Vacant

Chapter Nine

The air was cool and the wind relaxed- finally. I could make out only two figures across the road. They were talking; calescent air absconding their mouths. One was short, the other was average height. The taller one held a board in his hand, while the shorter one was playing with his board on the ground.

            “And there they are.” said Luke, pointing to the silhouettes. There were no lights around the park, so we could only depend on the natural daylight.

            We walked silent across the road, until we finally reached the curb. Luke must have felt me stiffen, because he reassured me that he wouldn’t bring it up. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t bring it up.”

            So we walked over to his friends, and I could feel shyness wash over me.

            “Guys, I’d like you to me my friend, Chloe.” I could recognize the two boys now. One was Kyle and the other I assumed was Jay. They both nodded, and I could see it in Kyle’s eyes that something was off. I know he recognizes me, it’s too obvious. I tried to look away, maybe bowing my head would help, but it just made it worse.

            “Have we met before?” It was Kyle speaking, curiosity creeping into his voice. I gingerly lifted my head, noticing how Luke and Jay were staring.

            “Um…” I started, but didn’t know how to finish. The vibrating stares were making me feel nauseous, but thankfully Luke cut in before I could finish.

            “No, you probably don’t. She goes to that school,” Luke pointed toward my school, convincing Kyle that he definitely doesn’t know me. “So I’m positive that you don’t know her.” Kyle only nodded, and moved on with the conversation.

            “So, we gonna do some tricks?” Jay started to perk up, and Luke was smiling. “Yeah, definitely, but I promised Chloe I’d teach her some tricks,” Said Luke. Kyle chuckled, but looked a bit jealous.

            “Lucky girl, get to learn from the pro master himself.” He then walked away, Jay following his footsteps. We were then left alone, Luke slightly touching my shoulder.

            “So, what do you want to learn first?” he asked. I thought about it but then asked something different.

            “What did he mean by learning from the pro master himself?” I questioned, wanting to know how good Luke really is. He cast a glance at me, and grinned.

“He means nothing. He may think I’m good, but really I’m not so great.”

“Come on, you beat Jesse. You landed a move that took him at least four months to land it, much less perform it.” I said, thinking he must have gone crazy. He’s one of those athletes that know they’re good, but don’t want to show-off and make less-better athletes feel bad.

“Well…” he said trailing off. I cut in before he could deny himself any further.

“Well nothing. You know you’re good, so just accept it.” I finished it there, leaving a sort of joke at the end. He smiled and looked down, like he always does when he’s nervous. When he does that half mysterious grin, the butterflies in my stomach go wild.

“What about the trick Jesse couldn’t master right away?” Luke asked. If I learned that trick half as fast as Jesse did, then he would be so jealous.

“Sure, why not.” I approved, and he led me over to where Kyle and Jay were. They were riding the half pipe ramp, Jay gliding down while Kyle watched. It was pretty dark, but not as much where the point you can’t see anyone.