TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  School’s Out

  Chapter 2

  The Doctor’s Office

  Chapter 3

  Grounded!

  Chapter 4

  Lightning Board

  Chapter 5

  Slow Motion

  Chapter 6

  The Big Day

  Chapter 7

  Sign In

  Chapter 8

  Brandon

  Chapter 9

  The First Run

  Chapter 10

  Final Scores

  Chapter 1

  School’s Out

  School was finally out for the year, and Nick could ride his skateboard all day. First thing every morning, Nick headed to the skate park. It was inside the city park, next to the swings.

  One morning when Nick rode up to the park, he saw his best friend, Josh, standing at the park entrance.

  “Hey, Josh,” said Nick. He bent his knees and slammed his back foot down on the tail of his skateboard. Nick jumped up with the skateboard as it popped up into the air. After he landed, Nick rolled up to Josh.

  “Nice ollie,” said Josh. “Look at this.” Josh pointed to a poster on a wooden post.

  “‘Bikes, Boards, and Blades Jam,’” read Nick. “It should say ‘Boards, Bikes, and Blades.’ Everyone knows skateboards are the best!”

  “Keep reading,” said Josh.

  Nick looked at the poster again. “The pros are coming here,” said Nick, “and they’re going to have a competition for amateurs!”

  “Well, not here exactly,” said Josh. He pointed at the poster. “See. They’ll be at the big park downtown.”

  “I can’t afford that place,” said Nick.

  “Who can?” said Josh. “How can any grom afford that stuff?” Groms were boarders under the age of fourteen.

  “But we can still win,” said Nick. “I can see it now. I’m standing on the stage holding the first place trophy.”

  “Oh, no,” said Josh. “You get second place. I’ll win first place this year.”

  “Oh, yeah?” said Nick.

  “Yeah,” said Josh.

  “We’ll see about that,” said Nick, and he skated into the park.

  “Wait for me,” said Josh.

  Nick skated up one side of the half-pipe. “I wonder what the course will look like.”

  “Like this park,” said Josh, “only bigger.”

  “I hope so,” said Nick. He balanced his board at the top of the half-pipe. “This skate park is too small.”

  “It’s getting more crowded by the minute,” said Josh. “Look who’s here.”

  Nick skated down the other side of the half-pipe. “I see him.”

  Nick watched as another kid entered the park. It was a boy from his school, Brandon.

  Brandon rode his skateboard over to the swings and sat down.

  He picked up some gravel from under the swings and started tossing it.

  “Aren’t you punks done, yet?” said Brandon with a sneer.

  “We just started,” said Josh.

  “It’s my turn,” said Brandon, tossing more pebbles.

  “There’s plenty of room on the other side of the park,” said Nick.

  “I want to use the half-pipe here,” said Brandon. “You punks can go practice over there.”

  Nick rode up the half-pipe and balanced his board on the lip at the top.

  Then he pushed off and rode his board down the other side

  “Forget it,” said Nick. “I’m using it now.”

  “Yeah?” Brandon threw a fistful of gravel at Nick’s board.

  The skateboard wheels skidded over the gravel. The skateboard swerved out of control.

  The nose tipped down and scraped against the wall of the half-pipe.

  The skateboard wasn’t moving, but Nick was.

  He flew over his board and landed with a thud on the concrete.

  Chapter 2

  The Doctor’s Office

  Nick sat in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. His right wrist was swollen to twice its normal size.

  “Here we go again,” said Mom.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” said Nick. “Brandon threw gravel at my board.”

  “I know it wasn’t your fault,” Mom said, “but why do you always have to get in trouble with that Brandon boy?” His mom sighed.

  Nick thought about his skateboard. The front of the board had hit the concrete and shattered.

  “I’m fine,” said Nick. “It looks worse than it really is. We don’t have to stay.”

  “We’re here,” said Mom. “Let the doctor look at it.”

  “Okay, okay,” said Nick.

  The door to the waiting room opened. “Nick Jackson,” said the nurse. Nick and his mom stood up.

  “This way,” said the nurse. He took Nick and Mom to waiting room three.

  “Sit here,” said the nurse. Nick climbed up onto the crinkly paper.

  “How did this happen?” said the nurse as he looked closely at Nick’s swollen wrist.

  “Skateboarding,” said Nick.

  “I should have guessed,” said the nurse. He wrote something on the papers in Nick’s chart. “The doctor will be right with you,” he said.

  Knock, knock.

  Doctor Sam Byers opened the door and came into the room.

  “Hi, Doctor Byers,” said Mom.

  “Hello, Amanda,” said Dr. Byers, “and Nick.” Then he looked at Nick’s arm. “What have we here?” he said.

  “It’s nothing,” said Nick.

  Dr. Byers pressed his fingers into Nick’s wrist. Nick winced.

  “I see,” said Dr. Byers. “We’ll have to do an X-ray to make sure you didn’t break your wrist.”

  “Break my wrist!” said Nick. “It was just a fall.”

  “That’s exactly how bones break,” said Dr. Byers.

  “Great,” said Nick, “just great.”

  “Or it might be just a sprain like last time,” said Dr. Byers.

  “That’s it,” said Nick. “It’s just a sprain. Now can I go?”

  “Not so fast,” said Dr. Byers. “We need to be sure it’s not broken. I’ll be right back,” he said.

  Great, Nick thought. My wrist will be broken just like my stupid skateboard. And it’s all that Brandon’s fault!

  Chapter 3

  Grounded!

  Josh was waiting on the porch when Nick got back from the doctor’s office.

  “Well?” said Josh when Nick and his mom got out of the car.

  “It’s not broken,” said Nick.

  “Cool,” said Josh.

  “But I have to wear this stupid brace,” said Nick.

  “Not cool,” said Josh.

  Mom opened the door. “Why don’t you come in, Josh,” she said. “You two can do your skateboarding on the TV.”

  Nick and Josh walked over to the TV. “I have to wear wrist guards,” said Nick.

  “The pros wear them,” said Josh.

  “But I like to do things old school,” said Nick. He reached over to pick up the video game controller, but his thumb wouldn’t move.

  “Man!” said Nick.

  “What?” said Josh.

  “I can’t move my thumb!” said Nick. “It’s too swollen.”

  “That stinks,” said Josh. Mom came out of the kitchen with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel.

  “Put this on your wrist,” she said, “and keep your wrist above your heart.”

  “Above my heart?” said Nick.

  “Sit here and put your arm up on the arm rest,” she said.

  “Okay, okay,” said Nick. He took the ice and the towel. Then he sat on the couch and put his arm on the arm rest.

  “Brandon stinks,” said Nick.

  “You should have heard what he said when you left the park,” said Josh.

  Nick frowned. “What did he say?”

  “Brandon thinks he can win now that you’re out of the way,” said Josh.

  “Out of the way?” said Nick. “He’s the one that caused this! Thanks to Brandon I can’t even ride a virtual skateboard.”

  Chapter 4

  Lightning Board

  Early the next morning, Nick’s doorbell rang. He opened the door. “Hey, Josh,” he said. “Come on in.”

  “How’s your wrist today?” asked Josh as he walked in the door.

  “Okay,” said Nick.

  “Great!” said Josh. “Let’s go to the park.”

  “I can’t,” said Nick.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m grounded,” said Nick.

  “Grounded?”

  “Mom won’t let me go to the park,” said Nick. “Besides, I can’t practice without a board. And it’s lame for me to take turns on your board. I need my own.”

  Josh opened the front door. He reached around and pulled a skateboard into the house. “You mean like this one?” he asked.

  “Cool board!” said Nick.

  The board was as long as his old one. It was painted silver. A lightning bolt ran down the middle, and the word “zero” was painted near the tail.

  “What’s ‘zero’?” asked Nick.

  “That’s my brother’s nickname,” said Josh.

  “This is your brother’s board? Cool! He did some pretty sweet jumps with this board,” said Nick.

  Josh smiled. “Yeah, he did. Including the one that broke his leg. Look at the wheels,” said Josh.

  Nick turned the skateboard upside down. Two of the wheels looked smashed, and one of the axles was crooked.

  “I can’t ride this,” said Nick.

  “Your board’s broken,” said Josh. “But your wheels are good. My brother’s wheels are totaled, but the board is still tight.”

  “We can do a switch!” said Nick.

  “I knew you were smart,” said Josh.

  “A few minutes with a screwdriver and a wrench, and you’ll be rolling at the park again,” said Josh with a grin.

  Nick shook his head. “I can’t. No skateboarding for two weeks.”

  “Two weeks!” said Josh. “That’s like, forever!”

  “I know,” said Nick. “But if I stay off my board, Mom will let me see the pros and I can compete with all the groms.”

  “Oh,” said Josh.

  “She’ll even pay for it,” said Nick.

  “Wow! She usually makes you pay,” said Josh.

  “I know,” said Nick. “So I agreed. No skateboarding for two weeks.”

  “But you can’t let Brandon win,” said Josh.

  “Don’t worry,” said Nick. “He won’t.”

  “But you have to keep practicing or you lose it,” said Josh.

  “Lose what?” said Nick.

  “Your skill,” said Josh.

  Nick looked at his wrist. “But I promised,” he said. “My mom will kill me if she finds out I’ve been riding my board.”

  “How will she know? She’s at work,” said Josh.

  “But Mrs. Hannigan next door isn’t,” said Nick, “and she watches everything.”

  Nick frowned. There was no way he could practice at the park. And Josh was right. If he didn’t practice, he might lose his skill. Maybe Brandon was going to win after all.

  Chapter 5

  Slow Motion

  Clapping and whistling filled the hallway.

  “What’s that noise?” asked Josh.

  “I was watching my skateboarding DVDs,” said Nick. “I left the TV on.”

  “DVDs?” said Josh. He walked into the living room.

  Nick followed him. “I always watch them before a competition,” he said.

  Josh pointed at the TV. “That was so smooth.”

  “See how he flipped the board?” said Nick. “Then he landed on it!”

  “Awesome,” said Josh.

  “You can learn a lot from watching the pros,” said Nick.

  “Play that again,” said Josh, and he sat down on his board in front of the TV.

  “Wait until you see it in slow motion,” said Nick. He hit the track button.

  “I’m ready,” said Josh.

  Nick pressed the button. “First he does an ollie,” said Nick. “Then he grabs the board with his left hand.”

  “Okay,” said Josh.

  “And the front of the skateboard comes up,” said Nick, “so he reaches over.”

  “Yeah,” said Josh.

  “And he grabs the board with his left hand,” said Nick.

  “Okay,” said Josh.

  “He flips the board over,” said Nick. “Now watch what happens.”

  “He lands on it,” said Josh.

  “And that’s how you do an ollie fingerflip.” Nick stopped the DVD.

  “It doesn’t look hard when you play it slow like that,” said Josh, “but it’s not so easy in real life.”

  “In real life it happens a lot faster,” said Nick.

  “Why does he grab it with his left hand?” asked Josh.

  “I don’t know,” said Nick. “Hey, wait a minute! I didn’t sprain my left hand, I sprained my right hand.”

  “So?” said Josh.

  “So I can do this trick,” said Nick.

  “But what about your mom?” asked Josh. “And the lady next door?”

  “I don’t have to go outside to flip my skateboard over,” said Nick. He reached down and flipped his board with his left hand.

  “See?” said Nick. “I can do it with my left hand.”

  “But you have to jump and land with this trick too,” said Josh. “Can you do that with a swollen wrist?”

  “I already know how to do an ollie,” said Nick. “I don’t have to practice that.”

  “Everyone knows how to do an ollie,” said Josh.

  “But an ollie fingerflip,” said Nick, “that’s another story.”

  “I’ve never seen any of the kids at the skate park try it,” said Josh.

  “It’s an old-school move,” said Nick.

  “You like old school,” said Josh.

  “Judges like old school, too,” said Nick.

  “They do if you can pull it off,” said Josh.

  “I can try,” said Nick. “And trying is the only thing I can do right now.”

  Chapter 6

  The Big Day

  Two weeks dragged by, and finally the big day arrived. Nick went into the kitchen to eat breakfast.

  “Up so early?” Mom asked.

  “Today’s the day,” said Nick. “I have to get ready.”

  Mom smiled. “I know,” she said. She opened a drawer. “I think you’ll need these.” She put a small paper bag on the table next to Nick.

  “What’s this?” said Nick.

  “Look inside,” said Mom.

  Nick put his hand inside the paper bag and pulled out a plastic bag.

  “Wrist guards,” said Nick. “But Mom, I stayed off my skateboard for two weeks. Isn’t that enough?”

  “You promised Dr. Byers you’d wear them,” said Mom.

  “But I wore that stupid brace everyday,” said Nick.

  “The brace can’t protect your other wrist,” said Mom.

  “I’ll be fine,” said Nick.

  “I know, because the wrist guards will protect your wrists,” said Mom. “And then we won’t have to see Dr. Byers so often,” she added.

  “Okay, okay,” said Nick. “I’ll wear them. When can we leave?”

  Mom looked at her watch. “I can be ready in ten minutes,” she said. “How about you?”

  “Ten minutes it is,” said Nick. He took out a bowl and poured cereal into it.

  After he finished eating, Nick put the bowl and spoon in the sink. Then he ran upstairs to get his board and helmet.

  “Don’t forget your wrist guards,” said Mom. “They’re still on the table.”

  “I won’t,” said Nick. He put on his knee pads and elbow pads. Then he came downstairs with his skateboard and his helmet.

  “The wrist guards,” Mom said again.

  Nick picked up the package and tore it open. Then he stuffed the wrist guards in his back pocket.

  “They won’t do you any good back there,” said Mom.”

  “Okay, okay,” said Nick. “I’ll put them on.” Nick took the wrist guards out of his pocket and put them on. “Now can we go?”

  Chapter 7

  Sign In

  I’ve been waiting for this for so long, thought Nick. They walked into the park and looked for the registration booth.

  “I see it,” said Nick. “It’s over there by the band stand.”

  Nick and Mom walked across the park. Kids with bikes, skates, and skateboards were everywhere.

  “Wow! The whole town must be here,” said Nick.

  “The whole county is more like it,” said Mom.

  There was a long line at the registration booth. Finally, they reached the front of the line.

  “Sign here and here,” said the lady at the booth. She handed Nick’s mom a pen and some papers.

  Then she looked at Nick. “I see you have all of your safety gear.”

  “You better believe it,” said Mom as she signed the papers.

  “We require it now,” said the lady.

  “I’m glad to hear it,” said Mom. She looked at Nick. Nick sighed.

  “So when are you competing?” asked Mom as they moved out of the line.

  Nick looked at the schedule behind the booth. “Two o’clock,” said Nick.

  “Good,” said Mom. “One of the girls called in sick, so I have to cover her shift today at the restaurant.”

  “Mom!” said Nick

  “I’ll be back by two,” she said. “I told them I could only work part of her shift.”

  Chapter 8

  Brandon

  “Hey, dude! Where’s your mom going?” asked Josh.

  Nick turned around. “Oh, hey. Didn’t know you were there,” he said. “She’s going to work.”

 

1 2