I need to do a couple laps first and let these guys know who’s top dog around here! Especially him,” he said while motioning to a student who was slowly maneuvering the course while staring at Geon and Sabien. “Shivender AKA Shiv Barron. Part Indian, part British Caucasian. He’s good but a real worm. He’s known for being ruthless on and off the course, and has even taken down his own teammates to position himself ahead. Watch out for him and the big goon he hangs out wi—”
Just as Sabien issued his warning, Shiv came flying over to them full speed on his board and skidded to the side just in time, pushing a wall of water over the two of them.
“Who’s your new friend, Sabien? You decide to give up on JetSurf and pursue synchronized water aerobics instead?” He let out a hearty laugh.
Sabien mimicked his laugh and stopped abruptly, rising slowly up out of the water on his own board. “Talk all you want, but you still know who’s top seed here. And as soon as I get Geon on the team, he’ll be positioned ahead of you, too!”
Shiv seemed shocked at Sabien’s comment and looked back at Geon with a scowl. “We’ll see about that,” he said as he zoomed off, Sabien close behind him. Sabien turned to look back at Geon and yelled over the hum of the jetboards, “G, REMEMBER WHAT I SAID AND START SLOW!”
Start slow , Geon thought as he watched other Jetsurfers fly through the air, twisting and manipulating their bodies every which way before landing perfectly flat again into the water. Every so often, though, the sound of a huge splash was heard as a rider would lose control or miss-time his jump and end up face first into the water.
Why did I even agree to this? This looks completely insane. Okay, Geon, you can do it. Slowly apply pressure to the left side of the fo—
With a sudden jerk, the jetboard took off, throwing him backward and putting the front of the board in the air. Geon cried out as the board flew left and right and then backward into angry oncoming riders.
“WHAT THE—”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
“GET OUT OF THE WAY, ROOKIE!”
“GO BACK TO THE KIDDIE POOL WHERE YOU BELONG!”
Geon tried to formulate a sincere response while still trying to remember what Sabien said about the controls. “Sorry, fellow students! My apologies! My first day! Please help! Sorry again! First timer coming through! For the love of God, please help! Excuse me, miss! HELP!”
In the lenses of his goggles, he could see his speed, tilt, depth, and other data. The numbers were fluctuating rapidly and a small red light was blinking on the side, indicating “User error!”
As the board snaked in and around the other riders he was able to turn it back around to head the right way, but he still couldn’t get it to slow down. The harder he tried to control the board with his foot pressure, the faster and more erratic it seemed to move. Sabien’s voice came in through the side of his goggles.
“GEON! Where in the galaxy are you going? What’s the rush? SLOW DOWN!”
As Geon flew through the waterways he hit the bumpy wake from the other riders, which sent him bouncing furiously up and down.
“Sabien… I-I-I-I’m-t-t-t-trying-to-to-to-to-s-s-s-slow-d-d-d-down-b-b-b-b-but-I-I-I-I-c-c-c-c-can’t-f-f-f-f-find-the-the-the-b-b-b-b-brakes-s-s-s-s-s-s!!!”
Sabien yelled again, “JUST KEEP IT STRAIGHT! I’LL BE RIGHT THERE!”
By now, almost all the students had stopped their own practice to watch the hysteria unfold. Coach Rin had also paused his conversation with some students to see what all the commotion was.
As Geon turned his head back to respond to Sabien, there was a sudden gasp among the crowd and Sabien yelled in his speaker once more, “GEON! FACE FORWARD! TURN BACK AROUND! THE RAMP!”
It was too late. Geon was hurtling toward the largest of the water ramps with zero control and no ability to swerve out of the way. As he turned to face the ramp, in that very moment when he realized that
Just as Sabien issued his warning, Shiv came flying over to them full speed on his board and skidded to the side just in time, pushing a wall of water over the two of them.
“Who’s your new friend, Sabien? You decide to give up on JetSurf and pursue synchronized water aerobics instead?” He let out a hearty laugh.
Sabien mimicked his laugh and stopped abruptly, rising slowly up out of the water on his own board. “Talk all you want, but you still know who’s top seed here. And as soon as I get Geon on the team, he’ll be positioned ahead of you, too!”
Shiv seemed shocked at Sabien’s comment and looked back at Geon with a scowl. “We’ll see about that,” he said as he zoomed off, Sabien close behind him. Sabien turned to look back at Geon and yelled over the hum of the jetboards, “G, REMEMBER WHAT I SAID AND START SLOW!”
Start slow , Geon thought as he watched other Jetsurfers fly through the air, twisting and manipulating their bodies every which way before landing perfectly flat again into the water. Every so often, though, the sound of a huge splash was heard as a rider would lose control or miss-time his jump and end up face first into the water.
Why did I even agree to this? This looks completely insane. Okay, Geon, you can do it. Slowly apply pressure to the left side of the fo—
With a sudden jerk, the jetboard took off, throwing him backward and putting the front of the board in the air. Geon cried out as the board flew left and right and then backward into angry oncoming riders.
“WHAT THE—”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
“GET OUT OF THE WAY, ROOKIE!”
“GO BACK TO THE KIDDIE POOL WHERE YOU BELONG!”
Geon tried to formulate a sincere response while still trying to remember what Sabien said about the controls. “Sorry, fellow students! My apologies! My first day! Please help! Sorry again! First timer coming through! For the love of God, please help! Excuse me, miss! HELP!”
In the lenses of his goggles, he could see his speed, tilt, depth, and other data. The numbers were fluctuating rapidly and a small red light was blinking on the side, indicating “User error!”
As the board snaked in and around the other riders he was able to turn it back around to head the right way, but he still couldn’t get it to slow down. The harder he tried to control the board with his foot pressure, the faster and more erratic it seemed to move. Sabien’s voice came in through the side of his goggles.
“GEON! Where in the galaxy are you going? What’s the rush? SLOW DOWN!”
As Geon flew through the waterways he hit the bumpy wake from the other riders, which sent him bouncing furiously up and down.
“Sabien… I-I-I-I’m-t-t-t-trying-to-to-to-to-s-s-s-slow-d-d-d-down-b-b-b-b-but-I-I-I-I-c-c-c-c-can’t-f-f-f-f-find-the-the-the-b-b-b-b-brakes-s-s-s-s-s-s!!!”
Sabien yelled again, “JUST KEEP IT STRAIGHT! I’LL BE RIGHT THERE!”
By now, almost all the students had stopped their own practice to watch the hysteria unfold. Coach Rin had also paused his conversation with some students to see what all the commotion was.
As Geon turned his head back to respond to Sabien, there was a sudden gasp among the crowd and Sabien yelled in his speaker once more, “GEON! FACE FORWARD! TURN BACK AROUND! THE RAMP!”
It was too late. Geon was hurtling toward the largest of the water ramps with zero control and no ability to swerve out of the way. As he turned to face the ramp, in that very moment when he realized that
Similar Books
