Demon Derby

Author:Carrie Harris [Harris, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-97420-4
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2014-07-07T16:00:00+00:00

After I left the hospital, I had dinner with my parents. It seemed like the least I could do after pretty much ignoring them all this time. I had every intention of calling Darcy and trying to hunt down Michael, but I actually fell asleep on my plate, and Dad had to carry me up to my bed. The last time I’d done that, I was seven. But I had to admit, this time I’d probably earned the exhaustion.

The next day crawled. I messaged Kyle with a bunch of derby videos and texted Darcy, with no response from either of them, since they were both at school. I didn’t have Michael’s number, which felt like a major oversight on my part. So I worked my way through a chapter on the Reformation and took the exam online before going back to bed. My body craved sleep; I’d been pushing it awfully hard, and it wasn’t happy. At least I didn’t hurt quite so bad anymore. I was beginning to think I might be over the hump.

I set my alarm to wake me up just in time for derby practice, because it was the only way I could think of to get in touch with Michael. Dad made me have some pizza before he agreed to drop me off. This time, I missed all the potholes on my way in, and no one tried to beat me up. I fully expected to meet Ruthanasia at the door and get thrown out on the street, since I technically wasn’t supposed to be here, but for once things turned out in my favor. Barbageddon saw me first. One minute I was scanning the rink for Michael, and the next I was smothered in dreadlocks as she gave me a hug.

“Casey!” she exclaimed. “I’m so glad to see you! How are you?”

“Fine,” I said, but that sounded really abrupt, so I added, “Thanks. Do you know where Michael is?”

“Not here yet, as far as I know.” She slung an arm over my shoulder. With most people, the gesture would have felt fake, but Barbageddon was friendly to everybody and probably didn’t have a poser bone in her body. “Hey, I know you’re not on the team, but before we start, would you show me those tricks you did at tryouts? I’ve jumped fallen skaters before, but it wasn’t half as fancy as those.”

If I didn’t find a way to distract myself until Michael showed up, the pressure would drive me mad, so I said, “Sure. We can start with the front tuck. That one’s easy, and it should be legit to use in bouts. Some of the others aren’t.”

I sat down, pulled off my shoes, and put on my gear. Pretty soon, I had about half the team leaping over each other. The jump itself wasn’t tough once you figured out how to handle the skates, but when you started adding defenders and turns, it got difficult quickly. Ragnarocker sent me flying twice, and the second time, I skidded right into the nubby carpet-covered wall with my head.

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