“Tell me,” he insists. “What’s happened?”
I swipe a hand over my face and avert my eyes when I spit it out. “The school sent Aunt Maddy a letter. My grades are too low and they’re threatening to take away my scholarship.”
Kai’s mouth drops open. “What? They can’t do that.”
I frown, nodding. “They can. My grade average is a condition of my scholarship.”
Kai’s shoulders broaden and his expression grows serious. “But the school sets the grades. They’re forcing you to fail.”
I chew a fingernail, digging my toes into the sole of my blades. “You think?”
“You have to follow their rules and what they make you learn,” Kai says, his eyes darting like they always do when he’s unearthing a conspiracy. “They want to kick you out because you won’t follow their rules. Since when do we all need to be robots?”
“But if I don’t follow the rules at Ashworth Academy, I have to go to another school.”
“So they have set an arbitrary number for you to hit?” Kai says, unimpressed. “School is already filled with facts they want us to swallow without question. Now they’re forcing you to memorize the curriculum to the point they find satisfactory? And if you don’t, they’ll punish you by forcing you out. This is bull, James.”
“I knew you’d see it my way,” I say, forlorn. “But what can I do? Aunt Maddy can’t pay the tuition, and I don’t want to change schools.”
“Yeah, not an option,” Kai says, shaking his head. “You can’t leave school.”
I roll alongside a guardrail, looking up at the clouds patch-working the blue sky. “Maybe dropping out will be the easiest option.”
“And then what?” Kai asks, dragging his foot alongside his board to follow me. “You want to work now and be a slave to the man? Nope, you gotta figure out a way to stay at Ashworth Academy.”
“It’s impossible. I’m so used to tuning out everything our teacher’s drone on about.”
“You’re not dumb. If you do listen, you’ll get it. It just sucks you have to feed on their version of facts and history.”
I sling my arm around Kai’s back and rest my head against his arm. “Why can’t I be like you and have parents who can pay for my education?”
“Because if that were the case, you’d be boring like everyone else. Don’t let anyone turn you into the version they want you to be.”
“I’m not interesting, I’m poor.”
Kai laughs. “You’re not poor anymore. Maddy’s cafe is one of the most popular places in town.”
“We still don’t fit in. Most people in Victoria Falls have ten times the money we do.”
Kai pats my shoulder. “Don’t compare yourself to the masses. You’re better than that.”
I nudge him off and shake sense into myself. “Ugh. What am I doing? I’m being such a downer. Your birthday needs to be more fun than listening to me whine.”
Kai grins. “Don’t worry. My birthday will be super fun.”
I smile with surprise. “You look sure about that.”
An excited grin grows wider on his face as he rolls his skateboard away. He gains speed and moves toward a ramp. My heart thumps with glee. I’m so glad my school news hasn’t brought him down. He’s right. I can’t let the teachers and administration bring me down. I’m an individual, and I’m awesome.
The good vibes bubble inside me. I lower into a squat position and force one leg forward, and then the other. With each movement, I gain more speed.I dip down a ramp and fly up the next. I gain air and grab my ankle and let out awhoop. As I hit the ground and circle around Tyler, he cheers me on. Lewis calls out, challenging me to race him around the obstacles.
Like it’s even a challenge. I run rings around these boys.
Lewis barely waits, flying on his board toward a ramp. I gain in pursuit, with Tyler on my tail. As I take the ramp and head for the row of small jumps, Parker moves in from my left. I leap up, taking advantage of my blades over their boards. I fly over two jumps at once, and then glide around the next two. I’m on Lewis’s tail as he takes air, aiming for a rail. I skid, aiming for the rail as I lower to the ground. As Lewis shreds the wheels of his board against the rail, I slide underneath, zooming out from under before Lewis leaps off the rail.
I swirl in circles, throwing my arms in the air. “Woo! You guys got nothing on me.”
Lewis kicks his board up and grabs it. “Yeah, yeah, Jamie. Whatever.”
