Magic City Misfits

There are always two sides to every story, or in my case, two groups. They didn’t get along very well. Every time a fight broke out every one knew it involved one of the two: Jaxsters or the Black Feathers.

In the summer of ’04, roller derby had just begun to take off in Jacksonville, Florida. Being something exciting and new, everyone wanted in. That meant even the toughest girl crews like the Black Feathers. The easiest way to describe them would be one word, simply: Bitches. They were the prettiest girls but also unshakable. Don’t let their easy looks fool you, try and grab one of their toned butts and you’d be laid out on the floor faster than you could say “sorry”. Their only competitions were the Jaxsters. These girls were tough. Unless you knew them, it wouldn’t behoove of you to try and fit in with their group. They never smiled, unless of course they just won a fight. They on the other hand weren’t known for having the grace of a fairy, but had a reputation for being bullies.

I found myself in Jacksonville in the middle of a gang war: who would be number one in at the Magic City Roller Derby. I was only an innocent bystander visiting my grandma who lived with my aunt. It wasn’t in my plans to be forced to take sides.

I was skating my way to the local grocer, my earphones in and my music loud. I loved how different it felt when you skated, it was as if you were almost flying; a very invigorating feeling. Once inside the store, I replaced my skates with some flip flops I found at home. Riverside, Jacksonville looked like something out of a Southern Living magazine. It was old with a modern touch. Everyone always exclaimed how beautiful Miami was, but Jacksonville was so rich with culture.

I went up and down the aisles looking for the ingredients to the spaghetti recipe my aunt was trying to make. I couldn’t find the pasta sauce so I asked what I assumed was a stocker where it was. She was not a stocker, and the look she gave me when I asked made me back off immediately. So I decided to look for it on my own. At the check-out I met a very cute bag boy named Jared. He saw me eyeing the girl I had asked about the sauce.

“Tsk. You do not want to mess with her.”

“Why?” I asked with a smirk.

“Are you trained in jujitsu?” he asked. I scrunched my brow and shook my head.

“Well, I don’t suggest you mess with her.” He added laughing.

On the way back home I was flying through the streets when I saw a group of girls standing off to the side. Every one of them was looking my way, but there was no way I was going over there.

After dinner, I went down to the lake behind our house. There was a bonfire that I had seen from our patio and I wanted to see what was going on. I saw the guy from the grocery store and he waved me over.

“What’s up?” he said.

“What’s up here?” I countered.

“Just having a little bonfire picnic. Do you want to join us?”

I looked at the glowing fire and the surrounding faces. Everyone was doing their own thing, so I decided to stay. I was in the middle of debating on the difference between the real Miami and South Beach when I heard a familiar screech. I turned around to see five girls in roller skates coming to a halt. Their footwork was so smooth but their techniques were sharp, the group did one crossover then looped around each other in perfect formation. I couldn’t help but smile as they turned to leave as if nothing happened and the crowd erupted in applause.

The next day, I couldn’t help but think about how amazing those girls had been. I was skating around town when I saw the group of girls that I had seen on my way home, but not from last night. They were also skating, practicing it looked like. I stopped and watched them; these girls were really good, almost as good as the girls from last night, except they were more graceful, like gothic ballerinas. That smile of admiration came to my face again.

“What do you want?” a voice behind me said. It took me off guard and I had to do a spin to make sure I didn’t fall.

“Um, I was just watching you guys, pretty good.” I said nodding my head.

“Huh,” she scoffed popping her gum. “You skate?”

“Uh, yeah,” I answered.

“Cool, wanna join us.”

“I was just-”

“Let’s go.” she cut me off. I was honestly too nerved to deny her, so I just followed her to the other girls who didn’t even deny the fact that that they were giving me the once over.

“Who’s she?” it was the girl from the market. She had long curly blonde hair that was tied up with a hot pink bow. “What’s your name?”

“Kelsey” I said.

“Kelsey’s coming with us to the derby tonight.” I was taken aback.

“I am?” I asked my face and voice showing signs of worry.

“Yeah,” said a petite girl with short black cropped hair, “we’ve seen you skatin round town, you’re pretty good.”

“Thanks” I said. I wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to be nice or not. She gave me a fake smile and averted her green eyes elsewhere.

“So let’s go.” said another girl rolling her heavily eye-lashed eyes. “They’re not going to just keep the seats open.”

I twisted my hair into a ponytail, tucking it under my cap and lowering the brim. Then I took a final look around the room full of strangers, wondering which of them would help me escape, and which would try to kill me. These girls were nothing short of vicious.