Freestyle with Avery (19 page)

A fuzzy noise began blaring from the loudspeakers.

“Hey, they’re calling names. What number are you?” Jason looked at my armband. “Avery, you’re number five! You gotta go!”

I grabbed my board and squeezed my helmet over my ears. “Okay, wish me luck!”

“Good lu—” he started, then looked frazzled. “Frankie? Oh, man, where’s Frankie!? I gotta find him so we can get a good spot to watch you! Good luck, Avery. You’ll do just fine.” Jason waved and took off.

Watching from the stand with the other boarders, I could only see the first few moves of each contestant. It was weird being so early in the contest. Half of me wished I could hurry up and get it over with, but the other half wanted about five more people to go before me.

“Avery Madden.” Finally, the speaker boomed my name, and something inside me took over. All around me the yelling and screaming and applause instantly faded away. Almost automatically, I waved to the crowd like I’d been doing this my whole life! I turned once to check out the judges’ bench. There were about seven people sitting there, but I only noticed two—Dad and DK. They both waved at the same time and saluted—they probably planned it. Funny … veeeery funny. I took a deep breath and walked across the top of the pipe, laid my board on the snow, and stepped into the bindings.

No thinking allowed. Just fun. I imagined Marty flying on a board and this time he had company—a little brown Radley ferret. I was laughing again! I lifted my arms, leaned forward, and off I flew. As I picked up speed with my knees bent, I whooshed up the far side of the pipe.

The first time, I did a simple air-to-fakie. I approached the wall riding forward, and slid back down riding
backward. Boom. Easy-peezy. Then I really started to pick up speed. I looked over my shoulder, caught big air, and did a backside handplant. I rotated 180 degrees and coasted forward down the pipe.

So far, so good. A simple alley-oop on the front side turned me to fly back down forward. The snow was so fresh that it made a crisp shredding sound as I carved. I guess that was how boarding got its nickname. I was feeling nice and warmed up now. I flipped back over into a frontside handplant, just as I’d done for Donnie when he was coaching me. Then I went for a ho-ho, grabbing my board with both hands. I finished my ride with a stellar, DK-approved eggplant. I slid to the bottom, did some butterflies, and threw one fist high into the air.

Suddenly the stands exploded into applause and whistles. A wave of relief passed over me. I’d made it. I let the cheering of the crowd sink in, and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I felt like a superstar! At the judges’ booth I saw Dad and DK. They were jumping up and down and hugging. “Yeah, Snurfette!” DK screamed. I laughed out loud. At that very moment in time I really didn’t know how I’d done and I didn’t even care. The most important thing was
I had fun
. After all, wasn’t that what it was all about? I unclipped my board, tucked it under my arm, and waved one more time before heading back to the contestant stand where the boarders were hanging out.

I don’t know how, but everyone who walked by me knew my name. “Great job, Avery.” “You rocked it out there.” “Sweet flying, Madden.”

“Thank you, thank you. No autographs please, no autographs,” I joked, but I didn’t have time to stop and talk. I really wanted to see my friends. Now that the Snurfer was behind me I didn’t have anything to worry about! I could just chillax with Jason, and even Kazie, and have fun for the rest of the trip.

When I got back to the top of the pipe, there was a giant huddle and everyone was shouting. All the voices sounded loud and angry, but there was one that was way louder than the others—Kazie’s. I’d heard her at full blast enough to recognize her yell right away. “This is so UNFAIR!” she
cried. “Why should I be punished because someone did something
horrible
to ME?”

Something horrible to her? I hoped everything was okay. I jogged up the hill as fast as I could. People saw me right away and the huddle broke in two parts. It was like what happened at the ice cream store to Kazie, only now I was the one walking through! Was it because I was a Snurfer celebrity? Uh-oh. From the angry looks on everyone’s faces, I had a feeling it was bad. Very, very bad.

Tessa stepped out of the crowd and stomped toward me. I thought fire might shoot out of her eyeballs—that was honestly how mad she looked. “How could you?” she said.

How could I WHAT?

Kazie stood in the center of group. Her face was bright red, and her hair hung in tangles around her face. When she saw me, tears started to stream out of her eyes. It scared me a little. I’d never seen Kazie look anything other than brave and happy. “All right, where is it? Come on, Avery, I know it was you!”

My whole body was shaking. “What was me? What are you talking about?”

“You STOLE my ATS snowboard!” Kazie almost spat the words out.

“Yeah!” Siobhan popped out behind her. “It’s so obvious it was you, Avery. You knew there was no way you could win if Kazie competed, so you took her board!”

Tessa shook her head and made her eyes real squinty. “And now Kazie’s disqualified,
because of you
. It’s supposed
to be a
game
, Avery. A FUNDRAISER. Gosh, how immature can you be?”

The ground started to feel wobbly beneath me. “B-b—but, I didn’t take your board, Kazie. I swear I didn’t!”

“Why should I believe you?” Kazie said. Her voice was shaking.

“I’m not a cheater. I would never do that. Hey, you can use my board,” I offered.

Now Kazie stopped crying altogether and folded her arms. Maybe my offer was a step in the wrong direction. “I
can’t
do that. I’m goofy-footed, remember? You know what, just forget it! Leave me alone!”

I saw Dad, DK, and the rest of the judges march over from their booth to check out what all the fuss was about. I felt dizzy. There was no way I could take another person yelling at me over something I didn’t do. I had to get out of there.

I slapped down my board, clipped one foot into it, and pushed off behind the halfpipe until I reached the ski run. I stepped into my other binding and flew over the moguls, zipping down the slope. The sound of music and cheering grew fainter the farther I boarded from the pipe.

I took the long way down the mountain and boarded until the tears on my face dried into ice crystals. No one was there at the bottom. The city was like a ghost town, silently waiting for the contest to be over and people to come down and celebrate.

I kicked out of my straps, grabbed my board, and ran all the way home. On the walk in front of Dad’s house I slipped on the ice and fell down. My right knee hit the ground first,
and even though it throbbed in the worst way, the idea that Kazie thought I’d done something so mean and horrible hurt way more. I left my board right there on the walk. I opened the front door and slammed it behind me with all my might. I knew I wasn’t supposed to ever slam doors but no one was home and I plain old didn’t care.

“I didn’t do it!” I screamed out loud.

Marty trotted into the room, took one look at my face, and scampered over to give me kisses. He flew into my arms and licked my face.

“Talk about a mess,” I whispered.

Just then I heard a
crunch crunch crunch
sound outside. Then a
DING DONG
. The doorbell. Who could be coming over now? I didn’t want to see anyone! I slowly opened the door.

“Avery, can I talk to you?” Jason asked. I looked at the object he was clutching in his arms, and my heart kerthumped. It was a
red ATS snowboard
. We stood there for what seemed like FOREVER.

Finally I burst. “Jason …
you
took Kazie’s board?” Jason didn’t say anything but his eyes got huge. “I hope you know, she thinks I did it!” I shook my head and felt my voice cracking. “Some friend you are …”

“Avery, wait—” he started.

“Well then, what?”

Jason opened his mouth but nothing came out. He shoved the snowboard at me and ran off, disappearing around the corner of the street.

I stood there for a minute holding the snowboard and shivering in the doorway. How had everything spun out of control so quickly?
I guess that’s how it is with messes and fake friends
, I thought. One minute, everything’s all neat and tidy, and the next—
SPLAT
—tomato sauce everywhere, or you’re flat on your back on the mountain, or your snowboard’s gone. But how could Jason do such a thing? I thought he was a friend … a best friend, even. Boy, was I wrong.

Just then I heard the sound of a motor and saw the Snurfmobile turning the corner onto Willow Street. Dad pulled into the driveway … and he wasn’t alone. Andie was sitting in the passenger seat. Then, the van door slid open, and who should come tumbling out but Kazie. And, of course, in her arms was a squirming, twisting ball of fur. I’d never seen Kazie OR Farkle look so mad. I thought smoke might blow out of Kazie’s ears at any second. And as for Farkle, well, from the way he was screeching … I
was afraid that whatever evil demon lived inside of him was going to make an ugly appearance.

Kazie got to the door, glared, and pointed at my hand. “I KNEW IT!” she cried. That’s when I realized I was still holding Kazie’s board.

“Avery,” Dad said. I could tell he was trying his hardest to keep his cool. “Your board is there on the walkway. Is that one Kazie’s?”

My mouth was almost too dry to speak. “Yes.”

Before I could explain, Kazie charged into the room with Andie right behind her. “My board!” Kazie tugged the snowboard from my arms. “How could you?” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Now, let’s calm down,” Dad instructed. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation for all of this,” he added, but the look in his eyes said
I hope!

“Avery, how come you have Kazie’s snowboard?” Andie asked in a slow, shaky voice.

Kazie placed Farkle on the ground beside her and put her hands on her hips. The moment Farkle was loose, Marty ran to the den and scrambled to safety in an arm chair. Farkle, with his wacky eyes and messed-up ear, darted beneath the chair to wait it out. My heart was pounding, half for me and half for M-Dawg. “I didn’t take it,” I insisted. That was easy enough. The next part was the tricky one, but I took a deep breath and spat out the terrible truth. “Jason brought it over here. He just left before you guys came.”

“Jason?” Kazie looked suspicious. “Why would
Jason
take my board?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

“But that doesn’t make
any
sense!” Kazie exclaimed. “Jason barely even snowboards! He … he doesn’t even
know
me!” She was talking faster and faster with her head moving back and forth. It was making me even more jumpy. “He has no reason to keep me out of the competition, unless …” Suddenly Kazie’s face changed. “Unless he thought that if I didn’t compete,
you’d
win.”

I was about to argue and then it dawned on me—she could be right. That would be the only logical explanation for why Jason would take her board. I remembered what he’d said right before the Snurfer: “
You’ll do just fine
.” But never, in a million years, would I have thought Jason could do something so slimy to anybody. Even though he’d brought the snowboard back and practically confessed to the crime, I still didn’t believe it … or didn’t want to.

Kazie held a trembling finger up and pointed at me. “Was this your idea?”

I furiously shook my head. “Me? No! Are you kidding?”

She lowered her arm but glanced behind her for backup. Farkle knew his cue. He crept backward, leaned on his hind legs, and sprang forward. Just as he popped into the air, Marty leaped off the chair and pounced on Farkle’s gnarly, striped tail. Farkle let out an ear-shattering “ROOOOOOOW, YEOOOOOOOW!”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Marty had totally nailed him! Farkle’s paws scrabbled at the rug in fast-forward, but Farkle couldn’t move an inch. Hah! The little dude was back and better than ever. I knew I could count on Marty. He always had my back.

Kazie, Andie, Dad, and I had to muffle down giggles. I took a deep breath and looked Kazie right in the eye. “Look. I never, ever told Jason to take your board. I just wouldn’t do that, Kazie. Playing by the rules is … well … the only way
I
play.” I saw Dad nod approvingly. It was good to know he believed in me, but I knew that if I wanted Kazie to really trust me, I had to tell her the full story. Even if it was kind of embarrassing. Sometimes you just need to get over it. “Kazie, I admit, maybe I was a little …” I stopped for a second, hating that I had to say this next word. “…
jealous
of you. You’re a really, really awesome snowboarder. But I knew I couldn’t win the competition. I just wanted to have fun and do my best. Whatever Jason thought, that was his idea. I never put him up to it. I swear.”

Kazie was quiet for a second, then finally said, “I believe you.” She walked into the den and collapsed onto the couch looking totally zonked. I knew just how she felt.

“Kazie,” Andie suggested softly. “I think you owe Avery an apology.”