Paper#2 Short Story

Editor: Aisha Mondal Esther Li Paper#2 - Short Story #1 Bicknell 3/4 Esther Li Paper#2 - Short Story #1 Bicknell 3/4

Two Skaters, One Board (Third Draft)

Growing up in the remote town Greenwoods was never easy for Roger and Wesley, but luckily, they had the opportunity to dream and had each other for support. For as far back as they could remember they were always skateboarding together, maybe even before they could walk. At the age of eight, they built skate ramps. Although they were just neighbors, they were closer than brothers and had a common dream. They dreamt of becoming pro-skaters living in a big city and compete at the X-Games together.

But a dream was still just a dream, so it could be dashed.

At the end of their sixth grade the Elite Skating Academy, the crucial step to becoming a pro, arrived at Greenwoods to pick the best sixth graders across the state for new members of their school located at the other end of the state. However that year the tryouts for Greenwoods were combined with its nearby town but the number of slots was still the same, two. Therefore Roger and Wesley were more pressured.

A boy named Alex from the other town performed superbly, and Wesley made a few small errors but still ranked second so far. Now, it was Roger's turn. He knew it would be either him or

Wesley, but not both. Now his heart burned for going to the Academy more than anything, and he was very confident that he would get the spot. Roger started the ride on the ramps feeling that he was flying flawlessly. At the very last flip on top of the ramp, he could see himself playing in the X-Games…

"WATCH OUT!" Wesley suddenly yelled.

Roger looked down and lost balance. He slammed on the curve of the ramp and slid down cussing for he knew that he also slammed his dream.

Immediately after Roger got up, he picked up his board and threw it to Wesley despite of his bleeding arm.

"You wanted me to mess up didn't you?" Now Roger was yelling even louder than Wesley had done.

"NO! I was just warning you! It was a tough turn!"

"Shut up! Son of #$@! You were clearly distracting me!"

"Dude! Watch your language! You were the one who was controlling the board!"

"Stop making excuses. I thought we were friends. Now take your "pro X-game title" and get out of my face!"

The first-time anger between the two old neighbors almost broke out into a fight. But Roger just stared at Wesley with rage for many seconds and ran home, leaving behind the board which

Wesley picked up.

Roger quit skating. The next day was Roger's birthday, spending it for the first time without Wesley. There were no phone calls and Roger blocked all of Wesley's email address. He now hated Wesley more than he had ever liked him. It was the worst birthday.

Ten years later, Roger had forgotten about skating boarding and Wesley had become just another childhood memory, but he still felt awful thinking about how the friendship ended.

He became a computer programmer and graphics designer.

One evening while flipping through the channels, he caught sight of Wesley performing at the state's pre-X-game selections. Just when he was admiring the skills of his former friend, he saw

Wesley starting to do the same kind of turn on the ramp that he himself failed to complete.

To Roger's horror, Wesley fell; and since it was a much complicated version of the flip with a higher jump, his head went smashing into the curb.

Wesley didn't get up. Roger was frozen in front of the TV.

Wesley woke up and found that he could no longer control his les. Only his head, arms, and right thumb were mobile. He immediately asked the doctor if it was permanent. Hearing the answer, he looked up and saw his skateboard hanging from the ceiling. He demanded it to be taken away for he was so heart- broken that he never wanted to see the board again.

Just as the doctor stepped out of the room with the board, she turned back and said: "A surprise is coming in!"

Roger walked in.

Wesley frowned pitifully: "What do you want? Are you happy now?"

Instead, Roger grinned and opened his backpack, revealing an old piece of wood. brought in a

(last or first or favorite) piece of their childhood skating ramp and said:

"I brought you the last piece of our skating ramp that we built together." Roger paused for a second, then smiled sincerely he said grabbing Wesley's arm for a handshake: "Let's not compete with each other again."

Tears streamed down from the reconciled friend washing out the past hatred. It was a new beginning. Roger trained Wesley to become a successful computer programmer by hitting the keyboard with his thumb. He picked up skating again under the advices and encomiums from Wesley, who always watched him on the wheelchair with a camera computer to record and further analyze

Roger's moves. With further computer lessons from Roger, Wesley soon learned the digital art and created skateboarding animations to instruct Roger in return.

A few years later, the skaters compiled the movies, both real and graphical, and uploaded them onto a massive skating website. With countless requests, they started to create online lesson cessions to the next generation.

When their first cyber-student went onto the X-Games, Roger was sitting in front of the TV, anticipating both the student and Wesley, who arrived just in time to watch the student. At the end of the performance, Wesley said: "I have an early birthday present for you. It's in the bag hanging on the back of the wheelchair."

Roger unwrapped the gift and found his childhood skateboard. Deleted scenes:

(Church factor? ~ Hypocritical pastor, who only praises the good one)

His "best friends" (and pastor) left him.

Alex left him.

So A went to the State's Skating Academy the next day, in the other end of state. Didn't contact B again. [Jacob and Esau]

(now or later during a conversation / after they reconciled / they discovered that the "WATCH OUT was a for something else OR had both a distraction and helping anxiety. But B remembered the incident and felt guilty which caused his fatal fall.)

OR the whole thing was a documentary film that was shown to a bunch of middle school kids. [my blind – deaf friends experience in elementary school].

After they watched the film, A and B came and spoke to them. Now they were both in their 40's. B showed a trick. But A said the last words: (MORAL of story) don't loose your valuable friends over some small things. Don't loose the gems for the sesame seed. / a grain of sand. / a rock on the road. (Bible verse) because when one falls a friend can help him up. Pity the man who falls and doesn't have a friend around.

And a test for that they did indeed were not competitive.

This is dorky ~ They received a sum of money from some organization(s) to sponsor their website. Both wanted the other to take all. When they divided the money in half, both donated all, without taking a cent.