by Pat Flynn
“Shut up.”
The other thing Alex would have missed if he hadn’t been home that night was a phone call from the other side of the world.
“G’day mate!” Casey said in a falsetto voice.
“Casey!” said Alex. “How’s it going?”
“Really good,” he said.
“How’s the competition over there?”
“Hard. In the first few I kept getting disqualified for slamming, but I came 10th in Switzerland …”
“I heard.”
“And I just won my first one last weekend in Trieste.”
“That’s awesome! How much did you get?”
“It was only small but I got two grand after tax. Better than nothing.”
“Cool. Have you seen many good boarders?”
“I reckon,” he said. “I met the flying monkey, Bob Burnquist, and you should see Rick McCrank on the street courses. He crushes them.”
“Sick! When are you coming home?”
“Probably a month or so. I’ve snapped three decks since I’ve been here so I’m short of gear. A couple of teams have said they’ll hook me up but I don’t want to experiment till I’m home. Listen, I don’t want to hog the phone. There’s someone here who needs to talk to you more than me.”
“What?”
“See you soon, mate.”
A new voice came on, one he knew well. “Hello Alex.”
“Hi Becky.”
“How are you?”
“Not too bad. You?”
“I’m okay. I think we need to talk about things.”
“Yeah …”
“You found out about Roberto from Sarah Sceney?”
“Yeah.”
“Listen, the reason I didn’t tell you about him is because I wanted to wait and see what happened. I wasn’t sure if I liked him or not.”
“Has anything happened between you?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Alex. We’ve kissed.”
Alex’s heart sank to the soles of his Dunlop Volleys. “So you’re dumping me?”
“Let me finish. After we kissed I knew that I didn’t like him. Well I like him, but not like that. As a friend.”
“What?”
“I don’t like him the same way I like you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Alex felt the green-eyed monster rise up in his gut. “But why did you kiss him if you just like him as a friend?”
“Well, it just sort of happened. Have you kissed anyone since I’ve left?”
“No!” he said. He really believed he was telling the truth, until it struck him that he wasn’t. “Yes,” he said quietly. “But it’s over now.”
There was silence for a bit.
“There’s something else you should know,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m coming back to Brisbane in a month. Mum’s going to give Dad another chance.”
At that moment Alex and words became strangers.
“Well?” she said. “Say something. Are you happy?”
“Maybe,” he said.
“Maybe? What sort of answer is that?”
“Maybe I am and maybe I’m not.”
“If you want to keep going out you better say you’re happy.”
“I’m happy.”
They chuckled. “If you were here now I might even have let you kiss me,” said Becky.
Alex could hear Casey in the background. “He’s not here, so I’ll do it for him!”
Alex laughed. “Tell him he’s not allowed. Tell him I’ll do it myself in a month’s time. That is, if it’s all right with you?”
“I’ll think about it.”
CHAPTER 27
Skatey Video
Three months later Alex got the chance to be in a skating video. Not an amateur job either, but a professional one made by the Zen team. The team had asked permission from the Logan City Council to use spots around Beeton, and the mayor thought it would bring good publicity and gave it the all-clear.
Of course it was Casey and the other pros in the team who were the stars, but Alex was given a small but important part. He was going to boardslide the courthouse stairs.
“Five minutes,” said the director.
“You know what to do,” said Casey. “Trust yourself and your body will find a way.”
“How many cameras are there again?” asked Alex.
“Three. But forget about them and the people watching.”
Alex looked down at the carpark. The landing area was cordoned off and a number of curious observers stood behind the rope. He could see his mum and Chief watching anxiously. His mum hadn’t wanted him to be in the video but Alex talked her into it. “It’s no worries, Mum. I can do this trick in my sleep.”
He wasn’t lying. In his sleep he never missed a trick. It was in real life that he had problems.
Chief was just back from Russia, bringing home strange but interesting presents. Alex received a Russian rap CD and Sam a traditional folk-dancing costume. Chief had an excellent time and loved telling the story of how Ben, behind on points, knocked out the Russian champion right before the final bell.
Jimmy looked up and waved. He said he would build an Alex Jackson web page if Alex weaselled his way onto the Zen video. “I’ll only take 50 per cent of the money and 100 per cent of the girls,” he said.
John was on Jimmy’s left, talking to no one in particular. Probably rapping. Alex, John and Jimmy had been hanging out together lately, going to the gym every Friday night for boxing training with Chief. John loved it, even though he had learnt the hard way to keep his hands high when he was popped on the nose sparring. His English was improving, as well as his temper, and he wasn’t picked on as much at school.
Sarah was next to John, talking to a friend. Though she was not the same old Sarah, and probably never would be after her dad left, she was one of the group again. She and Jimmy even talked about getting back together (Alex called him a pushover), but they agreed it would be best to be just friends. For now. She was getting A’s again — which had to be a good sign. She was happy being smart.
The friend Sarah was talking to was Becky. Being apart for so long made it easy for Alex to see how she had changed. Her curves were more noticeable and she had a hint of red in her long, black hair. Alex could just make out the necklace that hung down to the top of her chest. It was a purple stone in the shape of a heart. He had to smile. He was the luckiest guy in Beeton.
There was another face he knew, right at the back of the crowd. She ducked her head when she saw him look, but it was definitely her. I wonder if she hopes I’ll fall? He would probably never know, but he had a feeling she wanted him to nail it. Even if she didn’t, it made him feel better to think she was on his side.
He remembered something. “Hey Casey,” he said, “do you know a boarder called Ryan McTeigue?”
Casey looked sideways at him. “Who told you about him?”
“When you were away I skated with his brother, Steve. He said you two are friends.”
“We were. We used to skate around Beeton together, doing crazy stuff and getting into trouble.”
“You never told me,” said Alex.
“I’m not proud of it.”
“Where is he now?”
“Ryan?” asked Casey.
“Yeah.”
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Ryan died,” he said. “He was hit by a car on his board, skating away from the cops.”
Alex was stunned.
“He was an unbelievable skater, better than me, but totally out of control. He had no respect for anyone or anything. It taught me a lesson. I was heading down the same track.”
Casey sighed. “What’s his brother like?”
“Pretty much the same.”
“I’d like to meet him.”
“Come back here Friday night.”
The director yelled out, “It’s time. Everyone in position. Take o
ne.”
Take one? If there needed to be a take two he was in big trouble. They might have to film it from the Logan hospital.
Alex Jackson pushed off, felt the rush as he gathered momentum across the smooth slate tiles, and knew once more that all was right with the world.
First published 2002 by University of Queensland Press
PO Box 6042, St Lucia, Queensland 4067 Australia
www.uqp.com.au
© Pat Flynn
www.patlfynnwriter.com
This book is copyright. Except for private study, research, criticism or reviews, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any foram or by any means without prior written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.
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This project has been assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts and funding advisory body.
Sponsored by the Queensland Office of Arts and Cultural Development
Cataloguing in Publication Data
National Library of Australia
Flynn, Pat
Alex Jackson: SWA
For upper primary and secondary school children.
1. Skateboarders – Fiction.
2. Boy-girl relationships – Fiction
I. Title.
A823.4
ISBN 9780702233072 (pbk)
ISBN 9780702256936 (pdf)
ISBN 9780702256943 (epub)
ISBN 9780702256950 (kindle)