Dents

[+] Superfast Jellyfish

The place was called Skidd Marx's Main Street Rollerdome.

I was perplexed that they'd bothered to include the street name in the title. It was abundantly clear that Mr. Marx was not financially well off. He almost certainly did not have another location under his domain.

The building was in shambles. The parking lot was rife with litter and cigarette butts. I tripped over an empty soda bottle on the way inside and would have fallen had 2D not been close enough to catch me.

I didn't even have roller skates on yet, so I wasn't off to a great start. On top of that, we were well overdressed for such a venture.

The Rollerdome gave off a stench like rubber and processed cheese. It was a pungent smell that soaked into my pores, leaving an unclean feeling in my skin. The carpet surrounding the rink was stained with all manner of foreign substances. The wallpaper was peeling in various spots exposing the dusty drywall underneath. A hairy, disgruntled looking man stood behind a desk that cordoned off a closet-sized space packed to the ceiling with boxes. 

2D held my hand as he struck up a conversation with the man. His disinterested demeanor shifted when he recognized who he was speaking to. It became evident from their conversation that the man was Skidd himself. Apparently, 2D came here often enough to ask sincerely about how his wife was doing. I smiled at his authenticity.

He gave us the skates, waving 2D off flippantly when he tried to pay for them upfront. He grumbled something about 'treating your lady right' and went back to business. Business, so it seemed, meant sitting there with an unwelcoming stare waiting for someone else to ask for skates.

I sat on a sticky bench near the rink and tried to put the skates on. It took me a while. They were awkwardly shaped and I wasn't used to shoes with wheels on them. 2D was already raring to go. When he noticed that I hadn't tied my other skate yet, he kneeled down and tied it for me.

"Yew ready?"

I took a deep breath.

"As I'll ever be."

2D held his hand out to me, a wide grin plastered over his face. A lively spark shone in the darkness of his onyx eyes. The overhead lights of the rink highlighted him in a diverse range of blue, pink, and green. When the bulbs spun lazily away from him, the odd shadow covered part of his expression. He was as enchanting as ever. I didn't feel as apprehensive as before.

While the Rollerdome was in a state of disarray, the rink itself was clearly maintained with some level of competency. It looked like the only love the owner had for this place was in the lacquered wood panels of the rink and the lackadaisical lights hanging from the caved-in ceiling above it.

The building was empty aside from 2D and I, Skidd, and a young boy and girl whose parents were nowhere in sight.

2D held me steady while I kicked my legs like I was treading water.

"Ease up, luv. Relax some. I've got yew."

I had found out a lot of new things about myself over the course of the day. One was that I lacked the necessary class to wear a dress. Another was that I was apparently terrified of having wheels on my feet.

2D giggled softly.

"Wha's the matta, Saoirse? I've seen yew runnin' from gunfire 'n shimmyin' on the edge ov a seven story building, 'n yew're tellin' me yew're scared ov a lil skatin'?"

I huffed with displeasure. My ego stung. I crossed my arms and shifted my weight to one leg, eyeing 2D with a snarky look on my face.

"I - I - Ugh! I didn't know it would be so hard."