Freerunner
Page 8
“Yeah, let’s go Jayden!” Parker yelled. We started to clap together.
“Give it all you’ve got, Jayden!” Coach yelled.
He headed for the Wall again, dive rolling through the cut-out window just like I had done.
“That was good,” I said. “He’s okay now, I think.”
“I hope so,” Parker said. “He’s been going for a long time. He might be getting tired.”
Jayden was lined up for the vaults. He used speed vaults over the first, then safety vaults over the next two. He faced the Warped Wall again. He’s in the right spot at least, I thought. But he’s going to need all his strength.
Jayden started his approach. He got two good plants and jumped for the top. He caught the ledge and hauled himself up with both hands.
“Whoa, now what?” Parker asked. “There’s no way he has anything left.”
Jayden was standing on top of the wall, five metres in the air. The crowd perked up. People in the audience clapped and whistled. Jayden looked like he was deciding what to do next.
“I really hope he doesn’t try anything dumb,” I said.
He walked toward the edge and looked down.
“Whatever you’re thinking, Jayden, don’t do it,” Parker muttered. “Just sit down, please.”
The music was too loud for him to hear us. I think Parker was hoping Jayden would get some kind of psychic message. She put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes. I stretched my neck to watch. Jayden was almost above where we were sitting. I couldn’t turn away.
The crowd started to clap rhythmically. They expected a big finish. Coach was trying to calm down Jayden by waving his hands slowly.
“Just come down, Jay,” Coach yelled up.
That seemed to work. Jayden turned backward to ease himself down. I could see his chest heaving. He looked tired. He was also too close to the edge. His foot slipped. He caught himself just enough. But now half his body was dangling off the side of the ledge. In an instant, he lost his grip and started to slide on his belly over the edge.
Someone in the crowd shrieked.
I jumped to my feet. We were close and I was able to help him down as he slid awkwardly down the wall. He regained his balance and turned around to see me there.
“Tricky, thanks,” he said.
“Yeah, no problem. You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
His face was bright red. The crowd was clapping again. Coach and Parker were behind me. Coach hoisted Jayden down from his awkward perch. We all headed back to our seats.
Jayden turned to face me directly. He extended his arm. I grabbed it and we shook hands. I wasn’t sure it made up for the past three months. But I didn’t want our rivalry to keep going, either.
I led the way as our team walked out of the parkour demo area.
“That was intense,” Jayden said to Parker and me. “How about tomorrow we trace at the Bank together? I need to work on some stuff.”
From the corner of my eye, I could see that Coach was listening.
“I have a better idea,” I said. “I know some great spots near the art gallery beside the Rideau Centre.”
Coach looked right at me and laughed.
“Just don’t get into any trouble,” he said.
Parker grinned. Jayden looked a little confused at first. But I think he figured it out pretty quickly.
“Nah,” I said. “I’ve learned my lesson.”
Acknowledgements
Special thanks first go to coach Dagan Shaw at DShawPK in Ottawa for his insights into teaching young people about parkour. Also, thank you to coach Ivan Gorbenko and his adult parkour class at Kelowna Gymnastix. As always, special thanks to editor Kat Mototsune and everyone at Lorimer for their guidance and support.
DAVID TRIFUNOV is an award-winning sportswriter and journalist whose work has appeared in newspapers, magazines and websites across Canada and the United States. He is the author of the Sports Stories novels Snow Soccer and Ice Time. He lives in Kelowna, B.C.
Copyright © 2018 David Trifunov
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers acknowledges funding support from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), an agency of the Government of Ontario. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada and with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
We acknowledge the [financial] support of the Government of Canada.
Nous reconnaissons l’appui [financier] du gouvernement du Canada.
Cover design:Shabnam Safari
Cover image: iStock
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Trifunov, David, author
Freerunner / David Trifunov.
(Sports stories)
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-4594-1280-4 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-4594-1281-1 (EPUB)
I. Title. II. Series: Sports stories (Toronto, Ont.)
PS8639.R535F73 2018 jC813’.6 C2017-906491-6
C2017-906492-4
This digital edition first published in 2018 as 978-1-4594-1281-1
Originally published in 2018 as 978-1-4594-1280-4
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers
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