CHAPTER 10
Before Evan knew it, it was time for his final run. The air horn sounded, and Evan hopped onto his board. He raced down the halfpipe and did a heelflip, making the board spin 360 degrees. He landed hard on the deck.
Halfway up the slope, Evan began to slow down. He reverted to face the other direction. Evan crouched down to build up speed and rolled to the spine ramp.
For show, he did a manual, raising his front wheels off the ground. When his balance wavered, he kicked off and headed for the ramp.
I haven’t landed a clean eggplant yet, Evan thought. Why do I think I can do one now?
Evan tried to forget all of the trouble he was in with his parents. In the minute he had left, he knew he had to try his best.
After all, this is the last time I’ll ever get to skateboard, Evan thought. I might as well make it count. With a burst of speed, he hit the ramp. Evan reached out and lifted the board between his legs.
Evan smiled. He was going to nail the trick! But suddenly, he lost his hold on the slippery pipe. He fell onto the other side of the ramp and landed hard on his elbow.
His skateboard clattered to the ground nearby as Evan rolled onto his back. He didn’t bother to get up and finish the run.
“Evan!” a familiar voice shouted. Evan sat up and looked at the crowd. His family was running toward him. They all looked worried. With a deep breath, Evan stood up. He met them at the edge of the park.
“Are you okay?” Dad asked. He put a hand on Evan’s shoulder.
“I’m fine, Dad,” Evan said. “The pads did their job.”
“I was so worried about you,” his mother said. She touched Evan’s cheek. “You know how I feel about these skateboards.”
Evan nodded and looked at the ground. “I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was afraid you’d be upset.”
Dad looked around. “I’d be more upset if you dressed like some of these other skaters,” he said. “Some of them aren’t even wearing helmets! I’m not happy that you hid this from us, but at least you’re being safe.”
Evan looked up. “So you’re not super mad?” he asked.
“You’re doing something you love,” Dad said, shaking his head. “I can see that now. And you’re good at it. How can I be mad about that? That doesn’t mean you’re not grounded, though. When we get home, we’ll talk about you lying to us.”
Evan looked up. The judges had posted his final score. He’d dropped to 12th place. That wasn’t good enough to make it into the finals. “Looks like I’m not that good after all,” he muttered.
Chris put his arm around his brother. “You did pretty well,” Chris said. “After all, this was your first competition. Or was it?”
“It was,” Evan said with a smile.
Just then, he remembered something. “I’ve got to ask,” Evan said. “How did you all know I was here?”
Grandma Narita said something in Japanese. Evan’s dad replied in her language, and they both laughed. Then Grandma pulled a crumpled piece of orange paper from her purse.
It was the flier for the Skate-Off. The same one Evan had thrown away.
“Grandma told us about the new skateboard she bought you,” Mom said. “Then, when I emptied the trash in your room, this caught my eye.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve said something,” Evan said. “I guess I should retire the board now.”
Dad shook his head. “You’d better not,” he said. “Your grandmother spent a lot of money on that skateboard. It’d be a shame to let it — and your talent — go to waste.”
Evan nodded. He couldn’t believe how understanding his parents were being. I should have talked to them about skateboarding a lot sooner, he realized.
“Thanks, Dad,” he said. “Thanks for understanding.”
“Does this mean I can skateboard again, too?” Chris interrupted, sounding excited. “I get my cast off soon.”
“Oh, boy,” Dad said. “Let’s talk about it over lunch, okay?”
Evan turned and looked across the park at Ryan. His friend mouthed, What’s up?
Since he was too far away to say anything, Evan gave Ryan a thumbs-up. Then he pointed to his family to signal he was leaving with them. Ryan smiled and waved.
Turning back around, Evan caught his grandmother’s eye. She smiled secretively and gave him the same thumbs-up signal he’d given Ryan.
“Thanks, Grandma,” he whispered, smiling at her. “Arigato.”
Then Evan picked up his skateboard and left the skate park with his family.
