Alex Jackson: Closing Out Read online

  “The trick is to tell ’em they’re beautiful, and say it like you mean it. Every girl wants to believe she’s beautiful. Convince her and she’ll do whatever you want, even kiss your scar.”

  “What?” said Alex.

  “Possum’s got a scar on his thigh from when he attempted to straddle a 10-stair rail in Sydney,” said Mike.

  “Chicks love it,” said Possum. “You should get one, cute-boy.”

  The park was crowded with kids, many zigzagging across the park the wrong way. However, the team got some practice in before lunch. The surface was rough as guts and Alex’s feet couldn’t seem to find the wood whenever he attempted anything big. Though he had a hangover, Possum pulled a 360 flip first time over a bank.

  The kids crowded around wanting autographs and free gear, and Mike told them to come back at 2 and to bring their friends. One little girl asked Alex to sign her scooter. It was his first-ever autograph but he’d practised his signature heaps of times and was confident he’d got it just right.

  “What’s your name?” she said, squinting at his writing.

  They went back to the pub before the demo. Alex couldn’t eat anything. Possum ordered a beer to go with his steak and chips.

  “Just one to relax,” he said.

  Back at the park they were introduced to the local skaters and Mike set up the PA system. He kicked the demo off by tossing out some product and promising a free deck to the local who nailed the best trick. After that it was on. Kids younger than Alex were attempting moves they had no right to be trying. Worse still, some were pulling them off.

  There was a nice height handrail which on his day Alex could crush. Unfortunately, this wasn’t his day. After he bailed on a nollie to boardslide for the umpteenth time one of the locals gave him a hard time.

  “Hey kid. How did you get sponsored? Your dad own the team?”

  Possum was nearby. “Your dad own the ugly factory?” he said to the local. “Looking at your face I’d say he must.”

  Possum came over. “You’re trying too hard, Jackson,” he said. “Why are you here?”

  “Ummm.”

  “It’s not a trick question. Why do you ride a skateboard?”

  “Because it’s fun?”

  “You got it, Einstein. The better tricks you do, the more fun you have. If you land nothing, who cares? You get to go home and call that pretty girl of yours.”

  Alex smiled. After that he loosened up and landed some good stuff. He ollied to backside tailslide across one of the boxes, and he got a cheer when he pulled a noseslide to shove-it out on the rail.

  Possum gave him five and then landed the trick of the day with a 360 flip to fakie on one of the ramps. Alex decided that his goal was to learn to 360 flip. It looked cool as.

  That night Casey called. Alex told him all about the demo and how Possum had helped him out.

  “I like Possum,’’ said Casey. ‘‘He’d do anything for you and there isn’t much he doesn’t know about skating. But I wouldn’t listen to everything he says.”

  “Why not?”

  “He’s not the most honest bloke in the world.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Has he met a girl there yet?”

  “Yeah. Zoe. She’s nice.”

  “So is his girlfriend.”

  “Possum’s got a girlfriend?”

  “And a baby girl.”

  Alex didn’t want to hear this. “Does his girlfriend know he cheats on her?”

  “You’d think she would, but apparently not. Whenever she gets suspicious Possum accuses her of cheating, to throw her off track.”

  “Why does he stay with her?”

  “He wants his cake, and to eat other cake, too. It’s the way he’s always treated women, and he gets away with it.”

  “He’s still a good guy,” said Alex.

  “To us, maybe.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Emails

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Dear Becky

  I know this has been slow in coming but there are reasons. The places we’ve been to were so small they didn’t have the internet. Or if they did, it was always broken. Also, Possum kept coming up behind me and pressing send when I hadn’t written anything. But I’ve found an Internet Cafe and the guys are all on the beach.

  How are you? Almost ready for school to start? ): I can’t believe we are in Year 10. It seems like yesterday it was Year 8 and we were holding hands in the AV room. I wish we were at the same school so we could do it again.

  The tour is heaps fun. At first I was nervous but Possum and the guys are cool. I’ve been skating hard, not nearly as pro as them but I’ve pulled some good moves. We went for a photo session this morning in Maroochydore and I kickflipped it down 9.

  Tomorrow is our last demo at Alexandra Headlands . I’ve heard it’s a sick park. I was wondering if you would like to come and watch? It’s only about an hour by train or bus from Brisbane. You could come up early and leave late in the arvo. I know your dad mightn’t like it but try and talk him into it. I’d love to see you. After the skating we could go for a walk on the beach and find a spot where we’d be all alone.

  I’ve been thinking about what you said before I left. We’ve gone out (on and off) for two years but we’ve hardly spent any time alone together. Do you think we’re ready to go to the next level?

  I can’t wait to see you.

  Love

  Alex.

  PS I’m staying at the Big Wave Motel.

  The number is 555 2666.

  PPS Come tomorrow!

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  What up, He-man? Long time no speak. Thought I’d drop you a line from the pro skateboarding tour. You know how it is, sk8ing, autographs, women. Well, would you believe skating?

  It’s going good. Casey’s wrecked his ankle and hasn’t been here. You should see how crazy the other boarders are. You know Possum from my bedroom wall? He’s a nutcase. Every night he gets drunk, picks up the hottest girl in town and skates like a legend the next day. I don’t know how he does it. He’s a good bloke too, teaching me how to 360 flip.

  We’ve got one more demo tomorrow at Alexandra Headlands. It’s good practice coz there’s a big comp up here at Easter. Remember when we surfed around here last summer? I wouldn’t mind catching a few waves, but it won’t be the same without you. Seeing you bite it never failed to crack me up.

  Can’t believe we start Year 10 next week. Wonder what it’ll be like? Probably the same old, same old. Johnstone and Beard being dumb. Dorry and Callaghan being funny. Carson-Zanger rapping, and you always checking out Sceney. You getting back with her this century or what?

  Speaking about girls, things are weird with Becky. Her dad won’t let her do anything. The only way I can see her is to go there for dinner, and even then he watches us like a hawk. It’s like he has no trust in me whatever. What does he think I am, a sex-starved teenager? Sometimes I wonder if I should put up with it ...

  Well, look forward to catching up. You broken the world record for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 yet? The one place you can kick my behind on a sk8board.

  Check ya

  AJ

  CHAPTER 5

  Alex in Alex

  It was their best demo yet. The park had lots of room and a large vert ramp — which Davo was stoked about. No one could come close to matching his crooked grinds to fakie or Madonnas in the 3-metre bowl. Well, Casey could, but he wasn’t there.

  Alex skated well, getting some big air with indy tweakers from one bank to another. He landed one foot on a 360 flip — so close, yet so far. He knew he’d nail it one day. Possum made it look easy.

  The only downer was that Becky hadn’t shown up. Alex hadn’t really expected her to. Nevertheless, he’d hoped.

  After the demo a girl with sun-bleached hair asked him to sign the back of her shirt. He did his very best writi
ng. They talked awhile. Her name was Jade and she was into surfing.

  Possum came over. “This guy will be a star one day,” he said to Jade. “You should take him out now while he’s still a good bloke. His head’s getting bigger by the minute.”

  Alex went red and Possum laughed as he headed back to the line of kids who were waiting for his autograph.

  “I’m going out for a surf later this arvo,” said Jade, looking at her feet. “You can come along if you want.”

  Alex hesitated. He thought about Becky. She’s not here. Besides, there was nothing wrong with having a surf. “Sounds cool,” he said.

  They met later and conditions were perfect. The water was like glass and it was an easy paddle out the back, but some of the sets coming through were of a decent size. Alex was happy to pop up on Jade’s mini-mal and zip across the face for a few seconds before he’d walk to the front of the board like he’d seen in old Elvis movies. Most of the time he ate it pretty quick, but it didn’t matter. The best thing about surfing was that you fell into water, not concrete.

  Jade was ripping out floaters and backside re-entries on her shortboard like she lived in the ocean. Looking at her tanned body, Alex thought that she probably did. She read the swell like a picture book, and seemed to know when a wave was coming before Alex could even see it.

  “Sure you’re not a mermaid?” Alex asked her.

  She held up her legs. “No tail.”

  They got out and sat on the beach to dry off. Jade pulled off her boardies and Alex had a hard time keeping his eyes off her red bikini. The sun was setting and the ocean turned golden.

  “I’m gonna see a movie tonight with some friends from school,” she said softly. “You can come if you want.”

  Alex hesitated. He thought about Becky. She’s not here. Besides, there was nothing wrong with seeing a movie.

  “Sounds cool,” he said. “Can I give you a call? It’s the last night of the tour and I know we’re having a dinner. I could meet you after.”

  Jade took a pen out of her bag and wrote her number on the inside of Alex’s arm. Instead of a dot on top of the j she drew a heart.

  “I had fun today,” she said.

  Alex felt a mixture of excitement and guilt on the way back to the motel. Not that he had anything to be guilty about. Nothing had happened with Jade, and it wasn’t as if he and Becky were married.

  Possum and the boys were having drinks in his room. “Welcome back, studley,” Possum said, throwing him a beer. “We saw you down there on the beach with blondie. Don’t worry, we won’t tell. Because ...”

  The others joined in. “What happens on tour, stays on tour.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” said Possum.

  They had a barbeque on the beach and shared stories of this tour and others. Alex loved it when they talked about skating, and he sucked up as much knowledge as he could. Possum had skated with guys like Danny Way, who jumped out of helicopters into vert ramps. These were blokes who looked fear in the eye and came out smiling. Alex knew that skating was the life he wanted, and he felt lucky to be a part of it, even if it was for just a few weeks.

  He went back to his room to call Jade, but before he picked the phone up it rang. It made him jump.

  “Hi spunky!”

  “Hey Becky,” Alex said.

  “How was skateboarding?”

  “Good. Not that you’d know.”

  “Sorry. I asked but I wasn’t allowed.”

  “You’re never allowed.”

  She was quiet for a bit. “Do you want me to go?”

  He felt bad. “No. I’m sorry. I was just hoping to see you.”

  “That’s okay. I’m calling to ask you to dinner next week.”

  “At your place?”

  “Of course.”

  “Oh.”

  “Mum’s cooking Chicken Fettuccine, your favourite.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “You don’t have to come,” she said.

  “No, I want to come,” he said finally. “I want to see you.”

  “I want to see you too.”

  After he hung up he felt dirty. He had a shower, washing Jade’s number off his arm with motel soap. He watched it disappear down the drain.

  Later that night the skaters decided to play air hockey. Apparently, Possum had never been beaten, and the others decided it was time for a fresh challenge. They went to Timezone and were getting into it, yelling and screaming and making a general nuisance of themselves, when Alex spotted Jade on the snowboarding simulator across the room. He had two options: get the hell out of there before she saw him or go and talk to her. Option one was eliminated when she looked across and saw him.

  As he sauntered over he tried to think of something to say. He hoped it would come to him on the spur of the moment.

  “Hi Jade,” he said.

  She didn’t answer.

  “I want to explain,” he continued.

  “I’ve got a movie to watch,” she said, holding up a ticket. “You should recognise this. You’ve got them all over you.”

  She walked out.

  Harsh, thought Alex.

  CHAPTER 6

  Year 10

  “The first big event of the year is the retreat at Tallebudgera,” said Mrs Beagan, finally getting the group semi-quiet. “You are all becoming young men and women, and the focus is on the way you treat yourselves and others. Part of this is looking at sexual relationships from a Christian point of view, and because you’re in Year 10 I know you are mature enough to handle such a topic.”

  If the sniggers and giggling were any indication, Mrs Beagan, the Year 10 coordinator, might not have been so sure.

  To Alex, being in Year 10 was good in some ways and bad in others. People knew each other a lot better. They knew that Sarah Sceney was a square, Jimmy Homan was a computer nerd and that Billy Johnstone would punch any boy who looked at him wrong. Mostly they accepted this. It was only when someone tried to break out of their label that they got a hard time.

  Jonie Benson stopped being a library helper and tried to hang out in the playground at lunchtime. After being dacked twice and spat at once, she went back to the library.

  You could sense the expectations of becoming older. Boys brought beer and got ‘‘maggoted’’ at parties, and instead of pin the tail on the donkey, Peter Callaghan made up a game called pin the tail on the Dorry — Adrian Dorry. Needless to say Adrian didn’t much like that game.

  Girls wore make-up to school even though it wasn’t allowed. If caught, they’d wash it off, and re-apply it next break.

  To pay for all the beer, cigarettes and make-up most of the Year 10s had part-time jobs. If you wanted a burger at Hungry Jacks, a pizza at Pizza Hut or fresh food at Woolies, the odds were you’d pay your hard-earned cash to a Year 10-er from St Joseph’s or Beeton High. Not that the young employees would get to keep much of the takings. Maybe that’s why so many of them had jobs while the 19-year-olds hung around the NightOwl — unemployed.

  There was also a lot more talk about sex. And it wasn’t just talk — some kids had done it, or at least said they’d done it. Everybody wanted to know who had gone “all the way” and with whom. Apparently, Billy Johnstone had done it with Claire Carney at a party over the holidays. Zane Beard reckoned he’d done it with an American girl on New Year’s Eve. According to Zane Beard, nearly all American girls had done it.

  “So have you and Becky done it yet?” Peter Callaghan asked Alex.

  “Done what?” said Alex.

  “You know — the deed.”

  “What deed?”

  Peter made a crude sign involving his forefinger and a partially clenched fist. “The in deed.”

  “What’s indeed?” asked John Carson-Zanger. He had arrived from Romania only two years ago and was still picking up the intricacies of the English language.

  “None of your beeswax, Callaghan,” said Alex.

  Adrian Dorry chipped in. “You’ve gone out for two years, Jacks
on. You have to do it soon. If you don’t at least try, she’ll think you’re not a man.”

  Jimmy came to Alex’s defence. “Dorry, what would you know about being a man? Your mum still picks out what jocks you wear.”

  “Does not!”

  “Does so. She plays bridge with my mum, remember. She told her.”

  John started rapping. “Jocks, socks, he probably wears frocks.”

  In Religious Education (RE), Miss Phillips prepared them for the retreat. She asked about the different expectations that boys and girls have in romantic relationships.

  “Girls are looking for a boy with a body like mine,” said Peter. “Boys like John Carson-Zanger are looking for a girl with a good personality.”

  “When I live in Romania I had supermodel girlfriend,” said John loudly.

  Billy Johnstone butted in. “I heard that on last year’s retreat a hot-looking girl gave a talk about sex. Is that happening again?”

  “Yes,” said Miss Phillips. “She is a beautiful young woman with some interesting experiences. I’m sure you will like her.”

  “Tell her that if she wants someone to demonstrate with, I’m her man,” said Billy. He reached over and slapped Zane’s hand. “Unlike these losers,” he said, gesturing towards Alex and his mates, “I’ve got experience.”

  “Yeah, experience in talking crap,” Alex said, softly enough so that Miss Phillips wouldn’t hear.

  The boys laughed.

  “You got something to say, Jackson?” said Billy. “Say it out loud, like a man.”

  Alex spoke up. “I said experience in talking ...”

  “That’s enough, boys,” Miss Phillips interrupted.

  She explained that after the retreat the students would do a presentation with a partner about the differences between what boys and girls expect out of relationships. There would be time before, during and after the retreat to compare ideas and prepare for the presentation. Miss Phillips put them into boy/girl pairs. Jimmy didn’t say anything, but Alex knew he was stoked to be with Sarah Sceney. Not only was she the smartest kid in Year 10, but Jimmy and Sarah went out last year and were still good friends. Jimmy wouldn’t admit it but Alex reckoned he still liked her.