Sk8 the World

Two - Work

After school, it was off to work. Miwa really only did Calligraphy jobs when she was needed, otherwise she was working with Kojiro at his Italian Restaurant. She'd do anything she could. Cook, serve, clean. Surprisingly, for such a cheapskate, he paid her well. She was just happy to be able to get the money. It was just too bad she couldn't spend any more on skateboarding. It had been a week since crashing, and not only were her injuries healing, but she'd gotten Hiromi's phone number and he said he'd teach her when they both get off work. They were to meet at a remote skate park. She wasn't sure why it had to be so remote, but that was fine. She was just happy to be getting out.

"Alright, you're done for the day. You're free to go."

She took off her apron and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Kojiro."

"Looks like you're having a good day. You never kiss me when I ask you to."

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm getting skate lessons."

"You? Skate lessons? Are you sure you're not giving them?"

"Shut up. I crashed and this guy offered me skate lessons, and I wanted to get to know him better so I'm pretending to be a newbie. There's no harm, right? He assumed himself I was new to skating and I just went along with it cause he's cute."

He shook his head. "Well, you did tell us to forget you used to skate. Just don't get yourself in trouble, okay, Miwa? I don't want to be picking you up from the hospital."

"I promise I'll be careful."

Miwa jumped out of the door and headed off. This time, she had her car. Well, it was actually for food deliveries, but she used it otherwise too. She and Kojiro shared it. That way they could share expenses. She thought he was a genius for thinking of it. Being a student still, she was having a hard time with expenses. She was drowning in debt, but this was much easier for her. For him as well. She drove all the way to this skate park. She wore knee and elbow pads, a helmet and gloves. She'd gotten them when she first started skating at S, that way if she took a spill, she wouldn't be hurt as much, but eventually she stopped needing them. It really just put the look together for her pretending to be a newbie. She saw the flower shop guy, Hiromi, but he seemed off. He was wearing a hoodie to hide his face. He didn't look as kind as he did before, but that only made her more curious. She waved hello at him and skated over to him.

"Hi."

She smiled. "Hey. Thanks again for doing this. I'm glad I could spend time with you."

"Y-Yeah.... don't mention it. Now, where should we start? Maybe the basic names and skills? Can you do an Ollie?"

"An Ollie?"

He grabbed her board and popped up. "That's an Ollie. A simple skill, but it means everything in skating. It's basically how you jump."

"Okay, I think I get it. But could you show me one more time?"

"Sure. See, you want to pop up using this foot here."

Miwa got on the board and purposefully failed. She was trying to seem like a new skater after all. But she actually fell hard. She had purposefully put her footing in the wrong place to see if he were watching her. She wanted to know if this flower store guy was actually a good skater or a good teacher. Hopefully both. She really liked spending time with him. The man helped her stand up and smiled at her.

"Damn, I messed it up."

"Don't worry about that, Miwa. It's very tricky to get things the first time. You'll just have to try again. If you're scared. I can hold your hands while you try again."