Club Bliss had provided him with a new adrenaline rush, but nothing compared to the sheer freedom that Venom Skate Park provided. For whatever reason, there were very few novices or any really when Reggie decided to skip school or spend his downtime at the place. That meant that so long as he avoided the shop, Reggie felt free to do as many tricks on the vertical ramps, rails, stairs, and whatever else the place provided.
He sighed heavily, looking down at the drop on the ramp, breathing in while he tightened his helmet and padding. Hopefully this time nothing would crack. Standing, he brushed himself off and stepped on his skateboard. One push off after putting his back foot on the tail of his skateboard would send him down, dropping in on the half-pipe. This in itself was a skill, a lesson that Reggie learned long ago. He had to trust himself by leaning forward, all the way down as if he were going to fly, had to trust that the skateboard would hold him so that he would not fall on his ass by not leaning all the way forward as he should.
Though it was becoming late and the skate park would close in an hour or so, Reggie wanted to get this particular aerial right before calling it a day and heading somewhere to eat. This particular trick was known as the Stalefish, performed by doing a heel-side grab and reaching around his back leg. It was going perfectly until Reggie decided he wanted to try and add his own flair, and attempt another aerial---a rotation in the air. Before that could happen though, Reggie felt his skateboard slip out from underneath, going one direction while his body followed gravity’s law and he hit the middle of the ramp hard.
“Fuck.” That loud crack was not his head, thank God, but as Reggie took off his helmet and ran a hand over the top, he felt and saw the huge split he had made. “Fuck.” Reggie threw the helmet down on the ground in frustration. He looked over toward the skate shop and bit down on his lip, knowing he should really not go over there. Laying down in the middle of the ramp, he thought about his options. Maybe he could attempt the Stalefish again without his helmet or any padding; up the ante as it were and get the adrenaline pumping. Yeah, he would do that as soon as he got back up.
