the only option was to take the jump, everything around him seemed to pause. He felt his skin tingle from head to toe and he felt his heart rate and breath slow down. The world around him blurred and the only thing he could see clearly was the ramp in front of him. He took a deep breath, listening to the voice in his head. Be brave Geon. Be brave. You can do it. The entire gallery had gone quiet and even Sabien knew he couldn’t reach him in time. As he approached the incline of the ramp, Geon crouched down and prepared for the launch.
The sudden impact of the hard, slick ramp against his board threw what little balance he had completely off, and he began wobbling forward and backward as he slid up the wet surface. The back end of the board flew up in the air, so he reacted by pushing his back foot down as hard as he could, which resulted in the back end going down and the front of the board flying up toward the sky.
Just as he neared the edge of the ramp the board twisted violently and he went sailing through the air. It was in this moment that time stood still for a moment. He could see the faces of everyone looking at him, as if frozen in time, and he pictured his family and his friends watching him as well.
If this is my last day on Earth, at least it was a good ride .
He knew he was hurtling through the air but didn’t have a strong idea of which way was up and which way was down. His body twisted and turned as glimpses of the sky and water flashed in front of him.
Just brace for the impact, Geon . The air-cast will save me.
E verything came into clear view again and he felt the board slowly coming down on the water. Ever so gently, he rocked his left foot forward, and the jetboard landed almost perfectly flat to the water and slowly accelerated forward. Sabien grabbed him from the side and pulled him back, slowing the board to a stop, the two of them sinking into the water.
The sound that followed was the entire gallery of students shrieking with utter delight. The sound of Kumuki screeching over the other students could be heard from where they stood and the expression on Sabien’s face was of part shock, part horror, and part delight.
“G! What in the world? Do you know what you just did? Oh my God, that was incredible!” Geon, still out of breath, tried to respond over the noise of the students. “Sabe, I didn’t… it wasn’t… I was just out of contro—”
“Never mind, G! I knew you had it in you. You just pulled off one of the most difficult flip-twists with a perfect landing. It was beautiful!”
“SABE!” Geon exclaimed this time more forcefully. “I didn’t even know what I was doing! It was an accid—”
“G, I don’t care what it was. You’re a natural and that was one for the books, my boy! Now let’s get you out of this water before you blow it. You see Coach Rin over there? That’s the closest to a smile that I’ve ever seen from him.”
Geon looked at the coach who had his arms crossed and a scowling grimace on his face.
“More importantly, G, do you see all the girls looking at you over there? Welcome to your first day of school. You have arrived!”
Geon was embarrassed and wondered if anyone knew it was an accident. They must know. Yet no one seems to care. They’re all cheering for me. It was exhilarating. He saw Bonsi and Vaya standing in the gallery and clapping their hands and whistling. Other students were back-fiving and Kumuki was wildly waving his arms in every direction, to the dismay of the students nearby. Only Chiah seemed unfazed by the incident, standing nearby and unemotionally sipping from his drink and staring off into the distance. From the corner of his eye he noticed Shiv, arms folded across his chest with a furious glare on his face.
As he and Sabien took their boards off and walked out of the water and toward Coach Aquila, Sabien put his hand on Geon’s shoulder and said, “Coach, I asked for a week, but with talent like this, I only really
The sudden impact of the hard, slick ramp against his board threw what little balance he had completely off, and he began wobbling forward and backward as he slid up the wet surface. The back end of the board flew up in the air, so he reacted by pushing his back foot down as hard as he could, which resulted in the back end going down and the front of the board flying up toward the sky.
Just as he neared the edge of the ramp the board twisted violently and he went sailing through the air. It was in this moment that time stood still for a moment. He could see the faces of everyone looking at him, as if frozen in time, and he pictured his family and his friends watching him as well.
If this is my last day on Earth, at least it was a good ride .
He knew he was hurtling through the air but didn’t have a strong idea of which way was up and which way was down. His body twisted and turned as glimpses of the sky and water flashed in front of him.
Just brace for the impact, Geon . The air-cast will save me.
E verything came into clear view again and he felt the board slowly coming down on the water. Ever so gently, he rocked his left foot forward, and the jetboard landed almost perfectly flat to the water and slowly accelerated forward. Sabien grabbed him from the side and pulled him back, slowing the board to a stop, the two of them sinking into the water.
The sound that followed was the entire gallery of students shrieking with utter delight. The sound of Kumuki screeching over the other students could be heard from where they stood and the expression on Sabien’s face was of part shock, part horror, and part delight.
“G! What in the world? Do you know what you just did? Oh my God, that was incredible!” Geon, still out of breath, tried to respond over the noise of the students. “Sabe, I didn’t… it wasn’t… I was just out of contro—”
“Never mind, G! I knew you had it in you. You just pulled off one of the most difficult flip-twists with a perfect landing. It was beautiful!”
“SABE!” Geon exclaimed this time more forcefully. “I didn’t even know what I was doing! It was an accid—”
“G, I don’t care what it was. You’re a natural and that was one for the books, my boy! Now let’s get you out of this water before you blow it. You see Coach Rin over there? That’s the closest to a smile that I’ve ever seen from him.”
Geon looked at the coach who had his arms crossed and a scowling grimace on his face.
“More importantly, G, do you see all the girls looking at you over there? Welcome to your first day of school. You have arrived!”
Geon was embarrassed and wondered if anyone knew it was an accident. They must know. Yet no one seems to care. They’re all cheering for me. It was exhilarating. He saw Bonsi and Vaya standing in the gallery and clapping their hands and whistling. Other students were back-fiving and Kumuki was wildly waving his arms in every direction, to the dismay of the students nearby. Only Chiah seemed unfazed by the incident, standing nearby and unemotionally sipping from his drink and staring off into the distance. From the corner of his eye he noticed Shiv, arms folded across his chest with a furious glare on his face.
As he and Sabien took their boards off and walked out of the water and toward Coach Aquila, Sabien put his hand on Geon’s shoulder and said, “Coach, I asked for a week, but with talent like this, I only really
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