Trying to make her understand, Evan made his hands into a skateboard and halfpipe again. He shook his head to show it was forbidden.

  Grandma looked down toward the Narita house and then back at Evan. She put her small hands over her grandson’s. She nodded and patted Evan on the cheek. Then she smiled and said something in Japanese.

  I think she understands, Evan thought and smiled back. He took the grocery cart and headed toward the house with his grandmother. He hoped she’d keep her promise.

  The truth was, Evan wasn’t exactly sure she’d even made a promise. Maybe Grandma would just forget what she’d seen. Evan’s freedom and skateboarding career depended on it.

  CHAPTER 7

  GRANDMA’S GIFT

  A week went by, and Evan still wasn’t grounded. No one, not even Chris, mentioned skateboarding. It seemed like Grandma Narita had kept up her end of the bargain. Evan was starting to wonder if maybe Grandma could understand English after all.

  But when Evan entered his bedroom Friday evening, he realized she hadn’t understood him. Not one bit.

  “You have to be kidding me,” Evan said, his mouth dropping open. He stood in the doorway of his bedroom and dropped his backpack onto the floor. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

  There on his bed, for the entire world to see, was a brand-new skateboard. A small white card lay on top of the deck.

  “Oh, Grandma,” Evan whispered. “What have you done?”

  Evan heard someone coming upstairs, so he moved quickly. He grabbed his bag, closed the door, and dashed to his bed. He eyed the skateboard and sighed. It had new grip tape on the deck and a cool dragon graphic on the underside. The rest of the board was covered in cool-looking blue and red flames.

  Evan grabbed the card and opened it. Inside were Japanese characters, written in his grandma’s small handwriting. Though he didn’t understand them, Evan realized what his grandma meant.

  Grandma thought I was asking for a skateboard, Evan thought. Somehow his hand movements had delivered a completely different message than he’d intended.

  Then, outside his door, he heard footsteps.

  Evan grabbed his new skateboard and slid it under his bed. A second later, the door opened. His father poked his head inside.

  “We’re making popcorn for a movie,” Dad said. “I thought you’d like to join us.”

  Evan stood up. His heart thumped fast in his chest.

  “Sounds good, Dad,” Evan said. “I was just finishing up some homework. I’ll head down in a second.”

  His dad smiled. “It’s only Friday night, and you’re already tackling your school work,” Dad said. “You make me proud, Evan.”

  “Thanks,” Evan said. “You know me. I like to get it done right away. It’s better than worrying about it all weekend.”

  “Good thinking,” Dad replied. He turned to leave and said, “Don’t work too hard. Be sure to leave time for fun and relaxation.”

  “Oh, I will,” Evan said.

  Once his dad left, Evan breathed a sigh of relief.

  That was close, he thought. After he heard his dad’s footsteps on the stairs, he crouched down and pulled the skateboard from under his bed.

  It was beautiful, but Evan knew it could get him into deep trouble.

  I’ll just use it for the Skate-Off, Evan thought. I’ll keep it hidden until I can sneak it out of here. Then it can live at Ryan’s house.

  Evan took one last look at the skateboard before sliding it back under his bed. Then he headed downstairs.

  His whole family sat in the living room, watching the movie. Evan joined them, but it was hard for him to concentrate. More than anything, he wanted to head to the skate park to try out his new board. It didn’t seem fair that it had to stay hidden.

  CHAPTER 8

  THE SKATE-OFF

  Before Evan knew it, Saturday had arrived. The Skate-Off was that afternoon. Luckily, he’d had a chance to practice with his new skateboard a few times after sneaking it out of his room. He’d even landed the eggplant a few times. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad, either.

  After lunch, Evan and Ryan rode their bikes all the way to Shaffer Skate Park. Their backpacks were full of skating gear.

  The park was busy. “Are you nervous, Evan?” Ryan asked. He kickflipped his board while he waited for his turn.

  “A little bit,” Evan admitted. In truth, he was more worried about getting caught. “I don’t know how this works.”

  “It’s simple,” Ryan said. “You get three two-minute runs. Do all your best tricks, and the judges will pick your best session. The highest score wins.”

  “Wow,” Evan said, laughing. “You make it sound so easy.”

  “I’m up,” Ryan said. He headed to the top of the halfpipe to start his first run.

  Evan watched Ryan on the halfpipe. He did a lip grind, then reverted, putting one foot on the nose of the board while keeping the other in the middle for balance.

  Ryan lifted the tail of the board up slightly before turning it to face the other side. Then he skated back down the slope.

  As Ryan headed toward the pyramid, Evan looked into the crowd. A lot of people gathered around the skate park to watch. Most of the spectators were younger kids, but Evan spotted a few adults.

  An air horn signaled the end of Ryan’s first run. He hopped off the deck and flipped it up into his hand.

  “I didn’t do so well,” Ryan said when he walked back to where Evan stood. “I’m not used to the ramps here.”

  “I probably won’t do much better,” Evan said. He and Ryan stood on the sidelines watching a few more skaters take their turns. Then it was Evan’s turn.

  “Are you ready?” Ryan asked. He clapped Evan on the back. “Your first competition on your new board. This is going to be awesome!”

  “Right,” Evan said. He laughed. “Probably awesomely bad.”

  The air horn sounded, and Evan was off. He crouched low to build up speed off of the halfpipe.

  He did a varial kickflip, making the board spin around and flip over at the same time. Evan landed on the deck perfectly, just as he reached the other side of the halfpipe.

  Not bad so far, Evan thought. He reverted to turn back the other way and did a manual toward the funboxes with rails bolted to them.

  Evan ollied up onto the rail. Keeping his feet connected to the board, he did a nose-grind halfway down the pipe. When his balance was shaky, he jumped off and rolled down the ramp.

  After a handful of some of his easier tricks, Evan heard the air horn. His session was over.

  As he kicked his board up and waved to the clapping crowd, Evan looked around. He saw a group of spectators that made him lose his breath. Standing at the edge of the skate park were five people he recognized.

  Oh no, Evan thought.

  In the crowd, he saw Chris, Grandma Narita, and . . .

  “Mom and Dad,” Evan whispered.

  CHAPTER 9

  SURPRISE SPECTATORS

  I’m in so much trouble, Evan thought. He wiped his sweaty palms against his pants. How did they know I was here?

  Evan walked back to Ryan. He tried not to look, but he could feel his family watching him.

  “Nice run,” Ryan said. “Not bad for your first competition.”

  “Too bad it will be my last,” Evan said. “I’m busted. My whole family is out there.”

  Ryan turned and looked.

  “Don’t look, Ryan!” Evan shouted. “I’m already in enough trouble.”

  “Why are they here?” Ryan asked.

  “I don’t know! I didn’t say a thing about it to anyone,” Evan said, shaking his head. “I even told Chris I wouldn’t compete.”

  “Grandma,” both of them said together.

  But that didn’t make sense either. Grandma Narita thought Evan had asked for a skateboard. I never said anything about a competition, Evan thought. There’s no way she could know I’d be here.

  Both Ryan and Evan were quiet for a moment. The next skater started his run.

  “What are you going to do?” Ryan asked.

  “I should probably quit and accept my punishment,” Evan said. He adjusted his elbow pads and clenched his fists. “I can’t believe this! I was so careful.”

  “Or,” Ryan said, looking over at the Narita family, “you could finish your runs, and then go over. I mean, you’re already in trouble anyway, right?”

  Evan glanced over at his family. They were all watching the other skaters. No one seemed to be in a hurry to find him.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Evan said. He wasn’t in a hurry to get yelled at. What could it hurt to finish?

  * * *

  After what seemed like forever, it was Evan’s turn again. His second run was a disaster.

  He couldn’t focus on his tricks, and he bailed three times during his two minutes. When the air horn signaled the end of his run, Evan was relieved.

  “It’s over,” Evan said when he reached Ryan again. “I can’t do anything with my parents watching me. They’re going to ground me for the rest of my life.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, Evan, no one is doing that well,” Ryan said. “Your first run is still in the top five so far. You could win if you bust out a bigger trick.”

  Evan groaned. He didn’t want to try a third run. The last one had been a mess.

  But I could win, Evan thought. Maybe I should give the eggplant a try.

  “Okay,” Evan said. “I’ll try something bigger. What have I got to lose?”

  CHAPTER 10

  TAKING THE RISK

  Before Evan knew it, it was time for his final run. The air horn sounded, and Evan hopped onto his board. He raced down the halfpipe and did a heelflip, making the board spin 360 degrees. He landed hard on the deck.

  Halfway up the slope, Evan began to slow down. He reverted to face the other direction. Evan crouched down to build up speed and rolled to the spine ramp.

  For show, he did a manual, raising his front wheels off the ground. When his balance wavered, he kicked off and headed for the ramp.

  I haven’t landed a clean eggplant yet, Evan thought. Why do I think I can do one now?

  Evan tried to forget all of the trouble he was in with his parents. In the minute he had left, he knew he had to try his best.

  After all, this is the last time I’ll ever get to skateboard, Evan thought. I might as well make it count. With a burst of speed, he hit the ramp. Evan reached out and lifted the board between his legs.

  Evan smiled. He was going to nail the trick! But suddenly, he lost his hold on the slippery pipe. He fell onto the other side of the ramp and landed hard on his elbow.

  His skateboard clattered to the ground nearby as Evan rolled onto his back. He didn’t bother to get up and finish the run.

  “Evan!” a familiar voice shouted. Evan sat up and looked at the crowd. His family was running toward him. They all looked worried. With a deep breath, Evan stood up. He met them at the edge of the park.

  “Are you okay?” Dad asked. He put a hand on Evan’s shoulder.

  “I’m fine, Dad,” Evan said. “The pads did their job.”

  “I was so worried about you,” his mother said. She touched Evan’s cheek. “You know how I feel about these skateboards.”

  Evan nodded and looked at the ground. “I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was afraid you’d be upset.”

  Dad looked around. “I’d be more upset if you dressed like some of these other skaters,” he said. “Some of them aren’t even wearing helmets! I’m not happy that you hid this from us, but at least you’re being safe.”

  Evan looked up. “So you’re not super mad?” he asked.

  “You’re doing something you love,” Dad said, shaking his head. “I can see that now. And you’re good at it. How can I be mad about that? That doesn’t mean you’re not grounded, though. When we get home, we’ll talk about you lying to us.”

  Evan looked up. The judges had posted his final score. He’d dropped to 12th place. That wasn’t good enough to make it into the finals. “Looks like I’m not that good after all,” he muttered.

  Chris put his arm around his brother. “You did pretty well,” Chris said. “After all, this was your first competition. Or was it?”

  “It was,” Evan said with a smile.

  Just then, he remembered something. “I’ve got to ask,” Evan said. “How did you all know I was here?”

  Grandma Narita said something in Japanese. Evan’s dad replied in her language, and they both laughed. Then Grandma pulled a crumpled piece of orange paper from her purse.

  It was the flier for the Skate-Off. The same one Evan had thrown away.

  “Grandma told us about the new skateboard she bought you,” Mom said. “Then, when I emptied the trash in your room, this caught my eye.”

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve said something,” Evan said. “I guess I should retire the board now.”

  Dad shook his head. “You’d better not,” he said. “Your grandmother spent a lot of money on that skateboard. It’d be a shame to let it — and your talent — go to waste.”

  Evan nodded. He couldn’t believe how understanding his parents were being. I should have talked to them about skateboarding a lot sooner, he realized.

  “Thanks, Dad,” he said. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Does this mean I can skateboard again, too?” Chris interrupted, sounding excited. “I get my cast off soon.”

  “Oh, boy,” Dad said. “Let’s talk about it over lunch, okay?”

  Evan turned and looked across the park at Ryan. His friend mouthed, What’s up?

  Since he was too far away to say anything, Evan gave Ryan a thumbs-up. Then he pointed to his family to signal he was leaving with them. Ryan smiled and waved.

  Turning back around, Evan caught his grandmother’s eye. She smiled secretively and gave him the same thumbs-up signal he’d given Ryan.

  “Thanks, Grandma,” he whispered, smiling at her. “Arigato.”

  Then Evan picked up his skateboard and left the skate park with his family.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Thomas Kingsley Troupe writes, makes movies, and works as a firefighter/EMT. He’s written many books for kids, including Legend of the Vampire and Mountain Bike Hero, and has two boys of his own. He likes zombies, bacon, orange Popsicles, and reading stories to his kids. Thomas currently lives in Woodbury, Minnesota with his super cool family.

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

  When Sean Tiffany was growing up, he lived on a small island off the coast of Maine. Every day until he graduated from high school, he had to take a boat to get to school! Sean has a pet cactus named Jim.

  GLOSSARY

  accident (AK-sih-duhnt)—an unfortunate and unplanned event

  bargain (BAR-guhn)—an agreement between two people

  career (kuh-RIHR)—the work or the series of jobs that a person has

  competition (com-puh-TISH-uhn)—a contest of some kind

  exception (ek-SEP-shuhn)—something that is not included in a general rule or statement

  forbidden (for-BID-in)—not allowed

  frail (FRAYL)—weak

  improvement (im-PROOV-muhnt)—to get better, or to make something better

  relaxation (ree-lak-SAY-shuhn)—resting

  reluctantly (ri-LUHK-tuhnt-lee)—doing something you don’t want to do unwillingly

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Was it fair for Evan’s parents to ban skateboarding for the whole family after his brother was injured? Why or why not?

  Should Evan have told his parents the truth about skateboarding sooner? What would you have done if you were in his position?

  Why did Grandma give Evan the skateboard?

  WRITING PROMPTS

  Write about the relationship you have with a grandparent or another important older person in your life.

  Pretend you are Chris, Evan’s older brother. How do you think he feels about Evan skateboarding? Write a chapter from his point of view.

  Evan decides to try the the eggplant during the competition, but he doesn’t land it correctly. Write about a time you tried something but didn’t succeed. How did you feel?

  SKATEBOARDING TRICKS

  Make sure that whenever you’re skateboarding, you’re wearing the right safety equipment: a helmet and pads are a must!

  THE OLLIE — The skateboarder pops the skateboard into the air so that it looks like the boarder is jumping with the skateboard attached to his or her feet.

  KICKTURNS — A basic skateboarding skill that involves the skateboarder balancing on the back wheels of the board for a moment, and then swinging the front of the board in a new direction.

  50-50 GRINDS — When a boarder grinds using both trucks. Trucks are the metal T-shaped parts mounted on the bottom of the skateboard deck and attached to the wheels. Normal skateboards have two trucks that face each other.

  BOARD SLIDES — When a boarder skates alongside an object, usually a rail or curb, and ollies up onto it. The board lands sideways, balancing on the object, and the boarder slides along it.

  ROCK N’ ROLLS — When a skateboarder rides up a ramp, onto the lip, and then rides away. The front truck of the board goes over the lip of the ramp, and the bottom of the skateboard rests on the edge.

  MANUALS — While rolling, a skateboarder lifts the front wheels of the board off the ground, making sure that the tail of the board doesn’t touch the ground.

  KICKFLIPS — A boarder flicks the board with the ball of his or her front foot, making it spin underfoot while in the air. The board spins over at least once in the air before the boarder lands comfortably, wheels down, and rides away.

 

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