CHAPTER 1
A LONG DRIVE
“When will Dad be ready to go?” asked Avani Patel as she tried a kickflip in the driveway. Her skateboard spun in the air, but she didn’t quite stick the landing. Only one foot made it back onto the deck.
“The skate park is so far away,” Avani added. “I want to make sure we have plenty of time before it gets dark.”
Her older brother, Krish, pulled out an earbud. “Don’t know,” he said. “Ever since Dad joined the city council, he seems extra busy.”
Dad opened the garage door. He was about to get into the car, but then his phone rang.
“Sorry,” Dad said. “I need to take this call. Give me five more minutes.”
Avani sighed. She did another kickflip. This time she landed it perfectly. Both feet hit the deck with a satisfying clunk.
“Nice one!” said Maddy, skating over from next door. Maddy was Avani’s best friend.
Maddy tried the same trick, but she didn’t even come close to landing it. She stumbled forward as the board rolled away.
“Keep trying,” said Avani. “You’ll get it. It took me, like, three months.”
Krish pulled his board from his backpack and set it on the blacktop. He jumped, his board spinning 180 degrees in the air. Then he landed still facing the same way.
“Show-off,” said Avani.
“Not really,” said Krish. “Nailing a pop shove-it took me forever.”
“Fair,” said Avani. She had watched him struggle to learn the trick all last summer. He had worked on it in the driveway whenever they didn’t have a ride to the park.
“So, when are we leaving?” Maddy asked.
“Right now!” Dad shouted from the garage. “Hop in!”
The bummer for Avani, Krish, and Maddy was that the nearest skate park was an hour away in Longmont. They couldn’t just stop by after school. Or on the weekends. Every visit had to be planned ahead of time.
“How much farther?” Avani asked.
“We’ve still got twenty miles,” said Dad.
Maddy looked out the window and frowned. “What’s that up there?”
“Construction,” said Krish. Then he read the flashing sign. “Single lane ahead. Expect stopped traffic and long delays.”
Everyone in the car groaned. Then, traffic came to a halt.
After what seemed like forever, they started moving again. But it was not normal speed. Traffic crawled.
Dad tried to lighten the mood. “So, what kinds of tricks are you all working on today?” he asked.
“I’m going to try a board slide on the rail,” Avani said.
“Whoa,” said Dad. “That sounds hard.”
“It is!” said Maddy. “But I bet Avani will get it.”
It made Avani happy that Maddy thought she could do the trick. But Avani had big doubts.
She wasn’t even sure she would try the board slide. It was scary to jump onto a rail a foot off the ground on a skateboard! No one could say that Avani wasn’t brave, but Avani wondered if she was that brave.
Plus, Avani didn’t have a rail at home to practice. Today would be her first-ever try.
Or maybe I’ll stick with my usual tricks. Maybe I’ll just work on going down the ramp switchfoot, Avani thought.
“What about you, Maddy?” Avani asked, changing the subject in case she wimped out.
“Today, I am going to drop into the bowl!” said Maddy proudly.
“What? That’s amazing!” said Avani.
Avani was impressed. After all, Maddy had just started skating two months ago. Avani had been skating for two years. Avani was more interested in street features. But she admired people that could ride the bowl well.
“What about you, Krish?” asked Dad.
“I don’t know yet,” said Krish. “I’m going to check out the vibe. Then I’ll decide.”
Avani looked out the window and bounced her knee. She couldn’t wait to get out of the car and cruise on her board.