Pay Flynn - [Alex Jackson 01] - Alex Jackson- Grommet (retail) (pdf)

Pat Flynn teaches at Siena College on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Before becoming a teacher he was a professional tennis player and coach, travelling the world during the 1980s and 90s. He loves playing tennis, basketball, skateboarding and figuring out the meaning of life whilst hanging out at the beach. Alex Jackson: Grommet is his first book for young readers.

University of Queensland Press

To Trinity College, Beenleigh. There are many stories I could tell. This is only one.

Grommet (noun). 1. Young surfer or skateboarder, usually in early teens. 2. Young person still learning how to ride a skateboard. 3. Alex Jackson.

CHAPTER 1

Mullet

Alex Jackson snuck a look at Becky Tonella for the 9th time since recess. She sat two rows in front, one aisle across — perfect perving position. Earlier in Maths things were bad. He was in the front row and she in the back, directly behind him. When he turned around to have a geek while talking to Peter Callaghan, he got busted big-time by Mr Mackle. Alex couldn’t wait till period 6. It was life-skills, and because the class had been so naughty they were given a seating plan by Mrs Blake. Alex had the best evidence since he’d been at St Joseph’s that there is a God when he and Becky were assigned to sit next to each other. Not that he’d actually said anything to her yet, but he was building up to it. It was only week three. He looked at the clock and was surprised to see there was only 5 minutes to the bell. He thought 1

he’d cruise to lunch, but then a grasshopper flew through the window and landed in Becky’s hair. This was his big chance. “Becky,” said Alex in his loudest whisper. “Becky Tonella.” Alex glanced at Miss Pinzon, the Technology Studies teacher. She was busy helping Johnno Coles work on his upcoming oral. Sarah Sceney turned around to Alex. “What do you want?” she whispered. “Get Becky.” Sarah tapped Becky on the shoulder just as Billy Johnstone walked past on his way to the bin. Billy had low pants and an even lower voice, and a body you might find on the back of a cereal box. He plucked the grasshopper out of Becky’s hair and flicked it like a cigarette butt out of the window. He then gave Becky a smile that would haunt Alex for the next few nightmares. Becky smiled back. She then spoke her first ever word to Alex. “What?” He shook his head, trying not to look as stupid as he felt. The bell rang — saved! — and Alex knocked Nicole Casella flying in his hurry to get outside. 2

“Alex Jackson, WAIT!” It was Miss Pinzon. “You know better than to push past people like that.” “Sorry, Miss Pinzon.” “You can prove it by taking the overhead projector back to the library for me.” “Aw, Miss.’’ “Now, Alex.”

On his way out of the library Alex met up with Jimmy Homan. Jimmy slipped him a Redskin and started talking machine-gun style about last lesson. That was the way it worked between the two best friends: Jimmy told his news first, too excited to wait, and Alex would patiently ask questions and find out all the details before he told Jimmy his stuff. It was a bummer they were in different classes, with Alex in 8 Red and Jimmy in 8 Green. They had always been in the same class at primary school. They had met way back in Year 3 at Beeton State School, and had become best friends when Mrs Greaves made them sit next to each other after they’d had a punch-up during a game of touch footy. Jimmy still reckons he scored the matchwinning try, but Alex is just as positive he touched 3

the back of Jimmy’s shirt with a flying dive right before the ball went over the line. There were only a few kids from Beeton Primary who came to St Joey’s — most went to Beeton State High School. Alex was lucky that Jimmy’s mum also wanted a “nice Catholic education” for Jimmy in high school, just like his mum wanted for him. Another ex-Beeton student was Sarah Sceney. Sarah had had a crush on Alex for years and often wrote poems and stories about her unreturned love for a boy she referred to as “Jack”, but whom everybody knew was Alex. Sarah was a brain, and Alex had to admit that some of her stories were pretty good. Most of the kids at St Joey’s came from Trinity Catholic Primary, which was just across the road. The Trinity kids were already comfortable by week 3 in high school, with their old friends and pecking orders staying much the same. Billy Johnstone was in this group, and according to Adrian Dorry (who knew everything), Billy was ‘‘the man’’ at Trinity, popular with everyone except nerds and teachers. “… and then Mr Relf skitzed at Joel Foster, and Joel went psycho and sprinted out of the room, right in the middle of the lesson. Adrian Dorry 4

reckons he’ll run all the way to his dad’s house in Sydney,” Jimmy said excitedly. “Did he say anything?” asked Alex. “Who? Mr Relf?” “Nah. Joel.” “Yep.’’ He said, ‘‘Nice mullet, right before he ran out.” Alex laughed. “Nice mullet? He didn’t!” “I swear to God. He said it right to Mr Relf ’s face!” Mr Relf was the tallest teacher at Joey’s. He towered over the Year 8s like a skyscraper overlooking a cubby house. Alex couldn’t believe a Year 8 would have the nerve to make fun of his new haircut. “There’s no way …” “HEY DORRY!” Jimmy yelled across the covered area. “WHAT DID JOEL SAY TO MR RELF IN TECH STUDIES, RIGHT BEFORE HE RAN OUT OF THE ROOM?”

Adrian yelled back. “NICE MULLET!” At that moment Mr Relf and his mullet were coming down the Block 1 stairs. He called Adrian over. Alex and Jimmy exchanged a worried look. ‘‘Maybe Relfy will thank Adrian for complimenting his style of haircut,’’ said Jimmy. 5

They watched as Mr Relf spoke to Adrian for a minute or so, at one stage running all ten of his fingers through his spiky hair. ‘‘Maybe not,’’ said Alex, as they watched Adrian trudge off in the direction of the detention room.

6

CHAPTER 2

Faith

From lunch until period 6 Alex started psyching himself up to talk to Becky. He could see that if he didn’t make his feelings known soon, Billy Johnstone would. Becky was the cutest girl in Year 8. She had tanned olive skin and dark eyelashes that seemed to blink in slow motion across her big brown eyes. But even though she was hot as, she was shy, and she didn’t seem impressed with or even aware of her beauty. That’s why Alex liked her. Well, plus the fact she was hot as. Alex had no idea what primary school she went to, but she knew hardly anyone at Joey’s. She floated between groups, never looking totally at ease in any of them. Religion in period 5 seemed to take forever. “But sir,” said Peter Callaghan for the tenth time this year, “how do we know that God even exists?” “We’ve been over this before, Peter,” Mr Scott 7

said. “We have the Bible which tells us about God, and we have faith that what the Bible says is true. Without faith we wouldn’t believe in anything.” “But how can we have faith if we can’t see God?” Peter whined. “If you could, like, ask him to visit us in class and perform a few miracles and stuff, then I’d gladly do all my RE homework.” “Yeah, and tell him to bring me a million dollars!” yelled Emma Barney. “And he could make me fly outta here like a bird!” said Zane Beard. Laughter cackled around the room. Alex was smiling but he felt sorry for teachers sometimes. Mr Scott held up his hand, signalling for quiet, and Alex could sense a lecture coming on. This is a good time to plan what I’ll say to Becky next period, he thought. “… and to make one last point, let me give you an example of faith,” Mr Scott said, a few minutes later. “Alex, have you ever been to America?” Alex’s head sprung up. “Umm, no sir, I’ve never even been on a plane.” “I have,” said Zane Beard. “I went to Disneyland and puked on Snow White’s shoes!” More laughter caused Mr Scott to forget he was 8

a religious man. “NO ONE IS TO SPEAK UNLESS THEIR HAND IS RAISED”. The class fell silent. “If you’ve never been to America, Alex,” Mr Scott continued in his normal, calm voice, “then how do you know it is there?” Alex had to think about that one. “Well … Zane reckons he’s been there, and, umm, my mate Casey told me that skateboarding was invented in California, and that’s in America.” “But Zane could be lying, and California might be a make-believe place, like Narnia, for all we know. How do we know America is really there?” asked Mr Scott again. Why do teachers ask questions when they already know the answers? Sarah Sceney had her hand up so high she was almost touching the ceiling, but Becky’s hand was also in the air and Mr Scott called on her. “We don’t,” she said quietly. “You can believe in something because other people tell you to, but until you see it for yourself you don’t really know. It could all be a big lie.” Alex studied Becky out of the corner of his eye. She was gazing down at her fingernails. Maybe she’s dreaming about me? Alex thought, smiling. As if! 9

“You’re right, Becky, it could be a lie,” said Mr Scott. “What were you going to say, Sarah?” Sarah took a deep breath, and Alex knew that these were the moments she lived for. The way he lived for landing tricks on his skateboard. He also knew she’d be right. Once in Year 6 Alex topped the class in a science test, but everyone reckons Sarah let him win to try and make Alex like her. “We believe in America because all the evidence points to its existence. As Alex correctly pointed out,” she said, sending a smile in his direction, “we know people who have been there, we find references to it in atlases and other books, and we see pictures of it on television and in movies. From all these sources one can logically deduce that America exists.” “Exactly!” said Mr Scott. “We believe in America because we have faith in all the things that tell us America is there. It’s the same with God. Other people tell us about him, we read about him in the Bible, and we have faith that he’s there, even though we can’t see him.” “Yeah, but I can get on a plane and visit America,” interrupted Peter Callaghan. “I can’t go visit God.” 10

“Yeah, you can visit him in heaven,” said Emma Barney, “when you die.” “I’ll arrange it for you if ya like!” yelled Zane Beard. Laughter spread throughout the class again but luckily the bell rang, and Mr Scott’s running debate with Peter Callaghan on the existence of God was put on hold till next lesson. Alex was still trying to get a handle on God, but he knew about faith. When you drop in from the top of a two-metre ramp, you need to lean forward, bend your knees, and have faith your feet will stay on the skateboard. If they don’t your bones are in for some breakdancing. As he stood behind his chair waiting to be dismissed from class, Alex felt a pang in his stomach. Now was the time for him to have faith in his ability to act cool in front of Becky. He’d rather the ramp any day.

11

CHAPTER 3

Busted

After quickly making his way to Block 7, Alex waited at the front of the line for Mrs Blake to let them in. He was feeling squeamish and his palms were clammy. Relax, he thought. I can do this. I’m ice-cool Jackson. Skateboarder and slayer of the female species. “For the third time, Alex, move in!” Mrs Blake ordered. There was laughter behind him. ‘‘Good one, Michael,’’ someone said. That was one nickname he hoped wouldn’t stick. Alex sat down next to Becky and went through his plan. He had thought about ‘‘accidentally’’ forgetting his pen and asking Becky if he could borrow one of hers, but this might make him look scungy. Nah, the best bet was to act cool for the first five minutes and then casually start a conversation. Once they got talking, she’d have to like him. 12

“Alex, sit up!” said Mrs Blake as he tried acting smooth by leaning back against the wall. “If you can’t sit on your chair properly I’ll move you to the front.” Alex sat up. He was still trying to think positively, so he could build up the confidence to talk to Becky. At thirteen he hadn’t yet been attacked by zits, and his clear skin, blond hair and blue eyes made him look a surfer, even though he wasn’t. He was small for his age and average at most sports, but he could pull moves on a skateboard other Year 8s could only dream about. Mrs Blake was talking about listening, and about how most communication occurs through body language, and not the actual words that are said. Then Alex caught a glimpse of Becky and he didn’t hear another word Mrs Blake said. He leant over towards Becky. “Hey … what primary school did you go to?” She was about to answer when … “Would you two down the back please stop talking!” screeched Mrs Blake. Can’t she leave us alone for a second? He wondered how he could get around this communication problem. He looked down at his desk for inspiration. Of course. 13

What were you going to say? he wrote, and pushed the paper across to her desk. She read his note, and curled her left arm over the paper, writing slowly and carefully. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Finally he was communicating with the first girl he’d ever really liked. I was going to say … NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX! Alex was stunned. One simple question and she hated him already. The look of shock slowly turned into a smile. None of your beeswax. Who actually says that anymore? Are you always this friendly? Do you always stare at girls? Alex went a light shade of red. She’d got him there. He thought he’d been discreet, but obviously he hadn’t been discreet enough. Oh well, I might as well go for it. I can’t do any worse. Some girls would be flattered! Not me. I’d rather you just said something. Why do boys have to stare? Because we’re wimps. Staring is easy, talking is hard. From now on I promise I’ll. Alex didn’t see her coming. He was so engrossed in thinking up something original, intelligent and halfway witty to write that he didn’t notice Mrs 14

Blake until she snatched the note out of his hand. He could see by her body language that she was as wild as a caged dingo. He didn’t need to hear the actual words she was yelling to figure that out. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice. ‘‘YEAR CO-ORDINATOR! NOW!’’ Busted, thought Alex, on his way out the door. As he sat in Mr Letcher’s office, Alex tried to mentally prepare himself to be killed. Well, maybe not killed, but the next closest thing, being yelled at by Mr Letcher. Everyone in Year 8 had heard horror stories about ‘‘Letch’’. He was a huge man with an even huger voice, and he could intimidate the toughest Year 8 boy just by opening his mouth. “HOW DARE YOU!” was his favourite way of beginning a yelling session. The Year 8s knew that if you were on the receiving end of those words you might as well dig a hole and start climbing in. He walked into the office and gave Alex a long, mean stare. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” “I was writing notes in class, sir.” “AND WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” “Alex Jackson, sir.” 15

“WHO WERE YOU WRITING NOTES TO, ALEX JACKSON?” “Becky Tonella, sir.” Letch paused at this piece of information and started to look even madder, if that was possible. His cheeks puffed up, and his left eyebrow started twitching ever so slightly. “HOW DARE …” he began, before pausing again. “TELL ME, WHY WERE YOU WRITING NOTES TO BECKY?” Alex had to think quickly. It wasn’t as if he could say ‘‘I was trying to hit on her, sir.’’ He had to come up with something good, but lying wasn’t one of his talents. “I noticed that she looks lonely, sir. I wanted to be friendly.” Sometimes in life you say the completely wrong thing and you live to regret it. Luckily for Alex, this wasn’t one of those times. Letch’s angry, red face dissipated into something more … normal. “Yes …” he said slowly and more softly, “I guess the poor kid needs a friend right now.” Alex was confused but relieved. Letch did write a note in his diary for his parents to sign, but didn’t yell or seem at all mad. He even gave Alex a smile as he handed back the diary. Before Alex could 16

attempt to figure it out, the bell rang. Week three at St Joseph’s College was officially over.

17

CHAPTER 4

Chief

Alex was writing notes in class. This is inappropriate classroom behaviour. Please speak to Alex and ensure this does not happen again or further action will be taken. Mr George Letcher (Year 8 Coordinator) “Mmmmm,” said Alex’s father. “A note from George Letcher, hey?” “Can you hurry up and sign it before Mum gets home,” Alex said, glancing out the front window for a sign of Sharon Jackson’s yellow Corona. His father looked up from the couch. He was dressed in his usual baggy shorts and singlet top, and he had on his favourite black cap with ‘‘Lordy, Lordy, I’m over 40’’ written across the front. A small tattoo of a pair of crossed boxing gloves was visible on his rather large right bicep. In the back18

ground an old video of Muhammed Ali versus George Foreman — the Rumble in the Jungle — was playing. It had been watched so many times that the picture was getting fuzzy. Jeff Jackson and his son were nothing alike. Most people couldn’t believe they were even related. Alex thought he was a pretty cool dad, but he still couldn’t figure out why a smart woman like his mum married this retired brawler. “Tell me,” his dad said, “is this George Letcher a big guy?” “Dad, you can’t fight him! He’s the Year 8 Coordinator!” “I didn’t say I wanted to fight him, I just asked what he looked like. Speaking about fighting,” he said, signing the note, “you coming down the gym this arvo?” Jeff Jackson ran the Logan City Community Boxing Club. He had a few promising fighters and was very proud of all his ‘‘boys’’. There were some tough types in the club, but they didn’t faze him. Being beaten senseless by a Samoan middleweight in the fight for the 1982 Commonwealth Games bronze medal must have helped him lose his fear of homeboys. Plus, he knew that most of the boys in the club worshipped the ground he walked on, 19

and anyone who stepped out of line would have to answer to them first. “Can’t Chief, I’m heading to the skatepark.” ‘‘Chief ’’ was what Jeff Jackson was called in his fighting days and it had stuck. Except for Sharon, nearly everyone called him Chief. Alex thought it was ironical, seeing as his mum was so obviously in charge at home. “You got your mum’s brains and my left jab, and you’re not using either of them,” Chief complained. “Get out of here, then,” he added, half smiling. Alex flipped his battered Union Standard skateboard under his arm, grabbed a piece of his mum’s famous banana cake and headed out the door. “Remember Chief, the note you signed is just between you and me. Mum doesn’t have to know.” Alex knew his mum would probably find out anyway. She seemed to know everything. It wasn’t as if she’d yell at him, but she was an expert at making him feel guilty, with that calm, rational tone of hers. Dr Mum, Alex called her. “What note?” Chief asked. Alex couldn’t be sure he was joking. His dad had certainly lost enough brain cells to have the memory of a goldfish. 20

CHAPTER 5

Slammed

Alex jumped on his board halfway down the driveway, veered right onto the front yard path and ollied over the three steps, landing smoothly onto the footpath. He gave his sister, Sam, and her best friend and neighbour, Mandy Lee, a wave as he passed by. They were jumping slowly but talking rapidly on the trampoline in the front yard of Mandy’s place, no doubt reviewing the week’s gossip of Year 6 at Beeton Primary. Sam was eleven and as tall as Alex, which he wasn’t at all happy about. She was a social junkie, knowing the inside story on virtually everyone at Beeton, and she wasn’t afraid of sharing her extensive knowledge around. Alex was glad they were at different schools this year so she couldn’t tell Mum things such as what Sarah Sceney thought about his bum (she liked it), or how he’d got a detention for kicking a soccer ball through a window. 21

The houses along their street were like Chief — getting older, possibly some permanent damage, but kept in decent shape by mostly good, working class people. At least they had been working class — most had lost jobs at some stage in the past decade. Some had found new ones, some worked part-time, and some were unemployed but still did well for themselves. Mr Stewart, a cheerful man who lived four doors down, had a brand new Commodore sitting in his driveway. Until last week, when the police drove the car and him away. Beeton was no upper class place, and if it was up to Alex’s mum they would have moved into a nicer suburb on the outskirts of Brisbane a long time ago. The two things stopping them were the price of real estate — as even houses in nearby areas were double what they could sell for in Beeton — and Chief. He had grown up here and liked it. “If all the good people move, then who will the kids have to look up to?” he often said. Alex once reminded him that a retired boxer might not be the best example for the kids of Beeton, but he didn’t seem to take any notice. It was a short ride to the skatepark, and Alex had been looking forward to it all week as he was 22

hoping to master a new trick he’d been working on. Since he’d started skating two years ago, one of the hot shots of the Beeton Skatebowl, 18-yearold Casey Marshall, had taken him under his wing. Casey had not only mastered more tricks than anyone Alex had ever seen, but he was sponsored by SkateBiz — a cool skate shop that gave him free products. Casey was the one person Alex truly looked up to. He was more like a Zen master than a skate freak, and was always helping Alex see life from a new perspective. Casey jumped off twometre ledges onto concrete, so seeing life in a different way was probably necessary for him. The park was pumping with kids dressed in baggy pants and tees and trying moves they had seen in some skatey video or magazine. There were good skaters in this part of town. And plenty of hangers-on, boys mainly, who came with their boards but sat around smoking joints, talking up a trick they had landed last week while no one was watching. Casey was skating right in the middle of the park — no fear of him landing a trick without people seeing. Nearly everybody had at least a half an eye on him, as he was the benchmark for the other skaters in the park. If Casey could do the trick then 23

the other skaters knew it was possible. Extremely difficult perhaps, but possible. He was skating the vert — a two-metre high U-shaped ramp — as Alex walked in. He was simply pumping it back and forth, side to side, but getting some serious air in the meantime. Everyone could see he was building up to something big. He put in an extra effort leading into one of the take-offs, and suddenly, pop, he was twisting and spinning like an Olympic diver. He had one hand on his board to make sure it didn’t fly away, and his body had almost completed a 360 degree twist in the air when he let out a tremendous yelp of exhilaration. It was a cry of self-expression, like for one moment he knew exactly who he was and what he was doing on this strange planet. As he stuck a perfect landing, everybody in the park cheered. And then they all went back to skating, a little more pumped than before. Casey spotted Alex and wandered over. He had intense green eyes and like most boarders he wasn’t too tall or bulky but had strong legs and arms hiding under his baggy clothes. ‘‘Ready to grind?’’ said Casey, nodding towards the railing. ‘‘I will be,’’ Alex replied. 24

Alex did a few laps around the ramps to warm up and then started popping ollies, which is the most important move in skateboarding. It was invented by a bloke called Allen ‘‘Ollie’’ Gelfand, who figured out that if you pushed down hard on the back of the board and then jumped and slid your front foot forward you’d become airborne. Alex wondered whether Ollie Gelfand was an expert in physics or simply a crazy boarder looking for more action. He guessed the latter. Casey could ollie onto a picnic table. Alex wasn’t nearly as skilful, but he could get some good air for a thirteen-yearold. Once he ollied down nine steps onto concrete. He nearly wet himself, but he did it. When he felt ready Alex went over to tackle the railing. In the trick he was working on he had to ollie up onto the 50-centimetre metal railing, and then grind down three metres of a fairly steep incline. When he got to the bottom, he would try and jump off the railing, land the board squarely on the ground, and skate off in one piece. “Okay, this should be no problem,” assured Casey. “Just relax and flow, let yourself go. Be loose like a goose and brave like Zeus. And remember,’’ he said winking, ‘‘keep your knees bent on the way down for balance.” 25

Alex didn’t know much about Greek gods but he got the gist of what Casey was saying. If you were distracted, uptight or downright scared, the odds were that you wouldn’t make the trick. Alex felt he had the right mixture of caution and confidence. He naturally had good balance, and hadn’t had a really bad stack in his skateboarding career. Lots of cuts and scrapes, but no broken bones. “Focus,” said Casey as he slapped Alex’s hand. (As well as meaning to block out distractions, ‘‘focus’’ in skateboarding means to snap the board in two. It was a bit like saying “Break a leg” to an actor.) Alex picked up speed as he approached the railing at a 45 degree angle, and he bent down to prepare himself to ollie. Just as he slapped his back foot down a dumb smile came over his face. None of your beeswax? Who does she think she is? He lost concentration for only a split second, but that was long enough. Alex got the height but his timing was way off, missing the axles entirely and instead landing on the wood in the middle of the deck. Before he knew it he started boardsliding down the railing, totally out of control. The skateboard began wobbling as he picked up momentum down the incline and Alex knew there was no 26

way he could land it from this position. He decided to bail. As he slammed into the ground he wished he’d remembered to strap a beanbag onto his back. “A boardslide down the railing, almost the trick of the decade!” said Casey as he ran over. “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” said Alex, as he checked whether he could wiggle his big toe. He was happy to discover he wasn’t the concussed cripple he should have been after such a stack. “What were you thinking, mate?” asked Casey. “Beeswax,” said Alex. Casey shrugged. “Whatever it is you’d better deal with it, ’cause if your mind ain’t clear while you’re boarding you’ll be riding a box with wheels.” Alex tried to get up but his back and head hurt too much. This isn’t fair! He’d had crushes on girls before, but they had never come between him and his skateboard. Till now.

27

CHAPTER 6

Stuffed

“And in conclusion, I would like to say that technology, while continuing to make life easier, does not make us any happier. Just because I own a mobile phone doesn’t mean that Jack, the boy I’ve liked for five years, will call me. When the phone rings it is usually my mum telling me to hurry home for tea.” As the class applauded generously Sarah Sceney gave Alex a last look, sighed and sat down. Alex was sure she’d get an A for the Technology Oral. She always got A’s. He was just glad that not many people at St Joey’s knew he was Sarah’s ‘‘Jack’’. He was hoping that once they’d got to high school, Sarah would stop liking him, or at least stop publicly embarrassing him, but this didn’t seem to be happening. Becky was next up, and Alex’s turn would be soon after. The topic of their speech was how an 28

aspect of technology had changed their lives. Alex had brought in his relatively old skateboard and a new one of Casey’s to show how the laminated, light wood decks and other modern designs were making tricks much easier to do. He was getting a bit tense. You might get slammed skateboarding, but it wasn’t nearly as nerve-wracking as a school oral. “Good morning, Miss Pinzon and class. Today I would like to talk to you about how an aspect of technology has changed my life. That technology is the Internet, and, in particular, chat rooms.” Becky’s posh-sounding voice reminded Alex of the girls he heard in the train who travelled to expensive all-girls schools in Brisbane wearing wide-brimmed hats and ties. She said her words properly (not ‘‘proply’’ like most of Alex’s friends) and she certainly didn’t sound like she was born and bred in the Chief ’s beloved Beeton. “When I chat to people on the Internet I feel like I can say anything, even secrets that I wouldn’t normally tell my friends. When I’m lonely or want to talk, I can turn on my computer and instantly be in touch with thousands of people from all over the world. I usually chat to girls, cause most guys are interested in what you look like rather than 29

who you are, and I normally chat in Lycos teens, cause you can make cool images appear on the screen …” Alex tuned out. He wasn’t really into computers and the Internet. That was more Jimmy’s thing. If Alex wanted to talk to someone he would rather it be Jimmy, Casey, Sam or even his mum or Chief rather than a person he’d never met before on a computer. Still, the way Becky looked and spoke in front of the class, both shy and confident at the same time, made Alex’s heart race. He had the bug bad. Alex’s speech went well. He didn’t drop his palmcards or stutter too badly, and his big finale, landing a stationary kickflip on Casey’s new board in the middle of the classroom, actually worked on the first try. That got him instant cred with a few of the guys he hardly knew, and he even thought he saw the faintest hint of a smile on Becky’s face as he sat down after the speech. He was trying hard not to get caught looking at her, but it wasn’t easy. At lunch Alex told Jimmy his problem. “I’m a mess, mate. I can’t concentrate on anything ’cause of this stupid girl.” “Why don’t you just go over and talk to her?” asked Jimmy. 30

“Look at her, mate,” Alex said. “She’s with a group of six girls and one of ’em’s Sceney. I wouldn’t be caught dead going over there.” “Well it doesn’t look like Billy’s too scared.” Alex turned to see Billy Johnstone confidently stroll up to the group of girls. He must have made quite an impression, because they giggled and hung on his every word like he was a movie star or something. It made Alex sick. What made him even sicker was that after a short time Billy said something to Becky, and they walked off together. Just the two of them. Alone. “Mate, I think you’re stuffed,” said Jimmy.

31

CHAPTER 7

J + M = T (Jimmy + Mouth = Trouble)

It was the talk of Year 8. Billy had asked Becky to go out with him and she had said no. He had been rejected with a capital R. Hammered. Bagged. Dissed. This never happened to Billy Johnstone. He took it like a man, punching any boy who dared laugh at his misfortune. The next day, to prove his manhood, Billy asked out Claire Carney, and she said yes. According to Adrian Dorry this was no surprise, as Claire always said yes to the boys who asked her out. Her nickname was CC, not only because of her initials but because of the slogan — ‘‘she can’t say no’’. Adrian said that her and Billy had already gone together six times in primary school. Rumours started flying about Becky and why she turned Billy down. Peter Callaghan heard that her family was ultra religious and she was becoming a nun. According to various other students she was either: 32

(a) frigid

(b) a lesbian (c) already going out with Joshua Jackson from Dawson’s Creek (d) all of the above.

No one knew what to believe. “I wish I knew her secrets, like her stupid Internet friends do,” Alex said to Jimmy as they played handball down behind the Graphics Block. Jimmy’s eyes lit up. “How do you know she chats on the Internet?” “She gave a speech about it in Tech Studies.” “Did she say what server she uses?” “Server? As in tennis?” “No, you moron. Internet server. Yahoo, Excite …” “I think she mentioned it. Lickass or something …” “Lycos?” Jimmy laughed. “You have no idea, Jackson. Did she say what her handle is?” “Handle? As in a door?” “No, as in her Internet name.” “Nah.” “Oh well, she shouldn’t be too hard to spot.” Jimmy’s green eyes were twinkling. “What are you planning, Homan?” Alex had 33

seen this look on Jimmy before, and it meant one thing. Trouble. “Leave it to me, dude. With me helping ya, you’ll be in like Flynn, not rejected like Johnstone the looozzzerrr.” As if on cue Billy Johnstone and his group sauntered around the corner. They were probably heading for the clump of trees in the corner of the school where they could pass around a smoke without getting busted. Billy had obviously heard his name and the word ‘‘loser’’ in the same sentence, because his head reared up and he puffed up his chest and shoulders to make them look even bigger than they already were. “You got a problem, red?” he said menacingly. “No problem. I was just talking to me mate,” said Jimmy. Billy looked Alex over. “Where’s ya skateboard, grommet?” This wasn’t meant to be a question. More a put-down. Billy turned back to face Jimmy. “If you’re gonna talk bad about someone, do it to their face. Like if I was gonna call you a giant freckle, I’d say it right to ya, not to me mates when you weren’t around.” 34

Billy’s friends laughed. Alex could see that Jimmy was packin’ death, and he couldn’t blame him. Although as tall as Billy, Jimmy was only half his weight. It was as if puberty had remembered to let him grow up but forgotten to give him any bulk. His biceps were all skin and bone and Alex reckoned he’d be flat out beating Sam, Alex’s sister, in an arm wrestle. “Look mate, I don’t want any trouble,” Jimmy said. “Who wants trouble? I’m just going to break ya arm to teach you a lesson in manners.” Billy grabbed Jimmy’s right wrist and began twisting it round his back. Jimmy didn’t say a word, but it was obvious he was in pain. His eyes started watering, but Billy didn’t back off. He seemed to be enjoying himself and even smiled at Claire, who looked uncomfortable but nevertheless smiled back. Before Alex could talk himself out of it he charged, ducking his shoulder hard into Billy’s ribcage. The hit was so clean that Billy gave a surprised grunt as he toppled to the ground, letting go of Jimmy’s arm to break his fall. When Billy got up he didn’t look angry. In fact, he had a slight smile on his face. He and Alex 35

squared up and met each other’s eyes. “You’re dead meat, grommet,” said Billy. Right at that moment a familiar face appeared round the corner. “What’s going on here, boys?” asked Miss Pinzon. “Nothing, Miss. We were just playing handball,” said Billy. “Come on, grommet, serve me the ball.” If Miss Pinzon realised there was something other than handball happening here, she didn’t let on. “Mmmm. Well, I hope I’m not interrupting, but I’d like to talk to Alex for a few minutes if that’s all right.” Billy and his group slowly moved away, but not before Billy made a chopping motion across his neck to let everyone know that this incident would not be forgotten anytime in the near future. “Is everything okay, Alex?” asked Miss Pinzon. “Yeah,” said Alex. He didn’t want to make things worse by getting a teacher involved, even if she was as cool as Miss Pinzon. “I want to ask you a favour. I was wondering if you’d like to organise a skateboarding exhibition as part of our St Joseph’s Day celebrations at the end of term. I’m aware that skateboarding is quite 36

popular at this school, and I saw in class yesterday that you’re very talented.” Alex hoped she realised he was sunburnt, not blushing. “I’ve already run the idea past Mr Letcher and he thinks it would be a great way to show off the talents of St Joseph’s students,’’ said Miss Pinzon. Even if he’d wanted to, which he didn’t, Alex couldn’t have said no to that smiling face. “I could set up a gnarly course, with ramps and boxes, and the stairs in front of the library would be great for jumps and grinds,” he said. “Excellent! Keep me informed of your plans, and if you want anything, let me know.” ‘‘I want some things,’’ said Jimmy, staring at Miss Pinzon as she walked barely out of ear shot. ‘‘And it doesn’t involve skateboarding.’’ “Homan, we gotta do something about your mouth!” said Alex, punching his friend on the shoulder. “It’s gonna get us both killed one day.”

37

CHAPTER 8

Pretty Cool

“Quick mate, you gotta get over here! It’s urgent!” With Jimmy everything was urgent, so Alex didn’t get too excited. Nevertheless, Jimmy sounded pumped on the phone, and he wouldn’t tell Alex why he wanted him to visit in such a hurry, which was unusual for Jimmy. He wasn’t good at secrets. “Mum, I gotta go to Jimmy’s to … study,” Alex said hopefully, grabbing his board. Sharon Jackson looked at her watch. “It’s eight o’clock, Alex! It’s not safe to be on the streets at this time of night. Plus, you have school tomorrow.” “I’ll be right, Mum. It only takes ten minutes on me skateboard.” She sighed. “You’re not skateboarding at this time of night. If you really want to go I’ll drive you, and you can give me a ring when you’re ready to be picked up.” 38

“Have fun studying, Alex,” said Sam. Five minutes later Alex did a commando dive through Jimmy’s bedroom window. Jimmy was at his computer, typing like a secretary. “You wouldn’t believe who I’m chattin’ to on the Net,” he said, barely being able to contain his excitement. “Who?” “Your love goddess. Or as she calls herself, BeckyT.” “You’re not!” “I am.” “You’re not!” “I am. And you’d better get over here ’cause I’m running out of things to say.” Alex sat down beside Jimmy and saw a computer screen with lots of weird names and barely recognisable messages. There was a guy called Cheezels who kept repeating, “Any hotties in here PM me”. Jimmy explained that hotties meant hot-looking girls and PM was ‘‘private message’’, which was what Jimmy was sending to Becky at the moment. To avoid suspicion Jimmy was using a girl’s name, Juliette, as his handle and Alex was surprised how many guys sent PMs asking if they could be her Romeo. 39

“Are you sure this is her?” Alex asked Jimmy. “How many other BeckyT’s are in Year 8 at St Joseph’s College, Logan City?” Jimmy answered. “So what sort of stuff are you into,” typed Jimmy (Juliette) to BeckyT. “Music, movies, drawing and tennis. U?”

Tennis, Alex thought. She’s even into snobby sports. “Music, movies and I like to skateboard.”

“Skateboard!” exclaimed Alex. “Why in the hell did you say that?” “Have faith in the Homan,” answered Jimmy, sounding like Mr Scott. “I know a guy who skateboards. He’s good. He even did a trick in class.” “Cool. Is he popular?”

Alex had his head in his hands. “You are such an idiot, Homan. I don’t know why I let you be my friend …” “Not really, though this one girl loves him. He’s pretty cool I guess.”

All of a sudden Jimmy’s mum burst through the door. “Jimmy, would you hurry up and get off the Internet. I have to make an important phone call.” “Who to, your bridge partner?” 40

“Don’t be cheeky, son.” She spotted Alex. “Oh hello, love. I didn’t see you come in.” “G’day, Mrs Homan.” “Mum, leave us alone, will ya?” said Jimmy. “I’ll be off in a sec.” “Don’t talk to your mother like that, James. And hurry up,” she said as she left the room. “I have to go, but can I email you?” asked Juliette. “Sure, my address is [email protected]. See ya-’’ ‘‘Seeya!’’

Alex was on cloud nine. He was pretty cool! And he thought that she thought he was a total dork. Maybe things were looking up after all.

41

CHAPTER 9

Just a Minute …

At lunchtime the next day — Friday — Alex held a meeting in the library for anyone wanting to help organise the skateboarding exhibition. There were those who might have said that he was avoiding Billy Johnstone, but Alex would’ve said that he wasn’t scared of anyone. About ten kids turned up at the meeting, and Alex recognised a few of the Year 10 boys from the skatepark. One was a decent boarder but the other two were hangers-on, and Alex couldn’t see them helping out much. There was a Year 9 girl who reckoned she could 50-50 and noseslide gutters and a Year 11 boy who said he could hardflip down 5 stairs. Jimmy was there and although he could skate he was more excited by the possibility of having a microphone and being the announcer. The two surprise members of the organising team were Sarah Sceney and Becky Tonella. Sarah 42

kept smiling at Alex, and Becky looked bored, like she was only there because Sarah had talked her into it. Whatever the reason, Alex was stoked that Becky had come and he was finding it hard to concentrate on running a meeting. “Well I guess we should get going,” said Alex, after Jimmy gave him a nudge that nearly knocked him off his chair. “I was thinking that we build a street course in front of the library. With the stairs and railing, it’s practically half built already …” “Excuse me, Alex,” said Sarah, “but is anyone taking minutes at this meeting?” Alex nodded up towards the clock hanging on the wall. “I think that’s taking minutes.” Becky looked at him like he was stupid, and Jimmy leaned across in front of him and whispered, “Not those minutes, you idiot — a record of what is said at the meeting.” “No, Sarah, but I’m sure you’ll do it,” said Alex. She’d even get an A for Meetings. “Is there gonna be a vert ramp?” asked one of the Year 10 hangers-on. “What’s a vert ramp?” asked Becky. “There are two types of skateboarding comps,” explained Jimmy. “One is street skating, which includes things like small ramps and railings which 43

Alex stacks it on.” He grinned. “And the other is vert, which is a giant U-shaped ramp skateboarders go up and down on, and pull tricks like Tony Hawk’s 900 degree twist.” “Because none of us can really skate vert, and the fact that building a vert ramp is a bit hard for a bunch of students who are flat out passing manual arts, I say we only have street skating in the exhibition,” said Alex. “Who says I can’t skate vert?” said the Year 10 boy, his voice getting loud. “Last Friday I landed a 360 at the Beeton Skatebowl.” “I think you’re getting yourself mixed up with Casey Marshall,” said Alex. “Maybe while you were stoned you dreamed you were skating in his body.” Alex realised that this was a dumb thing to say to a Year 10 boy who was twice his size. Still, it annoyed him when these guys said they could pull tricks that they wouldn’t even attempt. “Are you calling me a liar, vegie? Seano saw it, didn’t ya?” He looked to his friend for support. “Yeah, I saw it,” his friend mumbled without conviction. “Well if there’s no vert we’re not skating, are we Seano?” 44

“I guess not …” The boys got up to leave. “And by the way,” said Seano’s mate, “Billy Johnstone’s gonna beat the crap out of you on Monday, Jackson.” Alex was impressed he knew his name. He must be getting a rep. With the dead wood gone they actually achieved quite a lot. Becky offered to design some posters, and Sarah Sceney came up with the rad idea of approaching skate shops and asking for stickers and other skateboarding stuff, which could be tossed out at the exhibition. The only embarrassing part for Alex came at the end, when Sarah left and then returned with a photocopy of the minutes of the meeting for everyone in the group. She had written in big letters across the bottom of the page: I love Jack 4 ever!!! Alex made a mental note to let someone else take the minutes next time. As the bell rang Alex was careful not to look at Becky until she had got up from her chair and had turned to walk out of the library. As she glided smoothly across the lino, Alex was admiring God’s handiwork in the shape of Becky’s legs. A few months ago he probably wouldn’t have even noticed, but lately he hardly knew himself. Suddenly Becky stopped and turned. She looked right at 45

Alex and smiled, and he would have been as happy as a teenage boy at an Anna Kournakova tennis match — except for one thing. Though Becky’s lips were turned up her eyes were sad. Maybe he was imagining it, but they even looked the slightest bit moist. The poor kid needs a friend right now. Letch’s words came back to him. But what did he mean? He knew this Internet stuff was wrong, but he had to try and find out Becky’s secret.

46

CHAPTER 10

Slammed. Again.

It was a perfect Friday afternoon, warm and still, and Alex looked at the rail, took a deep breath, and started to glide across the smooth concrete. Casey had already given him a pep talk and demonstration, even doing the grind along the rail switch stance to show Alex how easy it was. “Just the ground, the board and that rail,” Casey had said a few seconds earlier. “Right now, everything else in your life means nothin’.” This time Alex ollied smoothly up onto the rail. The board had to be perfectly lined up in the middle of the axles or else it would flip and you’d stack it to one side. Alex had got it just right, and he was grinding down the railing like he was in a Playstation game. He was halfway down the threemetre incline when it happened, again, the words jumping into his mind like they had a will of their own. 47

“He’s pretty cool, I guess.” As he came off the rail Alex’s board didn’t straighten in time. Instead of landing smoothly on all four wheels he speared the nose of the board on the ground, and was propelled forward like he was shot out of a cannon. The front of his head smacked the ground (at least he was losing cells equally from both sides of the brain) and he slid on his belly long enough to make it raw. Casey made sure he wasn’t dead and then shook his head. “You’ve got issues, boy.”

48

CHAPTER 11

Juliette

Over the weekend, Alex (alias Juliette) sent three emails to Becky and got three replies. Jimmy was visiting his Grandparents so Alex used the computer at the local library. This suited him, as he didn’t want Jimmy reading Becky’s personal thoughts (he felt guilty enough as it was) or laughing at his pathetic typing speed. At first, Alex found writing like a girl hard work. He thought about the way his sister said stuff and tried to put his thoughts in her words. It took him a good ten minutes per paragraph, and they were no literary masterpieces, but the more he wrote the better he became at his new persona. As Juliette he found out more about Becky Tonella than he ever imagined. He found out too much.

49

To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear BeckyT, Hey! This is Juliette, the 13-year-old girl from Perth you were chatting to the other night. I’m looking to make some cool friends on the net. Are you cool? Don’t answer that question. Anyone who says they’re cool probably isn’t, and if they say they’re uncool they probably are! I like hip hop music. Not the kind with lots of swearing and gangstas getting shot in the hood and stuff like that, but songs with meaningful lyrics and cool rhymes, about life in general, and love too I guess. Also, the rhythm helps me when I’m skateboarding. I sing to myself and it stops me thinking about falling off! I also like movies, and my fav actor is Leonardo DiCaprio. [Alex thought he’d better throw that in.] Please tell me your hobbies and what you think of high school. I think it kind of sux! All the kids at my school are into being popular. They think they’re so cool, but they don’t realise I’m cooler! Please write back. Juliette.

50

To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear Juliette, Thanks for your email. You sound funny-. I won’t tell you how cool I am (very-) cause you might think I’m up myself/. I don’t mind hip hop music, but I’m more into bands like Sunk Loto and Limp Bizkit. I even saw them live at the Big Day Out last year, but I was too scared to go into the mosh pit./

[This surprised Alex. He thought Becky would be the type to like bands such as Human Nature and Backstreet Boys.] I’m finding high school heaps hard to get used to. My old primary school in Brisbane had a swimming pool and gymnasium, and I had lots of friends there. My family had to move to Logan City, and my new school is a bit of a hole/. I know what you mean about kids trying to be popular, it’s the same here. There’s a boy named Billy Johnstone, he’s cute but he’s so up himself. There’s a few nice kids, though. Let’s keep in touch.BeckyT 51

PS. I like Leo too but I think Joshua Jackson is cuter. To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear Becky, Thanks for writing back so soon. You sound cool, but only coz you think I’m funny! Sunk Loto and Limp Bizkit, hey? You’re hardcore, girl! You’d fit in well with some of the boys down the skatebowl. I’m sorry to hear your new school is a hole. Why did you have to move? Billy Johnstone sounds like a first class loser. If I was there, I’d be tempted to punch him. I’m small, but I can punch! You said there were some nice kids at your school. Are any of them boys? I don’t have a boyfriend at the moment. A nerd likes me, but I don’t really like him and he keeps embarrassing me in front of everyone. As my mum says, growing up is complicated. I do have a best friend, though. Her name is Jemma. She’s the excitable type, but makes me laugh. Well, I hope to hear all the goss soon. Juliette.52

To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear Juliette, Thanks for saying I’m cool, though you’re only stating the obvious! You also called me hardcore. I’m flattered! I don’t think I’m hardcore, I just like fast music every now and then. Sometimes I even like top 40 stuff, especially when I’m in the mood to dance.

[I knew it, thought Alex.] We had to move to Logan City cause my dad was having trouble with his business. We had to sell our nice house in a nice suburb and buy an old one in a poor suburb. It sucks but as the song says, “Say la vie”. My mum is still a bit mental over the whole thing, but she’ll get over it. I don’t have a boyfriend either. Billy Johnstone asked me out but I have more taste than that.- There is one nice boy at school. His name is Alex Jackson and he’s a skateboarder, so you’d like him. He’s small and a bit of a dope, but for some reason I kinda got a crush on him. Still, it doesn’t matter. After stuff that happened with my dad I don’t really trust men any more. I think 53

they’re all two-faced liars./ The nerd that likes you sounds like my friend, Sarah Sceney. She’s a brain and she’s liked Alex for five years and she keeps embarrassing him in front of everyone. Even though she’s my friend and she’s nice, I feel sorry for him. Hear from you soon. BeckyTPS. Do you have brothers or sisters? I don’t./ To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear Becky, Wow! It’s only been one weekend and I feel like I know you already! I’m glad to hear you have a crush on Alex Jackson, coz he’s a skateboarder. If he asked you, would you go out with him? It sounds like you’ve got a bad attitude towards the male race. How did that happen? I think there are some stuck-up guys but there are also some nice ones. Just coz your dad or someone did a bad thing, doesn’t mean all boys are bad! Do I sound like a shrink or what? I have one sister, who’s 11. She’s 54

okay, though she’s the queen of gossip. I’m glad we’re finally at different schools. Well, Mum’s calling me for lunch so I better go! Seeya, Juliette PS. What happened to your dad’s business?

55

CHAPTER 12

Sarah and the Secret

Alex made his last trip to the library on Sunday afternoon. He was lucky that this was International Library Week, and the one Sunday all year the library was open. His mum was deliriously happy at the thought of all the research he was doing for his English assignment. Sam eyed him dubiously on his way out. She knew something was up, but she didn’t have the contacts to find out what it was. Or maybe she did. There were a few kids at Beeton whose older brothers and sisters went to St Joey’s. She made a mental note to make a few phone calls and glean some information on one Alex Jackson. Alex filled out a card to use the Internet and sat down at the computer. He started to pick up the pace. Had Becky written back? Would she say what had happened to her dad’s business? Would he find out if she’d say yes to him? He opened Juliette’s email and his heart beat like a Green Day 56

song. There in the inbox was one new message from BeckyT. He opened it nervously. Just before he started reading, a pair of hands slipped gently across his eyes. “Guess who?” said a muffled voice. It was a girl, but that’s all Alex could tell. He started to panic big-time. It couldn’t be her, could it? He turned around. It was Sarah Sceney. Better than Becky, but only just. If Sarah got a glimpse of the screen he’d be dead meat. She was too much of a brain not to ask questions if she saw Becky’s name. “Whaccha doing?” she asked. Trying not to make it too obvious, Alex gently shifted his chair so he was blocking Sarah’s view of the screen. “A bit of research,” he said vaguely. She leant left, casually looking towards the screen. Alex leant right, keeping his body between her and the computer. “Do you have a crush on Becky Tonella?” Sarah asked suddenly. Alex was shocked. He hoped Becky’s name coming up was a coincidence. “Why do you ask?” he said, as coolly as his shaky voice would let him. His left foot began tapping on the floor without him even realising it. 57

“You keep looking at her in class, for one thing. Well, do you?” Alex wasn’t sure how to answer. “That’s … none of your beeswax.” Sarah stared at him, her arms shifting from across her chest to her sides, hands on hips. Her gaze started to harden in what looked to Alex like … anger. Alex realised he had never seen her mad. She always had that sickening smile on her face. “Do you know how long I’ve liked you, Alex Jackson?” she snapped. She didn’t look like she was expecting an answer so Alex shrugged. “Five years. I know your sister’s name is Sam. I know you own a Union Standard skateboard, and now I know you like Becky Tonella, the girl you’ve known for THREE WHOLE WEEKS.” Four, thought Alex, but who’s counting? The librarian gave him, Alex, a killer glare. What did I do? “You’re the most selfish boy I’ve ever met,” said Sarah, building up a full head of steam. “I’ve done so many nice things for you and you don’t even care. I even let you beat me in that science test in Year 6. You’ve led me on for five years, and now you dump me for the first girl who comes along 58

with a decent pair of legs. All my friends tell me I’m too good for you, and now I know why!” Alex didn’t want a scene, and he still had the email from Becky sitting 30 centimetres behind his back to worry about, but he couldn’t take this any more. He had led her on? What the hell? “For one thing I can’t DUMP you, ’cause we’re not going out.” The librarian was glaring again. “For five years you have embarrassed me in front of everybody. You said you loved me in front of a full school assembly. You wrote ‘Sarah loves Jack’ on the screen saver of every school computer. In Year 5 you rang me at home every night for a month.” “Yeah, until your mum told me I wasn’t allowed to ring you anymore.” That surprised Alex. His mum had never told him that. Alex sighed. This was useless. “You’re a nice girl, Sarah. You’re real smart, too. I wish I did like you. You’d probably even help me understand algebra.” She forced a smile. “It’s not your fault, it’s mine,” Alex continued. “But I can’t help it if I don’t like you the same as you like me. I wish I did, but I don’t.” Her head dropped and she was quiet for a few 59

seconds, but to Alex it seemed like minutes. “You just want me to stop bugging you,” she said. Alex saw the tears in the corners of her eyes, and he didn’t feel like hurting her anymore. “To tell you the truth, I kind of like you bugging me. Why do you think I haven’t yelled at you the last five years? It’s just that …” “I gotta get a life?” “You gotta find someone who likes you as much as you like him. Not a loser skateboarder about to get beaten up by Billy Johnstone.” “You’re no loser, Alex Jackson,” she said as she walked away. “Are you all right, Sarah?” the librarian called to her on her way out. Alex should have known Sarah Sceney would be on a first name basis with the librarian. He risked a glance at the tall lady with small, wire-rimmed glasses sitting on her nose, and she was squinting right at him. If looks could kill, her icy glare would have sent him six feet under. In case anyone else he knew suddenly appeared, Alex printed out the email. But by the time he collected it from the tray and stuffed it into his pocket. He felt like a married man in a singles’ bar. Becky was complaining about men being two60

faced liars and he was proving her right. If Sarah Sceney knew what he was doing, she would have taken her last comment back. He was a loser. On his way home Alex stopped outside the train station to pull a few grinds along the metal benches, and afterwards took out the bulge of paper that was sitting in his pocket. He sat on a bench and thought about things for a long time — his fight with Sarah, the skateboarding demonstration, Becky’s email. Alex was about to throw the unread letter in the bin when his fingers began unfolding the pages like they had a will of their own. He read the two pages quickly, then wondered if he could give himself amnesia or somehow unread the letter by turning the pages upside down and reading it backwards. What Becky wrote in that email was meant for a girl named Juliette, and not him. It was none of his beeswax.

61

CHAPTER 13

Staying Alive

Alex sat at the stained, laminex breakfast table playing with his Vita Brits. It was Monday morning and he had things on his mind. He looked over at his dad digging into a plate of bacon and eggs. “Chief …” Alex said, waiting for him to look up, “how do you fight a big bloke?” “Tall …?” “And wide,” said Alex, putting his hands out in front of him, twice the width of his own shoulders. “In a ring or a streetfight?” asked Chief. “Streetfight.” “What’s this about fighting at breakfast?” his mum asked from behind the boiling jug. “Are you in trouble at school or something, love? I heard something about you having to see George Letcher, the Year 8 coordinator?” Alex gave his dad a glare, but Chief shrugged back innocently. 62

“No trouble, Mum. I’m just speaking hyperactively.” “Hypothetically,” his mum corrected. “If you are in trouble I want you to tell us, Alex. We’re here to help you and Sam, you know that.” “I don’t need help,” piped up Sam, her mouth full of toast and vegemite. “Alex is the one who’s gonna get punched up by Billy Johnstone.” “Sam!” Alex said angrily. He didn’t know how she did it, the nosey parker. “What’s this all about?” his mum inquired, starting to sound concerned. “If you don’t tell me, Alex, I’ll call George Letcher and have him sort it out.” “Don’t Mum!” Alex protested. “It’s nothing. Just a small … disagreement. I’ll figure it out. Forget about it.” But he knew she wouldn’t. Alex left the table. As he walked past Chief grabbed him, putting his huge right hand around his shoulder. “Under no circumstance should you get into a streetfight,” Chief said, loudly enough for Sharon to hear. Then he drew Alex closer. “But if you have to fight a big guy, duck under the first punch,” he whispered. “Skip in close and hammer him with jabs and uppercuts, and before he crushes you in a bear hug get away. Big guys aren’t 63

used to taking punishment. If you hurt him early, he’ll go down like a sack of potatoes.” “Thanks, Chief,” Alex said gratefully, even though he knew it’d take a miracle to get a lug like Billy Johnstone to fall to the ground. “Hey Alex,” yelled Sam a few minutes later as he headed out the door on his way to the train station. “Stay alive.” Was it a hint of worry he saw on Sam’s face? “Staying Alive, Staying Alive, ah, ah, ah, ah, Staying Aliiiiiiiiiive, ahh, ahh, oohh,” he sang in his best Bee Gees impersonation. She smiled. ‘‘I hope you fight better than you sing.’’

64

CHAPTER 14

The Fight

By the time Alex arrived at school the word was out. Billy had challenged him to a fight behind the trees in the corner of the school at lunchtime. The whole of Year 8 knew about it, and everybody was going to watch. I’m a celebrity, thought Alex glumly. Peter Callaghan was running a bet on how many seconds Alex would last from the time the first punch was thrown till the time he lay motionless on the ground. You could bet he’d last for over or under ten seconds. Adrian Dorry said Billy Johnstone put $10 on under 10 seconds. Jimmy showed his support and bet on over 10 seconds — all of 50 cents. But only because that was all the money he had on him, he told Alex. “The son of the great Chief Jackson? You’ll kick his butt, mate,” Jimmy assured Alex, his tone of voice betraying the fact that he didn’t give him a 65

hope in hell. “Unless you want to save embarrassing him and have me anonymously tip off the fight to the teacher on lunch duty …?” “Thanks for the vote of confidence, mate. Remember whose mouth it was that got me into this mess.” “And now my mouth can get you out of it, anonymously of course.” “Nah. I gotta face this bully boy sometime. It might as well be today. I just wanna get it over with.” During Religion in period 2, Mr Scott told them how the Romans persecuted the early Christians by throwing them to the lions. Alex knew how they felt. During Technology Studies in period 4 Billy stopped by Alex’s desk on his way to the bin. He put his arm around Alex’s shoulder and leant in close, his mouth next to Alex’s ear. Anyone who didn’t know better — which was no one, except perhaps Miss Pinzon — would have thought they were mates having a friendly chat. “Remember our little meeting, grommet,” he said in a low voice. “And don’t even think about not showing up ’cause I’ll find you.” Alex remembered what Chief told his fighters about showing no fear in front of an opponent. 66

He gave Billy his toughest look. “If we’re having a meeting,” said Alex coolly, “then who’s gonna take the minutes of me kicking your arse?” Billy squeezed Alex’s shoulder — or more accurately, the place where the neck turns into the shoulder and the muscles and nerves are at their most sensitive — like he was trying to extract the last dollop out of a tube of toothpaste. Though Alex could feel the pain all the way down to his tingling fingers, he didn’t flinch. “A regular little tough guy,” Billy said. “I’m looking forward to kicking your arse.” The bell rang and by the time Jimmy and Alex put their books in their bags, most of the Year 8s were already heading down in anticipation of the fight. They all wanted to get the best vantage points, as there wasn’t much room between the trees and the fence that signalled the perimeter of the school, and they also wanted the fight to start quickly before the teachers on lunch duty noticed anything suspicious going on. Alex began the long walk down to the corner of the school. He and Jimmy made their way through the covered area and were passing the library when someone stepped out in front of them. It was Becky. 67

“Hey Alex.” Alex realised she had never said his name before. Normally he would have been ecstatic, but he didn’t feel that good about life at the moment. “I want to show you something.” She gestured inside the library. He looked doubtful. “I’m kinda busy at the moment. I gotta mountain waiting to kill me.” “Aahh, this’ll only take a minute. Besides, your eyes might be too swollen to see after.” Another true believer. Alex looked at Jimmy and shrugged. “Let ’em know the entertainment isn’t far away.” They walked into the library and Alex followed Becky over to one of the long tables near the audiovisual rooms. Spread out on the table was a poster. In big writing across the top it said:

St Joseph’s College Skateboarding Exhibition Be There or be a Square Underneath the writing there was a magnificent drawing of a skateboarder pulling a grind down the 13 steps that were out the front of the library. It was incredible in its accuracy and detail: the black stains on the concrete steps, rust forming on 68

the metal rails, the blue and white school crest hanging on by its last thread on the outside wall of the library. It must have taken Becky hours to draw. Alex was stunned. Not only because this was the best skateboarding drawing he had ever seen, but because the boarder in the picture was him. Becky gave a shy grin. “I mixed the school magazine, a skateboarding poster and an old photo of you I got off Sarah Sceney and … Voilà!” “I didn’t know you could draw,” Alex said, still shocked. “You don’t know lots of things about me. No one here does. It’s my fault, though …” Tell her, thought Alex. Tell her about Juliette and what an idiot you’ve been. “Becky,” Alex said, “I gotta tell you something.” Tell her! She waited expectantly. “I gotta tell you that … I have a crush on you bigger than Uluru. Will you go out with me?” What are you doing? I said tell her, not ask her! She looked him in the eye. “I will go out with you, Alex Jackson.” Alex didn’t know what to say next, so he did the manly thing and bolted. “I gotta go beat up a mountain,” he said. “I’ll talk to ya later.” 69

“Alex, WAIT!” she called out. He was already halfway across the library. “Don’t fight Billy. You don’t need to. You’re better than that.” “You don’t know me very well, Becky.” He put on a smile and tried to make it sound like a joke, but it came out too hard, like he meant it. By the time Alex arrived everyone was getting impatient. Peter Callaghan and Adrian Dorry were having a muck-around wrestling match, some boys from 8 Yellow were trying to dack each other, and a few of the girls were pulling off some impressive handstands and cartwheels. Billy Johnstone was leaning on the perimeter fence with his left arm hanging loosely around Claire Carney’s waist. “The grommet’s finally shown up,” he said loudly, stepping away from the fence. Immediately all the action around them ceased. A semicircle, some ten rows deep, surrounded them. There must be a hundred of ’em here. There was an awkward moment as they faced each other. How are these prearranged fights supposed to start? Billy thought he’d get the ball rolling with a few insults. 70

“Alex Jackson. Skateboarder, grommet, retard.” The onlookers laughed. “You think you’re tough, don’t you grommet? Let’s see how tough you are now.” Alex took up his boxing pose. Hands high, elbows in. He’d heard Chief yell that phrase thousands of times, reminding his fighters to protect their head and stomach at the same time. He wondered if Chief had ever fought 20 kilograms out of his weight division. Billy walked in casually and took the first swing. It was a half-hearted effort, its purpose only being to get the fight started. Alex took Chief ’s advice and ducked under it easily, then quickly skipped in close and landed a combination, boom, boom, boom, right into the middle of Billy’s perfect, smooth-skinned face. Before Billy could think to grab hold of him Alex skipped away. There was an excited murmur from the spectators. Billy’s nose was bleeding! Or was it his lip? Was it both? Billy himself was shocked, but only for a few seconds. He’d underestimated the kid, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He moved in, slower and more warily this time. “YEAR 8s!” cried the biggest voice Alex had ever heard in his life. “It’s Letch!” yelled Adrian Dorry. “Run!” 71

Afraid of being summoned as witnesses and forced to spill their guts, the Year 8s scattered like ants before rain. Letch, however, didn’t bother stopping anyone and asking for information. He seemed to know exactly who he was looking for. “JOHNSTONE AND JACKSON, UP TO MY OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!”

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CHAPTER 15

Can Life Get Any Better? Yes!

Billy was glaring across at Alex as they sat waiting for Letch to get off the phone. Alex knew just what Billy was thinking. First I’m late for the fight, and then Letch shows up outta nowhere. He’s gonna think I’ve tipped him off. He glanced at Billy who was holding a handkerchief over his still bloody nose. Those punches must have really connected. As Chief always said, nothing gets a big guy’s attention quicker than a look at his own blood. For a moment Alex let himself feel pride. He had made the school bully bleed. He was going out with Becky Tonella, the hottest girl in Year 8. He was a skateboarder, a fighter and a stud! But another part of him was ashamed. He didn’t have to fight Billy. The only two people in the school he really cared about, Jimmy and Becky, didn’t even want him to fight. Why did he feel like it was so important to prove a point to all those 73

kids who had probably put money on Billy Johnstone to knock him out in under ten seconds? And what about what he’d done to Becky … he didn’t even want to think about that. But wouldn’t any thirteen-year-old boy with half a chance have done the same thing? Alex wondered what Casey would have said to him if he was here now. “Be true to yourself, and your board will be true to you,” was one of his favourites. Yet Alex didn’t know what being true to himself meant anymore. Letch hung up the phone and gave them both a long, mean stare. “JACKSON. YOU FIRST.” “It was just a … disagreement, sir,” said Alex, not knowing any other way of putting it. “THE BLOOD ON JOHNSTONE’S NOSE IS ALL BECAUSE OF A SIMPLE DISAGREEMENT?” Alex couldn’t tell if Letch was being sarcastic. His voice was too loud to pick up subtleties like that. “WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY FOR YOURSELF, JOHNSTONE?” Billy put on his sweetest smile, which made Alex notice that his lip was indeed bleeding, and began talking in his most respectful, suck-up tone. “Well sir, Alex and his friend, Jimmy Homan, have been 74

saying nasty things about me behind my back. I asked Alex if he’d meet me down at the trees in the corner of the school, so we could talk it through, sort of, man to man.” More like giant to dwarf. “As I started to talk to him, sir, he punched me three times in the face, for no reason. He made me bleed, sir.” Billy looked up at Letch for sympathy. Letch paused, taking a deep breath. “LET ME SAY ONE THING TO BOTH OF YOU BOYS. FIGHTING IS NOT TOLERATED AT ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE. IF I HEAR THAT EITHER OF YOU TWO BOYS ARE FIGHTING AGAIN, FOR WHATEVER REASON, I’LL SUSPEND YOU, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. IS THAT CLEAR?”

“Yes, sir,” they mumbled. “IS THAT CLEAR, BOYS?” “YES, SIR.” “JACKSON, YOU CAN GO. JOHNSTONE, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU FOR A FEW MORE MINUTES.”

As Alex walked out, the door to Letch’s office closing behind him, he could still hear every word Letch said. Even if he’d held both his hands over his ears, it would still have been impossible not to hear the big bloke. 75

“BILLY JOHNSTONE, HOW DARE YOU SIT THERE AND TELL ME THE BIGGEST BUNCH OF BULLDUST I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE! DO YOU THINK I WAS BORN YESTERDAY? SERIOUSLY, I WANT TO KNOW, DO YOU THINK I WAS BORN YESTERDAY?”

As he walked to class, Alex couldn’t help but feel he was having a good run of luck when it came to his dealings with Letch. Maybe the big guy is a closet skateboarder? When Alex walked into Tech Studies the whole class was whispering and staring at him. Becky had saved him a seat, but it seemed that everybody now wanted a piece of Alex Jackson. “What did Letch say?” whispered Linda Staccone, a pretty girl who, till now, had always looked right through him. “Is it true that Billy had to go to hospital?” asked Zane Beard. “Peter Callaghan reckons he saw the ambulance and everything.” “Okay, everyone, let’s get back to work now,” said Miss Pinzon. She gave Alex a concerned look followed by one of her warm smiles. Alex pinched himself. He was popular, he had a girlfriend, and even his favourite teacher was smiling at him. Can life get any better? 76

He was given an answer almost immediately, when Becky’s soft hand reached under the desk and rested itself on his right leg. He had no idea what to do, so he just sat there and shivered in pleasure. “You tipped him off, didn’t you?” Alex asked Becky, feeling like he should say something to his new girlfriend. “Tipped who off?” “Letch.” “No, I didn’t. But I’m glad someone did. Fighting is stupid.” “It’s a good way to become famous, though,” he said, almost to himself. There was another excited murmur as Billy Johnstone entered the room. As well as having a bleeding nose and lip, it was obvious that he had been crying, the red eyes and white tear tracks a dead giveaway. Alex knew that Letch had claimed another victim. Most of the class, however, had a different explanation. Alex had not only beaten up Billy Johnstone, he had made him cry. They looked at Alex with even more respect. Though safe for now, Billy wouldn’t rest until he saved his own rep. People like him cared about little else. But as Alex sat there basking in his 77

new-found glory, he wondered whether he was all that different from Billy Johnstone.

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CHAPTER 16

Mr Popularity

For the next few weeks Alex felt like he was living in the body of someone far cooler than himself. Girls smiled at him like he was someone important. Boys wanted his advice on crucial matters such as how to make a spitball, how to land a 180 kickflip, and how to attract girls. It was as if they thought that by hanging around him, some of his luck would rub off onto them. Jimmy thought it was hilarious that his best friend had become popular. “Don’t forget you owe it all to me,” he said. “I got you into that fight with Billy. Without my mouth you’d be nothin’.” The skateboarding group held another meeting and five new members showed up, including two Year 11 boys. “Way to break the big kid’s nose,” one of them said to Alex. Alex was surprised that Sarah Sceney showed up. She had left him alone since their talk in the library, not smiling at or 79

embarrassing him once. He wouldn’t admit it to anybody but he kind of missed her bugging him. Without Alex as a distraction she seemed to be even more dedicated to her studies, and was now getting A+’s instead of A’s. Alex asked her to take the minutes of the meeting and she did a great job. Not a love heart or Jack in sight. Billy hadn’t so much as looked at Alex. Alex was sure it was because of the pressure from Letch, but all the same he was glad. Billy’s group of friends no longer hung off his every word, and there was even a rumour that Claire Carney was going to dump him. Alex and Becky were getting along great, probably because they had hardly spoken to each other. For one thing, they didn’t have much time alone, and when Alex did ask Becky questions about her personal life she avoided the topic like the plague. Alex thought it strange that she wasn’t nearly as open to her boyfriend as she was to Juliette. I guess there’s more to lose with a real-life person. Everyone in Year 8 knew they were an item, which made Alex feel strange but good. When you’re going out with the hottest girl in Year 8, why hide it? They weren’t the touchy, touchy type couple, but when they were in the audiovisual 80

room watching a video on the history of the Catholic Church, Becky slipped her hand onto Alex’s leg and lightly stroked his skin, giving him goosebumps. They went on their first after-school date on a Friday afternoon. “What did you tell your mum?” Alex asked as they walked from the train station to his house. “I said I was going to the park with a friend.” “Did you say park or skatepark?” “I might have forgotten to mention the skate bit …” “Did she give you any rules?” “Only to be home by dark. She said there’s a lot of riffraff in the area, and she doesn’t want me hassled by them.” “Did you tell her you’re going out with riffraff?” She laughed. “No, not yet … mum’s got enough to worry about without that on her mind.” She slipped her hand into his. As they got close to his house Alex could see Becky was a bit nervous about meeting his family. He was nervous. His mum wouldn’t be home from work yet, thank God, but Sam and Chief would be around. Alex gave Becky the quick rundown on his family, and said they should try and get 81

changed and take off to the skatepark as soon as possible to avoid the cringe factor. Sam and Mandy were on Mandy’s trampoline, but when they saw Alex with a girl they quickly jumped off and ran to the fence. “Sam, this is …” “Becky,” Sam said, finishing off Alex’s introduction. “I’ve heard so much about you.” She smiled. “My sister, Sam,” Alex said to Becky, giving Sam a look that said, you better watch yourself, girl. “Wow,” said Mandy, “you’re really pretty. Why are you going out with Alex?” “Yeah, what are you doing with my brother?” Sam agreed. Becky laughed. They went inside and Chief was on the couch, wearing his usual shorts and singlet. “Chief, this is my friend, Becky,” Alex said. Chief ’s eyes widened as he looked up from the couch, and Becky’s did the same when she spotted his tattoo. This should be interesting. “Alex tells me you’re a boxer?” Becky said after they exchanged pleasantries. She was having a hard time taking her eyes off Chief ’s huge arms. “I used to be. Luckily I met Sharon right before 82

I was going to turn pro. She talked me out of it while I still had a few brain cells left.” “Well, you must be a good trainer. Alex has earned himself quite a reputation at school.” “I don’t think Alex’s mum would like to hear that,” Chief said. “A smart kid knows how to avoid a fight, but sometimes there’s no other choice.” “Sorry to disagree with you, Mr Jackson, but I think there is always another choice. I don’t like fighting.” “You sound a lot like Alex’s mum,” said Chief. Becky went to the bathroom to get changed and Chief looked across at Alex. “Nice girl.” “Calm down, Chief. She’s a bit young for you.” “Very funny. Is she coming for dinner? I know your mum would love to meet her.” “She’s gotta get home before dark. Her mum’s afraid she’ll be hassled by riffraff.” “Why’s she hangin’ around with you then?” Suddenly the big fella became all emotional. “I can’t believe my boy is growing up.” He looked at Alex tenderly. “He’s even got himself a girlfriend!” “Dad,” Alex said, disgusted, “I’m still a shrimp, and we’re not planning on eloping or anything.” “Still …” said Chief, his mind wandering. Too many blows to the head. 83

CHAPTER 17

First Kiss

Alex lent Becky his board and she rode to the skatepark as he jogged along beside her. She had talent for a beginner, and although she nearly wiped out an old lady at the bottom of a hill, it was a slam-free run. When they arrived they watched Casey doing handplants on the top of the vert and Becky was impressed. Who wouldn’t be? After a while Casey came over. “How do you do those things on a skateboard?” Becky asked him. “The trick is not to think,” he replied. “If we give our body the freedom to act without thought, it will find a way to do almost anything. We have to block out any distracting thoughts, but that’s not easy to do.” He winked at Alex. “The mind loves to be in control, and when you’re boarding, you have to surrender to your feet.” 84

“I’ll have to remember that the next time I play tennis,” said Becky. “I also fall off a lot,” Casey added, pointing to a fresh scar underneath his right knee, “so don’t listen to everything I say!” Becky sat up beside some of the hangers-on and watched Alex and Casey pull a few tricks. They started off with some fat ollies over the grind bar and then nailed some kickflips and heelflips. Alex felt like he was unstoppable. He looked over at the railing and knew it was time to tackle some unfinished business. “Sure you want to try that today?” asked Casey. “I’m ready.” Alex was feeling confident and why shouldn’t he be? He was popular at school, he had his hot-as girlfriend watching him, and he could pull moves like this blindfolded. Does the hero of a movie ever get wiped out? Of course not. This was no movie. He knew something was wrong before he even took off for the jump. Tell her! said a voice in his head. CRAAACCKKK!!! He landed on the very front of his skateboard and the nose immediately snapped off. Alex actually made it up onto the rail, and he was sliding, without a board, down the incline. But he was no surfer and he lost it down 85

the slippery, steep rail, finally stacking it to his left and banging his hip, shoulder and the side of his head on the ground. “Me board …” was all he could groan as Casey ran over. “Way to focus, man,” said Casey, examining the two pieces of the snapped deck. Out of the corner of his eye Alex saw Becky sprinting over to where he was sprawled on the ground. This is great. The hero being rescued by his girlfriend. “Are you all right?” she said kneeling beside him, stroking his forehead like he was a sick puppy. “Never better.” Casey asked Becky if he could speak with Alex alone for a minute. “What’s going on, mate?” he asked. “You should be making this trick in your sleep.” In two minutes Alex gave Casey an outline of how his life had become complicated. His crush on Becky and the way he had tricked her using Juliette. His rise to fame after the fight with Billy, and how he was sort of enjoying it. Becky’s secret, and now his lack of a skateboard. “I can’t focus … I mean concentrate on my tricks anymore,” Alex complained. “I feel like everything I do is wrong.” 86

“If you’re not at peace here,” Casey said, pointing to his heart, “you won’t be at peace here,” he said, touching his feet. “I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll ask around and see if I can get you a good deal on a new board. As for your other problems, I’ll have a think about them and give you some advice next week. That’s if you don’t figure it all out first.” “I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening.”

Alex walked, slowly and gingerly, with Becky to the station. As they sat waiting for the next southbound train to take her home, she turned and looked at him. “You know I think your Dad is really …” “Weird?” “I was going to say cool. My dad …” She sighed, not saying any more. “What?” Becky went to say something but stopped, only managing another sigh. “I must drive you crazy sometimes,” she said eventually, staring down at her fingernails. “I had a good start before I met you.” “Be serious for once!” She turned and looked at 87

him. “I don’t tell you anything about my life. I’m sad all the time. It must drive you nuts.” “Maybe a little …” “I just …” She paused. “What?” She went to speak and hesitated again. “Say it!” he said. “I just need to know I can trust you,” she murmured, looking down at her fingernails again. “It’s not easy for me.” Tell her. In the background Alex could hear the faint rumble of an approaching train. Suddenly Becky reached over and kissed him, her lips slipping softly onto his. She tasted wet and sweet, and he fumbled for the rhythm of the moment until he gradually caught on and their mouths started moving as one. The train screeched to a halt. “Better go,” she said, giving him one last, lingering kiss before bolting through the closing doors. As Alex watched the train glide away he realised his hip and shoulder no longer hurt and his head felt giddy rather than sore. It was his first real kiss.

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CHAPTER 18

The Fight: Part 2

At school on Monday something was going down. Kids were whispering and looking at Alex and Becky, but no one was talking to them. It was as if they had great big goobers on their faces and no one had the guts to let them know. It was mega weird but when Alex mentioned it to Becky she didn’t seem to care. She had been in a trance all day, her beautiful eyes even sadder than usual. Alex asked her what was wrong and she didn’t say anything, just shook her head and looked down at her fingernails. At first Alex thought that maybe someone had spotted them kissing at the station, but when it got worse during lunch he realised it was more serious. “What’s going on, Jimmy?” Alex asked. Being in the same class as Adrian Dorry, Jimmy would be sure to know if a juicy piece of gossip was flying around. 89

Jimmy looked cagey, which wasn’t like him. “Nothing, mate,” he said. Alex gave him a look as if to say, You’re not getting out of it that easily. “Just kids making up stuff, you know how it is,” Jimmy said finally. “What sort of stuff are they making up?” “Nothin’ … Just stuff.” “Jimmy! This is me! Alex!” “You’re not gonna like it.” “What is it?” At that moment identical twins Kirsten and Kerra Medhurst tentatively approached Becky, who was only a few metres away from Alex and Jimmy talking to Sarah Sceney. Kirsten and Kerra spoke like they were connected to the same brain, finishing each other’s thoughts in identical, singsong voices which rose in pitch at the end of each sentence making everything they said sound like a question. “We, like, just want to know if it’s true?” said Kirsten. “We don’t believe it. We think it’s, like, really mean what they’re saying about you?” said Kerra. “What are you talking about?” asked Becky. “We heard that, like, your dad’s in jail?” said Kirsten. 90

“And that he, like, stole a million dollars?” added Kerra. “And that he’s, like, a drug dealer?” “And he, like, killed a man?” “It’s not true, is it?” asked Kirsten. “Is it?” said Kerra. But Becky didn’t deny it. She just stood there, silent. Alex hurried over. “It’s a load of bullcrap!” he said loudly, making sure everyone in the vicinity heard. It was time to squash this story before it got out of hand. “Becky’s dad isn’t in jail. That’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever heard!” But when Becky started crying it no longer seemed so unbelievable. “Who told you?” Alex asked the two girls, his voice becoming hard. How could anyone have found out? It certainly hadn’t come from him. He hadn’t told anyone, even Jimmy. The twins didn’t answer. They were starting to fidget, uncomfortable in the presence of this crazy boy almost yelling at them. “Who told you that about Becky?” Now he was yelling. The twins looked at each other and ran away. 91

Alex walked over to Jimmy. “Who started these rumours about becky?” he demanded. Jimmy looked doubtful. “It’s not worth it, mate.” “WHO STARTED THEM?” “Don’t do anything stupid …” “WHO?” “Billy Johnstone.” Jimmy sighed. “Adrian Dorry told me that Billy knows a girl who went to Becky’s old school in Brisbane. She told him on the weekend, and he’s been telling everybody since.” Before Jimmy could stop him Alex took off. Kids who had kept half an eye on proceedings followed him excitedly. It wasn’t hard to figure out where he was heading. Everyone knew Billy and his group would be down behind the trees in the corner of the school. When Alex arrived he had trouble spotting Billy through the smoke. But when he saw him leaning on the fence, his arm around Claire Carney (she must not have got around to dumping him yet), Alex didn’t hesitate. “You’re a bastard,” he said, planting himself close enough to Billy to seriously invade his personal space. 92

Billy automatically puffed up his shoulders and chest. He’s bigger than half the guys at Chief ’s gym. “No, I’m not,” he said. “I got a dad, and he ain’t in jail.” Some kids laughed. That was more than enough of an excuse for Alex. He flew at Billy, too angry to worry about strategy, throwing every combination of punches imaginable. Jab, jab, left, right, left. He had quick hands from the hours he had spent with his dad in the ring as a young kid, and the training was coming back to him instinctively. With the adrenalin pumping inside of him he felt invincible. He must have landed a good left-right combination because the cut on Billy’s lip, still healing from a few weeks ago, split open. Alex was looking at the blood oozing out of it, and it made him feel good. It felt good to hurt Billy, the boy who hurt Becky. It felt good to be teaching Billy a lesson in front of all these people. He was teaching everyone a lesson. Treat Alex Jackson or his friends like crap and you’ll pay the price. Suddenly, before he had time to move, Billy reached out and grabbed him. Billy’s hands enveloped Alex’s biceps and lifted him clean up off the ground, as if he was made of helium. Alex’s legs 93

flailed and kicked at air, powerless to stop Billy. He knew he was stuffed. For an instant he met Billy’s eyes, mere centimetres from his face, and realised he’d taught this brute nothing. Billy chucked him at the fence. Maybe it was the fact that Alex’s head had taken one too many whacks getting slammed skateboarding, or maybe it was simply that the post his head hit at a rate of knots was made of steel. But his head rebelled. Big time. Alex floated outside of himself, as if he was suddenly a detached observer. He could actually see his own body lying on the ground, his split head beginning to drip blood, turning his blond hair red. I’ll look like Jimmy. He felt his uncontrollable anger of a few moments ago gently slip away, and things started becoming peaceful. He remembered that he used to think life was simple and wondered how a thirteen-year-old skate-grom had got himself into such a mess. And then he didn’t remember any more …

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CHAPTER 19

Dr Mum

When he woke up Alex noticed that Becky wasn’t in the room. His mum and dad, Sam and Jimmy were there, and even Mandy — probably to keep Sam company — but no Becky. “What’d I get?” Alex mumbled towards Jimmy, tentatively touching the humungous bandage wrapped around his head. He felt like an Egyptian mummy. “What’s that, love?” his mum asked. “Quick dear,” she said to Sam, “go tell the doctor that he’s woken up.” “Jimmy, what’d Letch give me?” “Umm, not sure,” answered Jimmy. It probably wasn’t a good idea to be discussing school punishments with a barely conscious kid and his worried family, but this was Jimmy, and he couldn’t help himself. “I rang up Adrian Dorry earlier and he 95

said that Billy got the rest of the week off for fighting. He reckons you’ll get the same.” “Suspension?” “Yep.” “Mum’ll kill me.” “I’m right here, Alex, and I won’t kill you,” said Sharon Jackson calmly. “I just want you to get better. The doctor said that you have a mild concussion. He said that he hasn’t seen such a bruised and battered head for someone so young in a long time. ‘‘It doesn’t beat my head, though,’’ Chief piped up. ‘‘They had to invent a new shape to describe it. It’s called a Chiefagon.’’ “When I’m better, Mum, will you kill me then?” “Probably. But let’s worry about that when you’re better.” Alex looked around and guessed he was in the emergency room at the Logan Hospital. The sign on the wall that said so made him pretty sure he was right. He still wasn’t totally with it, like he was living in a dream. The doctor came in and entertained the family with a well-rehearsed routine of head jokes (“you really used your noggin this time, hey Alex?”) He explained that Alex would have to stay overnight 96

as a precaution, but that he should be able to go home tomorrow. He also suggested that, for a while, Alex only skateboard on grass. The surface, that is, not the drug. Chief drove Jimmy and the girls home, but before Jimmy left, Alex asked him about Becky. Jimmy hadn’t seen her. Apparently while Alex was fighting Billy she had ran away from school. “Adrian Dorry reckons that, due to her circumstances and everything, Letch’ll let her off with a warning.” Alex lay back in bed and wondered what the chances were of him getting out of this room without a lecture from Dr Mum. He thought about the time he ‘‘borrowed’’ twenty bucks out of Sam’s moneybox to buy some new wheel bearings for his skateboard. His mum had made him feel so guilty that he not only paid Sam back in installments from his pocket money, but he also wrote an apology letter to his grandma, who had given Sam the money for her ninth birthday. Not good. He looked over at his mum, who was unusually quiet, and was surprised to see tears running down her cheeks. He had only seen her cry twice before, both times at funerals. Alex reached over and took her hand. 97

“No one’s dead, Mum.” “I was really worried about you,” she said, finally. “Well, you don’t have to worry now.” “You know what I was thinking about when you were lying there unconscious?” “No, but I have a feeling you’ll tell me.” “I was thinking that I hardly know you anymore.” It made Alex feel bad to hear her say that. “Of course you do, Mum. You know I hate brussel sprouts.” “I’m not talking about stuff like that. I’m talking about … remember when you used to get home from school and tell me everything that happened? You’d tell me how Sarah Sceney told the teacher that she loved you. What funny and crazy things Jimmy said in class. Now …” “Mum, that was years ago. I was in Year 5!” “Now, you’re getting into fights, and I don’t know why. I had to call George Letcher the other week and tell him you were scared of this big kid, Billy somebody, but that’s all I know because you won’t tell me.” “Billy Johnstone.” Now I know who tipped Letch off. “I even hear you’ve got a girlfriend now … Beattie?” 98

“Becky.” She sighed. “I guess it’s normal. Now you’re growing up you’ll want your own space. It’s just that, I miss our talks. I miss knowing you like I used to …” She started crying again. Everybody I know is cracking up! “Mum, I promise I’ll tell you everything. But just not now, okay? You heard the doctor, I need my rest.” He gave her hand a little squeeze. “I think you’re a rad Mum, you know that.”

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CHAPTER 20

Getting D and M with Chief

When Alex got home the next day he was feeling better. The huge bandage was replaced with a lighter one, and the cut on the side of his head wasn’t nearly as sore as yesterday. When the nurse was changing the bandage Alex asked if he could look in the mirror so he could see what his brains looked like through the split in his head. The nurse just laughed and asked, “Did you say mirror or microscope?” Sam had made a poster which she stuck on the wall in Alex’s room. It said, “My Brother is a Crackhead!”, and had a picture of a broken head being glued back together by dogs dressed up as doctors. While Alex was laughing at his sister’s warped sense of humour the phone rang. It was Letch. He asked how Alex was feeling and then let him know that he needn’t bother coming back to school for the rest of the week as he was on a four-day suspension for fighting. 100

Before he hung up Alex mustered up as much courage as he could and asked Letch about Becky. “I’m not at liberty to discuss other students,” Letch said, more softly than Alex had heard him speak before, “but I hope you get a chance to talk to her before …” He paused. “I know why you fought Billy. I have sympathy for the fact that you were standing up for the reputation of another student. Nevertheless, fighting is fighting, and that’s why you’re suspended.” A chance to talk to Becky before what? “Can we still hold the skateboarding demonstration next Friday?” Alex asked. “I don’t see why not. That is, if your head’s better by then.” I can’t promise that. At 2 o’clock Sharon Jackson got a call to say she was needed at work, so she decided to drop Alex off at the gym. Chief spent the afternoons there doing general maintenance and setting up the equipment before the night’s training session. He always made sure he finished in time to meet Alex and Sam at home after school, before returning to the gym to train the boys. Alex noticed his mum having a quiet word to Chief as she was leaving. She looked serious. 101

Alex helped lay out the skipping ropes and exercise mats and then worked the stopwatch as Chief went a few rounds with the heavy bag. Alex couldn’t help but admire his dad as he watched him work out. Chief may have been over 40 but he was in great shape. He got up at 5.30 every morning to jump rope and do push-ups and situps, and he always went a few rounds in the afternoon with the heavy bag. After three, three-minute rounds, Chief asked Alex to sit inside the ring as he wanted to talk to him. The sweat was glistening off his arms and chest as he stretched his hamstrings on the top rope, delaying the moment as long as possible. “Your mum asked me to have a talk to you about fighting …” Chief said. Having heart to hearts was right up his mum’s alley, but Alex rarely heard the Chief give it a go. He wasn’t much of a talker, though he was good at comic relief. He was more of an action man. “It’s hard for me to tell you that what you did is wrong,” he said. “When I was a young fella, no one got into more fights than me. I remember this one time, before I met your mum, I took on three bouncers outside the Kingston Hotel. I didn’t fare too badly, either.” 102

“Dad, I don’t think this is what Mum had in mind.” “Yeah, I know. But what I’m getting to is that for every fight I got into, I had a reason. I never thought I was a nutcase who’d fight for the fun of it, though some people might have disagreed. I’d only fight if someone abused me, or abused my girlfriend, or abused my mate or his girlfriend …” He looked like he was losing his train of thought. “So you’re saying it’s okay to fight if there’s a reason?” asked Alex. “I’ll tell you a story. One day, when I first started going out with your mum, I got into a fight at the pub with this bloke who called your mum a rude name when she turned him down for a dance. He was just a bloke who’d had too much to drink, but I didn’t like what he said to Sharon so I decked him.” Chief swung a right hook to show how he’d done it all those years ago. “I thought your Mother would be pleased that I’d stood up for her, but she was dirty on me like I couldn’t believe. She asked me what I thought I was doing? I was showing a bloke that he can’t talk to a woman like that, I told her. ‘You think you taught him something about how to treat people?’ she said, ‘by knocking him 103

out? You taught him something all right, but it’s not what you think.’ That got me thinking about all the times I was beaten up. All I learnt from getting my backside kicked was that I had to develop a better left hook.” He chuckled. “And I thought, ‘I wonder if any of the blokes I’ve smacked over the years changed even the slightest bit as a result of getting hurt?’ Did I really think that punching that loser who gave your mum lip would help him learn something? I knew that it wouldn’t. I probably knew it all the time. Your mum helped me realise that I fought mainly ’cause I liked it. I was good at it. It made me feel like a man to know people were scared of me.” Chief paused, and then his voice became quiet. “That was the last fight I ever had. I tell my boys the same thing. Boxing, it’s a sport, and for some of these kids it’s a good sport because it keeps ’em off the street. But fighting, that’s an attitude. It’s wrong.” For one of his first ever father/son deep and meaningfuls, Alex thought Chief did pretty well.

104

CHAPTER 21

Becky’s Secret

Friday came and Alex was bored from sitting at home all week, even looking forward to Sam getting home from school so he had someone to muck around with. He had talked to Jimmy a few times to find out the news from school and it wasn’t good. Apparently Billy was seen as something of a hero for the way he had picked Alex up and chucked him into the fence. Jimmy did say, though, that Claire Carney didn’t like the way Billy had treated Becky, so she dumped him. Joel Foster asked Claire to go out with him the next day and she said yes. The most worrying news was that Becky hadn’t been seen since Monday. No one, not Sarah Sceney or even Adrian Dorry, knew where she was or whether she was coming back to school. Peter Callaghan reckoned she was being sent to a boarding school in Alice Springs, but he was a totally 105

unreliable source. For once Alex wished Sam was at St Joseph’s. If anyone could have found out it was her. What Alex found ridiculous was that he didn’t even know Becky’s address or phone number. They had only been going out four weeks on Monday, though it felt like much longer. She obviously didn’t want anyone visiting or calling her at home and Alex hadn’t pushed her. But he never expected her to disappear off the face of the earth. She wasn’t in the phonebook so he called Telstra Information, but they told him she had an unlisted number. Why hasn’t she called me? Alex went to his room, opened his underwear drawer (the one place Sam wouldn’t look) and fished out the last email Becky had sent him. Well, not him, exactly, but Juliette. He remembered how he’d felt when he first read it outside the train station. He knew then that Becky had problems in her life he could never fully understand. That didn’t scare him away, though, just the opposite. He wanted to protect Becky, to stop her from getting hurt any more than she already was. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t care. That she didn’t have to have a perfect life with a perfect family for him to like her. He never said this to 106

her, of course. He didn’t say anything, just used the information she wrote for his own gain. Maybe if I had said something she wouldn’t have run away? Alex had never prodded Becky with too many personal questions. He wanted to give her time. But he never counted on Billy Johnstone finding out and spreading the news all over the school (with the typical exaggerations and lies thrown in) before Becky told him what she had already told Juliette. And she would have told him, eventually, Alex was sure of that. At the station he could feel that Becky wanted to open up, but she wasn’t quite ready, so she kissed him instead. It must have been hard for Becky when Kirsten and Kerra Medhurst started asking questions about her dad in front of everyone at school. She would have thought that he, Alex, was hearing it all for the first time. Maybe that’s why she ran? There were so many questions, and no one around to give any answers. The email in his hand was the only thing he had to remind him of Becky. The only evidence that she even existed. To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear Julie, I know what you mean about us becoming 107

friends quickly. I feel like I’ve known you for two years, not two days.- I like writing to you, as I feel I can tell you anything. You asked what happened to my Dad’s business. It’s a really sad story and I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about it. I can talk to Mum but she’s even more upset than me, so most of the time I try and cheer her up. I want to tell you what happened cause I’m sick of keeping it to myself, even though it’s pretty bad and you might think differently about me after you’ve read it/ But I hope not. My dad was really cool. He was always - and used to buy Mum and me the best presents. We lived in a posh house with a pool and a tennis court, and Dad is a really good tennis player and he would give me lessons twice a week. Then our life changed. One day last year a fat policeman knocked on our door and arrested Dad for fraud. Dad was a lawyer, and they say he stole $500,000 from the companies he worked for. He was found guilty and was sentenced to jail for five years. He also had to pay a $500,000 fine, so we had to sell our house and move to Beeton, a suburb of Logan City. It makes me really ashamed to have to 108

write that my dad is in jail. That sort of stuff happens to people in books and movies, but not to normal people like me, if you know what I mean. What annoys me is that my dad was always talking to me about honesty. When we played tennis he used to make me call the shot in if the ball was close to the line. Yet it was okay for him to cheat other people out of heaps of money. It doesn’t make sense. You can see now why I don’t trust men/. Well, I know that’s some heavy stuff, but I hope you can handle it. Thanks for cheering me up this weekend, and I hope we keep writing, though I’ll understand if you stop. Who needs a penpal with problems like these? Seeya Becky PS. If Alex asks me out, I think I might say yes! I still don’t trust men, but he seems different.

Alex folded up the letter, and returned it to the bottom of his underwear drawer. I wish I was different, he thought sadly.

109

CHAPTER 22

Casey’s Advice

Later that afternoon Alex took a walk down to the skatepark to see Casey. He had to promise his mum he wouldn’t skateboard himself, which wasn’t hard seeing as he didn’t own a deck. Casey was on the vert, as usual. He was practising tricks on the lip, or top edge, of the U-shaped ramp. He pulled tail stalls — resting the back of the board on the lip for a few seconds before dropping back in down the ramp; and rock’n’rolls — where he’d rock the deck onto the metal coping before spinning it around 180 as he rolled back down. These weren’t difficult tricks — Alex could do them on the small half-pipe — but he wouldn’t dare try them on the vert. You needed the guts of a sumo wrestler. Casey came over to where Alex was sitting and was shocked to hear about Becky’s disappearance, the fight with Billy Johnstone, and Alex’s stay in 110

hospital. He checked out the impressive scar that was forming on the side of Alex’s head. “Not bad for a grommet,” he acknowledged. “Don’t call me that,” Alex said, rolling his eyes. “It brings back bad memories.” Casey said he had a surprise for Alex so they took a walk out to Casey’s car, an old purple Gemini that looked like it was on its last legs. From the squeeky boot Casey pulled out a brand new, top of the line World Industries Everlasts board. He had fitted it with 53 mm Spitfire Wrathletic wheels, perfect for street skating. All up it must have been worth at least $300. “I talked the rep into giving you a free board. I said you’d be better than me in a few years, once you got your head screwed on right, so for him it’s an investment. You have to wear this though.” He threw him a SkateBiz T-shirt. Alex didn’t know what to say. Does this mean I’m sponsored? “What are you going to do about Becky?” asked Casey. “I wanna talk to her, but I don’t know where she is.” “You know her email address, don’t you?” “Yeah … though I’m not s’posed to.” 111

Casey looked down at Alex’s new board and hopped on, getting the feel of it with a few 360 degree kickturns. As he was spinning the board around and around in the one spot, he lost balance — a rare occurrence for Casey — and fell on his backside. He got up smiling. “I wanna ask you a question. When you’re trying to pull a trick and you get slammed in front of everybody, do you care?” “A bit.” “I don’t. I reckon that for every ten tricks I try, I’m gonna blow it five times. If people see me make the trick, that’s great, but if they see me miss it, no big deal. I’m not perfect. I know that, and I don’t care if other people know it. You following me so far?” “I guess,” Alex said, in a tone of voice that said no, not really. “If I’m skating tricks so that others will see how good I am, then I’m not really being true to myself. And chances are, I won’t make as many good tricks, anyway.” “So you skate better when you don’t worry what the other kids think?” “Exactly. Remember how I said I would think of some advice to give you?” 112

“Yep.” “Well that’s it. Don’t worry what others think about you. Do what you know is right. If people like it, cool. If they don’t, it’s their problem.” ‘‘But what about it you’ve already done something wrong?’’ ‘‘Then try and make it right. And be man enough to accept the consequences.’’ “I’ll try and remember that.” “Don’t try. Do it.” He knew what he’d said to his Mum, but Alex couldn’t resist having a go on his new board. Besides, he was in a hurry. He had to get to the library before it closed.

113

CHAPTER 23

Telling Her

To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear Becky, Hey there! I know I haven’t written in a while and I’m sorry. I just want to say that it’s not because of what you told me in your last email about your father. Well, that does have something to do with it, but it’s more complicated than that. Let me explain … I’m not who you think I am. I don’t live in Perth and I’m not even a girl. I’m a boy who lives in Beeton and goes to St Joseph’s College. Actually, you know me well. Very, very well. I’m Alex. Before I give you the rundown on why I did such a stupid thing I want to say sorry. Sorry about your dad. He did a bad thing and is paying the price, but you and your mum are as well 114

and that’s not fair. Sorry about Billy Johnstone finding out about your dad and spreading it around the school. (Did you hear he threw my head into a pole?) And sorry I pretended I was Juliette. From the minute I saw you I had a crush on you the size of Sydney. It wasn’t just coz you’re the hottest girl in Year 8 (though you are), it was coz you seemed real cool and nice. And I knew when you said no to Billy that you had good taste! But you also seemed sad, and I wanted to find out why. Then Jimmy came up with this stupid idea of finding you in an Internet chat room and before I knew it I was going along with it and writing emails to you. Since we started going out, one part of me really wanted to tell you what I did. I didn’t coz I was scared of what you’d think of me. I knew that you had enough trouble trusting people as it was, and if you found out what I’d done you’d dump me quicker than a tidal wave. I wish I wasn’t such a wuss. I want you to know that going out with you has been the best experience of my life. I was pretty stoked when I landed my first ever kickflip, but you even beat that! It’s hard to put into words 115

what you mean to me. It was more than just the good times we had, like at the station (though I’ll never wait for a train again without remembering you!) Even simple stuff like seeing you for the first time each morning, or sitting beside you in class, made me feel good about myself. I know that ever since we met you haven’t been feeling very good about your life. I wish we could have talked about stuff, like how you feel about your dad, your old school, even your tennis game! Even though I probably don’t deserve it, I hope that you’ll be able to forgive me. At the moment I have no idea where you are. Are you still going to go to school at St Joseph’s? I really, really hope so. It mightn’t be such a bad thing that everyone knows about your dad. You won’t have to hide it anymore, and as soon as the next piece of gossip comes along, all the kids will forget about it. If they don’t, it is their problem, not yours. I’ll wait for you to call or email me, though I’ll understand if you do neither! I hope I see you at school on Monday. By the way, Becky. I think I love you. 116

Alex. xxx

On his way out of the library, Alex gave the librarian a long, sweet smile. She didn’t smile back. The next morning Alex returned to the library to see if Becky had replied to his email. He logged on, typed in his password and waited expectantly.

There are no new messages.

117

CHAPTER 24

Grinding It Out

At school the next week, which was the last week of Term One, Alex discovered that he was no longer Mr Popularity. Other than Jimmy, only Miss Pinzon seemed genuinely pleased to have him back at school. “You poor thing!” she exclaimed, running her finger lightly along his scar. “I hope you’ll be okay for the skateboarding exhibition on Friday! I can’t wait to watch you in action.” “Action Jackson. That’s me, Miss.” A few boys wanted to see the scar and some girls asked about Becky, but most kids kept their distance and mumbled about the nutcase who’d attacked Billy and then got the living crap beaten out of him. Billy was enjoying his return to the limelight, and by Wednesday he had a new girlfriend, Linda Staccone. Alex had more important things to worry about 118

than his status among the Year 8s at Joey’s. Becky hadn’t been at school for almost two weeks now, and it looked like she wasn’t coming back. The only person who would know for sure was Letch, and Alex knew it was no good asking him. Every day after school Alex checked his email at the library, but each time he went home disappointed. The final skateboarding meeting was held on Thursday at lunch to make last-minute plans for the big event. Jimmy and Sarah Sceney had been busy during Alex’s absence. They had collected stickers from skateboard shops around the area to be tossed to the students who watched the demonstration. There were posters advertising the exhibition plastered all over the school, including the one drawn by Becky of Alex grinding down the stairs in front of the library. It made Alex sad just to look at it. The Year 11 boys had gotten hold of a homemade funbox to add to the course, so the skaters would have the opportunity of pulling some gnarly tricks. Their demonstration was to last an hour, right before lunch. On Friday morning Alex rode his new skateboard to school instead of taking the train. They set the course up in the morning, rubbing 119

candle wax on the kerbs and rails to make them more slippery for grinds and slides, and by 11.30 quite a crowd had gathered to watch. Alex was still down in the dumps about Becky, but he got the exhibition under way by pulling off a 360 pop shoveit, swivelling the board around 360 degrees in the air during an ollie. This brought a few oohs and aahs from the onlookers. His new board felt strange but was excellent, light and responsive to everything he tried. The Year 9 girl, Kimberley Lim, was really ripping it up. She was pulling some excellent 50-50s, jumping onto the kerbs and grinding along the edge before ollieing back off and skating away. The Year 11 boys tried some wicked moves on the funbox, entertaining the crowd more with their stacks than their successful tricks. Jimmy had the microphone and was loving it. Talking came easily to him, and he made the kids laugh with his colourful description of the tricks being attempted. Sarah was never far away from Jimmy’s side, and Jimmy was glancing and smiling at her at every opportunity. Jimmy and Sarah together? There’s no possible way. Alex gave Jimmy the prearranged signal to start the introduction to the big trick of the exhibition. 120

“Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, you are about to witness history in the making. Alex Jackson, skateboarder and slayer of the female species, is about to attempt a trick never seen before at St Joseph’s College. He will ollie up unto the 60 centimetre railing you see in front of you, and then attempt to grind down it until he jumps off at the bottom and skates off a legend. Ladies and gentleman, that is 13 steps he will attempt to grind down, an extremely difficult and dangerous trick. You’ve seen the poster, now see it in person. Let’s hear it for the one and only … ALEX JACKSON!” There was lots of whooping and hollering from the Year 8s, and polite applause from the older kids. Practically every kid in the school was watching. Even Letch and Miss Pinzon were looking down from the stairwell above Letch’s office. Alex knew that the odds were that he would get slammed in front of everyone, but for once he didn’t care. He’d been a hero and a fool already this year. He’d been in love and he’d been rejected. He’d try this trick because he wanted to, and if it worked he’d be happy, but if it didn’t he’d be fine. He was skating to his own beat. He picked up speed down the slight incline and popped the board with all his might to make it up 121

to the rail. He nailed it. Ssssss. It was the sound of metal on metal, the wheel axles grinding on the railing as it slid down, picking up speed down the 13 steps. Thirteen steps! It didn’t seem many to climb, but it felt a long way down on a skateboard. Alex was coming to the end of the rail and he kept his knees bent and his arms out on either side for balance. When he came to the end of the railing he pushed down with his back foot and braced himself for the landing. Bang! The four wheels hit the cement in unison. He skated off like it was the easiest trick he had ever done, and the kids went nuts. He smiled broadly, but not at the applause. He hardly even heard it.

122

CHAPTER 25

She’s Alive!

It was the end of the Easter holidays and Alex had spent most of it down at the skatepark. Casey had introduced him to the vert, and Alex was starting to get used to the scary feeling of dropping into a ramp that went straight down. He had even attempted a few simple moves on the lip, but needed more practice riding fakie down the ramp. It felt weird as. For the first few days of the holidays Alex had checked every afternoon to see whether there was an email from Becky, but he was sick of feeling rejected so had stopped going to the library. Jimmy and Sarah Sceney were going out and they made Alex sick with their pet names for each other (‘‘HeMan’’ and ‘‘Schnookums’’ were two) and the way they emailed each other three times a day even though they lived only a five-minute walk from each other’s house. 123

On the Saturday before Term Two started, Alex went to the library to have one last look in his email account. Sarah must have put in a good word for him with the librarian because she was much nicer to him now and had even ordered in one of the latest skateboarding videos. Alex never realised how handy knowing a librarian could be! He logged on, ready for disappointment, but he had one new message waiting for him from BeckyT. His heart nearly jumped into his mouth. To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Dear Alex, Hey. Hey, again. Hey. I don’t know what to say next, and I’m starting to sound like I’m trying to sell the stuff cow’s eat. Okay, here goes. Hey. I know I haven’t written to you or called you and I feel bad/. After that day at school everything got so crazy. I’ll explain everything later, but first … I hate you Alex Jackson!!! How could you trick me like that? I 124

really trusted you and you made me feel like an idiot when I found out what you did. That was low! If you were here now I’d be tempted to slap you, even though I’m opposed to violence in any form. Okay, back to the story. The Monday that you got into the fight with Billy I was really sad, if you can remember that long ago. On the weekend before, my mum told me that we were going to move to Italy for a while, coz her mum and dad live there and they offered to fly us over and let us stay with them. One reason I was so sad that day was that I had just visited Dad in jail to say goodbye. He was really nice about it and said it was a good idea for Mum and me to get away for a while. He even said that it would be good for my tennis to learn how to play on clay courts! He said that on clay courts the ball leaves a mark in the dirt, so everyone knows if the person is cheating or not. He said that he wished his work was played on clay courts, cause maybe then he wouldn’t have been able to cheat so much. He also told me he was very sorry for what he did to Mum and me. I cried heaps after that visit/. I was also sad coz I was leaving St 125

Joey’s. I was starting to like it there, especially some of the kids like Sarah Sceney and another boy, whose name has slipped my mind … So now I am in Italy! My grandparents are really nice (though their English isn’t very good, so I’m learning to speak Italian-) and my Nanna’s an excellent cook. So why didn’t I say goodbye? I wanted to on the Monday, that’s the only reason I came to school. Then, after you became crazy and went off to fight Billy, I couldn’t take it anymore so I ran home. After that I didn’t want to talk to anyone before we left — even you. I felt bad about everything. I was worried about you, though. I thought you might have killed Billy, you looked so mad! Well, that’s about it … Thanks for telling the truth about Juliette. I was and still am really mad, but I think I’ll get over it — one day. I like lots of things about you, Alex Jackson. I like the way you skateboard, I like your jokes and I even like the way you kiss.- I like you enough to ask you to write to me and tell me everything that is going on in Logan City. Did you buy a new skateboard? How did the skateboarding 126

exhibition go? Did you know Sarah Sceney stopped liking you and has the hots for Jimmy Homan? I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I doubt mum will want to move back to Beeton in a hurry. I don’t think she liked it there. Too much riffraff! Say hi to your mum, dad, Sam and Mandy as well as all the nice kids at school. I look forward to your email. BeckyTXXX PS. I don’t really hate you. I love you.-

127

CHAPTER 26

Normality

School started again and everything slipped back to normality. Peter Callaghan argued with Mr Scott about the existence of God. Jimmy’s mouth said stuff before his brain realised it was a bad idea. Adrian Dorry spread all the news that’s not fit to print. For Alex, though, school wasn’t quite the same. He didn’t look forward to watching videos in the audio visual room. There wasn’t a pair of eyes he was desperate to find first thing in the morning. There wasn’t a girl he loved so much that he would fight anyone who tried to hurt her, even though he’d learnt that fighting is wrong. There wasn’t another girl like Becky.

128

Glossary

360

50-50

axle boardslide coping cred deck dissed fakie fat

focus

Pronounced ‘‘three sixty’’. Three hundred and sixty degrees. Measure of rotation. Used to describe skateboarding tricks, e.g. 360 twist. Pronounced ‘‘fifty-fifty’’. A type of grind, ie. a 50-50 grind. Grinding with the axles of both trucks on the edge of an object. The metal rod running through the hanger on which the wheels are screwed. Sliding along an object using the underside of the board. Metal piping running along the top edge of ramps. Credibility. Main platform area of a skateboard. To be ‘‘disrespected’’ by another. Riding backwards on a skateboard. Used to express a skateboarding trick that is performed over a long distance or to a great height. Also spelt ‘‘Phat’’. Snapping the board into two pieces. 129

funbox gnarly grind

handplant hardflip heelflip

kerb

kickflip

kickturn

lip nose noseslide

A platform object with banked sides used for skateboarding tricks. Exciting. Moving along the edge or top of an object with the axles of one or both trucks. A form of handstand where the board is held in the air by either a hand or the feet. A kickflip combined with the board rotating 180 degrees. Flipping the board with the heel of the front foot so it spins around in the air. The board will spin in the opposite direction of the kickflip. One of the most used objects on the street for skating. Painted kerbs provide a smooth and grindable edge, though most can be made this way by applying candle wax. Flipping the board in the air by ‘‘kicking’’ the board with your front foot. The board will spin in the opposite direction of the heelflip. A turn where the board is rotated on the rear wheels with the front wheels raised from the surface. The top edge of the ramp. The part of the deck in front of the front truck. Opposite end of ‘‘tail’’. Sliding along objects such as gutters, rails and benches on the nose of the board. 130

ollie

Making the board jump without using a ramp or hands. Invented by Allen ‘‘Ollie’’ Gelfand. pop shoveit When the board rotates under the feet during an ollie. rad Short for ‘‘radical’’. Brilliant or spectacular. rail/railing Used by pedestrians for holding onto while going up or down stairs. Used by skateboarders for tricks such as grinds and slides. rep (1) Reputation. (2) Representative. As in the representative of a skateboarding company. rock ’n’ roll A ramp trick where the board is ‘‘rocked’’ over the lip, stopped, then turned and ‘‘rolled’’ back down the ramp. sick An impressive move or trick. slam Falling off the board and crashing. skatepark A place dedicated to skateboarding, which normally has various boxes, ramps and rails for tricks to be performed on. streetskating A style of skateboarding suited to pavements, streets and other public areas. switch stance Performing tricks with the feet in the opposite or unnatural stance on the board. tail The part of the deck behind the rear truck. tail stall Resting on the coping or lip of a ramp on the tail only. 131

transition vegie vert

The part of a ramp or bank that curves upward. A student in his or her first year of high school. A large U-shaped ramp.

132

First published 2001 by University of Queensland Press PO Box 6042, St Lucia, Queensland 4067 Australia Reprinted 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014 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. Typeset by University of Queensland Press Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

Sponsored by the Queensland Office of Arts and Cultural Development

Cataloguing in Publication Data National Library of Australia Flynn, Pat Alex Jackson: Grommet For upper primary and secondary school students. 1. Skateboarding – Juvenile fiction. I. Title. A823.4 ISBN 978 0 7022 3223 7(pbk) ISBN 978 0 7022 5672 1 (pdf) ISBN 978 0 7022 5673 8 (epub) ISBN 978 0 7022 5674 5 (kindle)