Boarding by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
“You don't have to be great to get started
but you have to get started to be great.”
-Les Brown
The concrete jungle of the city is one of unending and often crushing, traffic. Its streets wide and often have as many people as they do cars in between both sides of the pavement. All sorts of commuters come and go from the place, many of them living on the dangerous edge that is the commute of those not lucky enough to travel by car. This was even more true for those who chose to travel by bike or even by skateboard.
The kids that lived in the city shared in this existence of the constant threat of an uncaring and unrelenting onslaught of traffic that fed through the center of the big Canadian city. Only the rivers that flowed through the city offered a little respite for the otherwise lively environment. One of the kids who lived in the city lived in a group of bungalows that had partitioned off from the rest of town. It was the infamous “furry district”
Jakk lived in the rodent portion of the area, which was the least populated area of Montreal. His family was one of the few rabbits who lived in the sect. His family was a small one with him as the younger of two children. The young rabbit went to the local Junior high where he was one of the few rabbits around. It was to be expected in a canine majority city, but it wasn't something he had ever really gotten used to and sort of resented it when he was reminded that it was an issue.
Jakk had a small group of friends who fit into his clique in different ways. Since rodents were the minority in the city, they almost always congregated in groups to prevent any sort of issue regarding racism and other forms of bias. Jakk, like every other rodent in the school, had learned to grow up with it and it had become a normal part of his life. There was, however, one canine which Jakk had become accustomed to hanging out with. Another boy who he had partnered up with doing a science project.
The other cub went by the name of Pent and was one of the few members of the canine brotherhood that associated with the other species. The boy was an arctic fox who was a little small for his age. But was set him apart from his dog-like brothers and sisters was the fact that he was well above average when it came to academics. This made his age-mates and those around him superior as he was thought to be a nerd and often outcast himself because he had trouble associating with the other kids.
Jakk took solace in the other boys since they shared the feeling of ostracization. It was an awkward relationship at first but over time it blossomed into one that a closer friendship. The two had known each other for a while now and occasionally they did stuff together, even if it attracted unwanted attention their way. However, they didn't get as much time to hang out since even their parents didn't know about the friendship.
One day at school, Jakk was walking through the halls mostly minding his own business. The transition between classes was one of the few times that he was alone. As he was reaching his locker, he was approached by a large wolf who was very much his senior. Jakk wasn't a very big cub and his lack of athleticism made him an easy target for the bigger kids. The wolf approached him rather quickly and forcefully pushed him against to metal locker.
“Hey!” The rabbit complained as he felt his body be lifted off the floor.
The wolf didn't say anything and snarled at the younger boy before showing his teeth. The wolf's friends stood to both sides of him goading him on by chanting into his ears. The rabbit struggled a bit but made no headway against the bigger boy. Jakk continued to squirm and squeal a bit.
“Let me go, you big bully!” The bunny yelled out, hoping someone would hear him.
Pent was just down the hall, overhearing the yelp and seeing the activity in front of him made him angry. The fox snorted a bit before beginning to run full force towards the bully and his captor.
Pent pinned his head down and used whatever skill he had garnered from checking in hockey to beam right towards the side of the wolf. The young fox careened through both the bully and his friend to the left side of him. The big wolf crashed to the floor, losing his charge in the process. Jakk was now free and picked himself up, his foxy friend following not far behind.
“Thanks!” The rabbit chirped happily to be out of the situation.
The fox patted his friend on the back. “No problem....but don't stop now. They won't be far behind.”
The bunny and his friend were able to treat outside where there was adult supervision, now feeling better about the situation that they had just escaped from.
The two were out of breath for a short while but it didn't take long for them to recover. After a few moments, they stood up and proceeded into the yard where some of the other cubs were playing tag.
“Want to play or do something else?” Jakk suggested unsure of his friend's preference.
Pent hummed before answering. “We can play along if you like.”
“Alright, let's go!” The bunny ran off to join in the game, signaling with his paw to show he was wanting to join in the fun.
The rabbit began running around in no particular direction as he didn't know where the group was at. Pent watched idly as he was sure the other cub would surely be caught. It wasn't long before he was tagged, feeling the familiar rush of being touched on the shoulder and the ensuing “You're it.”
Jakk's eyes opened wider once he was it. He looked over towards Pent and smirked. The other cub knew exactly what he was thinking and began running in the opposite direction. The fox was more athletic than his friend and he used his speed to his advantage whenever something involved. The rabbit did all he could to keep up with the other boy, hoping that Pent would run into an obstruction that might slow him down.
The first obstacle he came across was a merry-go-round placed near the fence where the yard was partitioned off. Pent hopped onto it without much thought. The thing spun around with him on top of it, not allowing him to get off. The fox latched onto one of the bars to keep himself steady as he spun around. Jakk couldn't help but giggle as he watched his trapped friend rotate around in a finite loop, so long as it maintained some level of velocity.
It took a few seconds before the roundabout finally came to a gradual stop. Pent found himself a little woozy and unable to get up at first. As he sat there, Jakk took his opportunity to poke the other boy.
“You're it.” The rabbit said calmly before running off again.
Pent recovered after a few more seconds and joined in the fun himself. The tag matched lasted until the bell rang. It was the end of the day, so once the bell rang the rest of the students who were inside the building came rushing out.
The tag match was ended rather quickly once the bell rang. The kids, regardless of age, didn't care much to hang around and it was an understood fact that the game would start anew the next day regardless of who was it and who wasn't Once it was over Jakk found his way to Pent and the two stood idly for a moment. The crush of student traffic was still quite heavy so they couldn't say or do much, simply allowing it to pass by as they waited. A few minutes later and the crowd finally died down enough for them to make talk with each other or make some forward motion.
“So what do you want to do now that schools over?” The rabbit asked as he was keen on hanging out.
Pent hummed as he thought. “Well we need to go get our stuff, then we can go to the skate park if you want?”
“Skate park? I don't know how to skate though.” The bigger boy frowned a bit.
The fox grabbed the other cub's shoulder. “It's fine. I'll show you. The park usually has rentals lying around anyways.”
“Alright, we can try that then.” The bunny led back inside and grabbed both of their belongings before returning outside.
Jakk returned Pent's stuff to him and the smaller cub placed his back over his shoulder, behind him. He gestured for the other boy to follow him and the two began walking. The fox led towards his bike and allowed the other cub to mount on the pegs behind him. Normally the rabbit went home by walking and decided to text his parents once they got to the skate park. Pent began pedaling once the other boy had grabbed onto his shoulders.
The fox started to head towards the skate park. The skate park was in the middle of town but whenever he went there, he did his best to keep to the back roads. Even on the back roads, there was traffic. Pent kept to the sidewalks, each time a car passed the air rushed past them seemingly pushing them at a quicker pace. Jakk couldn't help but feel a little bit afraid each time a car went by them, gripping onto Pent's shoulders even tighter.
Pent managed to ignore the feeling as it wasn't overly forceful and was able to not notice it very much. It took a little bit shorter than usual since they were able to make relatively good time since there weren't as many cars that time of day. Pent pulled into the skatepark and set his bike up near one of the racks near the entrance. Jakk dismounted from the bike, freeing himself from his forceful grip that was finally loosened.
The two friends now stood before the entrance of the skate park. A small wooden shack stood with an open window and a person manning it, serving as the equipment rental facility. It was small and beaten down, the wood it was assembled from had long seen the
prime of its existence.
It was both worn and tattered with the ends of it splintering off into fragments. A small warning sign was affixed to inform people of the danger of injury if they hung off it.
“How can I help you, boys?” The shop patron looked over their counter.
Jakk looked at the woman who had her brown hair tied back in a knot behind her head. She was of a dark green hue and seemed to be some sort of frog. She held up a peace sign with two of her fingers.
Pent stepped up since he knew the lady. “We'd like to rent some gear. You can just put it on my tab.”
“Alright, bro. No prob. You know the deal. Just make sure to return it at the end.” She winked at them seeming pretty casual about the whole thing.
The fox smiled at his friend who continued to follow him around to the side of the wooden building where an opening allowed into the insides. Jakk looked from the outside and saw all sorts of protective gear as well as some skates and various boards of several lengths.
“Go on and pick what you'd like to learn.” The fox knew how to do both so he wasn't really worried about which one was selected.
The rabbit made his way inside the small quarters and began to look through it. He had seen similar things in the past but this was the first time he had seen them up close. He approached them and began looking through them. It was a stack of skateboards of various sizes, each of them flipped around as they showed the size of the board on the back on a white piece of tape. Of course, Jakk had no idea what the number indicated but picked up which ones were smaller just based on the look of them,
“I'll try a skateboard. Which one should I take?” Jakk kneeled near them to make space for Pent to come over.
Pent nodded and made his way over before filing through the boards to find one for both of them.
He picked up the second one and handed it to the rabbit. “Make sure you get some pads. You're probably going to fall.”
The fox also picked some up himself to set a good model for the other boy to follow. Jakk followed in suit, making sure that he was suitably covered all over. When he stepped back outside into the outdoors, he found it was much hotter now. He chalked it up to the fact he was wearing more stuff now and decided he would have to put up with it.
Pent saw his friend exit out of the building and beckoned him to join the fox. The two walked together over towards the main area where some of the other kids were rolling about on all sorts of modes of transportation. The fox had to rush Jakk to the side because he wasn't prepared to dodge the other riders who weren't as skilled in dodging people who were riding around. Jakk felt himself be manhandled by the other cub who seemed intent on taking him out of the crossfire, even if he didn't realize it.
Eventually, they arrived in the back of the skate park, where there was nothing more than a few ramps and pipes. This part of the area was where beginners usually palled around with other people to make sure they knew what they were doing.
“Alright, go ahead and put the board on the ground. I will hold it and make sure it doesn't move.” Pent kneeled on the pavement to act as a barrier for the board.
Jakk did as he was told and dropped the thing on the floor. Pent steadied it so it wasn't rolling back and forth.
“Go ahead and step on it. I promise you won't fall.” The fox patted the black grip tape on the top of the board.
The rabbit did just that, stepping one foot at a time. Pent's board rolling behind him until it was stopped by the fence that bordered the area. Jakk stood idly on top of the board, feeling the breeze rush through his fur as he stood there.
“Alright, I'm going to let go and take hold of your back, so don't move.” Pent got up and held the rabbit from behind.
Jakk felt the board push forward ever so slightly and felt his body falter.
Immediately the smaller boy felt panic set into his body as he wobbled a bit. The fox felt him tense up and straightened up his body so he remained center on the board.
“You need to relax. I won't let you fall.” The cub tried to rub Jakks back a bit to ease him up a little.
Jakks arms flailed a bit as the board moved by mere centimeters. Eventually Pent had to restrain them and once he did the forward motion became a little more fluid.
“See? It's not so bad. So now what I need you to do is to take one foot and try to push the board forward, even if it's a little bit. I will remain behind to make sure you don't push too hard.” The fox stepped to the side so that gave a little space for the other boy to dismount the board.
The rabbit did as he was told. The moment his foot hit the floor, the remainder of his body lurched forward. Pent was able to catch him as he was falling backward.
“Thanks...” Jakk blushed as his body fell into the arms of the other boy.
Pent smiled and his tail wagged a bit behind him as he helped the rabbit back onto the board.
Once he was back on the board he tried again, this time being able to manage a single push-off. He looked behind him to see the fox rushing forward to keep pace with him.
“Good, good! Try again.” Pent commended the motion and wanted to see it repeated so that Jakk understood the muscle behind it.
Jakk was able to repeat the motion as he made it over towards the fence without much of an issue but wasn't able to turn around. Pent ran over towards him and helped the cub off before rotating the board so he could try the next thing he had in mind.
“Alright, now to turn you're going to shift your weight in the direction that you want to turn. So watch me and I will show you.”
Pent grabbed the board that Jakk was using and began to push his way through the straight and narrow area, exaggerating his turn as he made a full 360 heading back towards the rabbit.
The bigger cub felt like he could do it and waited for the fox to hand him off the skateboard. Pent hopped off it and allowed the thing to roll into Jakks ankles. The rabbit proceeded to get onto it and continued to kick in slow methodic motions as he had done before. When it came to the point of needing to turn, he jumped off believing that he would run into the fence. He quickly rotated the board and tried again. On the second occasion of trying this, he fell on his bum.
Pent went over to help pick him up, seeing a smile on his face showed he was at least having fun. Jakk tried a few more times before he was able to finally manage the turn. Each time not managing the full 360 degrees before finally accomplishing it after about a dozen tries. He felt proud of himself that he was making progress and continued to go through the motions with Pent, who never really bothered to show off.
The two continued practicing for some time before retiring once the sun began to set. Both of them had worked up a sweat and decided to share a drink of water that Pent picked up from the equipment shack. It was warm but it was better than nothing. Once they were done they returned the equipment and the fox saw his friend home. Jakk seemed quite happy, having all but forgotten about his bad day at school.
“See ya tomorrow?” The rabbit exclaimed.
Pent nodded and was on his way. Jakk was happy to have a friend like that, determined that the next day would be better than today. The rabbit resigned to the inside of his house, keen on telling his parents about his day. He began looking around for his parents, who were nowhere to be found. After a few seconds of looking, he found his big sister just relaxing in her room, with her face plastered to her phone. The younger bunny poked his head inside the room and at first, she didn't even notice that he was there.
“Hey, sis. Guess what I did?” He said lowly, certain that he'd annoy her if he spoke loudly.
She leaned her body forward, still in her pajamas as she was one of those types who just lazed around the house when they had nothing to do. The sister kept her phone fixated to her paw, thumb still plastered on the screen.
The teen rolled her eyes. “What do you want, twerp?”
“I tried skateboarding today.” The younger brother filed into the room as he looked over the older sibling.
She leaned back down on her pillow. “So what...and what of it?”
“Well, I just wanted to share that's all. I just thought it was cool.” Jakk's voice trailed off as he commented.
She spun around in the bed so that she faced the wall and didn't say anything. Jakk sighed and exited from the room, feeling like she didn't care enough to listen to him.
He began looking for his parents again. Before long he picked up the sound of the laundry machine and figured at least one of them must be there. Jakk picked up the pace and seemingly hopped down the hall back towards the kitchen where the laundry room was set behind. He could now hear the machine much more easily since it was closer. It was a very old machine and was rather loud when it was cleaning a load.
Jakk peered his head inside and saw his father folding some of the clothing on one of the nearby counters that also had some detergent on it. The room smelt of lemon and softener.
“Hey, Dad. Need some help?” The younger rabbit asked as he wanted to be helpful.
The older man nodded and didn't say anything. Instead of handing his kid some of the leftover clothing that needed to be folded. The younger bunny began folding it.
“Guess what?” Jakk wasted no time in getting to what he wanted to talk about.
The father hummed and looked at his son, waiting for him to continue.
“I learned how to skateboard with a friend today. I was thinking. Would it be alright if I save my allowance for one?” Jakk continued folding the clothing and putting it into the pile that his father had started.
The man patted him on the back. “That sounds just fine. I'm glad you got to hang out with a friend for a change.”
Jakk nodded and chirped happily
seeming more upbeat than usual. His father was happy that his son had found a friend that did stuff with him. The two continued working on the laundry until it was done.
“I tell you what. If you do the leaves, then I will buy you a skateboard later this week. You can just get the other stuff yourself.” The man figured this was incentive enough for his son to do some extra work around the house.
The bunny boy nearly hoped in place. “You're on. I'll go do it right now!”
Jakk wasted no time beaming back towards the front door, all but forgetting about the laundry he had just finished. The father chuckled a bit, not worried about the clothing since it was done anyways. The cub skipped until he was back outside. The transition between air condition and outside humidity reminded him that it was a little warm outside. He moved over towards the side of the house to a small green storage unit.
The box wasn't big but he knew it was where his parents kept the gardening supplies. He slid it open and took out the rake, which was one of the things near the top. He threw it over his shoulder and then looked back at his yard. There were leaves everywhere and he took a deep breath before beginning the process of raking. Each time he dragged the rake across the yard, it seemed like most of the leaves escaped from the side of the rake.
Jakk continued to try, ignoring his frustration as it raised at the rebellious leaves that continued to blow around the yard. He huffed and puffed as he made progress, working up a sweat in the process. The rabbit stopped after a while to grab some water from the inside. When he returned, he saw that some of the leaves had gone astray again. Then an idea came to his head. What if he threw away the leaves as he collected them? Then they wouldn't roll around, he told himself.
Jakk returned to the storage bin and got out large garbage back and a collection pan. He returned to his task, this time focusing on much smaller bundles of leaves. Each time he raked a small pile, he followed by throwing it away. Little by little, he saw the yard finally cleared up. After an hour his parents checked up on him and rewarded him with a lemonade. When he was done, he was hot and sweaty. He couldn't wait to take a shower.
Once he arrived back inside, his parents heard him re-enter and yelled at him to take off his shoes. The feeling of air conditioning on his hot body made him feel a lot better. He went ahead and shoved off his shoes before padding back towards his room. He was feeling proud that he accomplished the task and was looking forward to getting a skateboard so he could practice and make his friend proud, to relate to him more.
The rest of the night went like normal. Jakk cooled off in an extra cold shower to relax his otherwise tense body. A few days later his father promised to take him to the skate shop. Jakk asked if he took to take his friend for advice and the man agreed. Pent was to meet them at the place on the following day. Already Jakk was pretty excited about the chance to get a board of his own and sharing the experience with the other cub.
The next day came before long and as promised his father took him to the skate shop. The store was pretty close to the skate park itself, so it was pretty popular. Pent had arrived early at the park itself and was picked up by the rabbit duo. Jakk was practically bouncing in his seat, anticipating the arrival of his shiny object. Pent smiled, glad to see his friend taking the hobby more seriously than he had originally anticipated.
They arrived at the skate shop and inside was the brother of the frog woman who was responsible for rentals. He was an older teen who had just graduated from high school and had been given this place since he needed to learn responsibility.
“Yo! Sup little dudes!” The frog hopped over the counter once the two entered the building.
Jakk felt a little anxious as the teen approached them. “I was just wanting to check out your skateboards.”
“Oh, yeah! For sure. Let's measure you up and get you a nice piece of wood, yo.” The teen frog gestured over towards the far wall where a measuring stick was situated.
Jakk fixed himself along the wall and allowed himself to be measured.
“Alrighty then. A medium cruiser would be good for you. Are you a beginner?” The amphibian figured as much but wanted to be sure.
The rabbit nodded and the frog guided him over towards a stack of boards. “Go ahead and pick a design you like.”
The cub filed through them and found one with a picture of Godzilla on the bottom of it. He held it up, presenting it to the teen. The frog took it and brought it over to the workstation to begin sanding it. He followed by plastering the grip tape over it and cutting whatever hung off.
Once he was done, he went over the to counter and pulled out some wheels to show cubs.
“Which one should I get, Pent?” Jakk deferred to the fox who had been watching from behind to allow his friend to take ownership of the activity.
The smaller cub looked through the wheels. “Well the wheels are easy enough but you need a medium flex truck.”
“A truck? What's that.” Jakk didn't see anything else on the counter so he wasn't sure what was being referenced.
The frog pulled out a shiny metallic piece. “This. It goes on the bottom of the board.”
“Oh, alright.” The rabbit shrugged simply accepting the mechanic, pointing at the wheels he liked.
The teen took each of the pieces and put the board together. Once it was screwed together and tightened he was done. The father paid for it and the trio left the skate shop. He then dropped them off at the skate park.
“Thanks, Dad!” He chirped happily.
Pent grabbed his board which he had given to the trusted equipment manager and proceeded to give the other boy the same protective gear he had used the other day. They continued back to the beginner's area and palled around for the rest of the day, with the fox giving his friend fat less support. Jakk was much better about it today, making a few mistakes here and there but being able to shrug it off each time that he fell. The two enjoying themselves, all the same, playing the rest of the day together forgetting all about their worries and responsibilities.
