"Whoo! Go, Randy!"
"Yeah!"
"Come on, Randy!"
"Come on, buddy!"
The gang cheered as Randy did a flip on his skateboard inside the mall, despite the ban of skateboards. He landed successfully and they continued cheering.
"Yeah, Way to go, Randy!"
"Way to go. Whoo!"
"All right, come on, Milton, you go this" Jerry said.
"Yeah, hang in there, Milton" Kim cheered on their friend.
"Let's go, bro" Jack said.
"You are about to shatter your old record" Azalea said encouragingly despite the ridiculous situation.
The wheels of Milton's skateboard squeaked as Eddie carefully pushed him forward while Milton tried to keep his balance.
"What a rush!" Milton shouted when he stepped of the skateboard and took of his helmet, "The wind in my hair. The adrenaline pumping."
"Dude, your skating is a joke" Randy said unimpressed.
"The sweet air I caught when I ran that pebble was no joke" Milton sassed.
"That pebble was my pinky toe" Eddie glared at him.
"All right, Jack" Jerry said, "Let's see what you can do."
"I've got some moves I've been working on" Jack said, flipping up the skateboard to his hands as the crowd cheered for him.
Jack was about to jump on the board when Joan interrupted him, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" she stopped him and everyone groaned, "Mm-hmm, what do you think you're doing? I'll take this."
"Oh, come on, Joan" Jack protested.
"I'm, sorry, but I've got a job to do" Joan said and much to everyone's surprise, and horror, she ripped of her guard uniform to reveal some weird figure skating outfit, "And it's to teach you punks how to shred. Huh, check it."
Jack looked a little traumatised by the sight so Azalea stood up to pat his shoulder, "You okay there, honey?" she asked sympathetically.
"I don't think I'll ever be okay after this" Jack frowned as Joan put on a purple helmet.
"This skate rat can grind it like a coffee bean" Joan bragged before stepping on the board, "And — whoo!"
She rode the skateboard forward and somehow managed to get up on a table where she did a couple of spins before jumping down again while the crowd clapped loudly.
"That was sweet" Joan said, "Good thing my boss, Mr. Peters, didn't see that" she said, oblivious to the fact that the man in question had walked up and was now standing behind her. "We call him ratface."
She laughed and turned around to see her boss, "Hey, ratface" she greeted him with a laugh before realising what was happening, "Ooh! Mr Peters, uh, I was just found a little undercover sting operation. I like to fall Operation undercover — sting operation. And anyone caught skateboarding will be banned from this mall. 'prende?"
Joan walked away followed by Mr Peters, leaving the teenagers there in shock. "Great!" Jack exclaimed sarcastically, "Uh, first, the skatepark closes and now, we can't skate here."
"Technically you were never allowed to skate here" Azalea said pointing at the sign only to receive glares from her friends, "But that is beside the point."
"Fine. They may ban out boards" Milton said dramatically, putting on his helmet, "but they'll never ban our spirit!" he took the board from Jack and placed it on the ground, "Eddie!"
Eddie moved over to slowly push Milton away, very slowly.
☆★☆
"Come on, guys. We gotta think" Jack said as they sat stretching on the floor inside the dojo, "Uh, there's gotta be another place we can skateboard."
"Well, there's that paved path through the cemetery" Jerry suggested.
"That's not gonna happen" Milton shot down the idea, "With my deliciously plump brain, I'm considered grade A zombie bait."
"Yeah, that's clearly the only problem with an otherwise brilliant idea" Azalea said sarcastically while leaning over to touch her foot with ease.
"Look, when I was a kid, we didn't need skateparks" Rudy told them, "We used to make our own games like 'What's That Smell?' or 'Whose Hair is This?' or 'Why is that Wet?'"
"Well, when you were a kid you didn't have western medicine or running water either" Azalea smirked at her brother who in turn threw a rag at her.
"Look, we just need a place to skate" Kim said before the two siblings could start a fight.
"I don't even understand why skateboarding is so cool" Rudy said, "When I was in school, the only person who was into it was a kid named Luke Sampson." Rudy then seemed to go into some kind of flash back for a few seconds before snickering, "I wonder whatever happened to that loser."
"Uh, actually, he became a multi-millionaire skateboard mogul" Kim said showing Rudy a magazine with Luke on it.
"What?!" Rudy exclaimed while snatching the magazine.
"He just released a cool new body spray called 'Damp'" Eddie said.
"I love their slogan" Jerry added, "Damp. When moist isn't enough."
"Wait a minute" Jack said in realisation, "Guys, he builds skateboard all over the country. Maybe we can get him to build one right here."
"Yeah, Rudy, since you know him, can you get us a meeting?" Kim asked hopefully.
"What?" Rudy said not having listened to their conversation, "Uh, yeah. Yeah. No, Luke is my boy. We were tight" he tried to sound convincing, "And just so you guys know, I've been working on my own body spray. It's called 'Midnight Ninja'. It's the smell you never see coming."
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't see smells" Azalea snorted, "It's a result of not being a cartoon."
"Silent but deadly" Jerry said dramatically.
"Ooh, that would be a good slogan" Rudy grinned.
"Uh, it wasn't a slogan, it was a warming" Jerry admitted.
"See a doctor, man" Azalea yelled as they evacuated the dojo.
☆★☆
Rudy had kept up his promise to introduce them to Luke and they were now inside L.S Industries which was pretty much just a big skate park.
"Luke, thanks so much for seeing us" Rudy said as Luke showed them around the indoor skatepark, "It's pretty incredible, right? We came from the same school, and look at us now."
"Yeah. One of you with an international business and helicopters. And one with a barely running dojo and mom's bike" Azalea smirked and instead of answering Rudy gave her a shove to shut her up, sending her tumbling into Jack who caught her by the waist.
"I knew you couldn't help yourself from falling for me" Jack winked as he helped her stand up straight.
"You are so cute" Kim cooed with an excited grin, quiet enough so only the two of them could hear.
"Yeah so anyway" Luke said, "this is our research training center. Now, we test every product we come up with. Sampson isn't just a board, it's a lifestyle" he bragged, "Yo, we even developed our own organic skater snacks. Try a seaweed doodler.
"I'm good" Azalea said with a scrunched up nose, "I have already eaten some plankton today."
Jack however wasn't so clever so he eagerly tasted the snacks, gagging as an effect, "Too much seaweed, not enough doodler."
"The thing I remember about you, Rudy, is that up used to live to wear your pyjamas to school" Luke smirked while wrapping his arm around Rudy's shoulders.
"It was a warrior gi!" Rudy exclaimed when the teenagers laughed at him.
So, what can I do for you guys?" Luke asked them.
"Mr Sampson, you build skateparks all over the country" Jack said taking the lead, "We were hoping that you could build one in our hometown.
"Are there real skaters in Seaford now?" Luke asked, "When I was growing up, I was the only one."
"Are there skaters in Seaford?" Milton guffawed, "Uh, hello. Lemme see this" he took a skateboard and helmet from a passing guy, "Yeah, here you go, Jack" he handed it over to the brown haired boy.
Jack rolled his eyes as he put on the helmet. "Yup, get ready for it" Milton continued, "You are gonna kill it out there."
Jack showed Luke his moves and the older man was actually impressed, "Right on. I'll give it up you, Jack, you can skate. I might be interested in building your skatepark.
"Great! We've got the perfect spot" Jack told him excitedly.
"Cool, let's go check this out" Luke said as a guy walked over with a tray with plastic mugs, "Yo, but first, let's pound some Luke Sampson eel juice, huh?"
"No thanks" Azalea said when he tried to give her one, "I have Herpetophobia."
"That's the fear of lizards and snakes, not eels" Milton said.
"Eels are like sea snakes" Azalea glared at him.
Rudy and Luke drank up the weird eel juice, "Whoo! Oh, yeah, there's the energy. What do you think, Rudy?"
"That's some good eel" Rudy said in a very strained voice before running away to vomit.
☆★☆
Azalea walked through the woods behind Jack, on their way to show Luke their suggestion for the new skateboard site. But as they walked through some bushes Jack somehow managed to let go of a branch just in time to smack her in the face.
Azalea closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before glaring at her boyfriend who sent her a sheepish smile, his eyes widened in horror.
"I'm so going to pay for that later, aren't I?" Jack asked.
"You think?!" Azalea narrowed her eyes at him, rubbing her forehead.
"Anyways!" Jack said awkwardly, "Huh, great spot, huh? What do you think?"
"Give me a second, man" Luke said, "I gotta feel this." Luke inhaled sharply while closing his eyes like he was trying to visualise the park.
"Is he having a stroke?" Azalea whispered.
"Bam!" he yelled, causing her to jump up in surprise, "There's your ramp. Ka-pow! 12-foot ground rail. Boom! There's your half-pipe. Hold on" he exhaled, "Switch the boom and the ka-pow, now you got a skatepark, bro!"
"Yeah" Jack cheered and they did some kind of man hug, "Hey, oh, if we have any room left, we should put a bang over there!"
"Ha! But what's a bang?" Luke asked confused.
"I was kinda hoping you knew" Jack said sheepishly, causing Azalea to facepalm.
Azalea, Jack and Luke made their way back to where the others were waiting for them. "You know what, guys? This place is perfect" Luke told them, "Let's fast track it. I bet we can break ground in a week."
"Awesome!"
"I can't believe it!"
"All right!"
"Hey, where is Rudy?" Azalea asked, confused by the absence of her brother.
"I'm almost there" Rudy said and it sounded like he was far above them. "Almost — aah" his yelp was followed by branches breaking, screaming, groaning and finally a loud thud.
Azalea started laughing and then the two siblings spoke at the same time.
"Do not call my mother!"
"I'm so telling mom!"
☆★☆
The next day Eddie and Jerry entered school looking like they had survived a car accident after their first day as test persons for Luke's company. They whimpered and groaned as they made their way over.
"What happened to you guys?" Milton asked.
"Girls" Eddie groaned in pain, "Girls happened."
"This is awesome!" Randy shouted while running towards them, "Because of you, Seaford is getting their own skatepark. Sweet! This is the happiest moment of my life. At least until I marry Azalea Gillespie."
"I'm going to ignore that" Azalea said a little weirded out.
"You got it, Mrs Plotzsky" Randy smiled weirdly.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, dude," Jack glared at the boy, "but she's never going to be 'Mrs Plotzsky."
"Yeah, I would never take your name" Azalea smirked, enjoying Jack's discomfort in the situation.
☆★☆
Later that day they were hanging out in school between classes when something started to rustle inside Kim's bag, "Hey, Kim!" Azalea, who was sitting next to the bag said, "what's in your backpack?"
Kim opened it and the head of some animal popped out, causing Azalea to jump back, landing on Jack's lap.
"Aaw. It's the little guy from the skatepark site" Kim cooed, "How did you get in here? Where you in my backy-packy? Yes, you were. Yes, you were."
"Why do girls always talk like that to animals?" Jack asked and that was the second Azalea realised she was still on his lap, in school, so she quickly stood up. "Just 'cause he's a" Jack continued, until his eyes landed on the little animal, "fluffy little man. Yes. Yes, you are. You're a fluffy little man! Yes, you are."
"It's getting weird, Jackie" Azalea told him.
"What?" Jack asked defensively, his voice back to normal, "He's a fluffy, little man."
"I actually did a little research" Milton told them, "It's commonly known as the striped beach vole. Interesting fact. They're very territorial and live five miles from any of their kind."
"Five miles?" Jerry said confused, "What do they do for — girlfriends?"
"They have a piercing mating call" Milton explained, "It sound something like this, "Br-r-r-r-roo hoo! Br-r-r-r-roo hoo! Br-r-r-r-roo hoo!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa" Jerry interrupted him, "Look at the way he's looking at you. Milton's got game."
"Yes, imagine how many striped beach vole girlfriends he could get."
☆★☆
"It's a pretty good turnout, huh?" Jack asked as they stood at the skateboard site, surrounding by a dozen reporters.
"Yeah, I should probably say a few words" Luke said but before he could grab the mic, Rudy took it.
"Citizens of Seaford, I will now say a few words!" Rudy said.
"Oh dear Lord."
"This park is the result of one man."
"Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke!" the crowd started to chant.
"No!" Rudy exclaimed, "I was talking about me! I was the one who called him. I did everything."
"You didn't even dial the number" Azalea snorted.
"This park shan't be for a select few, but 'tis for each and every one of you" Rudy continued.
"So, we're all going to the ground breaking party?" Randy asked.
"No!" Rudy yelled, "And if you get anywhere near the VIP tent, security will take you out of your shoes, bro! Thank you." Rudy handed the mic to Luke before walking away with his head held high.
"Yo, yo, what's up, Seaford?" Luke asked and the crowd started to chant his name. But before they could continue Kim ran over and stopped him.
"Excuse me, Luke. I, uh — I need to say something" Kim said nervously, taking the mic, "I hate to ruin the celebration, everybody, but, uh, we can't build a skatepark here."
The crowd started to protest. "Well, why not, Kim?" Luke asked.
"Because this site is the home of the rare striped beach vole" Milton explained.
"It's a protected species, and we can't destroy its home" Kim finished.
"Yeah, VIP Party!" Rudy shouted in the background before they heard the sound of a groan and a taser crackling.
"Not on the list, Rudy" Joan told him as Rudy walked over to them, shaking from the electricity.
"She zapped me, sis" he walked over to Azalea who was trying to cover up her laughter.
"Oh, my bad, Rudy" Joan shouted, "You are on the list."
"My brother, ladies and gentlemen."
☆★☆
"Don't you two realise how unpopular this is going to make us?" Jack asked Kim and Azalea the next day at school when his girlfriend had sided with the blonde.
"Who cares?" Azalea asked, "Saving an endangered species is more important than the approval of some dumb teenagers who learned to tie their shoes when they were twelve."
"Plus, Jack, you are overreacting" Kim said casually, "I think most people at this school will totally agree with what I have-"
"Mob! Mob! Mob!" Milton shouted while running down the hallway, "Angry, scary, mob! Mob!"
Milton jumped into a locker just as a mob of their classmates led by Randy walked over, looking very angry. "Pitchforks? Really, Randy?" Jack asked unimpressed. "Isn't that a bit much?"
"They are not with us" Randy said, "They are in the Agriculture Club. You ruined it for all of us, Kim. You and your rat."
"Look, Randy, it's done" Kim said, "Tomorrow when the wildlife inspector shows up and sees the vole on the land, he'll declare it a protected animal sanctuary, then no one can ever build on it."
"Well, he won't call it a protected animal sanctuary if the vole isn't there" Randy shot back with a smirk.
"And you won't be breathing if the vole isn't there" Azalea smiled dangerously, understanding what he meant.
"Why wouldn't the vole be there?" Kim asked, not having caught on.
"Because he's gonna try and kill it" Milton said from inside the closed locker.
"Shut up, locker!" Randy yelled before punching the locker.
"Ow!" Milton groaned as Randy and the crowd disappeared.
☆★☆
So, in order to protect the vole, Kim had the genius idea that they were going to camp out in the woods that night. "Oh, I came as soon as I heard!" Joan said loudly, carrying a beach chair and an ukulele with her, "I've fought this fight before."
"You have?" Milton asked, sitting inside the tent Azalea had just finished setting up.
"Oh, yeah, sister" Joan said, "Save the whales, I was on the beach. Save the bald eagles, I was in the treetops. I'm all about respecting life" Joan then saw the vole inside the tree trunk and panicked, "Hold on! Whack-a-mole!"
"No, that's what we're protecting!" Milton shouted while Kim threw herself in front of Joan.
"We just have to make sure that Randy and his friends don't get to it before the inspector sees it tomorrow" Kim explained.
"Forget this. I'm out of here" Joan walking three steps away from them before turning back, "Uh, who am I kidding? It's Friday night. I've got nothing else going on."
"That's the spirit!" Azalea said, sitting down on the log beside the vole's home. She flinched when Jack ran out of the bushes, only to calm down once she realised it was him, "Jack, we've been through this already. I know we disagree, but we're not backing off."
"Well, you don't have to" Jack said, crouching down in front of her, "I spoke to Luke, and he had a great idea. He's agreed to pay to have it relocated to a preserve in Oregon where voles are protected."
"I don't know" Azalea said uncertainly and Kim nodded in agreement, "This is its home. It wouldn't be right for us to just uproot it. And he may not be able to handle a change in scenery."
"But Luke said it'll have a better home in Oregon" Jack said, "Zalee, Kim, we all wanted the skatepark. This is a way to get the park and give the vole a better life. It's a win-win. Trust me."
The sound of the vole's mating call rang through the woods. "What the — what?" Joan exclaimed, looking around her to find the source.
"That's the sound the vole makes when it's looking for a mate" Milton explained.
"Interesting" Joan said with a weird smile before mimicking the call. A bear like grunting cut through the air and everyone froze. "Oh, my" Joan stood up.
"Joan, I wouldn't go over there" Milton tried to stop her, "That sounded like a bear."
"Oh, that's no bear" Joan applied some lipstick, "That's Lenny from the bowling alley."
☆★☆
Kim carried the vole in a small cage through L.S Industries. They had agreed to take the vole to Luke so he could get it to the preserve in Oregon, although something felt wrong about it.
"Hey, there they are" Luke said happily, a little too happily, when he saw them, "Oh, let me see him. Hey there, little guy. What's going on? Oh, wow, he's a cute one. I can see why you want to protect him" he continued and Kim grinned while Azalea looked at him unconvinced, "Hey, but don't worry. Where he's going, he's not gonna have to worry about anything."
"Hold that vole" Rudy yelled dramatically before running towards them, careful not to trip when he ran down the ramp.
"Uh, what's going on, Rudy?" Luke asked nervously.
"I heard everything" Rudy said, "The second you guys leave, Luke is gonna kill it!"
"What? You — you lied to me?" Jack asked betrayed.
"You said you were gonna protect it" Kim said in disbelief.
"You said you were gonna protect it" Luke mimicked her mockingly, "I don't care about your ugly rat! I care about building skateparks, so mindless kids like you will buy my gear" he turned to Jack and flicked his head.
"The only ugly rat here, is you" Azalea glared at him.
"Now give me that cage!" Luke yelled and a fight broke out.
Kim and Milton quickly ran for the exit with the vole while Azalea, Jack and Rudy stayed behind to fight.
Some guys started to drive past Azalea on skateboards, almost knocking her to the ground. But with one perfect kick she managed to knock one of his skateboard so he fell on top of the other one.
Suddenly a skateboard rolled past her with vole's cage and it rolled across the entire skatepark, passing Jack and Luke just when the former kicked the latter to the ground.
"Luke, I thought you were a loser in high school and you are an even bigger loser now" Rudy told him. Jack picked up the vole's cage and the gang quickly walked out of the building, towards the woods.
☆★☆
"I did not know the vole-" Joan sobbed, "but that furry little fella burrowed his way into my heart and would not come out. I'm going to miss him."
"Joan, honey, you know the vole is not dead, right?" Azalea asked carefully.
"What?" Joan exclaimed.
"We're just returning it to its home" Milton explained.
"Forget that, I'm outta here" Joan walked three steps before turning back, "Oh, who am I kidding? It's Saturday night. I've got nothing else going on."
"Once again, that's the spirit" Azalea snorted and once again they heard a bear like grunting,
"Oh. Coming, Lenny!" Joan shouted before running away.
"Well, this is it" Kim said with an affectionate smile, "You've got nothing to worry about."
"Except for climate change, deforestation, pollution-" Azalea said but Jack wrapped his hand around her and put his hand over her mouth.
"This land is protected" Kim continued, "and it'll always be your home."
She opened the cage and vole ran out. Azalea sat down next to her with Jack on the other side, "I think it's really cool that you took a stand here, Kim" Azalea said proudly to her friend.
"You took a stand too" Kim reminded her.
"Yeah, but I always take a stand" Azalea said dismissively.
"Well, sometimes you gotta look out for the little guy" Kim smiled.
"And each other" Jack added, "I'm sorry I was so excited by the skatepark that I let myself get fooled by Luke."
"As long as you realise you were completely wrong and we were completely right, it's okay" Azalea smirked.
Jack rolled his eyes at her, "And here I thought we were having a nice moment, but you had to ruin it. I was even going to offer you my jacket, you look cold."
"I'm not cold" Azalea said even though she was freezing, "and it's a flannel shirt, not a jacket."
"Then why are your teeth chattering?" Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Shut up" Azalea said, not coming up with a clever retort. Kim and Milton snickered so she turned to glare at them. But then she felt Jack place his standard flannel shirt over her shoulders.
She looped her arms through the holes and turned to him, "Thanks" she smiled, giving him a quick kiss sense all the people present knew about them.
"Ooh, you are so cute" Kim cooed, "Why can't you just tell everyone about you two?"
"Rudy" they both said in unison.
"Speaking of Rudy, wasn't he gonna say a few words?" Milton asked.
"Yeah. Where did he go?" Kim said.
"Look at me!" Rudy's voice came from far above them, "I made it to the top! I'm the King of the worl-"
The sound of branches snapping, Rudy screaming and groaning cut through the air followed by a loud thud when he hit the ground.
"Ow! Oh!" Rudy groaned. Three out of four teenagers flinched while the fourth one looked at him in horror while laughing. "Someone please call my mother."
"Already on it, bro" Azalea said, "But first, picture time!"
________
Azalea's Outfit: