SkaterGirl

Chapter Thirteen

A few weeks passed and school became a bit more bearable. People still made fun of me, prodded me with questions I didn't know the answer to. It was difficult making it through each day, but my boys, Cayla, and Ms. Ames motivated me to get up and do my best every day.

It was Saturday and I was finishing The Fosters on Netflix and eating a sandwich. I got better about eating every day. Ms. Ames started making me log what I ate and at what time so we could see my progress. I wanted to be healthy.

More importantly, I wanted to be happy.

There was a knock at the door and I opened it.

"Hey, boys. Where's Luke and Cayla?" I asked.

"Well," Danny laughed and cleared his throat. "Vince here wants to ask Cayla out. And we thought we could use your help. Since you know her well and everything."

I let them in and we all sat around the living room.

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked Vince.

"Oh, yeah, tell her your 'grand idea'," Kyle laughed.

"I was just gonna ask her," Vince said.

I shook my head. "Sorry, Vince, but some girls like a whole big romantic gesture. Cayla is one of them. You're gonna need flowers, a pink poster board, glitter, and markers. I'll glitter it up for you, so you don't have glitter all over you. Oh, and you're gonna need that glitter paint stuff. You know what I'm talking about?" I asked.

"That stuff girls use on their projects?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Wanna ride to the store with us?" Danny asked.

"Uh... Sure," I nodded. "Let me go get ready."

I went upstairs and showered very quickly. It was nice to ride my skateboard again. And I had ridden it after school and on weekends, on occasion, but somehow, things started to ease back into normality. And I liked it. I brushed out my hair, made my face presentable, grabbed my purse, slung it over my shoulder, and went downstairs. The boys stood and we all skated to the store.

I directed the boys to the glitter isle to show them what I meant. Kyle got the poster board, and Vince got some pink roses for Cayla.

"I think they should be red," I said.

"No, these are Cayla's favorite," he said.

"Oh, okay," I held my hands up.

Danny came back with markers and we checked out. When we rode back to my house, I just listened to the wheels on the concrete. It was so nice to be outside and feel like me again. Even though I barely knew who I was, skating was a big part of me.

My living room quickly resembled Cayla's bedroom. Pink and glittery. That was when I realized how much I hated pink and preferred red. Call me crazy, but pink is insanely bright. Which makes sense, since Cayla was a bubbly, bright person.

When we were done, Danny and Vince went to Cayla's. They'd invited me, but I had wanted to stay home. Probably skate more. And Kyle wanted to stay with me for some reason.

"I'm glad you're getting out more," he said.

I nodded. "It's good to get out every now and then."

"So your birthday is in two days. What do you want?" He asked.

"What do I want every year?" I asked.

"You're getting something," he said. "You're gonna be eighteen. That's big."

"Not really. None of my birthdays are 'big.'"

"Well, me, the boys, and Cayla are gonna come up with something. You'll see," he said.

"Well, thanks," I said.

"Wanna ride?" He asked.

I nodded and we rode to the skatepark. Kyle showed me some of his new tricks he learned online and tried to reach me. Some I picked up on, others I couldn't do. He skated up the half pipe, flipped five times, and landed smoothly.

"Wanna try?" He asked.

"I'll kill myself," I said.

"Okay," he surrendered.

We rode up to the top of the half pipe to cool off.

"So, you liking school?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's fun. How bout you?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I only like seeing you, Vince, Cayla, and Ms. Ames."

"Mr. Rolland isn't bad," he said.

"Yeah, no, he's a good teacher, but Ms. Ames has helped me a lot," I said.

Kyle moved hair from my forehead and I gave him a confused look.

"It was bugging me," he said.

I suddenly felt very nervous. Like there was something in my stomach and in my chest. Air lumps filled my throat and I was unable to speak. It was a very scary feeling. I fiddled with my charm bracelet and wondered why Kyle wasn't saying anything. I looked at him and it felt like he was getting closer. So I grabbed my skateboard and skated down.

"Last one back to my house loses!" I called and skated as fast as I could to my house.