pride.
“Who gave the money?” Charlie asked.
“The donor was anonymous.” She gave a sly grin. “But I’m working on finding out. One of these days, I’ll have the answer.”
She turned to Charlie and gave him the once-over. “Okay, before I let you in, you’ve gotta pass my little test. Ready?”
Charlie nodded.
“First, board down to that fence and back.”
Charlie shoved off, gained some speed, then zigzagged to the fence. Without stopping, he swung around and boarded back to
Alison.
“Not bad,” she said. “Can you do an ollie?”
Charlie put his right foot near the tail of the board and his left near the center. Then he stomped his right foot down hard. At the same time, he slid his left foot forward and jumped into the air. His board came up with him as if
it was attached to his feet. He landed cleanly, both feet still on the board.
“You catch some good air, kid,” Alison said. “Can you do street and vert skating?”
“I’m better at the rails than the ramps,” Charlie admitted. “I can grind and slide, but I’m still working on doing spins and
grabs off the ramps.”
“Okay, you’re in,” Alison said. She held up a warning finger. “But I’ll be keeping my eye on you. If I see you trying something
you can’t handle, I’ll throw you out faster than you can say Tony Hawk. Got it?”
“Got it!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Charlie headed straight for his favorite piece of equipment, the rails. Remembering Alison’s warning, he decided to do his
first grind on a low one.
He pushed off and skated toward the rail. When he was close enough, he popped an ollie. He and his skateboard jumped into
the air. Both the skateboard’s trucks landed cleanly on the higher end of the rail. Holding his arms out for balance, he slid
from one end of the rail to the other. Then the rail ended, and Charlie and the board dropped safely to the ground.
“Nice fifty-fifty grind!” Charlie looked up to see X grinning at him. “Wanna trade boards for a while?”
Charlie eyed X’s board. Compared to his owngleaming black-and-red one, X’s looked shabby. The grip tape on top was worn and there was a small nick on the nose.
“It’s got a couple of battle wounds,” X admitted, “but it still works. C’mon, let’s trade!”
“Okay,” Charlie said reluctantly. He took the board from X and flipped it over to examine it more closely. The blue-and-orange
paint on the bottom deck was scratched in places. He put it on the ground and took a few practice rides. His own board felt
smoother.
Meanwhile, X was testing Charlie’s board. “This is so totally rad,” he said. “Can I try jumping over a rail with it?” X looked
so hopeful, Charlie didn’t have the heart to say no.
X chose a rail of medium height. He backed up until he was the right distance away. Then he rode at the rail. When he was
close enough, he popped an ollie, sailed high over the rail, and landed hard with both feet still on the board. He let out
a
whoop
and then called out, “Your turn!”
Charlie copied X’s move. He didn’t catch as much air as X had, but he still cleared the rail with inches to spare.
They took turns jumping, then switched to grinds. X wasn’t quite as good at these. He’d land on the rail okay, but he would
wobble off halfway down. Each time his board clattered to the ground, Charlie hoped it wasn’t getting nicked.
Finally, after an hour, the boys traded boards back. “I gotta get this thing in shape,” X said, taking his board from Charlie.
“Yours is awesome. Totally awesome.”
“Thanks,” said Charlie. Suddenly, his cell phone chirped. It was his mother calling, telling him to come home. “I gotta go.”
“Yeah, me too,” said X. “So, see you here tomorrow?”
Charlie knew his mother probably had “new house” stuff for him to do the next day, so he answered, “Yeah, maybe, maybe not.”
X looked at him funny, then kicked off andcoasted to the park
“Who gave the money?” Charlie asked.
“The donor was anonymous.” She gave a sly grin. “But I’m working on finding out. One of these days, I’ll have the answer.”
She turned to Charlie and gave him the once-over. “Okay, before I let you in, you’ve gotta pass my little test. Ready?”
Charlie nodded.
“First, board down to that fence and back.”
Charlie shoved off, gained some speed, then zigzagged to the fence. Without stopping, he swung around and boarded back to
Alison.
“Not bad,” she said. “Can you do an ollie?”
Charlie put his right foot near the tail of the board and his left near the center. Then he stomped his right foot down hard. At the same time, he slid his left foot forward and jumped into the air. His board came up with him as if
it was attached to his feet. He landed cleanly, both feet still on the board.
“You catch some good air, kid,” Alison said. “Can you do street and vert skating?”
“I’m better at the rails than the ramps,” Charlie admitted. “I can grind and slide, but I’m still working on doing spins and
grabs off the ramps.”
“Okay, you’re in,” Alison said. She held up a warning finger. “But I’ll be keeping my eye on you. If I see you trying something
you can’t handle, I’ll throw you out faster than you can say Tony Hawk. Got it?”
“Got it!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Charlie headed straight for his favorite piece of equipment, the rails. Remembering Alison’s warning, he decided to do his
first grind on a low one.
He pushed off and skated toward the rail. When he was close enough, he popped an ollie. He and his skateboard jumped into
the air. Both the skateboard’s trucks landed cleanly on the higher end of the rail. Holding his arms out for balance, he slid
from one end of the rail to the other. Then the rail ended, and Charlie and the board dropped safely to the ground.
“Nice fifty-fifty grind!” Charlie looked up to see X grinning at him. “Wanna trade boards for a while?”
Charlie eyed X’s board. Compared to his owngleaming black-and-red one, X’s looked shabby. The grip tape on top was worn and there was a small nick on the nose.
“It’s got a couple of battle wounds,” X admitted, “but it still works. C’mon, let’s trade!”
“Okay,” Charlie said reluctantly. He took the board from X and flipped it over to examine it more closely. The blue-and-orange
paint on the bottom deck was scratched in places. He put it on the ground and took a few practice rides. His own board felt
smoother.
Meanwhile, X was testing Charlie’s board. “This is so totally rad,” he said. “Can I try jumping over a rail with it?” X looked
so hopeful, Charlie didn’t have the heart to say no.
X chose a rail of medium height. He backed up until he was the right distance away. Then he rode at the rail. When he was
close enough, he popped an ollie, sailed high over the rail, and landed hard with both feet still on the board. He let out
a
whoop
and then called out, “Your turn!”
Charlie copied X’s move. He didn’t catch as much air as X had, but he still cleared the rail with inches to spare.
They took turns jumping, then switched to grinds. X wasn’t quite as good at these. He’d land on the rail okay, but he would
wobble off halfway down. Each time his board clattered to the ground, Charlie hoped it wasn’t getting nicked.
Finally, after an hour, the boys traded boards back. “I gotta get this thing in shape,” X said, taking his board from Charlie.
“Yours is awesome. Totally awesome.”
“Thanks,” said Charlie. Suddenly, his cell phone chirped. It was his mother calling, telling him to come home. “I gotta go.”
“Yeah, me too,” said X. “So, see you here tomorrow?”
Charlie knew his mother probably had “new house” stuff for him to do the next day, so he answered, “Yeah, maybe, maybe not.”
X looked at him funny, then kicked off andcoasted to the park
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