Skateboard Renegade by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online Page A

Lorena's.
    Zach tiptoed into his parents' room and opened up his mom's vanity table. He examined the half dozen pairs of earrings lying
     in the top drawer, but none of them suited his purpose. They were all much too ladylike.
    And then he remembered the small cubic zirconium studs he'd seen in Zoey's ears. They weren't for pierced ears, and they weren't
     really diamonds, though they did look like them. Zach decided one of the little clip-on studs would do nicely.
    He'd have it back by dinnertime, and she'd never miss it. True, she'd discovered the missing money in a hurry, but that was
     different. Even if she missed the diamond, he could just give it to her and tell her he'd found it on the floor.
    Confident that he was pulling off a harmless, easy little operation, he stole into Zoey's bedroom and quickly made off with
     one of her studs. He took a moment in front of the mirror to fasten it to his ear. Then he went outside, put on his gear,
     and pushed off for Moorehead Park.
    He could see the guys at the far end of the playground as he skated toward the park entrance. They were in full gear, helmets
     glinting in the late-afternoon sun. They were practicing going down a flight of four steps one by one. It was a pretty hard
     trick to learn, and falls could be particularly painful if you happened to hit the sharp edge of a step with an unprotected
     part of your body.
    As he passed through the park gate, Zach caught sight of a sign that read: MOOREHEAD PARK CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS STARTING MONDAY , SEPTEMBER 12. WILL REOPEN NEXT SPRING . A PROJECT OF YOUR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL , JAMES T . TAYLOR , MAYOR .
    “Next spring!” Zach gasped. “Why does it have to take so long to repave a stupid playground?”
    He let out an exasperated groan. Where were they going to go now to practice? Today wasWednesday. September 12 was next Monday. That left them only four more days after today!
    He slalomed across the playground to join his friends. “Hey, you guys. Did you see the sign?” he called out to them.
    “Yeah,” Farrell said. “Can you believe it?”
    “I'm gonna make my dad talk to the mayor,” Sam said, his face hot with anger.
    “What's your dad gonna do? Beat the mayor up?” Brian challenged him. All the kids laughed, except Sam and Zach. Zach knew
     he ought to laugh along, just to show he was one of the guys. But he couldn't manage it. He just didn't think making fun of
     poor little Sam was funny.
    “Where are we gonna go?” Zach asked, looking at Brian, because he was always the one who decided things among them. “The sign
     said, 'closed till spring.'”
    “We'll find someplace,” Brian assured him.
    “Okay, you guys,” Zach said. “Let's see what everybody looks like.” He removed his helmet, and let them see his new 'do.
    Instead of the whoops and cheers and jokes he expected, he got stone-cold silence. “What?” he asked,his smile faltering as he saw his friends stealing guilty glances at one another. “What's going on?”
    One by one, they removed their helmets. Sam, Kareem, Farrell, Jerry—not one of them had gone through with it!
    “What the —! I can't believe you guys!” Zach felt the blood pounding in his ears again, and he knew his face had to be as
     red as a beet.
    “We kind of chickened out at the last minute,” Jerry admitted.
    “We're gonna do it, though,” Sam hurriedly assured him.
    “Soon as we get the money together,” Kareem put in. “See, our parents didn't want us to do it, so they wouldn't pay for it.”
    “Especially after what happened with the police,” Farrell added. “Thank you, Brian.”
    “Shut up,” Brian said. He skateboarded up to Zach and put a hand on his shoulder. “I'm proud of you, man. You're the first
     to do the dirty deed. Except for me, of course.”
    “Yeah,” Zach said quietly, letting Brian give him their most elaborate, special handshake.
    “It looks good on you, dude,” Brian assured him.
    “Yeah, thanks,” Zach mumbled,