CHAPTER 6
AVANI’S IDEA
The next morning, Avani trudged down to breakfast.
Dad smiled. “Good morning.”
“What’s so good about it?” asked Avani. “We did all that work on the skate park… for nothing.”
“True that,” said Krish. “I’m soooo glad I got involved in local government.” He rolled his eyes.
Dad set his spoon down. “Are you both giving up already?” he asked. “Why?”
“You heard Rita,” Avani said. “She and the others aren’t convinced Oakdale needs a park.”
“So…,” said Dad, “convince them. We have another meeting in two weeks.”
“But what can we say that’ll change their minds?” asked Avani.
“You’ll think of something,” said Dad.
That afternoon, Krish and Maddy practiced the same old tricks in the driveway. Krish did pop shove-its. Maddy worked on her ollies. Avani lay in the grass staring at the sky.
“Aren’t you going to skate?” asked Maddy.
“I’m thinking,” replied Avani.
“About what?” asked Krish.
“How it’s so unfair that we have to drive all the way to Longmont to work on our skating,” Avani said. “Oakdale has baseball and soccer fields. Tennis courts. A swimming pool. Even a disc golf park! So why not a skate park?”
“I know, right?” Maddy said.
“Maybe we can at least convince Dad to buy us a rail,” said Krish just as Dad opened the front door.
“Well,” Dad said, “I don’t know about that. But I can take you to Longmont tomorrow.”
Avani sighed. It was better than nothing. Maybe having space to move around and really skate would help her think. After all, there had to be some way to convince the council the skate park was useful to more than just the three of them.
Luckily, there wasn’t any construction on the way to Longmont the next day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky either.
“I’m heading to the bowl,” said Maddy as she skated off. Krish pushed toward the street features.
“I am going to the coffee shop,” said Dad. “Call me if you need anything.”
Avani nodded. She started cruising around the park. Her legs were still stiff from the long drive. Soon, her muscles were warm.
C’mon, Avani, she thought. You don’t get the chance to come here often. You just gotta do it. You gotta try the slide. She took a deep breath and headed over to the rail.
Other kids were already there grinding and sliding. She recognized one of them. It was Kira, an older girl from Avani’s school.
Kira was nailing some board slides. She made it look easy! She powered forward, jumped up, and slid effortlessly to the end of the rail. Then, just as smoothly, she landed back on the ground and skated away.
Avani looked around. She noticed other kids from Oakdale too. Krish had even met up with some school friends.
If only the council members could see how many people from Oakdale are here, she thought.
Then something caught Avani’s eye. Krish had his phone out. He was filming one of his friends pulling off tricks on the manny pad.
Avani smiled. She finally had an idea! She skated over to her brother.
“Hey, Krish,” she said. “The city council thinks it’s just a few kids who want the park, but there are so many people from Oakdale here right now. How about we show the council that… by making a video? We could film Oakdale kids skating and do a quick interview with each person.”
Krish raised an eyebrow. “I like it,” he said. “I like it a lot!”