Alex Jackson: Closing Out Read online

  Pat Flynn teaches at Siena College on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Before becoming a teacher he was a professional tennis player and coach, travelling the world during the 1980s and 90s.

  He loves playing tennis, surfing, skateboarding and figuring out the meaning of life whilst hanging out at the beach.

  Closing Out is the final in his very popular Alex Jackson series which began with Grommet, followed by SWA.

  Also by Pat Flynn

  Alex Jackson: Grommet

  Alex Jackson: SWA

  CONTENTS

  Cover page

  Author Bio

  Also by Pat Flynn

  Title Page

  Dedication Page

  Chapter 1 – Leaving

  Chapter 2 – Possum

  Chapter 3 – First Demo

  Chapter 4 – Emails

  Chapter 5 – Alex in Alex

  Chapter 6 – Year 10

  Chapter 7 – Sam

  Chapter 8 – Claire

  Chapter 9 – Steve

  Chapter 10 – Dinner at Becky’s

  Chapter 11 – Present from Chief

  Chapter 12 – Nerves

  Chapter 13 – It’s Time

  Chapter 14 – Sad Siblings

  Chapter 15 – Claire 4 Alex?

  Chapter 16 – Kim Lim

  Chapter 17 – Retreat!

  Chapter 18 – Skinny Dipping

  Chapter 19 – Orange-Faced

  Chapter 20 – Real Love Wins

  Chapter 21 – No Picnic at the Park

  Chapter 22 – Practice Makes Imperfect

  Chapter 23 – Comp

  Chapter 24 – Paying the Price

  Chapter 25 – Saying Sorry

  Chapter 26 – Catfight

  Chapter 27 – Opportunity Rings

  Chapter 28 – 360 Flip

  Chapter 29 – RE Presentation

  Imprint Page

  This book is dedicated to those who taught me what it means to be a man, not all of them men. And to that loyal band of Alex Jackson supporters — thanks for making it real.

  CHAPTER 1

  Leaving

  Standing on the driveway, waiting, there was time for one last check. Not that he needed it. Sharon Jackson had already made sure his bag was packed with everything bar the kitchen sink. Picking it up, he changed his mind. It did have the kitchen sink.

  Nevertheless, it gave them something to say. Alex Jackson and Becky Tonella had had plenty of practice at goodbyes but they never were much good at it.

  “Skateboard?” asked Becky.

  “Standing on it.”

  “No wonder you’re taller than me. Toothbrush?”

  “Nah. I’ll use my finger.”

  “Gross. Toothpaste?”

  “I’ll use soap.”

  She made a face.

  “Just joshin’,” said Alex.

  “Jocks?”

  “Nah.”

  “What?”

  “Changed to boxers.”

  “When?”

  “On my 15th birthday. My old underwear wouldn’t fit.”

  “You sure?”

  Despite the comfort of Becky’s teasing, Alex was nervous. At any moment a minivan full of skateboarders would arrive. And these weren’t any skateboarders, they were the Zen team — featuring some of the country’s best vert and street rippers. His only comfort was that his mate Casey Marshall would be in the van. Casey and the rest of the Zen team were on the last leg of a national tour, and Alex had been invited along for the Queensland ride. Of course it was Casey who got him the gig that any 15-year-old skate-grom would die for. In trying to prove himself, Alex hoped that he wouldn’t actually have to.

  In front of the barbeque (which hadn’t been used since Alex’s dad, Chief, blew it up) Becky’s father, Alf, was talking about his favourite subject: Becky.

  “She’s practising everyday, getting ready for the GPS season.”

  “What’s GPS stand for?” asked Chief. “Grand Prix season?”

  “That’s car racing,” said Alf, drumming his fingers on the rusty hot plate. “Greater Private Schools. It’s the toughest school tennis competition in Queensland. Even though Becky’s only in Year 10 she wants to play in the first team. And she’ll do it, too. You should see the way she rips her forehand.”

  Chief wasn’t to be outdone. “Talking about ripping, one of my boys, Ben Wilson, is fightin’ for an Australian title next month. You should see his hand speed.” Chief delivered a flurry of punches in the air.

  “Jeff, can’t you talk about something other than boxing?” Sharon Jackson said as she brought out a freshly baked banana cake.

  Sharon was the only person who called Chief by his real name. Jeff Jackson ran the local boxing gym and it was funny to hear big Samoan boys respond to his orders of 100 push-ups with, “Yes Chief.”

  “I could. But not while my lovely wife’s in front of me.” He gave Alf a wink.

  Alex shook his head. His dad was certainly one of a kind. Alex went back to worrying about his first demo, tomorrow in Rockhampton. He hoped the locals wouldn’t laugh at him. Then he noticed Becky looking at him, the playful expression gone from her face.

  “This might be a bad time to bring this up but we need to talk before you leave,” she said.

  “You’re right,” he said. “It is a bad time.”

  If Becky knew it was a joke she didn’t show it.

  “Can we go somewhere private?” said Becky.

  “Let us know when the van arrives,” Alex said to the parents. “We’re just going inside for a bit. I forgot my toothbrush.”

  “No, you didn’t Alex, I packed it for you,” said Sharon.

  Alex went red. “Well, I unpacked it, and now I have to pack it again.”

  “Leave ’em be,” said Chief. “They just want a bit of alone time.”

  “Dad!” said Alex.

  “Don’t be long inside, Becky,” said Alf.

  She rolled her eyes.

  Alex’s sister, Sam, and her best friend and neighbour, Mandy Lee, were parading around the living room wearing, of all things, their new high school uniforms. Sam had on the long skirt, blouse and tie of St Joseph’s, Mandy the short skirt and sports top of Beeton High.

  “Do you think this skirt makes me look fat?” Sam said to Mandy.

  “Like a whale,” said Alex, patting her on the backside. “But don’t worry, you’ve got two weeks till school starts.”

  “Haven’t you left yet?” said Sam.

  “Don’t listen to him,” said Becky. “That uniform’s much better than mine. There’s a saying that goes, ‘The green dress of St Lucy’s makes the girls huge. The green dress of St Lucy’s makes the boys puke.’ ”

  “I was just joshin’, anyway,” said Alex.

  Sam turned around and tried to see her bum in the mirror. “Mandy gets to wear a sports skirt and top everyday, and I have to wear this. How am I going to play chasey?”

  “You don’t,” said Alex. “We have discipline at St Joey’s. Beeton High needs that uniform so kids can run away from gangs and drug dealers.”

  “Not true!” said Mandy.

  “Just ...”

  “Joshin’ ... yeah, we know,” said Sam.

  Becky followed Alex into his room. He shut the door — an occupational hazard of having a younger sister.

  “I can’t believe you are going to a posh school,” said Alex. “You’ll probably end up all snobby and won’t talk to me.”

  “I’ll be the povest one there,” she said. “All the girls will have pet ponies and dads who are doctors. I’ve got an old dog and a dad who ...”

  “Won’t leave you alone,” said Alex. “I’m surprised he hasn�
�t come in here after you.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” said Becky, sighing. “I know things haven’t been going great since Dad got out of jail.”

  Becky’s dad was a lawyer until he was caught flogging his clients’ money. Now he was an ex-lawyer and an ex-con.

  Things aren’t going great? thought Alex. He hadn’t noticed.

  “I’ve been spending so much time with Dad and tennis that I hardly see you. What I want to tell you is that when you get back from the tour I’m going to try and treat you better. I’m going to spend more time with you. That is, if you want me to?”

  “More alone time?” Alex asked hopefully.

  She smiled. “Maybe. You know how strict Dad is.”

  “He’s like Big Brother.”

  “He’s Italian, and I’m his little girl.”

  “You’re not so little anymore.” He moved in close. “We’re alone now.”

  “So we are ...”

  Alex bent down and flipped her legs out from under her. She gave a little squeal as she toppled back onto the bed.

  “Geez you’re clumsy,” said Alex. He pretended to trip, falling beside her. “But so am I, that’s why we’re so good together.”

  He noticed that her eyes were already closed, which had to be a good sign. He stroked her eyebrows, reached in with his lips when ...

  Bang, bang, bang.

  “Alex, the van has arrived.”

  It was Chief. They heard him laugh. “Make sure you’re wearing the right shirts when you come out.”

  Parents, thought Alex. Who invented ’em?

  CHAPTER 2

  Possum

  Casey wasn’t in the van. This freaked out not only Alex but also his mum.

  “It’s just that we know Casey,” she said to Mike, the tour manager and photographer. “We trust him. Alex has only just turned 15.”

  Mike was nodding sympathetically. When he did this you couldn’t help but look at his lip and nose studs bobbing up and down.

  “Casey rolled his ankle this morning in Ballina and had to have it checked out,” said Mike.

  “I’m not sure about this,” said Sharon. “I need to talk to Alex’s dad for a minute.”

  Sharon and Chief were in deep discussion when one of the skaters approached them. He was tall with dreadlocks and Alex recognised him immediately. Alex had a poster on his bedroom wall of him pulling a 360 flip.

  “Excuse me, Mr and Mrs Jackson, my name is Possum,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m a friend of Casey and he asked me to keep an eye on Alex on the tour. I promised I wouldn’t let your son get up to any mischief. If I do, Casey’ll make sure my life ain’t worth living.”

  “It’s just that you’re grown men and Alex is just a boy,” said Sharon.

  Go easy, Mum, Alex thought.

  “We’re used to having little grommets around,” said Possum. “No alcohol and early to bed is the rule. He’ll be skating so hard he won’t have the energy for any trouble.”

  Possum had a boyish charm that mothers couldn’t help but love. “And I’ll make sure he calls his beautiful mum every day the first week.”

  “Well, I s’pose if you’re a friend of Casey ...” said Sharon.

  Sam and Mandy came outside to check out the skaters. Possum was smooth, saying what a coincidence it was that all of Logan’s prettiest women were gathered in one place. He grabbed Alex’s bag and cracked a joke about it having a dead body inside.

  Alex gave his mum and sister a hug goodbye and shook Chief and Alf’s hand.

  He gave Becky a swift kiss on the lips.

  “Email me,” she said. “I like it when you write.”

  Alex waved goodbye as the van pulled out and everyone waved back except Becky’s dad. He was looking at his daughter, who had tears in her eyes.

  Possum introduced Alex to the rest of the team — Davo, Meat and Jonesy. “Was that your woman?” said Meat.

  “Yeah.”

  “She’s hot,” he said. “And it looks like she loves you.”

  “But don’t worry,” said Jonesy. “What happens on the tour, stays on the tour.”

  They all laughed.

  “You got that right,” said Possum, reaching into the esky. He threw Alex a beer.

  Mike yelled from the driver’s seat. “You promised his mum, Possum.”

  “I promise a lot of women a lot of things,” Possum said. “Don’t worry, grommet, I’ll only make you drink one, to celebrate. You’re a Zen skater now.”

  Alex felt bad but took a swig. I’m a Zen skater now.

  They made it into Rockhampton at 11 that night and drove around for half an hour trying to find a place to stay. Alex reckoned some of the places had rooms available, but the owners backed out when they saw a van full of skateboarders. The skaters bagged out Mike for not booking a place on the weekend of the biggest event of the Rockhampton year. Not the Zen skating demo, but the Rodeo.

  On the way up Australia’s number one highway (single lane and full of potholes once you got past the Sunshine Coast) Possum told stories of the tour so far. They had a bet going as to who could pick up the most women — and the score was 5-5. It was Possum against the rest of the team. Possum said that if quality was a factor, it would be 5-0 to him.

  “What about that brunette I met in Newcastle?” said Meat.

  “She looked like my Labrador,” said Possum.

  Mike said that Labradors were the best looking dog, which led to an all-in discussion about dogs, girls and comparing beauty across species.

  “I know this girl who has a face like a chihuahua and she’s hot,” said Mike.

  “Who is it, your sister?” said Possum.

  The talk finally got around to skating, which had been going great until Casey almost ripped his ankle in two when he landed wrong on a kickflip indy on the vert. “He didn’t cry though,” said Possum.

  Casey was staying with a local skateshop owner in Ballina who was an expert in treating ankles — he’d busted his ten times. The team didn’t reckon that Casey would make it back for the two-week Queensland tour.

  They ended up finding a couple of rooms at the local pub. This suited the skaters as they’d cleaned out the esky hours ago and they went downstairs to refuel. Alex sat with them but was starting to feel the pinch. He wasn’t used to travel and late nights. He was also worried about the demo tomorrow.

  “Official skating starts at 2,” said Mike. “But we’ll head down to the park about 11 to check it out and catch up with the locals.”

  Possum didn’t seem too worried, or tired, and he was already catching up with the locals. He sauntered up to a group of girls who were dressed in very little.

  “Watch Romeo in action,” said Jonesy.

  After a few minutes he brought the girls back to the skaters’ table. Possum did most of the talking and shouting (of drinks). The girls did a lot of giggling.

  A small blonde named Zoe kept playing with Alex’s hair, calling him “cute boy”. She was competing in the barrel races at the rodeo on Sunday. “Do any of you guys have girlfriends?” she asked.

  Possum was quick to answer. “We’re all single blokes,” he said, “except cute boy, that is.”

  “If there’s one thing I hate it’s guys who cheat on their girlfriends,” said Zoe, stroking Alex’s hair.

  “I hate girls who cheat on their horses,” said Possum.

  She punched him.

  The girls said they were going to the nightclub down the road and asked the skaters if they wanted to come. Mike said he needed some sleep but the rest of the guys agreed to go. Except Alex, of course.

  “Take our picture, cute boy,” said Zoe before they left.

  The group huddled together. Possum pulled Zoe close but she didn’t seem to mind. Mike took another picture and this time Zoe put her arm around Alex.

  As he lay in bed Alex wasn’t tired anymore. He could still smell Zoe’s perfume, and his stomach was a hard ball of excitement from the whole day. He
closed his eyes and thought of Becky.

  CHAPTER 3

  First Demo

  The next morning Alex was the first one awake. He walked across the road and rang his parents, answering his Mum’s questions as best he could without telling porky pies.

  “Is Mike a safe driver?”

  “He didn’t get any tickets.” He only overtook three times on blind corners.

  “Are they a noisy bunch?”

  “No ... they’re real quiet. They’re resting up for the demo this arvo.” They went to bed at 7am; they need all the rest they can get.

  “Any trouble Alex and ...”

  “I know, call you straightaway.”

  Mike yelled from across the street and he and Alex went to a cafe for breakfast. The other guys were still dead to the world. After paying, Mike gave Alex a 50-dollar note, for food, and said to come back for more when it ran out.

  Alex asked about the demo.

  “We’ll join in with a bunch of local rippers. They love to show the pros how good they are, so try and be on your game. I’ll be taking some photos and hopefully we’ll get a good turnout.”

  “What happens if I don’t land crap?” said Alex.

  “Then we send you on the next bus back to Logan,” said Mike. He smiled. “Don’t worry, grommet. You did a great job for us on the last video. Not many locals can throw a boardslide down 15.”

  “I got lucky,” Alex said.

  He wasn’t being humble. He meant it.

  They went back to the pub and Zoe came out of Possum’s room wearing one of his T-shirts and not much else. She looked at Alex guiltily.

  “I don’t normally do this,” she said. She scratched his head as she walked past. “Don’t think bad about me, cute-boy.”

  The skaters climbed wearily into the van and made Mike stop at Maccas. After devouring a dozen bacon and egg burgers they started to wake up.

  “How was she?” Meat asked Possum.

  “I’d say very good.”

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No. But I could tell by the smile on her face this morning.”

  “That’s because she snuck into my bed,” said Meat.

  “Then she would have been crying,” said Possum.

  They all laughed.

  “How do you meet so many girls?” Alex asked Possum.