Kenzie Kickstarts a Team

by Kit Rosewater

  “I see you’ve decided on breakfast to go.”

  Kenzie’s dad popped his head in the doorway. He held a banana in one hand and a granola bar in the other.

  Kenzie closed her eyes and pulled the covers up to her nose. “I decided on breakfast in bed.”

  She waited for her dad to leave.

  “It’s only Wednesday,” he said. “You still have plenty of time to find two more people.”

  “One more person,” Kenzie said. “I found someone yesterday.”

  Who was supposed to be Tomoko’s best friend, she added in her head.

  “Even better,” her dad said cheerfully. “Let’s celebrate in the kitchen! Over breakfast.”

  Kenzie grumbled as her dad disappeared back into the hall. She scooched out of bed and threw on some jeans and one of her mom’s old derby T-shirts. Her feet dragged as she walked into the kitchen, where Verona was building a tower from banana slices and their mom hovered over the blender. Kenzie sat next to her dad and rested her cheek on the table. He nudged the granola bar and banana toward her.

  “Why the long face?” Kenzie’s mom asked.

  Kenzie shrugged and unpeeled her banana.

  “Don’t look at me,” her dad said. “Apparently finding derby players is bad news now.”

  Kenzie’s mom looked quizzically at Kenzie, but Kenzie pretended to be busy eating her banana. She wasn’t ready to explain everything going on.

  She slipped on her backpack, then hugged her dad goodbye at the door. He always left first since he had to drive to a tall office building across the river. Kenzie liked not having to drive anywhere. The walk to school always gave her time to think, and this morning, she had a lot of thinking to do.

  “I’ll walk with you two,” her mom said. “At least until the Yarn Shop. I’m opening today.”

  As her mom walked and her sister skipped and waved to every person ever, Kenzie trudged behind them. Her eyes stayed on the ground. She imagined one of her sneakers as Shelly and the other sneaker as Tomoko. She kept her feet very far apart.

  “Are the new girls nice?” her mom asked over her shoulder.

  “Uh-huh,” Kenzie said.

  “Does Shelly get along with them too?”

  Kenzie took an extra-wide step. “Maybe a little too well,” she muttered.

  “I see.”

  Kenzie’s mom didn’t ask any more questions.

  The girls hugged their mom at the shop doors. As Kenzie pulled away, her mom tugged on Kenzie’s sleeve.

  “Hey,” she said. “I could really use some company at derby practice tonight. How about you take a break from team planning and come with me?”

  Kenzie’s eyes lit up. “Can I practice too?”

  “Not on the track,” her mom said. “But you can skate on the sidelines.”

  “Deal,” Kenzie said. She waved to her mom and caught up with Verona.

  “Salutations!” Verona called toward the shop.

  Kenzie kept her chin high the rest of the walk to school. Going to a real derby practice was exactly what she needed. The only reason she and Shelly were making a team anyway was so they could play derby together. Not to break up the Dynamic Duo. Shelly would remember that as soon as they slid their skates back on and flew into formation.

  “Kenzilla!” Shelly said as Kenzie rounded the corner. Tomoko was standing awfully close to Shelly’s shoulder.

  “Hey, Bomb Shell,” Kenzie said. She held out her hand for a fist bump.

  “And?” Shelly asked. She looked at Tomoko expectantly, but Tomoko blushed.

  “I don’t know yet,” she said. “Just Tomoko is fine.”

  “Just Tomoko? Just Tomoko?! You need a derby name,” Shelly said. “Something strong, and maybe a little scary.”

  “Then I’ll be the WRECKING BALL!”

  Jules elbowed between Tomoko and Shelly and crashed into the group. Tomoko jumped back. Kenzie laughed.

  “Shelly and I used our real names to make derby names,” Kenzie said, “but it’s a good start. Shelly, Tomoko, this is Jules, our newest member.”

  Tomoko raised her eyebrows. “So that’s where you were after lunch.”

  Kenzie nodded. She didn’t say anything about what she had seen on the playground.

  “Are you a skater?” Shelly asked eagerly.

  Jules shook her head. “No,” she said. “But I already learned hip checks.”

  “And she’s really good,” Kenzie added. “Already. She’s got the hip swing down.”

  Shelly didn’t look so sure, but she pressed her mouth into a tight smile.

  “OK,” she said. “That means both you and Tomoko are beginners. But if we get in a practice or two before Saturday, we should be in good shape. Let’s try some moves at the courts after school.”

  “I can’t today,” Kenzie said. “My mom has derby practice.”

  “Sweet,” Shelly said. “We can all go to the warehouse!”

  Kenzie swallowed. She glanced at Tomoko. “Well, actually, I don’t think I can bring other people.”

  Shelly stared at Kenzie like her head was on sideways. Even her freckles looked confused. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  Kenzie thought about what her mom had said that morning. She needed a break from all this team stuff, the handshake stuff, and maybe . . . maybe that also meant she needed a break from Shelly.

  “Sorry,” Kenzie said. She slipped away from the group just as the first bell rang, but she could still feel Shelly’s eyes digging into her.

  “Quick recover! Quick recover! Get your legs back under you!” Mambo Rambo shouted.

  The Glitter Gals and Hazel Nuts were doing drills together. All around the track, derby players dropped to the ground and popped back up again. Off the track, Kenzie was practicing with them. Falling fast was easy, but getting up fast was another story.

  “And one—drop! Two—up! Get your balance!”

  After what seemed like a million times of falling and then scrambling to stand, Mambo clapped her hands.

  “Water break!” she called. “Five minutes.”

  Kenzie’s mom sat down on the bench next to Kenzie.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked.

  “OK, I guess,” Kenzie said. She wiped the sweat from her eyes. “I didn’t know Mambo was the coach for the Glitter Gals.”

  Her mom grinned. “She’s not,” she said. “She’s practicing for Saturday.”

  Kenzie waited for her mom to explain what that meant. Then she remembered what was happening on Saturday.

  “Wait. She’s the junior league coach?”

  “One of them,” her mom said. She grabbed a towel and patted it around her neck, then passed the towel to Kenzie. “So,” she said, “tell me what’s going on with Shelly.”

  Kenzie sighed. “Shelly showed our handshake to one of the new girls.”

  “The M&M handshake?” her mom asked.

  “Yep,” Kenzie said. “Which is our special handshake. Not a team handshake!”

  “Your team has a handshake already?” Kenzie looked up as Mambo stepped off the track. “That was some nice hustling over there during drills. You ready for Saturday?”

  “I’m glad you’re coaching,” Kenzie said. She bit her lip. “But Shelly and I aren’t ready . . . not yet, anyway. We still need one more person.”

  “That’s not what I mean,” Mambo said. “I’m sure you and Shelly will fill your team. Being ready in derby isn’t about numbers, or even about training. It’s about rolling with the punches.”

  “What kind of punches?” Kenzie asked.

  Mambo sat on the bleachers.

  “Oh, anything,” she said. “Trading positions. Throwing out plays. A teammate getting benched. You have to be ready for change.”

  Kenzie’s legs dangled over the bleacher. Her skates rolled back and forth beneath her. She wondered what it would be like to skate with a whole group of people instead of just Shelly at her side.

  “What if I’m not ready for change?
” she asked carefully.

  Mambo smiled. She gave Kenzie’s shoulder a soft jab.

  “Change happens no matter what, Kenzilla—you can’t control that. The thing to focus on is how you pivot and skate forward. All right, y'all! Another round! Let’s go!”

  She stood and blew her whistle, then looked back at Kenzie.

  “You up for another challenge?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Kenzie and her mom dragged themselves out of the warehouse an hour later. Their cheeks were flushed. Their hair clung to their foreheads.

  It had been a good practice.

  “Still upset about the handshake?” Kenzie’s mom asked as they walked home.

  “I guess, yeah,” Kenzie answered. “It’s just . . . the M&M stuff is supposed to be secret. Shelly telling everyone makes it seem like she doesn’t care at all.”

  Her mom thought for a moment.

  “Maybe Shelly wanted the others to feel included,” she said. “And that’s why she shared the handshake.”

  “But that wasn’t the plan,” Kenzie said. “We were supposed to find a new friend for Tomoko, so she could have her own Dynamic Duo.”

  Kenzie’s mom raised an eyebrow. “And what were you going to do once a fifth person joined the team?”

  Kenzie searched her head for an answer. Her mom slid an arm around her.

  “All I’m saying is, try not to break five people into two and two. Or two and three. Let five people be five people. Have fun with the whole group.”

  Kenzie sighed. Her mom just didn’t understand.

  As they walked together, they passed by the park. Shelly was perched on the M&M meeting rock.

  Kenzie stopped.

  “Would it be OK if—”

  Her mom held out an arm. “Give me the skates. Go see your friend. Everything’s going to work itself out.”

  Kenzie shifted her pair of skates from her shoulder to her mom’s. She draped her helmet strap over her mom’s wrist and planted a kiss on her palm.

  “Thanks!”

  Her mom smiled. “You’re welcome. And hey, don’t forget what Mambo said about change.”

  “Right,” Kenzie said. She ran across the field, toward the playground. Shelly sat cross-legged at the top of their rock. She didn’t have a book with her, and her phone wasn’t out on her lap.

  “What are you doing up there?” Kenzie asked. “Bird-watching?”

  Shelly smiled, but not in her usual peppy way.

  “People-watching,” she said. “For another member.”

  Kenzie climbed to the top of the rock next to Shelly. It seemed quieter up here, away from screaming little kids and barking dogs. Kenzie felt quieter too.

  “I should have taken you to practice,” Kenzie said. She cradled her knees in front of her. “I just didn’t want to bring everyone.”

  Kenzie tapped into the M&M brain, imagining all the things Shelly might say back.

  That’s OK.

  Four people is a lot.

  It’s always been our thing anyway.

  “I think next time we should all go,” Shelly actually said.

  Kenzie blinked. Why was Shelly acting so different? Didn’t she miss the Dynamic Duo?

  Before Kenzie could respond, she heard a low rumble vibrating from the sidewalk. She would know that rumbling anywhere.

  Bree.

  Great, Kenzie thought. It was hard enough dealing with best friend troubles. She didn’t need another round of stomach jitters.

  Bree shot out from around the curve and came swerving down the sidewalk toward them. She was always out here, Kenzie realized. Always on her skateboard. Bree was more focused than any other kid Kenzie knew. That’s what made her so cool.

  Suddenly Kenzie felt Shelly’s hand cup over hers.

  “It’s a sign,” Shelly said.

  “It is?” Kenzie asked. “Of what?”

  Shelly turned to Kenzie and grinned. “Now that we’re down to the last team member, we need someone who knows how to skate. Your neighbor—”

  “Bree,” Kenzie said.

  “Bree could totally trade in her skateboard for skates! And she’s passing us again, like she knew we would be here. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Kenzie sighed. She didn’t even bother to close her eyes. The M&M brain wasn’t working the way it used to. Every idea Shelly had was like the opposite of Kenzie’s idea.

  “I don’t know about this . . .” Kenzie began. But Shelly jumped down and landed on the sidewalk just in front of Bree.

  “Hey!” Shelly said.

  Bree angled her skateboard toward the grass and hopped off to the side.

  “You can’t stand in front of moving wheels like that,” she said. “You’ll make me crash.”

  “Oh. Sorry!” Shelly picked up Bree’s board and held it out to her. “You know . . . roller skates are like mini skateboards for your feet.”

  Bree put her hands on her hips. “Is this another invite to Free Skate?”

  “No,” Shelly said. “It’s an invite to roller derby! Kenzie and I want you on our team!”

  Kenzie shuffled from the rock until she stood just behind Shelly. Bree locked eyes with Kenzie over Shelly’s shoulder.

  “Is that so?” Bree asked. “You want me to downgrade to skates?”

  “Skates aren’t a downgrade,” Kenzie said. She cleared her throat. “I mean, roller derby is an upgrade.”

  Bree grinned. “Skateboarders don’t go around in circles like hamsters.” She spun her finger around and around.

  Kenzie rolled her eyes. “You do too,” she said. “You’re always going around the park. And you skate here because you like to skate in front of people. Roller derby players skate in front of huge crowds of screaming fans.”

  “In a bunch of elbow pads,” Bree said.

  “Because they’re knocking into each other,” Kenzie shot back. “Roller derby is way tougher than skateboarding.”

  Bree laughed, but it didn’t seem like a mean laugh. The heat that normally sat in Kenzie’s cheeks radiated through her arms and legs. She liked talking to Bree like this.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Bree said. “But those chicks slam into their own friends. I don’t want to play derby with someone who doesn’t like me from the start.”

  Kenzie stopped. Her smile fell.

  “You think I don’t like you?” Kenzie asked.

  Now it was Bree’s turn to go quiet. She looked at Kenzie, then looked away.

  Shelly stepped forward.

  “She does too like you,” Shelly said. “She just doesn’t like you as a friend.”

  Time slowed down after Shelly spoke. Her words landed with a heavy thud, right between Bree and Kenzie.

  She likes you. Not as a friend.

  “What?” Bree took a step back.

  Kenzie’s head went fuzzy. She couldn’t think straight.

  “She means—I meant—” Kenzie started to say. But she didn’t get to finish. Bree hopped onto her skateboard. Kenzie watched as she disappeared around the corner.

  “Bummer,” Shelly said.

  Kenzie turned. “Why did you have to say all that?”

  “What?” Shelly said indignantly. “I was trying to explain that you guys didn’t have to be friends, but you could be good teammates.”

  “Teammates?” Kenzie shook her head. “She thinks I have a crush on her!”

  Shelly froze. She seemed almost dumbfounded.

  “Why would she think that?”

  Kenzie’s mouth hung open. She couldn’t find a single word to help her answer. Shelly was messing up everything that used to be normal. The M&Ms were different. Things with Bree were different. Mambo Rambo had said derby players needed to be ready for change . . . but that didn’t mean Kenzie had to like what was changing.

  Kenzie took a very deep breath. She tried to swallow all the bad thoughts in her head. Then, before she could stop herself, she exhaled.

  “Because I— Bree— Because you’re ruining everything, that�
�s why!” Kenzie screamed. She turned and ran out of the park before Shelly could see her cry.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Mambo’s voice echoed in Kenzie’s head the next morning.

  One—drop!

  “Ugh,” Kenzie groaned. She rolled out of bed and onto the floor. She felt like she’d hardly slept. She had tossed and turned all night, her brain replaying the scene at the park over and over.

  Two—up!

  Kenzie slid her backpack on at the front door. Why did she have to explode at Shelly like that? Why couldn’t Kenzie just tell her about the feelings she got whenever Bree was around? Kenzie was used to sharing secrets with Shelly, not keeping them from her. But things with Tomoko and the team were getting so complicated. Mambo was right: Kenzie had to skate forward. If she and Shelly were going to play derby, that meant they needed to work together.

  Which also meant Kenzie needed to apologize.

  “Hey.” Kenzie stopped in front of her classroom. Shelly stood in their usual spot. Her brow was furrowed.

  “Are you talking to me?” she asked. “Or to someone who hasn’t ruined everything?”

  “I’m sorry,” Kenzie said. “After what happened with Bree, I was really embarrassed. But I shouldn’t have said that to you.”

  Shelly pressed her lips together. “You were the one who said you didn’t like Bree as a friend,” she said. “I didn’t think you had a crush on her. And it’s really important to get another skater for the team.”

  Kenzie hung her head. All her feelings were wrapped tightly together like strings that had gotten tangled in a drawer. If Kenzie told Shelly the truth about Bree . . . then she might spill everything bothering her about Tomoko and the M&M handshake, and the team would fall apart before they even got started.

  “I don’t have a crush on anyone,” Kenzie said, swallowing her secret inside her. She was beginning to understand a little bit better how her dad felt in his “before” stories.

  Shelly squinted at Kenzie like she was reading something on her forehead. She still looked a little mad.

  “We’ll find another skater for the team. Today. I promise.” Kenzie offered her hand to Shelly. Shelly paused for a moment, then bumped Kenzie’s fist.

  “OK,” Shelly said. “Let’s do this.”

  Kenzie grinned.