Sunday I saw Chuck. He was skating. His friends pointed me out, laughing, making fun of him. I ignored them all, including Chuck.
All week I skated and skated and skated. I came home with bruises and marks all over. But I was so, so glad!
I did notice Chuck getting closer and closer to me, pretending not to see me. He almost bumped into me, accidently on purpose, but I dodged in the last instant. I could see he was mad and hurt at the same time. He wanted to speak to me again but had no idea how to do it - and I wasn’t helping. No, I was much more interested in skating.
And one day another boy said hi.
- Hello, I’m Gerald. Great pink board.
- Thanks! I bought it.
- My sister wants one.
- Oh, this was the very last one. Do you know “skate-a-doo”? - the shop where I had bought mine. He said yes, he did.
- Maybe if you order it.
- My sister wants to put ponies on it.
- It looks cute.
- I think it looks dumb. I prefer race cars! Hey, wanna race?
- Sure!
And so we did. We did all sort of stuff together, stuff, come to think of it, I used to do with Chuck. I peeked over and saw him, red with anger, eyeballing Gerald as if he was an eagle and Gerald a poor lost rabbit in a very big, dangerous forest.
Suddenly Chuck just took off and, accidentally on purpose, nocked Gerald down. They almost started a fight but the other kids stopped him. When Gerald left (limping) Chuck said to me:
- Amateur. I’m better than him!
And did a back 360 kickflip, perfectly, saying, casually:
- See?
- Hey, hey. Wait! Bonny.
I wasn’t listening. I skated faster and faster.
- Bonny, wait!
I was skating up the hill and reached the top. Stood there for a while, looked at Chuck, grinning.
- No! - he said with a scared look on his face. No kid was supposed to do what I was about to do.
But I did.
I skated down the hill (more like a mountain) and... well.
It didn’t went quite the way I expected.
I skated right into a very big tree.
Which I had forgotten.
I forgot a tree existed. That tree in particular.
So, there I lied and, soon after, Chuck stood near me with a frightened look.
- Bonny, oh my God, Bonny! Are you ok? Can you move, can you get up?
- Sure - I replied with a fake smile trying to be brave but the pain was almost unbearable.
- Argh!
- What, what?! Bonny, what do I do, Bonny!
- I’m fiiiine - I wasn’t. - I just have to go home and...
I tried standing. It was impossible.
- I think she has a broken leg - the other kids were already there. - We have to call 911.
- NOOO! - I pleaded. - My mom will take my skateboard away! You can’t!
- Bonny - said Chuck helping me lean back against the tree, so I could be a bit more comfortable, - you can’t walk. We have too.
I cried. The pain was getting worse. The ambulance came fast and took me to hospital.
- Don’t worry - said Chuck. - I’ll take care of your board - and kissed my cheek.
Suddenly the pain vanished and I stopped crying.
When I left the hospital all the kids wanted to sign my cast leg. And Chuck kept his promise: he protected my board, telling no one he had it. When finally my leg was healed and mom was calmer and after I promised and double promised “not to do something that stupid again! You could have died!” mom agreed to let me skateboard again.
- You were lucky - said Chuck.
- I guess.
- Not even grownup kids have the courage to do what you did.
I smiled.
- I just felt like it, you know. So I did.
It was good we were friends again. It felt right. I was so relieved he had forgiven me for causing him so much grief and embarrassment.
Suddenly, without warning, Chuck leaned over and planted a kiss on my lips.
- There - he said, grinning while my eyes enlarged and my face turned red. - I felt like it, so I did it. Bonny?
I tried to speak but was unable.
- Ye-yes?
- I like you too. A lot. Can, can... can we be boyfriends without anyone knowing it?
- I, I, I... guess.
- Great! ‘Cause I really like to be your friend too! Come one, I have a new trick. I’ll show you.
And that was that. We were boyfriends.
And friends at the same time.
I know it’s kind of confusing.
But not for us.
October 14, 2014