The Skate Park had a name, but it wasn't important because anyone that used the place didn't use the name. It had a series of a dozen quarter-pipes, four half-pipes of varying sizes, and two dry swimming pools. There was a shop that sold every manner of gear, snacks, and you could order parts for decks there, too. There were always five 'wheelguards' on duty to make sure everyone was following safety rules. There was a nurse and paramedic that sometimes volunteered there, too. All in all, a parent could feel perfectly fine about letting their teens and preteens hang out at the Skate Park. Almost nobody ever bought their gear from anywhere else, so that meant that admission was free. Another bonus.

The four girls arrived to find there was an impromptu stunt tourney underway. Not wanting to interrupt, they made their way over to an area not currently in use by the participants. As usual, Suzy was the first one on the fly. Helmet and pads strapped on before walking in, she took three steps and leapt into the air above the larger of the two empty pools. Moments later, all four were flying and sailing around the thing at high speed, laughing and whooping the way only a group of friends having a great time can do.

Now, the seven Sk8r Grrls were sort of the Queens of the place. Anytime even one of them were there, they would draw a crowd -- which was something Heather "Heathen" Olinski loved about them. They were great for her business. Sort of like having local celebrities around for endorsement. If any of them bought a certain brand chin strap for their helmet, she had to order more immediately or risk running completely out in the next week. It was an entrepreneurial dream. Growing up, she had been the only girl interested in the least in skateboards at all. Now, she sold more skateboard gear and parts than any store within 100 miles, easy, despite Constitution being considered kind of a backwater.

Her mother had first called her 'Heathen' her days at Washington High to shame her into giving up her 'boyish' pasttime, but now she wore the moniker like a badge. These girls were good. They were very good, in fact... maybe she could get the big dawgs to come in and get a look at them. Maybe she could even be their manageress/agent... She shook herself out of daydreaming and watched as they chained a grind around the edge of the pool.

Annie went first, and when she was almost outta speed, from down below came Mary. Annie reached out and handed her onto the edge and Mary shot off at speed. Then she did the same for Jenni, and Suzy finished the circumference. They'd never done that before, way nifty.

Heathen flipped the sign on the counter to, 'Watching some thrash,' and stepped out onto the snack table deck to get a better look. "That was kickin', girls! Where'd you learn that?" she shouted when they finished a second time around the pool.

They all came to a stop on the top and grinned over at her, waving, and Jenni shouted, "Hey, Heathen! Close down for a bit and come play! We're three short tonight!"

The invite was really all the excuse she needed (and was waiting for), so she zipped back inside, popped her cash drawer and put it in the safe. She kicked her board up to her hands and headed outside. After about a half hour of improv with the fourteen year-olds, she realized... that 24 wasn't nearly as young as she needed it to be. She called out that she was breaking off, and slid to a stop.

That's when she noticed that the stunt tourney had no audience.

The boys who were competing had realized the lack of crowd, too. The stunt tourney was dead.

"Aw, c'mon! You chicks always get the crowd. It's just the novelty of girls on boards, I tell ya!" spouted the standard anti-girl-skater crap from Thomas Wexler, also known as 'The Train Wreck' by most of the skaters around. Not because he fell down a lot, but more because it was hard not to watch him when he was in action. His buddies with him grunted their agreement, of course.

"Oh, look!" said Annie, "It's the Train Wreck! We're so not worthy! Shall we swoon now, girls?" the sarcasm obvious even to Wexler.

"He's so dreamy!" added Suzy with a squeal, "Can I kiss his wheels?"

"Now girls, no need to make fun," scolded Jenni, "After all, you know we must be kind to those less able than we are."

"Stow it, freaks! We could take you anytime. So you're girls with custom decks and know how to kick it a bit. You're still only girls, and there's no way you could hold your own against us. We leave you alone and let you skate here just to keep from causing problems," erupted Walter Nguyen, Wexler's best crony.

"Shut up, Walt. Let 'em skate in peace. We all know I was winning the tourney anyway. Let the little girls have their fun. It's not like they could make it in a real tourney," was Wexler's response. He tapped the guys standing next to him on the shoulders and turned back to the half-pipes.

"Do you really believe that, Thomas?" asked Mary in that scary-quiet way she had about her.

He stopped and smirked at her, "If that's a challenge, name your terms."

"Threes. We choose ground, you choose goals, Heathen chooses participants. Saturday," her completely cool and calculated expression actually creeping out most of the onlookers.

He barked a laugh as he elbowed back through the crowd toward her.

"Done. And we play for boards. Me and my guys versus the little girls here and their friends. Let's get outta here, guys, get some burgers," and with that the snickering and oh-so-superior jerks left the Skate Park.

The crowd was already abuzz with excitement. Saturday was only five days away. This would be the biggest event ever at the Skate Park.

Heathen turned to the four girls and said, "Look. I love you all, but I don't want trouble here. He was outta line and if you want, I'll let him know next time he's here. Forget about Saturday."

"Forget about it? Heathen, he called us out. We can't let that pass!" said Jenni with exasperation, "...or... don't you think we can take 'em?"

"Oh, of course you can! I didn't mean that!" protested Heather, "But you know he'll try to say you cheated, or that I cheated for you!"

Suzy, though in general 'the quiet one' replied, "Then make sure the judges you get are beyond accusing. Simple."

Heathen eyed the girl in the braided pigtails, "Yeah. Simple. Okay, girls just... you know how well-off his folks are, don't do anything to get 'em angry at me or my place, promise?"

There was a chorus of, "... promise!" and they all looked satisfied.

"I don't feel much like skating anymore tonight, gang," said Annie, "Let's head over to Mama Alex's and see if we can catch the others and let them know what's going on this weekend."

Suzy and Mary mumbled their agreement and all four kicked up their boards as they headed out of the Skate Park. Heathen watched them go and sighed again, wishing she was ten years younger and could participate.

After the bright stadium-type lights of the Skate Park, the town outside seemed pitch black for a few moments until their eyes began to get adjusted to the early evening light. The moon was just rising and there weren't enough stars to add light of their own yet, so they held hands to make each other feel better.

The walk across town was, of course, filled with talk of Wexler and company. Angry talk.

"When exactly did we decide that boys didn't have cooties, anyway?" asked Jenni, "Weren't we screaming and running anytime a boy got near us just a couple years ago?"

Annie covered a laugh by coughing before adding her own observations.

"I may be a bit biased, but I'm pretty sure guys have terminal cootie-ness until they're about thirteen, then they just evolve into one of three subspecies, or a combination thereof: jocks, geeks, and creeps. Jocks are the sports nuts and the ones that play sports. Geeks are the ones that get that whole I-know-more-than-you-because-I'm-male vibe. Creeps are the ones that are completely unjustifiably impressed with themselves. Wexler's like a part of the mixed breed of a jock and a creep."

She paused a moment, then added, "Then there are the ones lucky enough to be without cooties at all and turn out to really be girls!"

She grinned and mock-fluttered her eyelashes at the other three, bringing all of them to a fit of giggles.

Mary's addition to the conversation was simply, "I think he's scared of me."

"Mary," replied Suzy in a careful-sounding tone, "everyone is afraid of you but us. You're like a mini-goth in training. Besides: creep, jock or whatever... Thomas Wexler is a hottie. Not that I'd ever let him know I think that."

"AUGH! I can't believe you let us know that!" laughed Jenni, "That's so... you totally have completely horrid taste!"

You could hear Annie's grin in her voice slightly as she began, "Now, B—"

"—illy Green!" the other three finished in a joint shout before dissolving again into giggles at Annie blushing brightly and her consternation.

"Whaa- what do you mean?" she asked in a hissed whisper as she kept her eyes on the ground.

"Oh come on, Annie," Suzy replied, "Anytime we bring up boys, you mention Billy Green. Anytime we ever see him, you very studiously look the other way. It's so obvious you have a crush, or at least you think he's cute. That's not a bad thing. It's even more evidence that you're one of us, girl!"

"I dunno..." said Annie quietly, "Um what if there's a girl I think is cute, too? Is that evidence that I'm NOT one of --"

"Of course not!" scoffed Mary, "Like my Dad'd say, we're at the age where we explore our sexuality. It's no big deal. Even if you turn out to like girls, it doesn't make you a boy. You're prolly the girliest of the Sk8r Grrls and we'll still accept you no matter how frou-frou you become!"

She laughed at the absolutely poisonous look Annie was now giving her.

"Just so you know, Annie," began Jenni seriously, "if I'm yer girl-crush... I'm not into it. And, Annie, about this weird doubting you're a girl..."

She cocked an eyebrow and tried (unsuccessfully) to bulge just the one eye with the arched eyebrow at Annie.

"Stoppit," Jenni ordered as she clasped her hands in front of herself and in a squeaky mocking voice said, "Oh, dearest Billy Green, come and take me away from all this! I love you and will -— OW!"

Annie glared at Jenni as the other girl rubbed her head. "ANYway... what are we gonna do about Wexler?"

Jenni's giggling and grinning caught up the rest of them as they walked.

"We win this Saturday, of course," finally answered Mary matter-of-factly, "I don't know about any of you, but I plan on adding another board to my collection this weekend. Dibs on Nguyen's for Lisa -— he has a shorter deck than the others, so it'll fit her better."

She looked around at the attempts to hold in giggles and rolled her eyes, "Oh for pity's sake. Get your minds out of the gutter!"

The conversation continued pretty much along those lines until they arrived at Mama Alex's and swung the door open. Jenni went in first and stopped short, making a strangled sound as Annie bumped into her from right behind, as she was walking a bit too close.

"What's wrong?" she asked, annoyed, as she stepped past her friend.

She frowned at Jenni and turned to see her parents sitting with Allie, Bridgette, and Lisa. She bolted back out the door and leaned against the wall outside panting as her heart tried to burst from her chest. The other three hastily beat a retreat as well.

Frantic, she dug in her pocket for the rubber band for her hair. Her mind raced as she tried to control her panic.

[They had their backs to the door,] she thought desperately, [Maybe they didn't see me. But Ev. He was sitting where he could see!] she forced the burgeoning panic back down and forcefully told herself, [He's a boy. He didn't notice anything. Calm down!]

She tied her hair back as Mary dug in her purse for the ball cap and very nearly ripping off her bra and the socks stuffing it, shoved it at Suzy with a hissed command to, "Hide it!"

Grabbing the ball cap and jamming it over her ears, she then started taking gasping lungfuls of air as she sank to the sidewalk.

"Andy?" came Evan's voice from the door, "We thought that was you four," then he saw the state of panic Annie was in and asked with concern, "You okay, li'l bro?"

The other three discreetly hid the Annie-maker items while Evan was distracted and waited for Annie to answer her brother as Andy.

"Um, yeah, just a bit winded from the walk, I think," he said.

Yep. Andy was back. He hated lying for any reason, but it was necessary this time.

"I'll be okay in a minute, you know I'm a wimp. You guys go on inside, I'll be there in a second," said the gasping young boy, the adrenaline draining from him now that the emergency was over.

"Really. I'm fine. Be right there," he tried to reassure the girls and his brother.

Evan shrugged and frowned, the kid needed looking after. He turned and went back inside, followed by the three girls.

Inside, Allie excused herself as Evan came back with the three girls reporting that Andy was winded and right outside.

"I'll go check on him, Dad... Mom."

She stepped out and immediately moved to hold Andy as sobs wracked his shoulders.

"Shh. It'll be okay, little sis, it will. We can plan this right, I know we can," she murmured to him, comforting as much as possible.

"Did they notice? That was way too close. I can't go in there! Your teammates know Annie, not me!" his voice was getting tight again.

"We're just about done in there anyway. I'll go and see if I can walk you home, okay?" she told him, not really asking, but reassuring.

He nodded as she got up and went to inform the parental units of the plans. The other five girls opted to join them, and the three volleyballers told Coach Byers across the dining room goodbye and thanks before heading out to the lot to meet up with Andy. The six took him over to a quiet and dim corner where there were a few vans so no one could see and in about five minutes, Annie was again with them. She was still pretty shaken up.

They began to walk and after about a block was between them and the pizza parlor, Annie seized Allie in a huge hug and just cried into her sister's hair. The other five remained silent and just stood in a loose circle around the twins while she got it out of her system.

After she had calmed down, she sniffled a few times and wiped her eyes, "Sorry about this... I was just... I mean... What if... And then Ev... Suddenly..." she paused and deliberately took a few deep breaths to get herself under control.

"Thank you. All of you. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have friends like you to watch out for me."