Chapter 15
A tall, thin man in a blazer and bow tie stepped onto the floor and tapped on a microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Girls and boys!” he bellowed in a deep voice. “Please welcome to the track our uncontested national champions, those murderous mermaids of the deep derby sea…the Flatiron Sirens!”
The crowd jumped to its feet, clapped, cheered, and whooped as a dozen skaters raced onto the track. The Sirens wore tattered tutus, fishnet stockings, and sleeveless black T-shirts with their logo on the front—a sharp-toothed mermaid wearing a derby helmet.
A jumbo screen came to life behind the announcer, and a photo of a grinning woman with long dreadlocks appeared.
“First out is a jammer so fast and fierce,” the announcer shouted, “she turns her opponents into stone statues. Give it up for…Merdusa!”
The crowd went crazy, stomping loudly on the bleachers as a petite woman shot out of the pack of skaters and waved. Merdusa’s thin, pale arms were sleeved in tattoos, and her long dreadlocks flowed out of the back of her starred helmet. Her tiny frame and sweeping strides instantly reminded Dorothy of Jade.
The photo on the screen changed to a heavyset woman with dark brown skin.
“Batten down the hatches, folks, because this next gal is a real loose cannon. Put your hands together for this powerful pivot… Boom-Boom!”
Boom-Boom, wearing a striped helmet, pushed through the pack of skaters and pumped her fist into the air. She thrust her hips to the left and right as the crowd chanted, “Boom, boom! Boom, boom!”
Gigi bumped Dorothy with her hip. “Now that’s my kind of derby girl!” she shouted.
As the rest of the Sirens were announced, Dorothy looked and looked for signs of common traits among the players. She couldn’t come up with any. Sure, they were all awesome skaters, but they were different sizes and colors and ranged from conservative, librarian types with round-rim glasses and carefully braided ponytails to wild women with shredded fishnet stockings and more piercings and tattoos than the average rock star. Even the skating styles were varied. There were booty-shaking jam dancers like Gigi, speed skaters like Jade, and even one woman who danced and twirled like Alex. Dorothy was beginning to think that her team of oddballs had some potential after all. Maybe you didn’t need to be a traditional athlete to be good at roller derby.
After the Sirens had finished a couple of warm-up laps, the Radon Rollers were introduced. Their team was just as mixed as the Sirens. Their jammer was a tall, slender woman named Spinning Jenny. Their pivot, named Anita Coffee, was a Latin woman with intense eyes who reminded Dorothy of Juana.
Had Juana said she would come to derby practice? Dorothy couldn’t remember.
The teams finished their warm-up laps, and several referees rolled onto the floor, taking positions inside and around the edge of the track. Boom-Boom and Anita Coffee, along with three of their teammates, crouched into a ready stance at the starting line. Merdusa and Spinning Jenny rolled into place a few feet behind them. The crowd grew quiet and…
