The Bubble Wrap Boy by Phil Earle Read Free Book Online Page B

radar was off-kilter.
    “That’s just how I roll.” He grinned. “That’s what friends do!”
    There was no answer to that. I walked on, not stopping when he became distracted by a newly plastered wall at the school gates.

T his had been a bad idea. Terrible, in fact. The worst idea since the captain of the
Titanic
forgot to wear his glasses on that final night shift.
    I swore the ramp had grown another four feet overnight. Either that or I’d shrunk.
    I didn’t know which possibility was worse.
    Sinus wasn’t making things any easier either. Not that that should have come as a surprise.
    “Ha!” he shrieked. “Are you kidding me? Are you seriously going to throw yourself off that thing?”
    “I wasn’t planning to,” I said with a sigh, “but I might throw
you
off it if you don’t shut up.”
    “You can try.” He shoulder-bumped me, a little harder than a friend really should have, causing me to drop my board with a thud.
    I picked it up sheepishly, hoping the kids by the ramp hadn’t noticed.
    “I think I’ll stick to the other parts of the park for now. You know, just to ease myself in.” I was talking to myself really, but of course Sinus heard.
    “Good thinking. Why don’t you take a dip in the shallow end? Get your suit on and I’ll grab the hose.” He snorted through his nose, dislodging a booger the size of a family car.
Classy
.
    “Do me a favor and sit here, will you?” I motioned to the grass outside the skate area. “I think your support might overpower me otherwise.”
    “Good idea.” He threw himself down and became immediately fixated on both a public restroom wall
and
his notebook. With a bit of luck he’d be staring at them for the next hour and not me.
    My heart was thumping out of my chest as I walked through the gate; it felt like I had the chance to forget a lifetime’s embarrassments and start again with a clean slate.
    Immediately, I knocked a kid off his board as he sailed past.
    “Sorry!” I yelled.
    He waved back with a grin as he climbed back on board.
    My heart clambered back down inside my chest, warning me not to mess up again.
    There were bodies everywhere, all of them flying in different directions, some of them higher in the air than I thought humanly possible. I could feel the wind whistle as they went past; it was every bit as exciting as I thought it would be.
    I settled on the edge of a bench, only for another skater to use it as a ramp. He didn’t bother telling me to move first.
    He was so in control that he cut the air beside me, missing intentionally by inches. In that moment I fell in love even more.
    Two boys were watching, filming the move on their phones, whooping encouragement before sliding toward me. I knew them from school, older kids. All floppy hair and awkward shuffling feet. It seemed impossible to imagine them being graceful on a board.
    “We know you, don’t we?” the taller one asked.
    “Yeah, you’re the kid from the Chinese place. The weird one.”
    I didn’t dare correct him. Anything I could come up with under that kind of pressure would only reinforce his opinion, especially with my squeak of a voice.
    The taller boy, who was sporting a flimsy, misguided attempt at a beard, pointed and smiled.
    “Yeah, I know you. You’re the one who broke the janitor’s leg. Legendary fall that one. BIG ladder!”
    “Fifteen metal rods he had put in,” the other one chirped.
    This wasn’t quite the level of anonymity I’d hoped for.
    “Charlie,” I blurted, offering my hand.
    “Dan,” said one.
    “Stan,” said the other, and they both grabbed my hand in an elaborate shake that I struggled to keep up with. They were more dexterous than they were intelligent. I wondered if I should make it easier for them by changing my name to rhyme with theirs.
    “So how long have you been skating?” asked Stan, eyeing my board.
    “Not long. Few weeks.” I didn’t want to say any longer in case I stunk. I wanted them to be impressed, not