Undergrounders Read Free

I’d been. Lewis said a street kid’s got to be on the lookout for trouble because it comes out of nowhere, and he was right. Those kids came back. They must have just finished playing and gone to the vending machines. I recognized the three kids who’d asked me for the puck.
    “I’m gonna bomb out in Math tomorrow,” the big kid said. “Every time I tried to study I fell asleep.”
    “That’s because you only tried once and then went to bed,” the friendly kid laughed.
    The big kid didn’t get angry. “I’ll just sneak into the gifted class and cheat off your sister.”
    “She’ll kick your butt if you try — but go for it.”
    They punched fists. Obviously they were buds like me and Lewis. That big kid was really huge, almost as big as Lewis — and Lewis was sixteen. These kids didn’tlook older than me.
    “You free tomorrow, Rasheed?” the angry kid asked the friendly kid.
    “Yeah. We practise on Tuesday, so we can play here tomorrow after school.” He tugged on the big kid’s shirt. “Collin, you in?”
    “Like I’m gonna miss a chance to dangle you? Of course I’m in.”
    “Awesome. Derrick?” Rasheed asked the angry kid.
    “Sounds good,” Derrick answered.
    “So is everyone in?” Rasheed asked, and they all nodded.
    I was putting on my skates the entire time, keeping my head down so they wouldn’t notice me. Lewis had warned me about getting too close to Reggies. Said they’ll turn on you and pound you something bad. I’d finished lacing up one skate when I noticed things got darker. I looked up. Rasheed was in front of me.
    “Sorry. We just finished playing like five minutes ago. But we’re coming tomorrow after school. You should come out.”
    Of course I couldn’t play with these guys, but he wasn’t moving, so I had to say something.
    “Don’t think I can do it tomorrow. Got stuff goin’ on … tomorrow. Maybe.”
    Rasheed shrugged. “Come out if you can. We could always use another skater.”
    I assumed that was that, and began tying my other skate.
    “Where do you go to school? I’ve never seen you around.”
    Street kids learn to think quick. I was ready. “I’m not from around here. My family’s visiting my uncle. Got so boring I had to escape.”
    Rasheed bought it. Lewis always said that Reggies believe anything.
    “Awesome-looking skates,” he said. “Did you get them for Christmas?”
    They obviously looked new. I pretended he’d figured it out. “Got new gloves too.” I held them up.
    “Sweet gloves. Wish I had new ones.” He held his up — they were kind of old and beat-up.
    “Come on, Rasheed. We’re going to Derrick’s.”
    “I’m coming.” He nodded to me. “See you later. Our hockey team practises Tuesdays or Thursdays, and games are usually Friday or Saturday, and we’re here most other times.”
    “Yeah … okay … maybe …”
    That sounded so lame. Rasheed didn’t say anything mean, though. “Thanks for getting our puck,” was all, and as he left he called out, “That was our last one.”
    It was strange how nervous I got around Reggies. I put it out of my mind and hit the ice. I didn’t do too badly, either, considering I hadn’t skated in so long and the skates weren’t sharpened. It might sound like bragging, but I was the star player on my team. When my mom still had a good job I played AA. I was a centre and scored a ton of goals. She couldn’t afford for me to play competitive last year, and then she got sick.
    The skating came right back to me. Before long I was whizzing around. Then I got my stick and puck. It was rough at first. The puck wouldn’t behave and my stick was a bit long. I did okay after a while. Besides, this was better than hawking at the Market any day.
    I don’t really know how long I skated — a few hours definitely. I could have kept going but my hands and feet were becoming ice blocks again. I blasted one more slapshot at the net.
    Clang!
    It pinged off the post — the sickest sound