Before she could continue, though, shouts of excitement sounded behind her. A skateboard whizzed by so close, she could feel the breeze against her back. She spun around.
Finn the skater-boy was bowing to the crowd, his blond hair windblown and his grin wide and happy. His buddies gathered around to pound his back and bump his fist.
‘Bodacious “full cab”, brah!’
‘You are the “See-sen”!’
‘You mean “Sensei”, doofus!’
As she watched the skaters joke with each other, Ivy looked beyond them and saw girls in matching pale blonde, pixie-style haircuts. Skater-girls. They were cheering and applauding. ‘Go Finn!’
Ivy rolled her eyes. I can’t believe anyone could get that excited about a few flips on a skateboard! Turning her back on the skaters, she focused on what was important.
‘You know how I make friends?’ she said to Sophia. ‘I ask them questions, and they give me answers. Some people call that “conversation”.’
‘Yeah,’ Brendan put in. ‘You not making conversation is like a world-class baseball . . . thrower man not using his “wicked arm” . . .’
Ivy sniggered, giving Sophia a playful nudge. ‘See how odd you’re being – Brendan’s trying to make sports references.’
Sophia looked down, her fingers twisting through the strap of her backpack. ‘I . . . well, I didn’t . . .’ she stammered, then sighed. ‘I just became shy once I got here.’
‘You? Shy?’ Ivy shook her head in disbelief as Brendan gave a soft laugh. ‘OK, I was just joking before, but now I’m a bit worried – something weird is definitely going on here.’
When Sophia didn’t answer, Ivy gave a frown. ‘Look, let’s just go, OK?’ She scooped up Sophia’s backpack. ‘We can . . . Oh. My. Darkness.’ Her jaw dropped open as she saw what was revealed underneath. ‘Did you . . .’ her voice spiralled upwards in shock ‘. . . actually buy a skateboard?’
Sophia hid her face in her hands.
Ivy looked at Brendan, who just looked back at her with wide, stunned eyes. Then she looked back down at the skateboard. It was bright orange, and even more fluorescent than their school bus! ‘Why?’ she asked faintly.
Sophia shrugged. ‘I just . . . wanted to give it a try, that’s all. It looked like fun.’
‘But why did you come here?’ Brendan’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Why not skate in Franklin Grove?’
Sophia crossed her arms. ‘This is where the skaters hang out. Where better to learn?’
Ivy frowned. There was something in her friend’s voice. Something defensive . . . ‘Are you sure that’s the only reason?’
‘Of course it is! It was safer for me to practise here.’ Sophia lifted her chin. ‘If I’d tried in Franklin Grove, and failed, everyone I know would have seen me. It would have been too embarrassing.’ She stared Ivy full in the face, though it was difficult to see exactly what her expression was, behind those sunglasses.
Ivy was about to respond, when a chorus of ‘Cool!’ behind her cut her off. She turned and saw the skater-girls applauding Finn, who had probably just done another fancy move with a silly name. Ivy shook her head. Only ‘cool’ this time? What happened to ‘bodacious’?
She snorted. Maybe Finn’s getting over-the-hill already. But when she turned back round, Sophia was watching Finn intently from behind her sunglasses . . . and her mouth had formed into the same admiring O-shape that Ivy could see on the gingham-ified girls who were applauding the older blond boy.
That’s it . . .
Ivy nodded to herself. It wasn’t going to do her best friend any good to sit off to the side, making ‘goo-goo’ eyes at an older boy who didn’t notice her. If they weren’t careful, this shyness – so un-Sophia – might become permanent. And Ivy had seen enough of High School this week to know that it would be even tougher to handle if Sophia kept herself to herself too much. A healthy serving of ‘tough love’ coming right up, she thought.
‘You know, Sophia,’ said Ivy. ‘If you want to learn to skate, you should go for it.’ She stepped aside, clearing Sophia a path to the skatepark. ‘Right now!’
Sophia scooted backwards, clutching her board to her chest. ‘What?’
‘Come on. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?’ Ivy raised her eyebrows. ‘Hey, maybe one of the skater-boys will give you pointers if you need them.’
Brendan cleared his throat. ‘Um, Ivy, are you sure –’
But it was too late. Sophia was standing up. ‘Fine,’ she said, brushing off her jeans. ‘I will.’
Ivy gasped. Abort ‘Tough Love’, abort! ‘But . . . you could hurt yourself !’ And you weren’t supposed to call my bluff !
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ Sophia stepped neatly out of reach and walked calmly over to the crowded skatepark. As skaters turned to stare, she set her board down and placed one foot on it. Then she pushed forward . . . and her vampire super-strength made the skateboard fly into the air in front of her, leaving her staggering so hard, she almost fell over.
I can’t watch this! Ivy thought, hiding her face in her hands. But she couldn’t help peeping through her fingers as the skateboard went soaring. The other skaters scrambled to get out of its way.
‘Hey!’ One of Finn’s friends glared at her. ‘We don’t need a clown. This isn’t a circus!’