All Planned Out

Six (Charlotte)

"Hey, what did I miss?"

Despite being the most energetic mountain I've ever seen, Stuart was somehow able to sneak up on me as I stood at the edge of the grass and watched Montana and Alex climb back up the hill.

I may have just been a bit distracted.

"Just walking." I said. "Does, uh, she fall a lot?"

"If I had to put a number on it," he tapped at his chin and scrunched his face as if thinking incredibly hard, "probably less than the average skater."

"That doesn't help."

"She's never been seriously hurt, if that's what you're asking. Is that what you are asking?"

I nodded. "Pretty much."

I couldn't hear Montana, but I could see that she was directing Alex all over the hill, her hand over his shoulder as she pointed around this side of the park. The two of them eventually spun around and were facing toward us, with Montana still sweeping her hand through the air in front of her.

"She must be planning a good run." Stuart said. "At least her confidence didn't take a hit from that stumble earlier."

"I think we should move. Is she pointing at us?"

"You should probably take a step back into the grass!" Montana called down to us. "Just in case."

"Just in case of what?" I yelled back.

Montana shrugged. "Just in case."

"That's giving my confidence a hit." I whispered toward Stuart, who was already behind me. "How's the grass?"

"Drier than over there." He said, pointing back to where he had fell. "You should be fine."

"Why do you think we're moving?"

He also shrugged. "Just in case?"

"Not helpful, Stu." I said. "She's not about to do something stupid, is she?"

"Not in front of you two. If there's one thing Montana is an expert at it's not embarrassing herself in public. She's probably just not sure how well she can take the turn down to the flat with the concrete still a little slick. If she gets that angle wrong, she'll have to bail."

"Bail?"

"Jump off the board and let it go. It's safe. She'll land on her feet and jog it out. Happens all the time."

I sighed just as Montana reached the top of the hill and motioned toward Alex. "If you say so, Air Bud."

"Don't you start with that, Char..." he paused just before Montana took off, "...what does she call you? Charley?"

The next sixty seconds were a blur.

Alex did his best to stay with Montana as she came down the hill, first leaping up with her board at the top of a set of stairs and sliding herself and it across a tall railing. She landed that with ease, then cut over to an incline, once again snapping up and rolling the board beneath her like she had done during her previous run. When she stopped at the top of the ramp and did another short pose, I pulled my phone up and tried to grab a photo, but none of my settings were right for how far away we were.

"Shit." I mumbled, and by the time I got everything where I wanted it Montana had reached the bottom of the hill and was swinging herself around toward us. If I was going to get a good shot of her, this was going to be my best chance.

With Alex giving chase, she leapt up over some smaller steps and then continued across in front of us to a curved up section of concrete, getting quite a bit of height from the speed she was traveling and doing a full spin before coming down. I tapped like crazy at my screen and was pretty sure I caught her in the middle of the air before looking up from my phone just in time to see her do another little hop back down the same steps she had just came up and immediately step off her board and bail into the grass much like Stuart had done before.