~meaning; "ą ℘ɛཞʂơŋ'ʂ ʄąɬɛ ơཞ ɖɛʂɬıŋყ."~

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Herron makes his way downstairs and into the kitchen; reeled in by the warming smell of eggs, beans and bacon. To his delight, his grandma had already set out breakfast on the table.

"Grandma, you didn't have to do all this! You should have woken me up and I would've helped you prepare it."

"Are you implying that I'm incapable, Ronnie?"

"Not at all! It's ju-"

"Nonsense!! Just eat."

Without any further encouragement, he tucked into the mini-buffet, satisfying his stomach's need for food. But, when a certain realisation came to mind, he slowed...

'Hold on... She only ever cooks breakfast when she wants something or wants to talk about a certain subject that I'm not keen on discussing.' He looked up to find the elderly woman cultivating a mischievous grin.

"What is it? What do you want?"

"That's not how you should speak to your elders. I'm merely admiring the face of my favourite grandson!"

"You're never this sentimental; I'm not buying it." He lent against the back of the chair and crossed his arms.

"Pfft. Don't be so silly..." She glanced at him to see that he still isn't convinced. "Honestly, I'm very proud of you, and wanted to treat you this morning. You've grown into such a handsome, young man and I trust you to make the best decisions for your future."

"That's all?"

"That is all. Please don't forget it."

"Thanks..." He shrugged and returned his attention to the food. "Don't worry, I won't forget."

"Oh, and by the way!" She giggled.

"Yes..." He groaned.

"I met one of your friends yesterday! He was really lovely; did you know he was half-German? Did you?"

"Who's half-German? What friend?"

"Awh... Well your memory's bad, but it's the same lad whom you helped a few days ago? He's very tall and a nice build; six-foot tall, I'd say."

"Hmm... Was his name Dale?"

"No. His name is Dom."

"That's the badger!" Herron laughed. "Wait, how did you meet him?"

"He came here."

"He did what?! How did he get this address?!"

"You probably gave it to him, but you just don't remember doing so." She bluffed.

It's true though; Herron's short-term memory is pretty bad. However, he remembers so many moments from his troubling past; they haunt him everyday and night. The doctors have diagnosed it as some kind of psychological reaction to the trauma- when everything in his life so unexpectedly collapsed. It doesn't make sense... He tries to forget the past, but the opposite happens, and he forgets the present. He doesn't forget everything, but a lot of it.

"Anyway," she continued, "I heard that there's a dog-show in town. How about you take Ruffcut and go down on your longboard?"

'There will be people...' He pondered. 'But, there will be dogs too.'

"It'll be fun, and there will be so many dogs, that the amount of people won't even bother you."

"Okay... I'll go."

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Furry bodied pals sniffed and barked as they kept close to their owners; curiosity occasionally teasing them to explore the other wolf descendants as they trot by.

Almost everyone brought their dogs into town today. All because of the 'local social'; dog-show!

However, Dom delighted himself with a giant pretzel as he viewed the busy scene. Leaning against a white brick wall; he waits for a certain somebody to appear.

Honestly, he's quite nervous... What if the plan doesn't work?

How can he disappoint Herron's grandma like that?!

'You're an intelligent young man,' he recalls, 'all you need to do, is get him to join the crew! However you choose to do so, is completely up to you!'

But, how is he going to do this?

Dom is a few cards short of a full deck (particularly when it comes to instinct), so the fact that he's been tasked with this mission, is undeniably overwhelming for him.

Today's weather has been the hottest so far this year, but it's not a nice heat; it's humid. He is definitely one of the people who prefer the cooler months, when he can chill in his favourite hoodies, rather than having them tied around his waist (like he has today).

He tears off another piece of pretzel and chews on it slowly, before recognising the older teenage boy walking his yellow lab along the edge of the crowd- where his grandma said he'd be.

Herron is oblivious to the person staring in his direction, trying every way to get his attention before he'd actually have to call his name.

"Hey Herron! Fancy seeing you here!!" He grinned as he jogged his way over. "It's me, Dom."

"I remember. Hey?"

"This is actually really convenient; I needed to thank you. What a handy coincidence that I should see you here!"

"Yeah... Very handy." Herron became distracted by Dom's fingers for a moment- they're fidgeting so much that noticeably, something is up. "Do you get stressed easily, by any chance?"

"Sometimes... I don't know why though. There's no rhyme or reason to it."

"Oh, right. But, your build makes you look like you'd be the opposite..." Herron scanned the athletic physique in front of him, and then began walking off. "You have no reason to be stressed."

"Can I walk with you?" Dom caught up.

"If you want, but Ruffcut and I only came here for the show, nothing else really."

"That's fine. I haven't got a dog so I'd look silly if I continued to stand over there... Not that... I didn't mean it like that... Ugh."

"So, you only came over to me because of the dog, not because you wanted to apologise?!"

"No!!"

"I'm only joking with you." Herron smiled as a variety of dog breeds start warming up to his personal space.

"Haha! I totally... knew that..." Dom ruffles a hand through his hair. "So, do you come every year?"

"I came last year, but it's usually my grandma who comes down to see all the pups... Look! Over there is a Brussels Griffon!"

"Hm... Why does it remind of those little furry things from Star Wars?"

"That would be because the ewok was based off the appearance of the Brussels Griffon."

"That's random."

"I guess-"

'Whoosh!'  Almost swiping both the boys clean off their feet; someone with long hair of a bright, unnatural shade, soared [on their skateboard] with such precision, you wouldn't think it were possible.

"What- no- who was that?!" Dominic's eyes followed the figure until it soon reached a corner and disappeared from sight.

"That was a skateboarder... And she is particularly good. It's very hard to go so fast in an urban environment where there are so many sharp turns. Anyway, let's go this way." Herron said, before turning in the opposite direction to the young woman.

"What? No! Can't we go this way?" Dom whined, knowing exactly what their destination would be if they followed the long-haired skater.

When Herron was about to ask why, Ruffcut started to pull him with the objective of making him follow the same route as Dom.

"I hope this isn't favouritism, Ruffles." He stroked back the fur on the dog's head. "Okay then, let's go."

Dom couldn't help but smirk to himself as the three of them walked; happy, that his newly formed plan was falling into place, quite perfectly.

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Rudy tied his red-laced, black trainers and stepped on his board.

He gently rocked the board back-and-forth, before gracefully pushing off to the edge of the concrete bowl*.

* Bowl: Empty in-ground areas serve as good bowls. Concrete and wood are what they are most commonly made out of. A picture of what a skateboarding bowl looks like will be provided at the end of this chapter.

His weight moved forward into the board.

"It's been far too long." He mumbled, when in fact, it was only the day before last that he was on his skateboard.

The gap between his teeth whistled at the sudden jump in speed.

He powered his way to the opposite side of the concrete bowl.

Upon reaching the steep top, he flipped his board, impressing the few spectators who stood against the fence.

He lowers his center of gravity as he comes back onto it, scraping the wheels against the skate-park surface.

He continues to warm up his core, thigh and calf muscles by lapping the park on his board, doing the occasional [simple] trick as he went. But, pulled up when he noticed Carter had arrived.

They both cheerily smacked hands in greeting.

"How are you mate? It's nice to see you on your board." He loosens his stance.

"I'm actually pretty good today," Rudy smiled, "I have a a great feeling that they'll be here any minute!"

"Rudy, you're doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"When you start talking about something and assume that I know exactly what you're on about."

"Oh... Well you should know. The crew auditions are being held today; those who want to join the crew should be here any minute now!"

"Flip... I'd completely forgotten. But, I guess today really is the big day then. So, we just have to... wait here??"

"Yep! Not long now. Did you bring snacks?"

"You're already hungry?!" Carter's eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"No. I just want a snack, and I know that you always have snacks in your bag."

"For goodness sake, you're right. Hold on." Carter reached into his backpack and took out a tube of chicken flavored- Pingle crisps.

"Life-saver."

"You said yourself that you're not hungry, so how does that make me a life-saver? It's not as if you're about to pass out." He shrugged.

"You just are, okay. My thinking never becomes that technical."

The both of them let the criss-cross, wire fence pinch at their backs as they munched; patiently waiting for someone to approach and inquire about the crew.

But, it could be argued that the park was even more peaceful than usual...

A couple of already formed crews and straggling boarders were here, but no one who was showing any interest.

Except, there is a person who has just entered through the gate, leaving most faces in surprise. Why, you might ask? Because, it's not everyday that you see a girl at the park...

"Hey Rudy!" Carter whispered. "Why don't you ask her if she'll join? She looks like she could be good."

"Two things are wrong about that sentence. One, is 'she'. There is no way I'm having a girl in my crew. And two, is 'could be good'. She's a girl, there's no way she'd be good."

"You're an A-hole." Carter slumped and rolled his eyes.

"But, I'm always correct." Rudy winked.

"Hmm... A right A-hole."

Whilst the red-head and his friend continued their bickering; two unknown figures pass through the gate, soon after the skater-girl. But, unlike her, their presence went almost unnoticed.

"Are you two following me?" The flecks of pink hiding in her cheeks were like the reflection of the neon pink in her hair.

"Um... No." Dom chuckled at her bold personality.

"Yes, you are. I went right past you and then you changed directions to follow me!"

"Actually he was following your board because he wanted to go to the skatepark. It was nothing to do with you really." Herron mumbled.

"Yeah! What he said!"

"Hm? Don't lie!" She moved into a defensive position, with her fists in front of her jaw, leaving both Herron and Dominic pretty discombobulated.

"We're not going to fight you." The two boys spoke simultaneously.

"Why the heck not?! Because I'm a girl?!"

"Because you're half my weight [I can imagine], not to mention- a foot shorter than me." Dom was right. This petite, lovely-faced girl couldn't have been more than 5'2!

"I could still take you on-" She gulped, "But, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let you off."

The pink-haired skater stormed off to the other side, making sure to keep her doubting eye on them.

"Well, that was strange."

"Most definitely. She was cute though..."

"Maybe, you're the strange one?" Herron momentarily creased his brow at the statement. "Anyway, why did we follow her here?"

"I... needed to talk to you about something."

"I thought you did."

"Would you be interested in joining a Skating crew?"

"Well-"

"Wait!" Dom interrupted. "Before you say 'no'. I will join with you! Please, think about it."

"I was going to say 'yes'." The thing is, Herron is pretty smart. He'd already worked out that his grandma had probably plotted something behind his back. She would never miss an opportunity. Yes, he found it irritating but, at the same time, it made him happy that someone is still trying so hard [in an attempt] to make him happy. "It's a shame that I lost the poster for joining the crew, as then I'd be able to know the time and place to join... I wonder how it escaped my jacket pocket." Ronnie jokingly tapped his own chin, while Dom's face turned an ever-burning shade of red.

"Oh..."

"Come on then, where's the 'crew founder'?"

'He was planning on joining the crew anyway...' Dominic thought to himself. 'We should have just left that damned poster in his pocket! I've never even touched a skateboard, nor a long board before!!'

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but over hear your conversation- you're both interested in joining a crew?!" The red-haired boy, sneakily crept out from behind them. "My name's Rudy! I'm forming a new crew!"

"I know who you are Rudy... We go to the same school, and we're in the same year." Dom sighed.

"Right, so your name is?"

"Dominic." He sighed again. "And this is Herron. We're both interested in joining."

"Awesome!! You're both in! Welcome to the crew!" Rudy exclaimed.

"But... You haven't even seen what they can do?"

"Psh." He waved Carter away. "I'm sure they're great."

Dom suddenly looked very guilty.

"So, what do you both do? Do you skate or longboard?"

"I do longboarding." Ron remained straight-faced.

"And you?" Rudy turned to face Dom.

"Um... I skate?"

The four boys were now huddled into what looked like a small, informal meeting. Which is almost exactly what it was.

"I WANT TO JOIN!!"

"What the heck was that?!" Carter jumped.

"ME! I WANT TO JOIN YOUR CREW!" This kid, who couldn't have been much older than eleven (and that's being kind to the poor lad) ran over like a mini tornado. "PLEASE CAN I JOIN!!"

"Ah, well, you see..." Rudy lowered himself to the boy's level. "We all ready have so many people wanting to join; otherwise we'd love to have you on our crew."

"Liar! There's only four of you here!"

"Now, now. It's rude to call someone a 'liar'." Dominic spoke calmly, unaware of the truth.

"We have someone else on their way. He should be here soon..." Rudy lied again, unsure if the person who he indeed hoped would show up, actually will.

"BUT I'VE ARRIVED ON TIME AND YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN ME SKATE YET?! HOW COULD YOU TURN ME AWAY?!"

The four lads went quiet. It's true, they haven't seen the kid perform, but having someone so young on the team would definitely be a hindrance.

"Sorry, I'm late." The teenager with the long fringe spoke audibly. "I'm here to join the crew."

His presence was seriously peculiar... As if they could all sense that he was superior in skill to them...

"Joe actually came..." Carter mumbled.

"There we have it," Rudy beamed,

"Our crew."

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Author's Note:

It. Has. Been. Ages.

I'm sorry that it's taken me so long again but this chapter was really hard to write and I'm still getting used to this writing style.

Thank you for being so patient!! ❤️

This is what an indoor skateboarding bowl could look like (for those who are interested):