The Longboard
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I opened my car door and grabbed my longboard from the backseat. It was a real beauty. The back adorned a large pineapple with uneven cut marks on top of a blue and black checkered background. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at the board and shut my car door. We were about to go on our very first longboard ride together. I started whistling and jingling my keys back and forth. My friend Kendall met up with me right in front of my car on the sidewalk. She looked so beautiful with her short brown curls radiating a red tint in the sun, with her board in hand and crocs in sport mode ready for the ride. She stood about two feet in front of me while she mounted on her board. I got on my board and looked ahead at the vibrant roadway in front of me with the beach about a half mile down the road. When I put my foot down on the sidewalk to push off, it felt as though the board and I became one, as though I traded in my feet for wheels. We started riding and everything just looked like a movie. It was a perfect view with a line of manicured palm trees on each side of the road and two kids skating down the sidewalk of an art town with a crystal shop on one side and an Italian restaurant with a veranda on the other. The sun kissed my skin while the slight breeze made me look as if I was posing for a skating magazine and a fan was in front of me to get the right pose. We were approaching the beach. Kendall looked back behind me to ask if I wanted to turn right or left and I made the gesture to go right. As I turned right, I could hear the grind of the sand on the sidewalk hit the wheels of my board. I wasn’t turning too well. In response I shifted my body more to try and avoid the sand. That’s when the wheels locked. It felt as though a giant vine grew out from the Earth and snatched onto the wheels. I felt myself go airborne and landed on the ground with my ankle taking the brunt of the hit. At that point I heard a loud pop. What the fuck was that? All of a sudden I felt steak knives stabbing my ankle. I looked down at it and noticed the large wound the size of Alaska on the inside area of my ankle. I started to closely examine the wound until I caught wind of the white shiny piece sticking out of me. All of the blood immediately rushed out of my head and just felt every organ drop down into my stomach. I closed my eyes and could see all of the stars of the universe.
I open my eyes and see the site of two masked EMTs looking at me with worried eyes. My ears were assaulted by the rescue siren while the two of them muttered among themselves. I could not understand a word they said. The steak knife stabbing sensation maintained its intensity which made my brain start pulsing from the amount of pain I was in. The blonde EMT on my left side yelled to ask for my pain level on a scale of 1-10. God I hate this question. It's so subjective and I don’t wanna seem like one of those people that say their papercut is a 10, but goddamn this is the worst pain of my life. Since I am such an awkward anxious mess I say “8”, but I think my squinting face and bone sticking out might say otherwise. The blonde EMT had a name tag on his tactical jacket that read ‘Brian’ and turned to his coworker who had a similar one that read “Steve”. They exchanged a couple inaudible words as I saw Brian reach over and grab an IV needle. I watched as he cleaned an area of my forearm and stuck the needle right in there. Liquid ran into my body that gave me an instant feeling of exhaustion. My body started turning cold and the pain in my ankle immediately turned into a 3. The same stars greeted me as I closed my eyes again. |
Caitlin Venancio
is currently a junior at Eckerd College studying Environmental Studies, Animal Studies, and minor in Political Science. She first became interested in creative writing when she was a younger child and would write stories about animals living in fictional lands (her favorite being the Amen the Rabbit story she made when I was 9). The passion for wiring intensified when she had the opportunity to take a horror writing class over my school’s short term in January of 2022. Currently, she is taking an Intro to Creative Writing class to explore more of the craft and obtain more experience. She is hoping to take more classes in the summer and continue this passion throughout the rest of her life. |
~
It was a hot damp morning. Central Avenue slowly woke up after a previous night of partying. The waves from the surrounding bay crashed onto the seawall that spanned from the 5th Avenue intersection down to the park. The streetlights illuminated bright yellow light as the sky remained dark and cloudy from the nighttime. At the corner of Central and Riverside Road stood a small rickety shop called “Theodore’s Skate and Surf”. Theodore arrived nearly 3 hours ago. He worked tirelessly finishing up his new longboard creation. His fiery red hair was already sweaty before the workday even started. He grabbed a rag and ran it across his pale face then took off his dark framed glasses and wiped them on the bottom of his shirt to get rid of any sweat. He wouldn’t dare get any sweat on his brand-new longboard. All that was left was to finish sanding. While this only would take him about an hour, he wanted it to be perfect. The goal was to have it finished in time for his 9am shop opening and to put the new sliced pineapple painted beauty in the front and center of the store. This board was the first one he designed. Months of sleepless nights practicing painting techniques finally paid off. In all of the time taken to perfect the longboard, he was completely behind on his opening routine but knew he couldn’t get anything done without a big cup of joe first. He leaned the longboard on the side of the wooden register counter and drew an “x” on the previous date of July 12th, 1962 on his big blue calendar. He walked over to the wall straight across his desk that housed a large record player on a blue wicker table in the back corner. A collection of records laid on the side of it. He took one out of the sleeve and flipped it to the side to play his favorite Beach Boy song. Then, he turned around to a small table behind him and pressed brew on the coffeemaker.
As he squatted to look for a mug behind the counter he heard the jingle of the front door opening. He looked at his watch and it read 8:39 a.m. He was still not ready to be open yet. The sign needed to be placed outside and sweeping needed to be down. He rose from his squatting position and was greeted by the barrel of a gun staring back at him. The man holding the gun was about a foot taller than him. A thick black mustache rested above his white chalky crusted lips and a black hooded sweatshirt hid the top of his head.
“Give me everything in there,” he said while pointing at the register.
Theodore stood very still and locked eyes with him as his breathing got extremely heavy. He could feel his chest start to tighten as if an elastic was cutting off his circulation. The man thought he held this stance for a second too long.
“Do it or I’ll kill you,” as he unlocked the safety on the gun.
Theodore grabbed the contents of the register and handed it to him. The entire $494 that was in there. The man took the money with such force Theodore thought he was going to break his fingers. Without looking back, the robber bolted for the door and made a hard left down the street.
As he squatted to look for a mug behind the counter he heard the jingle of the front door opening. He looked at his watch and it read 8:39 a.m. He was still not ready to be open yet. The sign needed to be placed outside and sweeping needed to be down. He rose from his squatting position and was greeted by the barrel of a gun staring back at him. The man holding the gun was about a foot taller than him. A thick black mustache rested above his white chalky crusted lips and a black hooded sweatshirt hid the top of his head.
“Give me everything in there,” he said while pointing at the register.
Theodore stood very still and locked eyes with him as his breathing got extremely heavy. He could feel his chest start to tighten as if an elastic was cutting off his circulation. The man thought he held this stance for a second too long.
“Do it or I’ll kill you,” as he unlocked the safety on the gun.
Theodore grabbed the contents of the register and handed it to him. The entire $494 that was in there. The man took the money with such force Theodore thought he was going to break his fingers. Without looking back, the robber bolted for the door and made a hard left down the street.
~
An hour later, I opened my eyes. All I could see was a bright light and hear a continuous beeping noise that made pulses about every five seconds. As my vision adjusted, I looked straight ahead to the sight of medical personnel. They were all wearing navy blue scrubs and K-95 facemasks that looked as though they had bird beaks. The man, the shortest of the bunch, stood hunched over at his computer, typing as though he had an essay due in an hour. As he finished typing, he looked up and made eye contact with me.
“Look who’s awake,” he said with a cheerful tone.
The two women standing right in front of my bed, paused their conversation and looked at me with marvel as if I were an alien visiting Earth for the first time.
“Hi sweetie, how ya feeling”, the taller and blonde worker said.
That's a good question. I don’t even know what happened.
“Where am I?” I was able to mutter in a groggy voice.
“Aww poor thing. You are at Southcoast Hospital.
You took a pretty nasty fall off that board of yours” the other woman said.
I figured that was the other technician talking. I finally opened my eyes a little further and my vision was starting to become more clear. Well, as clear it could be without my glasses. I rolled my eyes to my right side and saw this giant machine. It had a large white neck with a big camera attached to the top. This must be the x-ray machine.
“Alright hon, do you mind if we move your ankle a little to put a splint on the bottom for x-rays?” said one of the women. I nodded in reply.
At this point my ankle does not feel any pain. I look down my left arm and notice another IV sticking out. More pain meds. It must be pain meds. Well, whatever they are, they are working. As the x-ray technicians were looking at my ankle and taking pictures, I couldn't help to think about what happened. How could I have fallen? I've been skating for over a decade, I sure as hell should have been able to navigate a little bit of sand. It just didn’t make sense. Almost like something pulled my board away from me.
“Last one,” said the x-ray technician over the loud hum of the massive machine. “The doctor will look at these and let you know what she thinks, please let the nurse if you need anything.”
I looked over to the nurse as if he had any better news to give me. He pulled his mask down to take a sip of his water and I was able to see his fantastic mustache as if he was Salvador Dahli’s long lost brother.
“Dude that's a sick mustache.”
He chuckled and pulled his mask back up as he was closing his bottle cap. I could tell by the squint of his green eyes that he was still smiling at me.
“So was the accident just beginners, luck?” he said to me trying to lighten the mood. “No, that's the weird part, I've been riding for years and have never had an accident like this.”
Then, I proceeded to tell him about the dream I had as well. He sat silent for a brief few seconds and could see the concerned look on my face. Something about that dream felt a little too vivid. He let out a chuckle.
“Wow! maybe it is cursed and is seeking revenge. Ooooooo.”
This guy really thought he was a comedian. He proceeded to tell me that I was lucky that I did not carry a guitar as I fell. When I asked why, he said I could have broken my neck. The dad jokes were so bad, but I couldn’t help it and laughed along with him.
The doctor walked into my room accompanied by the two x-ray technicians. She was a short woman with almond colored hair and a face full of freckles. Her hair pulled back into a neat high ponytail and a blue medical mask that hid her mouth.
“You are very lucky,” she said sympathetically.
“With that kind of fall you are lucky you didn’t snap your neck. However, you did break two bones in your ankle and are in need of surgery.”
I smiled at her and the nurses as a ‘thank you for taking care of me gesture’. After all of the chaos of the day, I sat up, took a deep breath inhaling the inside cloth of the mask against my nose, grabbed my phone from the bedside table and played Animal Crossing.
As 7:00 pm rolled around, nurses came in to prep me for surgery. All I remember is Dr. Michael took off the gray Tampa Bay Rays hat that sat on the top of my head and gave me the fashion crime of a plastic hair net.
“Look who’s awake,” he said with a cheerful tone.
The two women standing right in front of my bed, paused their conversation and looked at me with marvel as if I were an alien visiting Earth for the first time.
“Hi sweetie, how ya feeling”, the taller and blonde worker said.
That's a good question. I don’t even know what happened.
“Where am I?” I was able to mutter in a groggy voice.
“Aww poor thing. You are at Southcoast Hospital.
You took a pretty nasty fall off that board of yours” the other woman said.
I figured that was the other technician talking. I finally opened my eyes a little further and my vision was starting to become more clear. Well, as clear it could be without my glasses. I rolled my eyes to my right side and saw this giant machine. It had a large white neck with a big camera attached to the top. This must be the x-ray machine.
“Alright hon, do you mind if we move your ankle a little to put a splint on the bottom for x-rays?” said one of the women. I nodded in reply.
At this point my ankle does not feel any pain. I look down my left arm and notice another IV sticking out. More pain meds. It must be pain meds. Well, whatever they are, they are working. As the x-ray technicians were looking at my ankle and taking pictures, I couldn't help to think about what happened. How could I have fallen? I've been skating for over a decade, I sure as hell should have been able to navigate a little bit of sand. It just didn’t make sense. Almost like something pulled my board away from me.
“Last one,” said the x-ray technician over the loud hum of the massive machine. “The doctor will look at these and let you know what she thinks, please let the nurse if you need anything.”
I looked over to the nurse as if he had any better news to give me. He pulled his mask down to take a sip of his water and I was able to see his fantastic mustache as if he was Salvador Dahli’s long lost brother.
“Dude that's a sick mustache.”
He chuckled and pulled his mask back up as he was closing his bottle cap. I could tell by the squint of his green eyes that he was still smiling at me.
“So was the accident just beginners, luck?” he said to me trying to lighten the mood. “No, that's the weird part, I've been riding for years and have never had an accident like this.”
Then, I proceeded to tell him about the dream I had as well. He sat silent for a brief few seconds and could see the concerned look on my face. Something about that dream felt a little too vivid. He let out a chuckle.
“Wow! maybe it is cursed and is seeking revenge. Ooooooo.”
This guy really thought he was a comedian. He proceeded to tell me that I was lucky that I did not carry a guitar as I fell. When I asked why, he said I could have broken my neck. The dad jokes were so bad, but I couldn’t help it and laughed along with him.
The doctor walked into my room accompanied by the two x-ray technicians. She was a short woman with almond colored hair and a face full of freckles. Her hair pulled back into a neat high ponytail and a blue medical mask that hid her mouth.
“You are very lucky,” she said sympathetically.
“With that kind of fall you are lucky you didn’t snap your neck. However, you did break two bones in your ankle and are in need of surgery.”
I smiled at her and the nurses as a ‘thank you for taking care of me gesture’. After all of the chaos of the day, I sat up, took a deep breath inhaling the inside cloth of the mask against my nose, grabbed my phone from the bedside table and played Animal Crossing.
As 7:00 pm rolled around, nurses came in to prep me for surgery. All I remember is Dr. Michael took off the gray Tampa Bay Rays hat that sat on the top of my head and gave me the fashion crime of a plastic hair net.
~
Theodore stood there with his breathing still heavy and brain now running a million miles per hour. He needed that money. The shop couldn’t afford the loss, heck he couldn’t even afford to commission his buddy to keep painting his boards. He pivoted behind his desk and grabbed the phone. He could barely put his finger in the dial hole as it trembled. As he started dialing the local police he thought about “Cornelius's Chocolates” up the street from him that was robbed last month. It took the police about 30 minutes to even get there. The force was super understaffed and not very well trained. At that moment, he stopped and hung up the phone before the operator could answer. The police would not be fast enough. This needed to be taken in his own hands. He grabbed his pineapple beauty and dashed out the door. Then, he threw the board on the ground and made a sharp left. It finally stopped raining, but the sky still looked as if it could downpour again at any moment. Before he could go, Theodore took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt as the humidity blinded the lenses. Once he put them back on he noticed the hooded figure about a quarter of a mile straight ahead. He was walking towards the park that laid at the end of the street. God, he made it so easy to get caught. Theodore placed his right foot at the front of the board and used his left foot to move forward. As he gained momentum towards the robber he could get a better picture of what he looked like better. Tan pants, white sneakers. He quickly passed by the Flower Emporium where a young blonde teenage employee was in the middle of unlocking the door to open.
“Tall! Black sweatshirt! Tan pants! White sneakers! Robber! Call the police!” He yelled while riding by.
He didn’t look back to see if she paid attention to his command, as his eyes were on the prize. After two more leg pushes, he approached an intersection and saw the robber closer in sight. With no regard to the traffic light, he zoomed across the street. A few cars beeped at him, with one yelling:
“Hey asshole, fucking watch the road.”
This commotion caught the attention of the robber who turned around and noticed Theodore on the board. He gave a quick look and froze. For an older man, he had really good vision. He started running as fast as he could. Theodore noticed the robber’s change of pace and immediately started riding faster. He was not going to let the son of a bitch get away with it. A large brown sign welcomed him to Bayview Park. Memories of fishing off the seawall with his dad flooded his mind, until he noticed that the robber suddenly stopped running. Theodore then jumped off the board and made it stationary by putting his foot on top of it. His hands were shaking as he did not know what move to play next. Despite having a solid muscular build, Theodore was not confrontational and generally a man of few words. He closed his big blue eyes hoping to gain confidence.
“Listen man, but I really need that -”
Pop. Pop. Pop.
“Tall! Black sweatshirt! Tan pants! White sneakers! Robber! Call the police!” He yelled while riding by.
He didn’t look back to see if she paid attention to his command, as his eyes were on the prize. After two more leg pushes, he approached an intersection and saw the robber closer in sight. With no regard to the traffic light, he zoomed across the street. A few cars beeped at him, with one yelling:
“Hey asshole, fucking watch the road.”
This commotion caught the attention of the robber who turned around and noticed Theodore on the board. He gave a quick look and froze. For an older man, he had really good vision. He started running as fast as he could. Theodore noticed the robber’s change of pace and immediately started riding faster. He was not going to let the son of a bitch get away with it. A large brown sign welcomed him to Bayview Park. Memories of fishing off the seawall with his dad flooded his mind, until he noticed that the robber suddenly stopped running. Theodore then jumped off the board and made it stationary by putting his foot on top of it. His hands were shaking as he did not know what move to play next. Despite having a solid muscular build, Theodore was not confrontational and generally a man of few words. He closed his big blue eyes hoping to gain confidence.
“Listen man, but I really need that -”
Pop. Pop. Pop.
~
My eyes opened wide, followed by a loud pant as I tried to catch my breath. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
“Cam are you okay?” I heard a familiar voice say.
I did not immediately register who just spoke to me. My brain felt as though I was drowning in the ocean with no lifeline in sight. Despite my eyes being wide, the world looked blurry without my 100 rimmed glasses on. The body sitting on the front of my bed handed me what felt like my glasses. I put them on and recognized the voice as Kendall. She looked tired but smiled at me as I reached across my bed to hug her. Man she was a sight for sore eyes. As I retreated, I noticed that I was in a new hospital room, one with a window and small TV. Light illuminated from the window making the room sundrenched.
“Yeah, I’m okay, I just had a really awful dream. Kendall you are going to think I am crazy, but the nurse yesterday told me the board is cursed and I am actually starting to believe him” I said leaning back against my pillows.
“Dude, you went through a lot of shit yesterday that all happened super-fast, your brain is still probably trying to process what happened to you. Sometimes your brain does crazy shit when you have physical trauma” Kendall said in a calm tone, while adjusting her hair into a bun. I nodded to give her a sense of reassurance, but I was not convinced.
“But how could I have had two dreams like that where I clearly see my board and it plays out in a continuous story?”
“Again, sometimes your brain can be fuckity wuckity when you have severe trauma. You just need to focus on getting better so we can get back to having you up on your feet again and having coffee trips.”
I decided not to bring it up the rest of the time she was visiting me. We spent the rest of our time together that afternoon coloring and watching Cutthroat Kitchen. I was so lucky to have her in my life.
The doctor eventually came in and told me that the surgery was successful, and I would be staying overnight for observation. Yah!!!!
After Kendall left, I continued coloring, but then was startled as the light flickered once. It was odd considering the sun was still shining and there were no clouds in the sky. Perhaps it was windy out or the bulb needed to be replaced. I grabbed my pencil and started coloring again. All of a sudden, I could hear the sound of a skateboard riding on gravel. I stupidly looked down on the ground and did not see anything, as if I expected too. There was nothing out my window either as the sign in my room said I was on the 12th floor. Maybe there was something playing on the TV? I looked up to find it off and the remote on the bedside table to me. I rubbed my eyes and my temples, god maybe they gave me too many pain meds. For the second time, I grabbed my pencil and started to color again. That's when it happened. I heard a click and a low-pitched beep. As I dropped my pencil and lifted my head, I immediately noticed that the TV turned on. However, what really captured my attention was not the fact that it was on, but what was playing.
“Cam are you okay?” I heard a familiar voice say.
I did not immediately register who just spoke to me. My brain felt as though I was drowning in the ocean with no lifeline in sight. Despite my eyes being wide, the world looked blurry without my 100 rimmed glasses on. The body sitting on the front of my bed handed me what felt like my glasses. I put them on and recognized the voice as Kendall. She looked tired but smiled at me as I reached across my bed to hug her. Man she was a sight for sore eyes. As I retreated, I noticed that I was in a new hospital room, one with a window and small TV. Light illuminated from the window making the room sundrenched.
“Yeah, I’m okay, I just had a really awful dream. Kendall you are going to think I am crazy, but the nurse yesterday told me the board is cursed and I am actually starting to believe him” I said leaning back against my pillows.
“Dude, you went through a lot of shit yesterday that all happened super-fast, your brain is still probably trying to process what happened to you. Sometimes your brain does crazy shit when you have physical trauma” Kendall said in a calm tone, while adjusting her hair into a bun. I nodded to give her a sense of reassurance, but I was not convinced.
“But how could I have had two dreams like that where I clearly see my board and it plays out in a continuous story?”
“Again, sometimes your brain can be fuckity wuckity when you have severe trauma. You just need to focus on getting better so we can get back to having you up on your feet again and having coffee trips.”
I decided not to bring it up the rest of the time she was visiting me. We spent the rest of our time together that afternoon coloring and watching Cutthroat Kitchen. I was so lucky to have her in my life.
The doctor eventually came in and told me that the surgery was successful, and I would be staying overnight for observation. Yah!!!!
After Kendall left, I continued coloring, but then was startled as the light flickered once. It was odd considering the sun was still shining and there were no clouds in the sky. Perhaps it was windy out or the bulb needed to be replaced. I grabbed my pencil and started coloring again. All of a sudden, I could hear the sound of a skateboard riding on gravel. I stupidly looked down on the ground and did not see anything, as if I expected too. There was nothing out my window either as the sign in my room said I was on the 12th floor. Maybe there was something playing on the TV? I looked up to find it off and the remote on the bedside table to me. I rubbed my eyes and my temples, god maybe they gave me too many pain meds. For the second time, I grabbed my pencil and started to color again. That's when it happened. I heard a click and a low-pitched beep. As I dropped my pencil and lifted my head, I immediately noticed that the TV turned on. However, what really captured my attention was not the fact that it was on, but what was playing.
~
Theodore immediately opened his eyes to the now familiar sight of the gun barrel. His mouth dropped open and eyes rolled down to the sight of his chest. Blood seeped through his white T-shirt and poured down onto his blue jeans. He grabbed his chest and started walking backwards, becoming less stable in every step. About two steps in, he tripped over the seawall. In that moment, his body collapsed onto the ground like a squashed bug and fell over the side of the wall. The unconscious man-made contact with the water and was where he would spend the rest of his days. There was only one witness to this event.
The robber looked into the water with a blank expression on his face. The front of Theodore’s body facing down into the water and his back being floated away from the tide. He stood there for a brief moment while the rain started to pick up again. He turned to walk towards the sidewalk and grabbed the longboard. It was soaked and felt gross to touch. He held the board against his left arm and spun one of the wheels with his right hand while examining the paint job. The board made an angry squeak with the wheel turn. He walked over with the board to sit on the seawall and called his mother. His rough voice began to chirp over the receiver. “Ma. I finally got the money for you to get your meds. I’ll hit CVS then come right home. Love ya.”
He then got up from the seawall, walked onto the sidewalk and back towards the store, where the nearest bus stop was. As he was walking, he could hear an alarm in the distance. He quickly looked up from staring at his blood-spattered shoes and noticed the sight of three flashing police cars. At that moment he decided to turn around and book it. There was no way he would outrun them, but he could not go back to jail. He thought that if he crossed the street and hid in the bushes at the hotel across the street from the park, he could possibly evade them. At that moment he decided to run across the street without looking both ways across the street first. That’s when the leading police car slammed into his body at 39 miles per house. The longboard flew from his arms onto the hotel property, while the police never batted an eye.
The robber looked into the water with a blank expression on his face. The front of Theodore’s body facing down into the water and his back being floated away from the tide. He stood there for a brief moment while the rain started to pick up again. He turned to walk towards the sidewalk and grabbed the longboard. It was soaked and felt gross to touch. He held the board against his left arm and spun one of the wheels with his right hand while examining the paint job. The board made an angry squeak with the wheel turn. He walked over with the board to sit on the seawall and called his mother. His rough voice began to chirp over the receiver. “Ma. I finally got the money for you to get your meds. I’ll hit CVS then come right home. Love ya.”
He then got up from the seawall, walked onto the sidewalk and back towards the store, where the nearest bus stop was. As he was walking, he could hear an alarm in the distance. He quickly looked up from staring at his blood-spattered shoes and noticed the sight of three flashing police cars. At that moment he decided to turn around and book it. There was no way he would outrun them, but he could not go back to jail. He thought that if he crossed the street and hid in the bushes at the hotel across the street from the park, he could possibly evade them. At that moment he decided to run across the street without looking both ways across the street first. That’s when the leading police car slammed into his body at 39 miles per house. The longboard flew from his arms onto the hotel property, while the police never batted an eye.
~
I took in the sites of the hospital while the nurse wheeled me down to the discharge area. The area looked as though we were all in the middle of one of those bad natural disaster movies with The Rock in it. Some nurses ran to rooms wearing what looked like full-fledged hazmat suits to deal with Covid patients while others pounded coffee behind the desk, and a few standing behind the med cart with tears dripping down their faces. This sore sight made me so thankful to be going home. I was thinking about how in the next few hours, Kendall and I would be crushing the board with a sledgehammer and throwing all the pieces away in a dumpster. I knew she would think it would provide clarity to my mental health and be a good stress reliever, but I didn’t need that type of motivation, all I knew was we would have to destroy that cursed longboard somehow.
Kendall and I left the hospital in her pale-yellow Subaru to get something to eat. As she turned on the radio station with Fleetwood Mac, I couldn’t help but bring up the plan I manifested for the longboard.
“Hey Kenny”
“Wassssup?”
“Do you know where the board is? I'm manifesting a plan where we can cut it all up and throw it out and then watch a movie later to celebrate.”
“Oh. Yeah about that, I ended up just bringing it back to the consignment shop” she said casually. “Excuse me you fucking did what????” I yelled.
My voice scared her where she swerved a little into the next lane and had a car beep at us. “Holy shit calm the fuck down dude you are gonna get us killed. I figured that you wouldn't want it anymore. What is with you?” she said with her voice raised one octave.
My heart sank to my stomach and my blood started to pump. I could feel the hair in the back of my neck and on my arms start to rise up. The ghost of the shop owner was trying to communicate with me. Why else would I have had two dreams and see the TV magically turn on? This isn’t trauma, but a warning. A warning that if I don’t grab that board to prevent someone’s death and fast then the board could kill or seriously injure someone else. How the fuck would I live with that guilt? I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “We need to go get that board right now, let's go.”
Kendall did not question me at all. I think deep down she knew that I was convinced it was haunted. At this point, nothing she could say or do could make me think otherwise, and she knew that. She did not say anything to me during the ride to the consignment shop. Her naturally rosy cheeks were fire hydrant red and had tears running down them. Her hands gripped 11 and 2 on the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were turning white. My left hand curled into a fist and I dug my nubs of fingernails down into the palm of my hand. Blood slowly poured out
from the indentations it made. I sent a prayer to the man upstairs. I needed to get that board back and destroy that fucker.
We pulled into the parking lot of the consignment shop. I swung the car door open and grabbed my crutches out of the back seat. I crutched as fast as I could with my fingers getting instantly sweaty from the Florida heat and almost falling over as I was losing my grip. Kendall was wiping away the tears from her cheeks, but held the door open for me so I could race to the counter. I was met with a sleepy old woman wearing a Hufflepuff shirt who was laid an old copy of Harry Potter in front of her on the counter
“Excuse me Mam,” I yelled before reaching the counter
I startled her, as she dropped her book down onto the desk
“Yes, can I help you dear?” she said frailty
“My friend brought a longboard here the other day that had a sliced pineapple painting on the back, do you still happen to have it?” I said with my voice shaking,
“I am sorry dear. I actually sold the board just a couple hours ago to a gentleman about your age.”
“Do you remember what he looked like?”
“I actually do in fact… um he was about a foot taller than you and was very skinny. Someone needed to feed that boy a sandwich,” she said with a chuckle.
Hilarious.
“Anything else?”
“Oh yes, he had blonde hair that was a little bit lighter than yours and had a baseball cap facing the wrong way. He was wearing a shirt that said something odd on it. Er. I'm not entirely sure what it said, but I know it mentioned the name Brandon.”
I stood silent for a moment and rubbed my fingers against my chin. My eyes rolled up and stared straight up at the ceiling fan as it whirled around. I brought my eyes back to her level as I felt a light turn on in my head.
“Did his hair happen to be super curly and have freckles across his face?”
“Oh yes he actually did!!”
“And did the shirt say, ‘Let’s Go Brandon?’”
“Yes! That was it! I'm not sure who Brandon is, but I hope he is doing well at whatever he is doing.”
“Thanks for the help,” I yelled as I crutched out of the store.
In the car, I looked at Kendall who appeared to look annoyed at me.
“Kenny, I know exactly who that lady was talking about! It's some Republican asshole that belongs to the local skate club downtown! He is probably there right now flexing on the board to everyone.”
As Kendall continued to stare at me, her nose started to squint, her arms crossed, and jaw started to clench.
“Cam, I think you are being irrational and stupid right now. The board is out of your hands. It's done. It's not your problem anymore. Whatever this guy does with the board or if he gets hurt then it's on him and it's not your fault.” She said to me in a stern tone that I never heard before, “Fine. I am actually not too hungry anymore; can you please just take me home?” I said quietly. My stomach felt a pit growing as I argued with her. I felt more annoyed than anything that she did not believe me and thought I was just hallucinating.
Once I got home, I hopped into my car and drove myself to the skate club. There weren't too many people there, despite the sunshine it was hotter than Hell outside. I look around trying to spot Tyler riding the cursed demonic board. A few club members greeted me and asked about what happened. I didn’t have time for the chit chat. After giving them a brief rundown of events, I asked if Tyler was there.
“Yeah, he’s right on that half pipe,” Conner said pointing in its direction.
I head towards Tyler’s direction to ask for the board back. Of all people of course this asshole had to be the one to buy the board. The dude absolutely hated women and refused to ever acknowledge me. I heard last year, he got picked up for being at the capital insurrection. He didn’t actually break into the capital building but was just a stupid bastard who cheered everyone on.
“Hey, Tyler, got a minute?” I yelled.
“The fuck you want?”
I needed to come up with a quick lie, or maybe just tell a half truth.
“So I heard from the buddies that you picked up the board at a shop earlier, that board is actually mine that my friend accidently gave away and it would really mean a lot if I could have it back please. I can buy you a new board if you want to replace it.”
“Nah, I don’t think so. This is my shit now. Maybe next time your stupid friend should use her head,” he sneered in response.
I knew nothing I could say to him could convince him to give the board back. I’m a queer woman, that’s two strikes against me.
“Think of this as a sign that bitches like you don’t belong here anyway,” he yelled back. I crutched away without looking back.
In the upcoming days, Kendall and I made up from our fight. I felt really bad that I yelled at her and expected her to believe me, when I knew damn well that if I was in her shoes I would have not believed myself either.
One night we saw a movie, as if everything was normal again. I continued to admire everything about her and felt more butterflies in my stomach each time we continued to hang out. She was such a smart and sweet person, and I could never imagine not having her in my life. After the movie finished, we walked over to Kilwins for ice cream and decided to take a walk on the newly constructed pier. The pier had everything from a playground to an expensive restaurant that a newly minted twenty something year old could never afford. I loved going on walks with her and looking out for massive white pelicans. As we approached the pier, Kendall noticed a large crowd of people near an intersection corner. Perhaps there was a street performer, I saw a guy once playing an electric cello down there. As we walked closer, the crowd’s emotions fanned out. Nobody was clapping, rather everyone was looking around as if they were waiting for something. As we continued walking, a rescue siren blasted the air. It sped past us and stopped right before the crowd of people with three EMTs jumping out and running over past the crowd. The crowd dispersed to make room for them, but more people stopped and started from the sidelines. I noticed this woman who appeared to be about in her forties crying and had mascara run down her face. She took the sleeves of her navy-blue white polka dot top to wipe away the tears. I stopped and faced her.
“Ma'am, are you okay? Do you need help.”
“The, the, the, the, the, that man got hit by that um Toyota and ugh I think um he's ugh um died.”
I turned my head to the scene and saw the exact moment the EMTs were lifting the man onto the stretcher. I couldn’t believe my eyes. A lump grew into my throw with entangled arms that made it impossible for me to breathe. My legs turned to Jell-O and I had a hard time even standing up. “Ken. That's him. Oh my god. That's him.”
I ran over to the grass area a few years back and vomited. Kendall ran over to me wide eyed and shocked looking. After a few moments, I watched her expression change from shocked to sad as her brown eyes drooped down and her cherry lips turned to a pout. We both stayed silent as I could tell her knew. I walked over to a park bench and sat down with my knees facing my forehead. Kendall’s arms embraced over me as she whispered…
“I'm sorry I didn’t believe you Cam.”
Kendall and I left the hospital in her pale-yellow Subaru to get something to eat. As she turned on the radio station with Fleetwood Mac, I couldn’t help but bring up the plan I manifested for the longboard.
“Hey Kenny”
“Wassssup?”
“Do you know where the board is? I'm manifesting a plan where we can cut it all up and throw it out and then watch a movie later to celebrate.”
“Oh. Yeah about that, I ended up just bringing it back to the consignment shop” she said casually. “Excuse me you fucking did what????” I yelled.
My voice scared her where she swerved a little into the next lane and had a car beep at us. “Holy shit calm the fuck down dude you are gonna get us killed. I figured that you wouldn't want it anymore. What is with you?” she said with her voice raised one octave.
My heart sank to my stomach and my blood started to pump. I could feel the hair in the back of my neck and on my arms start to rise up. The ghost of the shop owner was trying to communicate with me. Why else would I have had two dreams and see the TV magically turn on? This isn’t trauma, but a warning. A warning that if I don’t grab that board to prevent someone’s death and fast then the board could kill or seriously injure someone else. How the fuck would I live with that guilt? I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “We need to go get that board right now, let's go.”
Kendall did not question me at all. I think deep down she knew that I was convinced it was haunted. At this point, nothing she could say or do could make me think otherwise, and she knew that. She did not say anything to me during the ride to the consignment shop. Her naturally rosy cheeks were fire hydrant red and had tears running down them. Her hands gripped 11 and 2 on the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were turning white. My left hand curled into a fist and I dug my nubs of fingernails down into the palm of my hand. Blood slowly poured out
from the indentations it made. I sent a prayer to the man upstairs. I needed to get that board back and destroy that fucker.
We pulled into the parking lot of the consignment shop. I swung the car door open and grabbed my crutches out of the back seat. I crutched as fast as I could with my fingers getting instantly sweaty from the Florida heat and almost falling over as I was losing my grip. Kendall was wiping away the tears from her cheeks, but held the door open for me so I could race to the counter. I was met with a sleepy old woman wearing a Hufflepuff shirt who was laid an old copy of Harry Potter in front of her on the counter
“Excuse me Mam,” I yelled before reaching the counter
I startled her, as she dropped her book down onto the desk
“Yes, can I help you dear?” she said frailty
“My friend brought a longboard here the other day that had a sliced pineapple painting on the back, do you still happen to have it?” I said with my voice shaking,
“I am sorry dear. I actually sold the board just a couple hours ago to a gentleman about your age.”
“Do you remember what he looked like?”
“I actually do in fact… um he was about a foot taller than you and was very skinny. Someone needed to feed that boy a sandwich,” she said with a chuckle.
Hilarious.
“Anything else?”
“Oh yes, he had blonde hair that was a little bit lighter than yours and had a baseball cap facing the wrong way. He was wearing a shirt that said something odd on it. Er. I'm not entirely sure what it said, but I know it mentioned the name Brandon.”
I stood silent for a moment and rubbed my fingers against my chin. My eyes rolled up and stared straight up at the ceiling fan as it whirled around. I brought my eyes back to her level as I felt a light turn on in my head.
“Did his hair happen to be super curly and have freckles across his face?”
“Oh yes he actually did!!”
“And did the shirt say, ‘Let’s Go Brandon?’”
“Yes! That was it! I'm not sure who Brandon is, but I hope he is doing well at whatever he is doing.”
“Thanks for the help,” I yelled as I crutched out of the store.
In the car, I looked at Kendall who appeared to look annoyed at me.
“Kenny, I know exactly who that lady was talking about! It's some Republican asshole that belongs to the local skate club downtown! He is probably there right now flexing on the board to everyone.”
As Kendall continued to stare at me, her nose started to squint, her arms crossed, and jaw started to clench.
“Cam, I think you are being irrational and stupid right now. The board is out of your hands. It's done. It's not your problem anymore. Whatever this guy does with the board or if he gets hurt then it's on him and it's not your fault.” She said to me in a stern tone that I never heard before, “Fine. I am actually not too hungry anymore; can you please just take me home?” I said quietly. My stomach felt a pit growing as I argued with her. I felt more annoyed than anything that she did not believe me and thought I was just hallucinating.
Once I got home, I hopped into my car and drove myself to the skate club. There weren't too many people there, despite the sunshine it was hotter than Hell outside. I look around trying to spot Tyler riding the cursed demonic board. A few club members greeted me and asked about what happened. I didn’t have time for the chit chat. After giving them a brief rundown of events, I asked if Tyler was there.
“Yeah, he’s right on that half pipe,” Conner said pointing in its direction.
I head towards Tyler’s direction to ask for the board back. Of all people of course this asshole had to be the one to buy the board. The dude absolutely hated women and refused to ever acknowledge me. I heard last year, he got picked up for being at the capital insurrection. He didn’t actually break into the capital building but was just a stupid bastard who cheered everyone on.
“Hey, Tyler, got a minute?” I yelled.
“The fuck you want?”
I needed to come up with a quick lie, or maybe just tell a half truth.
“So I heard from the buddies that you picked up the board at a shop earlier, that board is actually mine that my friend accidently gave away and it would really mean a lot if I could have it back please. I can buy you a new board if you want to replace it.”
“Nah, I don’t think so. This is my shit now. Maybe next time your stupid friend should use her head,” he sneered in response.
I knew nothing I could say to him could convince him to give the board back. I’m a queer woman, that’s two strikes against me.
“Think of this as a sign that bitches like you don’t belong here anyway,” he yelled back. I crutched away without looking back.
In the upcoming days, Kendall and I made up from our fight. I felt really bad that I yelled at her and expected her to believe me, when I knew damn well that if I was in her shoes I would have not believed myself either.
One night we saw a movie, as if everything was normal again. I continued to admire everything about her and felt more butterflies in my stomach each time we continued to hang out. She was such a smart and sweet person, and I could never imagine not having her in my life. After the movie finished, we walked over to Kilwins for ice cream and decided to take a walk on the newly constructed pier. The pier had everything from a playground to an expensive restaurant that a newly minted twenty something year old could never afford. I loved going on walks with her and looking out for massive white pelicans. As we approached the pier, Kendall noticed a large crowd of people near an intersection corner. Perhaps there was a street performer, I saw a guy once playing an electric cello down there. As we walked closer, the crowd’s emotions fanned out. Nobody was clapping, rather everyone was looking around as if they were waiting for something. As we continued walking, a rescue siren blasted the air. It sped past us and stopped right before the crowd of people with three EMTs jumping out and running over past the crowd. The crowd dispersed to make room for them, but more people stopped and started from the sidelines. I noticed this woman who appeared to be about in her forties crying and had mascara run down her face. She took the sleeves of her navy-blue white polka dot top to wipe away the tears. I stopped and faced her.
“Ma'am, are you okay? Do you need help.”
“The, the, the, the, the, that man got hit by that um Toyota and ugh I think um he's ugh um died.”
I turned my head to the scene and saw the exact moment the EMTs were lifting the man onto the stretcher. I couldn’t believe my eyes. A lump grew into my throw with entangled arms that made it impossible for me to breathe. My legs turned to Jell-O and I had a hard time even standing up. “Ken. That's him. Oh my god. That's him.”
I ran over to the grass area a few years back and vomited. Kendall ran over to me wide eyed and shocked looking. After a few moments, I watched her expression change from shocked to sad as her brown eyes drooped down and her cherry lips turned to a pout. We both stayed silent as I could tell her knew. I walked over to a park bench and sat down with my knees facing my forehead. Kendall’s arms embraced over me as she whispered…
“I'm sorry I didn’t believe you Cam.”
~
I take my pen off the paper and close my journal. Enough of that for tonight. The car door opens with Kendall hopping inside.
“Hey honey bunny” and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
We drove downtown to our favorite breakfast restaurant to celebrate our 6-month anniversary of finally dating. All I keep thinking about is how lucky I am to be dating the girl of my dreams. After a 10-minute drive, we find miraculously good parking and hop out of the car. “Ooo your scars are healing so well,” Kendall says lovingly.
I look down at them to see the resembled fragments of the surgery I had six months prior. After examining my ankle, I look for Kendall and run up to her to hold her hand. As we are about to turn the corner to walk up the restaurant stairs, we heard a guy riding his board “On your left.”
We shift over to the left and watch the man run up the stairs. Then, we turn the corner to walk up the stairs hand in hand and start talking about the new episode of Loki we watched last night. As we get to the top of the stairs, I notice the man place his board backwards in front of the restaurant door as he is probably running in for takeout. I stop. The board. It's the motherfucking pineapple beauty. It glistens with its cut shapes and blue and black checkered background. I can feel my legs start to buckle. Kendall squeezes my hand tighter. It can't be. You see, after Tyler’s accident, Kendall ran over and grabbed the board. We took the board and cut it up into small pieces. We burnt some parts in a fire, while we threw some parts in the dumpster. It's not possible. We destroyed that pineapple beauty. Or so we thought.
“Hey honey bunny” and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
We drove downtown to our favorite breakfast restaurant to celebrate our 6-month anniversary of finally dating. All I keep thinking about is how lucky I am to be dating the girl of my dreams. After a 10-minute drive, we find miraculously good parking and hop out of the car. “Ooo your scars are healing so well,” Kendall says lovingly.
I look down at them to see the resembled fragments of the surgery I had six months prior. After examining my ankle, I look for Kendall and run up to her to hold her hand. As we are about to turn the corner to walk up the restaurant stairs, we heard a guy riding his board “On your left.”
We shift over to the left and watch the man run up the stairs. Then, we turn the corner to walk up the stairs hand in hand and start talking about the new episode of Loki we watched last night. As we get to the top of the stairs, I notice the man place his board backwards in front of the restaurant door as he is probably running in for takeout. I stop. The board. It's the motherfucking pineapple beauty. It glistens with its cut shapes and blue and black checkered background. I can feel my legs start to buckle. Kendall squeezes my hand tighter. It can't be. You see, after Tyler’s accident, Kendall ran over and grabbed the board. We took the board and cut it up into small pieces. We burnt some parts in a fire, while we threw some parts in the dumpster. It's not possible. We destroyed that pineapple beauty. Or so we thought.