Two Crashed Hearts on Wheels

Chapter 1

Life has been different since I moved into my uncle's house. It was always quiet—no yelling, no cursing, just the sound of the clock ticking. Well, it was also because my uncle Kaoru is at work right now and I am home alone. I don't really know what to do. I could play video games or start picking out my outfit for my first day of high school in this town. I could do that later. Maybe I should go out for a walk instead.

I changed into some shorts and a normal shirt before heading outside with my shoes. I locked the door and began jogging with my earbuds in.

The town was really pretty. It wasn't something I was used to—the fresh air and silent streets. I used to live near the city, so it was pretty loud there. I kept daydreaming and looked around—well, not all of around.

"Watch OUT!!!" I heard a yell, but it was more of a mumble to me since I had music blasting in my ear. I took my earbud out to see where it came from. I turned to the right and saw a boy screaming. It seemed like he was riding a skateboard and couldn't stop himself. He was coming...shit! towards me!

Before I could run, the boy crashed into me, and we both fell to the ground.

"Langa! Don't get so cocky! You crashed into this chick!" I opened my eyes to see a red-haired boy helping the kid who crashed into me.

"Sorry," I heard a voice say. I laid eyes on the boy who crashed into me, and my heart began pounding slightly. This has never happened before. Am I going to have a seizure? A stroke? I couldn't speak, but I just stared at the guy in front of me.  He had medium-length sky-blue hair—like snow—that grew past his ears with bangs hanging on either side and blue eyes. I wouldn't say I liked the feeling I was getting; it made me feel sick to the stomach. He was staring at me back. The red-haired kid looked confused as he saw us stare at each other.

"Langa, do you know her?" The red-haired kid asks. So, his name was Langa...hm. He shakes his head, getting himself together, and puts his hand out for me.

"Sorry...uh miss. I am a beginner to... uh, skateboarding," Langa says. I didn't listen to a thing he said and just kept staring at him. Well, aren't I awkward? I quickly brought myself together and took his hand to get up.

"It's...fine," I say quietly, but I begin spitting out words. I called it word vomit, where I have something to say but I don't want to, but its uncontrollable. "You should remove the back foot off the board when going downhill and slide it across the ground to come to a stop and slow down. You can also tailslide if you feel secure enough on the board. Press down on the tail so that it drags along the ground with your back foot on it."

The two boys stared at me cluelessly, surprised. There you did it again, Asuke! Embarrassment #2. No one cares about the geeky facts you know about skateboards!

"I-I uh..." I didn't know what to say. I was feeling a high level of social anxiety at the moment. Before another second could pass, the red-haired kid shot a big smile.

"You skateboard? How long have you been skateboarding? Are you good? Can you do tricks? What tricks can you do?" The way he spoke just made me feel even more awkward.

"Good day," I said quickly and began walking away. They began chasing me behind me.

"So Reki? Why are we chasing after her?" Langa asks, confused. So the red-headed kid name is Reki!

"Cause she knows how to skate, duh. Langa, she could help you skate, you know?" Reki says it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was kind of a stupid reason to chase me, but Langa bought it, and he began speeding to catch up with me.

They kept calling for me, but I acted like I had nothing to do with them. I was able to outsmart them at the end and went back to mine and Uncle Kaoru's two-bedroom apartment. It seemed like he was already home. I walked in, taking my shoes off.

"Where were you, Asuke? I did not anticipate that you would venture outdoors," my uncle says while cooking.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I was bored at home, so I thought I'd go for a walk, and...let's just say it didn't go as I planned," I say, panting from running for a while.

"Were you engaged in a running activity? Was there a canine pursuing you?" He asks, looking concerned. My uncle was always overprotective of me and worried a lot about me. How could I tell him I was getting chased by two teenage males who wanted to be my friends because I knew how to skate? He would never believe that! He would think I was almost assaulted.

"Yeah, there was a dog chasing me. I didn't know the street dogs were unfriendly," I say with an awkward chuckle. He stared at me, and I stood there awkwardly, hoping he didn't figure out that I was lying to him.

"Alright, just don't associate with street dogs anymore, and dinner is on the table. Eat, brush, and go straight to bed. Tomorrow is school, and after school tomorrow...mmm, since it is a Friday, I'll treat you by taking you to a street skateboarding place. Maybe you should hop back on your board and have a bit of fun. But your not doing the main races; I don't want you making bets there," Uncle Kaoru says while I look clueless.

"I'm sorry, street skateboarding? Main races? Bets?" This was all new to me.

"Or right! There is this place many people come to to race each other and make bets with one another. I was one of the founders of that place," Uncle Kaoru kept telling me while I nodded. It seemed fun, and it would get my head around this whole new thing. Skateboarding is the same thing on both the city and country sides, anyway.

"Okay!"