Brazen Tricks - Ali Dean Page 0,30
Pushing Sydney and all the stuff she keeps bringing up aside, I let myself get excited. I’ve got a good feeling this weekend might be the one where I land it. I’ve been getting closer and closer.
I’m tired of losing skin and being covered in bruises. It’s time to show some results from the literal blood and sweat I’ve shed in the name of sticking this trick.
Beck isn’t the least bit surprised when I make a beeline for the backyard park as soon as we pull up to his place. After warming up with some carves around the bowl, I notice Beck isn’t skating beside me. Instead, he’s standing back, phone in hand.
“What are you doing?” I call over to him.
“I’m going to take some video of you.”
I wave my hand, dismissing that idea. “Don’t bother. I know what I need to do at this point.” Early on in my efforts, Beck would get some footage so we could watch it together and see where I might be able to improve. But it got old watching myself fall, and by now I know exactly what I’m doing. It’s just a matter of having it all come together.
“I’m not videoing so we can dissect it later,” Beck tells me as I hop out of the bowl beside him. “I feel like today might be the day and I want to capture it.”
“Way to put on the pressure.” I press my lips together, deciding how I feel about this.
“It’s good for you,” Beck tells me as he reaches a hand around my waist, drawing me closer. “It’s time for a little pressure.”
“You don’t think the X Games deadline is enough pressure? Pretty sure I’m feeling it.”
Beck places a kiss on my forehead, and doesn’t really answer my question. “You’re ready, Hotshot. I’m just here to capture it when it happens.” He then slaps my ass, telling me to get moving.
Even though I’ve been thinking the same thing all week about the 720, knowing Beck shares my confidence it’s about to happen sends an extra surge of fire through me.
I’m usually out here for dozens of attempts, calling it quits only when my body is too bashed to continue. There’s something about skateboarding that’s different from falling in other conditions. Instead of feeling defeated, it motivates me to keep trying. Sure, there are some tricks or crashes where I know I’m way too far off to go right back after it – skateboarding the Riptide halfpipe in any capacity still falls into that category – but if it’s at all in the range of possibility, falling only makes me want to try it again.
And again and again.
So when I soar up in the air and my body moves in the now familiar rotations, bracing for landing, I’m assuming I’ll be repeating this action dozens more times today. Except this time, my feet hit the board at the same time the board hits the bottom of the ramp. I glide forward, and it takes a few seconds before it sinks in. I landed! I landed a 720! On the first attempt of the day.
Damn, muscle memory is no joke. I’ve been dreaming about it every night, and usually in classes too. I look over at Beck just as he ends his video. We share wide-eyed expressions, both apparently speechless. We might have been confident it would happen soon, but neither of us were thinking it’d be the first attempt of the day. Then Beck is jogging over to me, wrapping me in his arms at the same time he jumps up and down.
“You did it!” he announces the obvious, and since that doesn’t quite do the feat justice, he shouts, “You fucking did it! A 720!”
My chest fills with pride. One of the only girls ever to land that trick so far, and in Beck’s arms, I let myself absorb the magnitude of my accomplishment. Sure, I’m glad he caught it on video, but I know I’ll be landing it again. It’s just the two of us as witnesses, and that’s all I need. We share elated smiles as I pull out of his arms only to tear off my elbow and knee pads. Shortest session over, but I’m ending it on that high note.
“I feel like doing something crazy now,” I tell him.
“Crazy? That wasn’t crazy enough?”
“A different kind of crazy.”
Beck takes a few seconds to contemplate me. “We could hit up the rollercoaster at the Jay Beach amusement park?”
I tilt my head