Roller Boy by Strykowski Marcia; Strykowski Marcia;

Author:Strykowski, Marcia; Strykowski, Marcia;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Published: 2018-08-30T16:55:27+00:00

Chapter 12

On Sunday, tango practice went pretty much the same as the first time. Mateo may not have looked any smoother yet, but he felt more comfortable with the moves and with Ted. Seemed weird to him how Ted was always so focused, always stating the rules of skating, as if it were some big important thing that mattered to the rest of the world. In fact, now that Mateo thought about it, he’d never heard him talk about anything else. It was like Ted ate, drank, and slept roller-skating.

After Hayley dashed out to her mother’s waiting car, Ted said, “You’ve been working hard for a couple of months now. Let’s look at some skates.”

Mateo followed him over to the skate shop like a zombie, hoping nobody would pinch him awake from this dream.

Ted picked up a pair of black ones from the top shelf. “The boots, chassis, bearings, and wheels all work together.” He spun them. “These wheels are nice and firm. They’ll give you a good roll for artistic skating—fast and slick.

Softer wheels give more traction, but they can slow you down. Here, try them on.”

Holding them in his hands, Mateo could already feel the difference. They were smooth and solid. And, just as important—black. He slid his feet into the skates and took care to loop the laces around each hook so as not to skip any, and BOOM, he immediately felt like a professional skater. His breath picked up speed. He wanted to skate more than anything. His fingers got clumsy as he struggled to finish tying the lace ends. Then he looked up at Ted, expectantly.

“Make sure they fit snug.” Ted took a seat on the bench, combed back his thinning gray hair with his fingers, and then pressed the toes of Mateo’s skates. “Well, maybe half an inch room at the most, in case you grow fast,” he added. “What do you think?”

“Wow,” whispered Mateo.

“Come again?”

“These seem good,” he said louder. Mateo’s heart raced, almost as though he worried these amazing skates would be taken away from him as magically as they’d appeared.

“Leather boots are best for wear and tear, but you can go with these in a less expensive material, since you’ll grow out of them before they wear out. Give them a spin?”

Ted didn’t have to ask twice. Mateo rolled out onto the floor and did a couple of laps. His feet felt more supported, and the ride was incredibly smooth. He wished he could wear them forever, but after a while he got out of the skates and forced himself to hand them back to Ted.

“There’s no way I can afford these,” he said.

“It will be like you’re renting them,” said Ted. “I’ll keep track of the work hours. It will all match up in the end.”

Mateo couldn’t stop staring at the skates. They were perfect.

Ted flipped one of the skates upside down, seemingly unaware of Mateo’s good fortune. “See here, these have nice bearings and solid plates.”

“Plates?”

“Right here. They’re what make your skates work.

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