Eat, Pray, Parkour

Who I Am And How I Fly

This class is utterly useless! I toss my long dark hair over my shoulder and give my bangs a good shake. They're not teaching me anything that will help or be of any use to me later! I've never liked physics. Or Algebra. Or school period for that matter. The only class I've ever liked in school was gym. Keeps me in shape.

"Ms. Oneill. Will you please tell the class what the next line in the equation will be?" Mr. Duke says.

I look up at the board.

line 1: vf= v0+ a times t

line 2: vf squared= v0 squared + 2 times a times angle x

So stupid. Just too easy. I get up and slowly walk to the promethean board to take up the pen. "Angle x equals one half times v0 plus vf times t." I say it as I write it out.

line 3: angle x = 1/2 (v0 + vf) (t)

"Very good, Ms. Oneill!" his broad smile makes his eyes look even bluer, "Would anyone li-"

"And then the next line would go something like..." I cut him off and keep writing, "...angle x equals t over v zero plus one half times a times t squared."

line 4: angle x = v0t + 1/2a(t)2

"Catalina...how did you do that?" Mr. Duke's smile is gone. He looks surprised. I don't know why he's staring at me like that, "We weren't going to learn to finish the equation until tomorrow." Oh...that's why.

"Sorry...guess I'm just a little faster than the rest of these juniors." I walk back to my seat. Yes, I'm a junior in highschool. I'm 16...where else am I supposed to be. Out there running.

"Hey, Catalina," Laverne Conrad was supposed to graduate last year...didn't happen because he got expelled after a fight. We've been friends since we were kids. He's 19. Needs to get out of here. "How'd you do that, Cat?" I cease to amaze him and his half brother Daren Garza.

"I dunno," I say, "Just knew."

"We still up for tonight?"

"Hell yeah! Goin to the warehouse right?" The warehouse is just that. A warehouse. Brendan Higgins, a friend of mine, owns it and let us clean it up and turn it into a parkour park. The whole place is amazing. Tons of crates and pipes and who knows whatelse to play on.

"Def. You bringing What's-His-Name this time?" What's-His-Name is one of my best guy friends, Lucien Collins. We'd dated my Freshman his Junior year. We never really broke up. I just dissapeared for a bit and couldn't get in touch. We remained faithful until I saw him at the fall festival. We caught up and I told him to go lay a nice jugalette for me. Yes, I'm bi. But so is Lucien.

"Yeah, yall cool with him?" The last time I had brought Lucien along with me for parkour, he and Daren ended up getting into a fight. And with Lucien being 5ft 11in and 187lbs of muscle and Daren being 5ft 7in and 145lbs of muscle, you can imagine who ended up against a wall by his throat. If you guessed Daren, you're right. And it was over the stupidest thing. Lucien is bi. Daren is pretty. Lucien tried. Daren freaked.

"Does he know we're not into him?"

"I talked to him. He said he'd keep his distance."

"Then we're good."

The bell rings and we head off to the band wing to pick up Daren before heading out to the parking lot.

"We waitin for Joe?" Daren asks, running a hand through his shoulder length dirty blonde hair. His biceps flex through the sleeves of his skin tight shirt and he squints his bluegreen eyes in the afternoon sun.

Joe, Jody Pittman, is the schools most wanted lesbian and my best friend of 3 years. She may only come up to my chin but damn can she pack a punch. She's not really into parkour but her obsession with TapOut gear goes beyond her MMA background.

"Yeah, but she's riding with me." I pull on my leather jacket and fingerless leather gloves.

"Hot damn, girl!" Joe comes up with Paige Jarvis on her arm, "You always look so f*ckin hot in your gear!" Paige is simply another of Jody's puppies that follow her around. Jody hugs her lightly before shaking her off and walking around Laverne's dark green Jaguar to embrace me, wrapping her arms around my waist and turning her head to the side so her face won't be in my breast. When we let each other go I hand her the spare helmet before zipping up my leather jacket and straddling my black Yamaha YZF-R6 motorcycle.

"We meeting up at the usual place or do yall want to try that new Chinese place on the street over?" I ask my friends as Paige scowls at me before walking away.

"Is it a buffet or sit-and-order?" Daren asks.

"Sit-and-order, but the stuff is pretty cheap for how good it is," I reply.

"Then let's try this new place of yours," Jody says, getting on my bike behind me.

"Cool," Daren and Laverne say in unison.

"Do you know where it is or are you following me?" I ask.

"I've past it a few times," Laverne turns the key in his Jaguar's ignition and the car starts up with a smooth roar.

"Yeah! Chinese food!" Daren punches his fist to the sky as he gets in Laverne's car.

I pull on my helmet and start up my bike. By now a few other kids are watching the chick on the sleek black motorcycle. Joe wraps her arms around my waist and I pop a wheelie before riding out of the school's parking lot.

"Show off," Joe's voice comes through the speaker in my helmet.

"Just giving the people a show!" I say into my mike.

I pull into the heavy traffic of the downtown lunch hour rush and weave through the tight spaces the cars around us leave. I gun the motor and we shoot down the streets.

Just like flying! I urge the bike to go faster and everything blurs and slows around me. It's just the bike and me. If I go fast enough maybe I'll really fly!

"Cat!" Joe yells. I come back to reality and notice the flashing lights in my mirror.

"Hold on!" she grips me tighter and I make a sharp turn down an alley. The cop follows. I turn again and the alley gets smaller. The cop still follows. I make another last second turn and...

There's a wall at the end of this alley and the cop car blocks the exit. The officer is out of the car pointing his gun at us.

"Get off the motorcycle and get your hands where I can see them!" he screams at us.

I turn the bike around and head straight for him.

"You're insane!" Jody's voice fills my head, "You're gonna hit him!"

At the very last second, I fishtail in front of the cop and get the bike turned around. Gunning the motor again I get us speeding down the alley and up a loading dock ramp. Faster and faster. I jump the bike at the end of the ramp and we fly. We're completely airborne. Weightless. One with the air. We sail clear over the back wall of the alley...right into a parking garage.

I land the bike effortlessly and we slide to a halt. Looking back I size up the wall. That's at least 15 feet. I hear police sirens in the distance and start my bike back up. We roll out of the garage and ease into traffic.

"Please go slow. Let's not attract any more attention." Joe pleads.

"Hehe...yes ma'am," I chuckle and weave through the thick traffic until we pull up to the restaruant. I have to fly like that again soon.

"Look who else is here," Joe nods towards the blue Ferrari.

"Not him!" I moan as we climb off my bike and pull off our helmets, "Not here! Not now!"

 

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Here's chapter 1 you guys! I know it's short but work with me...school's about to be over so I'll have more time to work on this and others...

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