Snowboard Struggle

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  COVER

  TITLE PAGE

  CHAPTER 1: FIELD TRIP

  CHAPTER 2: THE NEW KID

  CHAPTER 3: SKATE KINGS

  CHAPTER 4: DINNER IS SERVED

  CHAPTER 5: NO-SHOW

  CHAPTER 6: MILES IN REAL LIFE

  CHAPTER 7: YARD SALE

  CHAPTER 8: ALL FUN AND GAMES

  CHAPTER 9: ONE AND DONE

  CHAPTER 10: MEET DAY

  CHAPTER 11: COLLISION COURSE

  CHAPTER 12: FAMILY

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  GLOSSARY

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  WRITING PROMPTS

  MORE ABOUT SNOWBOARDING

  EXPLORE MORE

  COPYRIGHT

  BACK COVER

  CHAPTER 1

  FIELD TRIP

  Thirteen-year-old Alex Landry scraped frost from the cold school bus window, pressed his nose so close his breath fogged up the glass again, and peered out. Filling the horizon outside were the towering ski slopes of Mount Kingsford.

  “Black diamond trails, here we come!” a voice behind Alex called out. Kevin Frye, Alex’s best friend since the day they first shared crayons and a Ninja Mummy coloring book in kindergarten, leaned over the back of Alex’s seat.

  A throat cleared loudly from the front of the bus. “Mr. Frye,” one of the chaperones, their biology teacher, Mr. Carlson, said. “Please be seated.”

  Kevin dropped back into his seat with a whump.

  Alex, Kevin, and the rest of the eighth graders from Kingsford Middle School were going to spend the day skiing and snowboarding on a field trip. For some, it would be the only time that winter they’d hit the snowy Wisconsin slopes. For Alex and his friends, though, it was the start of a winter filled with downhill fun.

  Alex had been a regular at Mount Kingsford for years. The collection of ski passes dangling from his coat proved it. He’d been snowboarding for as long as he could remember; he loved it more than anything else in the world. He and Kevin were members of the Kingsford Snowboard Cross — or SBX — team. So were their friends Eddie Dean, a massive middle schooler who looked like a figure from Norse mythology on a snowboard, and Tia Lin, a spark plug of energy. The first team practice was days away, and their trip today was a good chance to shake off a summer’s worth of rust from their snowboarding skills.

  The bus rumbled into the parking lot. A second bus filled with Kingsford students pulled in behind it. Kids in bulky snowsuits filled the aisle. They swished against one another, their boots clunking on the muddy floor.

  “Let’s go!” Kevin pushed into the aisle.

  “Dude, chill,” Tia said with a laugh. She should really have taken her own advice, though, because she elbowed in front of Kevin.

  Though the sun was blinding, it was bitterly cold. Alex’s boots crunched and squeaked in the snow. He jammed his hat over his ears and breathed deep.

  He loved the way the air numbed his fingers and cheeks, loved how each inhalation turned his lungs to ice and froze the inside of his nose.

  It’s a great day to snowboard, Alex thought with a smile.

  The two busloads of students headed to the chalet, a three-story stone and wood building. They flocked toward the rental counter. Alex and his friends, however, went to the chalet’s locker rooms, where large metal lockers held their boards and gear. They paid a steep rental fee for the lockers — according to Alex’s parents — but not having to lug around a snowboard each time they came was worth it.

  No one talked about which run they were going to hit first; they already knew. They always knew. Their destination was Ridgeline, a blue intermediate trail in the back of the mountain, flanked on either side by trees.

  They hit the ski lift and made their way up the slopes for the first time.

  Alex rode in the two-person chair alongside Eddie. He felt like he’d lost a bet. Eddie took up most of the chair, leaving Alex a sliver of space. As they rode up the mountain, Alex’s eyes drifted from Kevin and Tia in the chair in front of them to the trail below, a black diamond named Jagged Boulder.

  A streak of color carved down the trail. A snowboarder in a bright yellow coat sailed off a berm and landed softly in the heart of the course. Alex couldn’t get a close look at the person, though; they were there one second, gone the next.

  When they made it to Ridgeline, the quartet stood shoulder to shoulder at the start of the run.

  “Let’s do this,” Alex said, sliding on his goggles.

  Kevin offered up a gloved fist, and Alex bumped it.

  They tilted their boards and made their descent. The first time down a run was like the tumblers of a lock clicking into place. No matter how long it had been since his last ride down the powder, Alex knew how his body would respond to the board, to the hills and their unique obstacles.

  He crouched low and leaned into each turn. One gloved hand danced along the edge of the snow. Trees zipped past in his periphery. He hit a berm and caught air, twisting his board up and rotating in a 180. He landed riding fakie, with his opposite foot forward, until he hit the next bump and switched back.

  Kevin kept pace at first, as he always did. Before long, though, he pulled ahead of Alex. Kevin was the best boarder on the SBX team, and everyone knew it. Especially Kevin. Eddie lumbered behind them, with Tia carving circles around him.

  At the end of the run, Alex twisted his board and pressed his heels down. He came to a skittering stop next to Kevin. The others joined them seconds later.

  “That felt good,” Alex said, lifting off his goggles.

  “Ready for more?” Kevin asked impatiently.

  “I’m just getting started,” Alex said.

  He unlatched one foot from its binding and pushed off across the hard-packed snow. As he reached the lift, Alex caught a flicker of yellow again. He looked left, where the base of Jagged Boulder spilled out.

  The person he’d seen earlier — the streak of yellow that, as it turned out, looked to be a boy about his own age — raced down the slope. As Alex watched, the kid hit a jump and grabbed the back of the deck, twisting in a backside indy. He landed without a hitch and kept rocketing down the slope.

  Dang, Alex thought, Jagged Boulder is the toughest trail out here, and he makes it look easy. He remembered the last time he’d taken Boulder, how he’d wound up with bruises on both arms after coming off one of the trail’s small, cliff-like jumps from trying a 180 in midair.

  “Come on,” Kevin said, unaware of the skilled boarder who had Alex transfixed. He shoved Alex. “Load up.”

  Alex slid forward and waited for the lift to whisk him back to the top of the slopes.

  They made several more runs before breaking for lunch, and a handful more after they ate. As the end of the school day neared, the buses arrived back in the lot.

  Alex and his friends returned their gear to their lockers and walked to the bus. While Kevin bragged about his sweet skills to Eddie and Tia, Alex spied the kid in the yellow coat walking alone, hands shoved into his pockets. His coat was ripped under one arm, a puff of dirty white fleece sticking out and making him look like a torn teddy bear in need of stitching.

  “Scuse me,” the kid muttered as he breezed past Alex and Kevin and boarded one of the buses.

  I gotta figure out who that dude is, Alex thought. Because he makes everyone else on our SBX team look like they belong on the bunny hill.

  CHAPTER 2

  THE NEW KID

  The next time Alex saw the boy in the yellow coat, it was in the cafeteria the following day during lunch period. Kingsford Middle School wasn’t that large, but it was big enough to not know every face that walked the halls at every given moment.

  Alex walked through the cafeteria, p
lastic tray filled with pizza rolls, chicken nuggets, and tater tots. One section of the tray was devoted to a puddle of ketchup.

  The boy sat alone, tucked in a cafeteria corner. He had close-cropped dark hair, and even though he was seated, Alex could tell he was tall and skinny. He looked bored, picking apart a sandwich from a brown bag lunch. A battered backpack rested on the table beside him; he had one arm slumped over it.

  As Alex walked closer, he noticed a skateboard leaning against the seat next to the kid. A pass for Skate Kings, the skate park over in the Kingsford warehouse district, was hooked to his backpack.

  He was intriguing, this snowboarder who made black diamond trails look like backyard hills.

  “Alex! Over here!” Kevin’s voice cut through the loud cafeteria. Alex saw his friend waving. He, Eddie, and Tia sat at their usual table.

  Alex lowered his head and beelined through the cafeteria. He cast a glance back and saw the boy rolling a slice of ham from his sandwich and popping it into his mouth.

  “What’s the deal?” Kevin asked as Alex dropped his tray with a clatter to the table and slid in next to Tia. She was drawing intricate tattoos in blue ink on her forearm. “You forget where we sit every day?”

  “Yeah,” Eddie added, “You getting Old Timer’s disease or something?”

  “It’s Alzheimer’s, Eddie,” Alex said, laughing.

  “Sorry, I forgot,” Eddie joked.

  “Anybody know what’s up with the new kid?” Alex asked. He glanced back; the kid was still dissecting his sandwich.

  “What do you mean?” Kevin asked.

  Tia shrugged. “He was in my Civics class this morning. Don’t know his name.”

  Alex thought back to the kid defying gravity and whipping around in midair on his board. On a black diamond trail, to boot. “I saw him on Jagged Boulder yesterday,” he explained. “Maybe I should recruit him for SBX.”

  “He’s that good?” Eddie asked.

  “He’s better than good,” Alex said.

  “First boardercross practice is after school tomorrow,” Tia said. “Coach Gregg is always looking for new recruits.”

  “If his skills are solid,” Eddie added, “he should show up.”

  Kevin took another bite of food and smiled. “You want to recruit him?” he asked Alex. “Man, you could fill a solar system with the number of things you never follow through on. I give it one day before you decide to give up.” He laughed, and the others joined in.

  Alex felt his ears burn at the dig from Kevin. “All I’m saying is, dude needs to be on the team,” he said.

  He decided right then and there that he was going to make sure of it. No matter what it took.

  CHAPTER 3

  SKATE KINGS

  When the final school bell rang, Alex scanned the halls for the kid’s bright yellow jacket. He didn’t see him anywhere.

  But he might have an idea where to find him.

  Eddie was sitting at the top of the stone steps just outside the school’s front door. “We’re heading to Kevin’s to rip it up,” he said as he mimed playing a video game controller. “He’s got Zom-Borg 7. You in?”

  Alex nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I have to make a stop first, though.”

  “Whatever.” Eddie stood. “Probably going to grab burritos on the way. I’ll get you something.”

  “Cool.” Alex shouldered his backpack and started walking.

  It was a little warmer than the day before. The sun was masked by gray clouds. Alex’s “stop” was a bit of a hike, so he bundled himself up and began to hurry down the sidewalk.

  As Alex walked, he thought about his conversation at lunch. Sure, Kevin had been joking when he said Alex didn’t follow through on things. But his words rung true, whether he meant them or not. They made Alex think about all the times he was too nervous or scared to commit to something.

  Not anymore, he thought.

  By the time he reached Skate Kings, Alex’s eyes were watering, and his cheeks were frozen. The building was identical to all the other warehouses on the block: corrugated metal, large delivery doors. The only hint that Skate Kings was there at all was a small red door at the top of a set of cement steps. A sign above it featured a crown made from a skateboard.

  Music pulsed inside the skate park. The hollow, metal walls made it echo and distort. The park wasn’t much; it had a half-pipe in the center, and a section to the side with rails and stainless steel ramps.

  It wasn’t crowded and Alex lucked out right away. The new kid was skating in the half-pipe and getting massive air. He whipped his body around in tight 360s, as though he could control gravity. Alex perched himself on a plastic chair, watching until the boarder came down for a breather.

  The kid grabbed a candy bar from a vending machine, pulled out a chair at a table near Alex with a screech of legs on concrete, and dropped into it. Alex was nervous about approaching him.

  Suck it up, man, he told himself. You can do this.

  With slow, timid steps, he walked over.

  “Hey,” Alex said.

  The kid turned and stared at him with a mouth full of chocolate and nougat.

  “You’re new at Kingsford Middle,” Alex said, stating the obvious. “I . . . I saw you on the half-pipe.” He shifted on his feet. Man, I sound like a dork. “Pretty sick moves. I’m more of a snowboarder.”

  “Yeah,” the kid said. “I recognize you from the slopes. And the cafeteria.”

  “Yeah.” Alex adjusted his backpack. “Uh, I saw you, too. At Mount Kingsford. You’re pretty good on a snowboard.”

  “Thanks.” The kid chomped another bite of candy bar.

  “Ever think about joining the school team?” Alex asked.

  The kid chewed, then asked, “There’s a school snowboard team?”

  “Well, yeah,” Alex said.

  The kid chuckled and held up his battered skateboard. “I’ve had this deck since I was a noob. Changed the grip tape I don’t know how many times. But grip tape is cheap. I can’t afford to buy snowboarding gear. The stuff you get at the rental shop is good for blowing off steam on the hill, but you can’t race with it.”

  “Well, if that’s your reason, I’ve got you covered,” Alex said. “I have some old stuff you can borrow. We can go to my place and get it right now, if you want.”

  The kid was quiet. He stared off toward the half-pipe, watching a young skater tentatively roll from one side to the other.

  Finally, when Alex couldn’t take the awkward silence anymore, he said, “Whatever. Just thought I’d throw it out there.”

  As Alex began to walk away, though, the kid asked, “Why would you do that?”

  Alex turned back. “Do what?”

  “Loan me your gear. I don’t even know your name.”

  Alex shrugged. “I just want to help my team.”

  Another screech came from the chair as the kid stood up. “Yeah, all right,” he said. “I’ll take you up on it.”

  “Cool.” Alex held out a hand. “Alex Landry.”

  The kid shook it. “Miles Vaughn.”

  Together, the two boys slipped back into the bitter winter evening. Miles dropped his deck to the sidewalk and lazily pushed off. Alex shuffled along beside him as they began the cold trek toward the Landry home.

  CHAPTER 4

  DINNER IS SERVED

  “Dang, dude,” Miles said with a low whistle. “Living the high life.”

  The two boys walked through Alex’s neighborhood. Miles had ditched riding his deck; it was tucked under one arm. Instead, he balanced on the curb, taking in his surroundings.

  Alex had lived his whole life in the part of Kingsford known as Old K. The houses in Old K were enormous, with lawns outlined by trees and high fences. Alex had never given it a second thought. But Miles’s comment made him suddenly very aware of how ridiculously large the homes were. It made him weirdly uncomfortable.

  They cut down Elm Street, just a few houses away from Kevin’s. Alex could see bikes lying in the s
nowbank off the driveway, under a pool of light from a street lamp.

  Oh, crap, Alex thought. I totally forgot about Zom-Borg 7 and burritos.

  For a second he felt a pang of guilt but then shrugged. Oh, well. They’d be just fine without him.

  The Landry house was a two-story Tudor with white siding and red brick. Dead ivy flaked with ice crystals snaked up the walls.

  “What do your parents do for a living?” Miles asked as Alex punched in the code for the garage and one of the three doors rattled open.

  “Mom’s a lawyer,” Alex answered. “Dad works with computers. Beats me exactly what he does with them, though.”

  No one was home yet. They entered the dark house, flicking on lights as they went. Alex led Miles to the basement storage room and switched on the light. Walls of shelves were filled with bins of Christmas and Halloween decorations, baby toys, and clothes.

  “Man, you have a lot of stuff,” Miles said, plucking a plastic candy cane from a shelf and wielding it like a sword.

  “Yeah,” Alex said. “I guess so.” That feeling of embarrassment came wriggling back. He tried to shrug it away by directing his energy at a stack of boxes in one corner. Behind them, leaning against the wall, were some old snowboards and boots. “Here they are.”

  He dug out a board and held it out to Miles. It was blue with the white outline of a dragon wrapped around it.

  Miles took the board from Alex and inspected it. “Cool. Thanks, man.”

  “Sure thing,” Alex said. “You totally have to join the team, Miles. You’re good.”

  Alex snagged a pair of boots to go with the board, and the two boys made their way back to the kitchen. As they did, the door to the garage suddenly swung open, and Alex’s mom came whisking in, arms full. A colorful stocking cap sat atop her head.

  “Alex!” she said. “Give me a hand, would you?”

  The sweet aroma of egg rolls and kung pao chicken wafted from the plastic bags in her hands. Alex’s stomach rumbled like a slumbering animal waking up. He grabbed the bags and set them on the counter.

  “Who’s your friend?” his mom chirped.