"Airwalk to Fakie?" Noser scoffed. "My grandfather does those."
"Mute Air on Vert?" Max asked.
Jane watched but did not understand the trick names of skateboarding. Max dragged her to the park. The clody sky began to pepper the park with ash again.
Why did she compete with these guys?
"My dog can do that," said Ollie. "Little girl."
"360 shove tail grab," Max said.
Noser glanced at Ollie. Ollie looked at Nikeboy. They considered.
"You can't do that, especially on that Santa Cruz deck," Nikeboy said.
"Yes I can, no problem," Max said and crossed her arms. Today she wore her corduroy jacket, striped skull and crossbones top, and torn blue jeans.
"Just need 8 or 9 steps," Max said. "Three tries."
"We don't have that here," Ollie explained. "And we set the rules here."
"Okay, name something," Max said, tilting her head and squinting. "I can do it."
"Ollie McTwist," Noser said while smiling and lowering his head until it was menacing. "Little bleeder!"
"Okay," she bragged. "If I do it, you have to do it too. Dickwad!"
"No problem, five tries," he said.
"No, only as many as it takes me," Sadie said. "If I win, you have to admit I'm better than you. Loser."
Noser thought hard. "Okay, spitshake on it."
They both spat in their hands and shook them. El grimaced at the sight of it. Then Max wiped her hand off on her jeans and sauntered confidently over to her. She sat on the bench with her and whispered.
"I have to do a McTwist no grabbing the board, called an Ollie," Max said. "It's a 540, two and a half spins, and without touching the board."
"Has it been done before?" El asked.
"Mike McGill did it," she said. "Just the toughest trick in skating, probably. Pro level. But with your help…?"
"What do I do?" Jane asked.
"Simple, keep the deck close to my feet. Then I'll do a 360, and you turn me back around 180. So I start forward, spin completely around forward in the air, then continue and land backward."
"Hmm," El nodded slowly. "Can you do a few 360s first? I'll try."
"Sure, then I'll take my jacket off. That's the signal, okay?"
"Okay, if you trust me that much."
"I do!" Max whispered. She grabbed her board and zoomed to the half-pipe. Not surprisingly, ten kids had gathered to watch. She warmed up doing some simple tricks, then performed two 360s in a row. Soon the group included ever more.
The tall lanky dark-haired boy in Metallica T-shirts dubbed 'Noser' had a large nose and a bad attitude.
Ollie, or Oliver, was shorter and of Mexican American descent, preferring bright colors and shorts. Nikeboy simply always wore Nike clothing, had dark skin, and rarely talked, but all of the other kids deferred to him like he was a king.
Lucas arrived to watch and sat next to Jane. Soon the time came and Max took off her jacket. Jane walked forward with Lucas. Max stood on her board at the edge and everyone waited. She looked at Jane. Jane nodded.
As she pushed off a hush fell on the crowd. Down she went, then back again, each crossing giving her more speed. Then she kicked off lightly at the top, spinning rapidly. Only, she didn't do a McTwist, she went around three times, nailing the landing. A perfect 720–two completed rotations—without using her hands to touch the board.
"Oh my God!" Noser shouted. Nikeboy jumped up and down, as Max stopped next to him. "F—-an A" shouted Ollie.
The crowd cheered.
"That was no 540, girl," Noser said. "You lose."
"No way Noser," Nikeboy said. "That was SICK! Way harder, and Ollie! Admit your defeat."
"I'll do it too!" He argued. He threw off his helmet. With that, he began his build-up, rocking back and forth and gaining speed on the concrete half-pipe. Higher and higher he went, clearing the lip by at least a foot on each side. He tried his fastest rotation at the top—and crashed, his head hitting the lip, and his unconscious body sliding down the concrete on his back. Max, Jane, and Lucas ran down first. Jane touched his hand. Nikeboy ran to his friend.
"He's got a bleed in his brain," Jane whispered. "I'll try to hold it closed."
"Everyone, stand back!" Nikeboy said.
"She's just going to hold his hand," Max said.
"No one touches him!" He argued, "That's what the Medics say. Ollie going to call them."
Lucas stepped in front of Nikeboy. "She does, skater."
"Who says?"
"I do. Football, Basketball, and state wrestling finalist," Lucas said. "Plus…"
He lowered his voice to a whisper, "She heals people."
"Bullshit!" Nikeboy sprayed spittle on Lucas's face as he yelled.
Nikeboy pushed Lucas, but he held his ground.
"Hey! Nike guy!" Steve shouted and jumped down. "Don't mess with my friend, he's the Hawkins Basketball Hero and my friend!"
Max lined up next to Lucas and Steve.
"What's she doing to him?" Nikeboy asked.
Steve looked over at Jane. "Just give her a minute, she's different. She has…"
"What?"
"Training, as a Medic," Steve explained.
"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Nikeboy said.
After a few moments, Noser awoke. Jane bent down to speak to him.
"What's your real name?"
"Eustace Filbert Mobilette," he groggily said. "Sorry to hear that, but you'll be okay."
"Thanks, uh…"
"Jane."
"Jane, you don't like my real name?"
"Let's just say it's unique."