CHAPTER 7
A week went by, and Evan still wasn’t grounded. No one, not even Chris, mentioned skateboarding. It seemed like Grandma Narita had kept up her end of the bargain. Evan was starting to wonder if maybe Grandma could understand English after all.
But when Evan entered his bedroom Friday evening, he realized she hadn’t understood him. Not one bit.
“You have to be kidding me,” Evan said, his mouth dropping open. He stood in the doorway of his bedroom and dropped his backpack onto the floor. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
There on his bed, for the entire world to see, was a brand-new skateboard. A small white card lay on top of the deck.
“Oh, Grandma,” Evan whispered. “What have you done?”
Evan heard someone coming upstairs, so he moved quickly. He grabbed his bag, closed the door, and dashed to his bed. He eyed the skateboard and sighed. It had new grip tape on the deck and a cool dragon graphic on the underside. The rest of the board was covered in cool-looking blue and red flames.
Evan grabbed the card and opened it. Inside were Japanese characters, written in his grandma’s small handwriting. Though he didn’t understand them, Evan realized what his grandma meant.
Grandma thought I was asking for a skateboard, Evan thought. Somehow his hand movements had delivered a completely different message than he’d intended.
Then, outside his door, he heard footsteps.
Evan grabbed his new skateboard and slid it under his bed. A second later, the door opened. His father poked his head inside.
“We’re making popcorn for a movie,” Dad said. “I thought you’d like to join us.”
Evan stood up. His heart thumped fast in his chest.
“Sounds good, Dad,” Evan said. “I was just finishing up some homework. I’ll head down in a second.”
His dad smiled. “It’s only Friday night, and you’re already tackling your school work,” Dad said. “You make me proud, Evan.”
“Thanks,” Evan said. “You know me. I like to get it done right away. It’s better than worrying about it all weekend.”
“Good thinking,” Dad replied. He turned to leave and said, “Don’t work too hard. Be sure to leave time for fun and relaxation.”
“Oh, I will,” Evan said.
Once his dad left, Evan breathed a sigh of relief.
That was close, he thought. After he heard his dad’s footsteps on the stairs, he crouched down and pulled the skateboard from under his bed.
It was beautiful, but Evan knew it could get him into deep trouble.
I’ll just use it for the Skate-Off, Evan thought. I’ll keep it hidden until I can sneak it out of here. Then it can live at Ryan’s house.
Evan took one last look at the skateboard before sliding it back under his bed. Then he headed downstairs.
His whole family sat in the living room, watching the movie. Evan joined them, but it was hard for him to concentrate. More than anything, he wanted to head to the skate park to try out his new board. It didn’t seem fair that it had to stay hidden.