Help On the Line (ON HOLD UNTIL SEPTEMBER)

CHAPTER ONE- Shae and Liam

  Liam raced to catch up with her. She was going way too fast for a beginner.

  Panting in the late August sun, Liam was yelling her name, worry strong in his voice. "Slow down, Shae! Stop the board!" Sweat dripped down his face, spiking up his dark, windblown hair. Legs pumping and heart throbbing, he ran faster than he ever had in a soccer match. Why wouldn't she slow down? 

  Shae's stick figure was stiff but held balance. Her silky hair rippled in the breeze that she was so enjoying. Sure, she had clumsiness issues, but the adrenaline rush was just amazing for the nine year old girl. She thought she heard Liam cheering her on, chanting her name. Shae grinned. This was probably the closest to flying she had ever experienced, except for the time she flew off of a violent tire swing with six other kids down the block. That was not fun. 

  I guess I'm just a natural at skateboarding, Shae thought, eyes shining. Shining with the wind slapping every surface of her face, including her bare eyeballs. It was a wonder as to how she was even keeping her underweight body on the board at all, too. 

  She whooped in delight as she saw a turn in the road. A challenge. She had just been going straight so far, and Shae had a bad habit of taking any challenge that rose to her.

  Unfortunately, Liam misheard the whoop as a cry for help. There was a curb, and Shae was going to slam the board against it, resulting in her launching off and getting hurt. And it would be his fault for not stopping her before. "Shae! Shaaee! Look out!" There was real desperation in his voice, but he just couldn't save her fast enough. 

Shae had heard him this time; he had caught up by a couple feet. She felt a thrill. "I know!" she shouted back. "I can do this!" She turned her head back to give him a reassuring smile; he was always such a fraidy cat. Mistake.

  Liam watched in terror as the gleeful smile turned into a surprised O shape. Her eyes were stunned as she pummeled towards the ground, flailing her arms about wildly in front of her. She didn't even have time to scream as she hit the ground hard with a loud thwack. Liam rushed to her side, prodding her into a sitting position. She sat up slowly and with great care of her forearms, tearful eyes watching a drop of blood trail down to her tanned leg. She whimpered. "Oww. Liam, my arms hurt so bad," she said, voice cracking. Liam was a bit in shock- Shae never cried. Ever.

  "Ouch. Are you hurt anywhere else, Shaelynn? Your leg okay, there?" he asked, rubbing her back. Shae shook her head. "I just want my mom. I think the rest of me is okayish." She got up cautiously, taking in deep breaths, trying to keep from getting cry-snot all over her face. That was just nasty.

  Liam picked up the board and they walked slowly home. His face was somber. "Guess the mission to the sun was a failure then, huh?" The original plan was to find out whether or not it was possible to board into the sunset, like they did in Mindy's sleepover movie when the two were spying on Mindy and her girly friends. She was Shae's older sister. Shae shrugged. "I think it coulda almost worked. I felt like I was going to soar off the board and into the sky," she replied, a small smile forming on her lips already.

"Yeah. I guess. You were awesome, though, even if you fell off at the end a bit," said Liam earnestly. "Your balance wasn't all teeter tottering!" 

  "You think so?" asked Shae excitedly. "I really wanted me to be as good as you, 'specially because this was your present for me."

  Liam smiled sincerely. "Course I do. Even I didn't learn that fast, but you just zoomed off right away!"

  "I guess I do that a lot," Shae admitted, wiping her tears away and sniffing.

  "By tomorrow you'll have the reddest cheeks in the whole school, Shae. They get so bright after you cry some."

  Shae held her head high. "So what! I don't even care about my looks, you know that, Liam." 

  "I know you don't, that's what's great about you. It's just the first day of school tomorrow is all I was sayin'."

  Shae groaned. "Can't stand school with girls like Cecilia. They're, like, the queens of snob kingdom. 'Excuse me, sir, I am the Cecilia Fitzgerald, and I require of you jewelry box number 57 and you must do whatever else I say for the rest of eternity.'" Cecilia was what elementary schoolers would've called "queen bee". She was your typical talkative, superficial attention hog who constantly taunted Shaelynn for her boyish ways.

  "She's the worst," Liam agreed. "Either her or my music teacher. I can't ever please her, she's always telling me what I can't do right."

  "Same with mine. I wish I could quit voilin, but mom thinks it's one of the only things I have 'real potential' with. What the heck does potential mean, anyway?"

  "No idea."

---

  The door flew open, and Shae and Liam were met with shrieks of Mrs. Clear. She had a pleasant face most of the time, and a gushing voice. This was not one of those times. "Exactly where have you two been in the last four hours?!" Mrs. Clear snapped. "Your father's family's been waiting, Shae, and it's not polite to arrive late at your own birthday party. And look at the state you're in! And your arms! That's going to need more than just a bandaid. Liam, sweetie, you can go run along now, Shae's got to entertain her relatives and get this fixed up." She drew a deep breath.

  Liam nodded, and gave Shae her new, now scratched purple skateboard. "See ya tomorrow at school, red cheeks," said Liam playfully. She glared at him without any real seriousness. "Better than having a Harry Potter scar that hurts when you cry," she shot back.

  Liam laughed. "My scar only hurts when I laugh too hard, not when a Dark Lord is emotional, Shae."

  "Whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes.

  "Bye, Mrs. Clear!" Liam called, walking down the drive way, "and happy birthday, Cece!" 

  Shae scowled but couldn't help feeling happy, even with facing the real Cecilia and fifth grade tomorrow, because Liam was there this time-  and he would be for the rest of middle school and high school. He was the best friend she ever had, she thought, feeling the rough face of the skateboard. She followed her mother inside her house, banged up and content.

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How was that for a first little dose? ;)

-erica