam asked.
"No. Otto's house is the most disgusting sight I have ever seen in my life and I need to get several bottles of bleach and odor killer before I set foot back in that house again." Reggie said.
"Oh, come on. It's not that dirty."
Reggie gave Sam a disappointed scold, instantly leading Sam to retract his statement.
"...Okay, it is that dirty, but you get used to it, trust me." Sam said.
"Maybe you can, but I can't. I've been cleaning Otto and Twister's shit up for hours now, and I've barely made a dent. Heh. You know what? Why the fuck am I even cleaning my idiot brother's house? I came over here to get him to apologize to dad for what he did. And now, here I am, doing his chores for him. How the fuck did I get roped into this?" Reggie asked.
"You seem upset."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Look, Reggie, I'm just trying to help."
"Oh, are you? You think you have all the answers to fix the situation, huh? So now, Sammy knows best, huh? You think you're some kind of genius just because you can fix my phone in two seconds? Or you can use that to get in my pants?"
"WHAT?!"
"Ah-ha! See! Otto was right! You are just trying to fuck me! God, it figures that the one area where he's right is about guys wanting sex!"
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not the enemy here, I was just trying to help. I know you're having some problems with Otto, but he's not perfect. He's a guy that-"
"He's a guy who thinks he's perfect. You oughtta know that much, you've known him since we were all kids, and you've hung out with him more than most people could stand to."
"Look, I agree Otto has his problems, but it's not the end of the world here. We've got something much bigger on our hands here right now. I think we should put our mental energy where it matters."
"Oh, yeah, we totally should! We should just totally forget about everything else, there's nothing else more important at this moment in time, no, there couldn't possibly be, could there? I just lost my whole career and I don't have a job now, and I've gotta move out of my home town just to survive, that's not important! Sure, it was a dead-end job with no real advancements, but it was a comfy job and it paid well, and it all just got pulled out from underneath me! My whole family's a fucking mess, and my idiot brother can't be bothered to be a member of it! I'm stuck! I'm stuck here in this dying city! I'm stuck here in this broken family! And right now, I'M STUCK IN A ROTTING HOUSE THAT SMELLS LIKE A SKUNK'S ROTTEN ASSHOLE!"
As Reggie screamed the last of her rant, she started kicking the nearest item in her vicinity, a toolchest, then subsequently threw her half-empty water bottle at it, venting out all of her frustrations in one moment. After letting out her tiring tantrum, Reggie finally fell to the floor, putting her face in her hands and beginning to cry.
Once Reggie no longer acted hostile, but instead desperate, Sam got up from his chair and sat down on the floor with Reggie, attempting to sympathize with and comfort her. Putting a strong arm around her shoulders, Sam was responded to with Reggie putting herself in his chest, still crying out her frustrations.
"Oh, god, Sammy, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have said those things." Reggie said.
"It's okay, I get it. You're angry. You have lots of reasons to be angry. I'm angry, too. I'm in the same boat as you. And I'm here to help." Sam said.
Reggie continued to cry in his chest for a shorter while longer, soon collecting herself to speak in a composed tone that carried only the lingering signs of her tears.
"Thanks, Sammy. I needed that. I really needed that more than I realized. I guess... I guess I've just been so busy for so long that I forgot what it was like to even have friends. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Reggie said.
"No, no, no. You did what you needed to do. Don't be sorry at all. I'm not. I guess... maybe... I haven't had any friends in a while, either." Sam said.
"But you had Otto and Twister as your friends. You don't count them?"
"No, of course they're my friends. But I mean... I mean a friend that you can actually talk to about deeper stuff that you're thinking about, you know? Like... like a friend."
"Wow, really nailing the definition there, aren't you?"
"Well... Maybe it's something that I can't really define. It's just something that I feel."
"Heh. I guess I kind of get what you mean. But I really am sorry about saying that whole thing about... you know... you just trying to fuck me. That was uncalled for. Pretty much a lot of what I said was uncalled for."
"Well, your last comment regarding the house's smell certainly was called for, that much we can agree on."
Feeling slightly better with Sam's joke, Reggie began to laugh a little, with Sam joining in the laug as well.
"See? A good laugh with a friend always makes things better, doesn't it?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I feel a little better now. I'm... I'm actually really glad you and I started to be friends again. Can't believe it was this long since I had one." Reggie said.
"You've seriously never had any friends? Not even at work?"
"No. I had a co-worker that I talked to now and then, but I never really did anything with him. We weren't really friends. He moved off to Florida."
"I'm sorry, Reggie. I should have called or something. I had no idea you needed some company that badly."
"It's fine. Besides, I probably needed a break from Otto and Twister, lonely or not. I wouldn't be able to have you without them."
"No, that's no excuse. That's not right. Fact is, I got kind of lonely, too. I just never really got around to making any friends because... Well, I was running a business all by myself. I let it become my whole life. I liked it, but... I needed more out of life than that. Like I got back when I was a kid and I could just play."
"Yeah. I felt like that sometimes, too. But hanging out with you again feels a lot like that."
"Even though we've only seen each other again for a couple of days?"
"Yeah. Some people just have that effect on you, you know? I knew you since we were kids, seeing you again just brings that back in an instant. Being around you just... feels right to me."
As Reggie realized the unintentional implications of what she said, she had began to blush, believing they carried a subtext of deeper emotions regarding Sam. The subtext of Reggie's words seemed to reach Sam, even with his own literal-minded perspective, giving a slight blush as well. Feeling slightly discomforted from the moment, the two began to turn away from each other in embarrassment.
"Uh, yeah, I've, uh, been... kind of... enjoying your... company... too..." Sam stuttered.
Tension seems to be well-set for a fire to rekindle between the two, but the moment was soon interrupted by the sudden entry of Tito, bursted in the room while wearing a HAZMAT suit and a gas mask, and loudly announced himself with a fatigued groan and stretch.
With his loud moan compensating for the gas mask muffling his voice and the ungodly smells that his suit was picking up, assaulting the senses of Sam and Reggie with sounds and smells offensive galore, his appearance completely and utterly killed the mood between the two, setting aside the emotions behind it in the back of their minds.
Pulling the gas mask off, Tito began to explain the ordeals he had suffered through in great detail.
"Well, cuzes, after using a little elbow grease and a whole lotta bleach, the whole house has been sanitized top to bottom. It's still not very clean, mind you, but it is sanitized. It should be much more tolerable now. I still wouldn't use the toilet, though, it looks like a rat got caught in a used condom, drowned in the bowl, and clogged it after someone tried to flush it down. I'll need a few more hours to get it working." Tito said.
With the smell coming from Tito's HAZMAT suit and his vivid description of the house's state explained in great lengths, Sam and Reggie were now completely disgusted, completely turned off and no longer interested in continuing what had begun as a tender moment between the two. Not at all happy with Tito's actions, they expressed their annoyances in a sarcastic manner.
"Thank you for sharing that with us, Tito." Sam replied.
"Yeah, real informative. We really needed to know that." Reggie added.
Taking notice of the seemingly intimate stance the two shared on the floor, Tito looked on with a skeptically-raised eyebrow.
"So, uh... I'm not interrupting something, am I?" Tito asked.
"No. No, not at all, Sam was just showing me how this hoverboard works, right, Sammy?" Reggie asked.
"Uh... Yeah, right! Absolutely nothing! Now, first, let's get off the floor and actually get to where the board is so I can continue working on it." Sam said.
As the two awkwardly got off the floor and stumbled to the board, Tito began to realize the deeper emotions shared between the two, giving a sly smile at the two.
"Oh... Now I see. Well, sorry to bother you two lovebirds. I would've held my piece if I'd known you two were having a moment." Tito said.
Feeling embarrassed by Tito assuming the true nature of the two while alone, Sam became extremely uncomfortable, feeling accused as Otto has made him feel before.
"W-What?! Lovebirds?! Are you nuts?! We're not- uh... I just... We..." Sam stuttered.
"Ancient Hawaiian saying: 'Those two in love cannot resist each other, just as the ocean waves cannot resist the beach'." Tito said.
"Huh? I don't- Tito, you got it all wrong, we were just-"
"Don't sweat it, little cuz, love happens anywhere it does. I'll leave you two alone. Just don't make another stain for me to clean up."
Sam turned a bright red at the implications of Tito's joke, where Reggie responded with an amused smile shoddily painted over with personal offense.
"Tito!" Reggie shouted.
"Hey, I was talking about grease from the board or something. You kids these days really got dirty minds. Anyways, I'd better unclog that toilet now. See you in five hours."
Tito then finally left the garage to going back to work on his taxing task of cleaning the house, allowing the two privacy once again. Though the moment was mostly gone for Reggie, Sam childishly covered his face with his hands, attempting to shield himself away from the embarassing moment which was forced upon him.
Teasing him out of his shame, Reggie bumped him in the side with her elbow, prompting him to lower his hands and look at her again.
"Jeez, Sam, you still act like a little kid sometimes." Reggie said.
"I'm sorry, I just... I'm not used to these kinds of situations." Sam said.
"Guys never are."
"Otto is."
"I meant guys who aren't just trying to get laid and nothing else."
"WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP THINKING I JUST WANT SEX?! First, it's Otto, then, it's Tito, now, you actually think that I just want to do that with you! I mean, I'd still like to, but... I mean... No, wait... That's not right... I..."
Shushing him with a finger on his lips, Reggie silenced Sam out of his nervous rant.
"Up-up-up. Take it easy, Sammy. I'm easy, but I'm not that easy. Now, can you show me anything new you found with the board? I need a break before going back inside." Reggie said.
After taking in a deep breath after his long streak of embarrassing moments, Sam snapped out of his embarrassment by letting the breath out.
"Uh... Right. Let's get you started right here." Sam said.
Seating himself back before the board, Sam lifted a protective tarp from off of the board's circuitry, revealing a metal case with a radioactive symbol printed on it. The symbol is one that can easily be recognized as a potential threat to any human being, and the sight of a small crack within the metal emitting a yellow glow, all enclosed inside a clear cover.
As mentioned, the symbol and the sight of any defective equipment around it is enough to warrant fear in anyone, and Reggie is no exception when she sees it.
"Uh, Sammy... Is that what I think it is?" Reggie asked.
"Judging by the fact that your eyes are really wide right now, I assume you mean the power source. And yes, it is nuclear." Sam replied.
"WHAT?! This thing is NUCLEAR?! AND it has a huge crack in it?!"
"Relax, Reggie. Yes, the core is exposed, but it's protected by this glass cover, designed to provide radiation shielding."
"...So it won't blow us up or mutate us?"
"Most likely, it would melt you alive or give you cancer, not mutate you, but, no, not with this cover on, it won't. Whoever their tech guy is must be pretty smart since he knew to plan for contingencies like this."
"How did that crack happen?"
"Must've happened when Otto crashed into the alley with Lars. It's keeping out any and all radiation, but, unfortunately, having this shield over it makes it hard to tell what kind of nuclear element they put in here. Judging by the glow of the crack and the fact that they used what looks like Class-3 glass, I'm assuming they went with Plutonium. Unfortunately, that also turns this thing into a dirty bomb should anything the board explode."
"Well, they didn't put anything in this thing that could blow up, right?"
"Not that I've seen, it all looks pretty safe so-"
Sam stopped mid-sentence upon discovering something else that changed his commentary and understanding of the situation, peering further inside the board to investigate. Just outside of the nuclear core was what appeared to be a small explosive device with a red light on, indicated that it was armed.
"Ok... that's not so safe." Sam said.
"What? What's not safe?" Reggie asked.
"I just noticed this small device here. Please don't panic when I say this, but... I think it's a bomb."
"So does that mean this thing IS A NUCLEAR BOMB NOW?!"
"No. By the way this has been wired, it looks like the bomb was meant to safely destroy this board without making it go nuclear."
"How does that even work?"
"It's like destroying a nuclear missile before it's armed. You destroy the missile without detonating the core, and the core itself spreads. No nuclear explosion, but you get a smaller explosion, and nuclear contamination. Not the best of situations to be in, but certainly better than a nuclear holocaust. Like I said, whoever designed this was smart enough to plan for contingencies."
"So can you disarm that thing?"
"I don't know. The way it's been designed, the explosion is supposed to destroy the Plutonium core before it can harm anyone. If I tamper with it, I could potentially remove that only fail-safe and accidentally turn this into a nuclear bomb, the exact thing this explosive was designed to prevent."
"Crap. Then what else can you really do with this thing? Kind of hard to keep studying it when we could accidentally turn Ocean Shores into Chernobyl at best, or Hiroshima at worst. All because of a skateboard."
Taking a certain inspiration from the final word in Reggie's sentence, Sam looked to the side to a stash of skateboards laying about in the garage, consisting of both Otto and Twister's own collection. Reaching into the pile and grabbing a board, he looked back at his notes and drawings made from the hoverboard, looking back and forth at both to formulate an idea.
And like all inspiration, it strikes hard and fast, and fuels his head with all the motivation needed to accomplish his idea.
"What? What are you thinking, Sammy?" Reggie asked.
"You're right about one thing. Maybe we shouldn't tamper with this board much more if we can help it... But... what if I could recreate one of these things without any nuclear power? We could have our own hoverboards, and I'd be able to understand the technology better."
"If this thing's nuclear, that must mean it takes a lot of power to fuel this thing. How are you gonna make one of your own without a nuclear power source?"
"I can find an alternative. Maybe their tech people missed something obvious to make it run on a safer and smaller power source. Maybe... Yeah, yeah, I think I can make that work. Can you take me to the junkyard?"
"That's, like, 20 miles away."
"Would you rather stay here in the house?"
Reggie responded to the question with a shudder of disgust, immediately following up with her desperate response.
"Oh, god, no. I'll take any excuse to get out of here." Reggie said.
Throwing the protective tarp back over the board, Sam picked himself up off his chair, excitedly readying himself to leave for the junkyard and advance his own project.
"Okay, then. Let's go shopping and invent some stuff!" Sam said.
Departing to Reggie's car ahead of its owner, Sam left Reggie behind to catch back up, following behind him in an annoyed fashion.
"Great. The first date I have in years, and it's to a junkyard with a geeky manchild." Reggie said.
As the two arguably inactive members of Team Rocket have their own new mission set for them, the two set off on their own searches continued off on their assigned tasks, with little success found for either. Twister has exhausted many hospitals by now, eliminating the possibility that Lars may be in any medical center...
...and Otto, likewise, has been inspecting Zero Gravity Zone for hours, but has spent most of that time skating for himself, taking a personal benefit out of what was meant to be a serious job requiring his full attention. Like always, the duties bestowed upon him are neglected for the pursuit of personal pleasure, and trust in him has been diminished by his own doing.
After skating for a long while in the park, occasionally asking around for Lars, Otto finally decided to put an end his skating session. Departing from the main park area, he stepped to the locker rooms, preparing to take off his elbow and knee guards and return back home.
Unbeknownst to him, his every move is being watched on CCTV by Alex Gravity and his other subordinates, including the recent addition and primary focus of Otto: Lars Rodriguez. He is watching along the closest, ensuring that he can identify the one who cost him his arm.
Of all the attention-deficit issues that Lars suffers, he is able to identify the one without issue, verifying Otto on the screen.
"That's him. That's the fucker right there." Lars said.
"Yes, you pointed that out at least 10 times already. I've been keeping an eye on him since the first." Alex Gravity said.
"Just making sure you know. Especially the shit he put me through."
"You got your new arm, shut up and let the adults work."
"That doesn't mean it fuckin' hurt when I lost my arm! C'mon, can't we just fuck with him a little?" Lars asked.
"No. I've been watching his moves, and I like his skills. I definitely want him with us."
Removing the last of his protective gear, Otto bagged up his equipment and grabbed his board, preparing to exit Zero Gravity Zone. However, as he prepared to leave the park, a group of 4 other skaters began to walk towards Otto, aggressively surrounding him without any means of escape.
Turning to acknowledge the sudden appearance of the other skaters, Otto recognized one skater in the group as the one he accidentally knocked off his skateboard, causing both of them to crash. The same skater who gave him angry remarks before now gave him a silent expression of anger, looking back at him with a sinister smile.
He then immediately understood the reason behind his return and the arrival of his friends, and stayed quiet in hopes that he would not offend them further.
"This the asshole who ran into you?" One skater asked.
"Yep. That's him." The offended skater replied.
Otto, no stranger to his share of fights and confrontations, realized that he was in a fit of trouble with this group, having no easy way out or means of peace without violence. Nonetheless, he tried his best to placate the angry skaters, hoping that the unobtainable could still be obtained.
"Uh, look, guys, I already said I was sorry. Do you want me to leave? 'Cause I'm already leaving." Otto said.
"Nope." One skater said.
"That would mean you would miss out on all the fun." Another skater said.
"First, we're gonna fuck you up." A different skater said.
The group of skaters then chuckled together, all preparing their fists to be driven into Otto's body. In response, Otto let out a nervous chuckle, feeling his fear start to get the better of himself. Looking around for some opening to escape the group, he still found no easy way to escape, eliminating the possibility of flight...
"Oh, really? Okay." Otto said.
...and leaving only fight.
On the quick act of a whim, Otto punched the nearest skater in front of him, landing a hit in his stomach and temporarily stunning him. With the first skater out of his way, Otto threw a kick to the skater to his left to his head, knocking him against a locker. The two remaining skaters, not wanting their enemy to win the fight, grabbed Otto from behind, leaving him open for the other two skaters to retaliate.
Held tightly by the two skaters behind him, left helpless and vulnerable, Otto watched as his two defeated enemies recovered, preparing to strike back for what was delivered unto them. While restrained by the two skaters holding him back, the two other skaters in the posse laid in a series of harsh punches into Otto, nearly knocking all breath out of his body.
The punishment is voyeuristically caught by those observing on the CCTV system, with Alex Gravity and his subordinates watching in anxious urgency, where Lars Rodriguez smiled and laughed at the footage, extending his middle fingers to the screen in pride as Otto took his beating, like an average fan of pro wrestling watching a match.
"Yeah, fuck you, motherfucker! You like that, you fucking retarded cocksucker?! Take that shit, faggot, take that shit! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, you little bitch!" Lars cheered.
"Goddammit. Alright, boys, head in. Bail him out." Alex Gravity ordered.
Nodding along in silence, the other subordinates left to aid Otto and rescue him from his beating. Lars had attempted to join in, but was swiftly stopped by Alex Gravity.
"Not you. I want him on the team, and I don't want him scared off by you." Alex Gravity said.
"Aw, c'mon. Can't I just beat the nigga just a little bit?" Lars asked.
"No."
Childishly groaning in disappointment, Lars sat back down and returned his focus on the CCTV footage, still egging on the fight from his ineffectual end.
"C'mon, kick him in the balls a few times. I want him pissing blood for the next few weeks." Lars hexed.
As the punishment continued on for its agonizing amount of time, each hit taking more blood and breath out of Otto, the beating finally came to an end as two other individuals took the two punching skaters and threw them aside, temporarily ending the barrage of beatings laid into Otto Rocket.
The two discarded enemy skaters were then soon beaten down by another two skaters joining to Otto's rescue, gaining the attention of those still holding Otto. Stepping forward to the two restraining Otto, one of the skaters demanded the freedom of their victim with a pointing finger.
"Let him go." One of the new skaters said.
"Or what, little man?" One enemy skater asked.
"Take a guess. I'll give you a hint, your other two guys are getting the answer."
"Get the fuck out of here. This asshole fucked with one of our guys, so we're gonna fuck with him."
"Back off, man, seriously. You don't wanna do this."
"I mean it, I do wanna do this!"
One of the skaters restraining Otto released his grip, pushing him onto the two new individuals and rushing forward to attack the newcomers. One of the two individuals, appearing more experienced in brawls, ducked from the attacking skater's incoming punch, landing a punch of his own to his opponent's stomach, knocking him to the ground.
Forced forward from the enemy skaters, one the rescuing skaters, the one who demanded Otto's release, caught him in his fall, allowing him to stay upright on his feet. Turning around to the other of the incoming attackers, Otto and his rescuer both teamed up to take him on.
The last of the enemy skaters, not having any backup, was quickly thrown to the ground by Otto with a tackle, bringing the enemy down to the floor. With the last skater skater on the ground, Otto began pummeling the skater in his face, delivering more than enough punishment to the unsolicited attack that he had endured.
Catching one of Otto's punches, the skater retaliated back with a head-butt and pushed Otto back, only to receive a kick to his stomach from the other of the two rescuing skaters. Knocked back to the floor, the now-downed enemy skater received a beating of kicks from the rescuing skater, soon joined by Otto.
The last two skaters, having been thrown aside and left to be beaten by the other rescuing skaters, successfully managed to break off from their two attackers and got themselves up, preparing to retaliate on the new individuals that joined Otto in beating the rest of their group.
Before they could approach anyone in the group, their own attackers grabbed them by their shirts and pulled them back, forcing them to return to their beatings. Punching and kicking down the last of the enemies, the group quickly dispatched the remaining skaters, incapacitating the attacking skaters and rescuing Otto.
With the posse of rogue skaters subdued and with Otto safe, the group of four new individuals congregated around him, seeing to his well-being.
"You okay?" The leader of the group asked.
"Yeah, dude, I'm fine. Thanks for the help." Otto said.
As Otto gave his thanks to the group of saving skaters, a group of security guards came in, responding to the commotion of the fight.
"What the hell happened in here?" One security guard asked.
"These jerks came in and attacked my friend here. We broke them down for you, so they should be good to take away." The leader said.
"Well, thanks for being a good Samaritan. We'll take it from here."
As the security guards turned their attention to the subdued attackers, picking each member of the group off the ground and preparing to throw them out of Zero Gravity Zone, the leader turned his attention back to Otto, raising his hand to him in proposition of a handshake.
"Name's Dax Jett." The skater said.
Otto enthusiastically took Dax's hand and shook it, extending his thanks for the intervention that saved him a severe beating.
"Otto Rocket. Thanks for saving my ass." Otto said.
Upon hearing Otto's name, the leader continued to shake his hand, with his eyes widening along with the rest of the group.
"Dude... The Otto Rocket? The guy behind Team Rocket Sports on NewTube?" Dax asked.
The celebrity-like connotation in which his name was mentioned gave Otto an instant boost in his ego, leading him to continue shaking Dax's hand.
"Yeah. You guys watch my channel?" Otto asked.
"You're goddamn right we do, man. That Super McDoogal 9000 move you invented? So fucking cool." One skater said.
"Is it true you really met Donnie Lightning from the Skate Wars movies? God, those movies were so much fun during my childhood." Another skater said.
"Fuck that guy, he turned into a drunk pedo. How about when you skated with Tony Hawk, and god knows who else?" The last skater asked.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not overwhelm the man all of a sudden. He just got attacked by a bunch of assholes. Let's give him a moment." Dax said.
"No, no, don't worry about it, really. I'm cool. I don't mind. Say, how'd you guys manage to show up right on time and help?" Otto asked.
"Me and the boys saw how you were skating, came to ask you if you were interested in joining us, and then these pricks showed up."
"You know 'em?"
"I see them around. Enough to know that they're just a bunch of jackasses that do nothing but hog up the park to themselves. And they're not that good. They make 5 year olds look like the Z-Boys."
"So you guys are frequents here?"
"Well, I should hope so. We're the sponsored team of ZGZ. Call us the Rippers."
"Sponsored, huh? You guys must've been something to get that, huh?"
"Looks like it."
"Now, did I hear something about you wanting to see if I was interested in joining you guys?"
"Why, yes, you did. And how amazing it would be that we met the one and only Otto Rocket. Here, allow me to introduce everybody else. My teammates are Jared, Mike, and Wes."
"Hey." Jared said.
"Yo." Mike said.
"What's up?" Wes said.
Otto waved to the three other skaters once again, acknowledging each of their introductions.
"So... about that sponsorship... and about your team... you guys happen to be looking for another member?" Otto asked.
"Ooh, a bold one, aren't we? Well, you're definitely good, but we're a team with high standards, and it takes alot to get in, even for somebody like you. How about we talk a little more over a half-pipe?" Dax asked.
"Now you're speaking my language, dude."