Neon

Bold and proud to be a freak, funky-haired Neon sets out to get her crush's attention the best way she knows how: through skateboarding!

Neon

   Hi, my name is Neon.  Don’t be fooled by my cropped, chopped, and multi-colored hair.  Don’t be fooled by my baggy pants and the fact that I hit like a man, or the fact that my breasts are the size of acorns.  I’m actually a girl.  I like to spell it Grrl.

   But that’s not important.  Let’s get to the nitty gritty.  I just moved to this stupid suburbia about a month ago.  In my home town of Satsuma, Alabama, I was a beautiful freak.  Here, in the outskirts of a major city I hate so much I’d rather not mention, I blend.  Blend, blend, blend.  I hate it!  What was once my unique and personal statement is now drowned by the locals.  They’re a parade of people who try to one-up each other on who can look the weirdest.

   So how am I to get John Cooley’s attention?

   I wondered that for the first week of school, while I was still going through the culture-shock of not being stared at.  Of not being pointed at or outcasted.  I walked down the hallway of the school, which looked more like an enormous mall, with the one friend I had made.  Well, sort of.  This boy with stringy green hair and baggy jeans decided to attach himself to my hip and follow me everywhere, constantly.  I didn’t mind.  He made me crack up every time he stumbled on his overly-baggy jeans and face-planted on the floor.  Or the pavement.  Even once in a huge pile of dog crap.

   “Seth”, I moaned as I helped him up from the ground for the hundredth time, “You know, the trend is skinny jeans now.  Not those old baggy Jncos.”

   “I don’t follow trends”, he said proudly with fresh cut grass all over his T-shirt, “I’m like you. Unique. The real deal.”
   “Oh, yeah? How can you tell?  Everyone looks the same in this school.  Including me.”

   “No, no, no.  That’s what you don’t get”, he insisted as we walked towards the football bleachers, “A lot of the ‘unique’ people here wear clothes like fashion.  You wear yours like…your skin.”

   I ignored his comments as he babbled on an on.  We sat on the hard cement bleachers, me pulling my lunch from my bag…while he pulled his from his front pockets.

   So, that’s when I saw him.  John Cooley.  He was out on the field--a gorgeous 16-year old guy with his hair on his eyes, skinny jeans that fit him just right (unlike the other boys in the school who looked like girls in them), flat Converse shoes, and arm bands.  He played hacky sack with some hobo-looking guys.

   And I wondered, how can I get that gorgeous guy’s attention?  In a school where all the preps looked the same, all the geeks were bred from the same dork, and all emos looked like clones…how could I stand out?

   And then the answer rushed into my head, just like the lunch bell did, as John Cooley picked up his skateboard and walked away to class.

   “Neon, are you kidding me?”

   So yeah, Seth was laughing at me.  I made the mistake of telling him about my crush on John Cooley, and my great idea to get his attention. 

   Here’s the plan:  We were heading to the park, skateboards in hand.  I was going to skate circles around John, make him dizzily-impressed with my moves, and finally tangle him in my rainbow-colored web.  Who doesn’t like a skater chic? Lol.

   We arrived and for the first time since I can remember, I was actually nervous!  My heart was pounding with excitement, and I was almost shaking in my sneakers--the ones I let Seth scribble all over with his Sharpie pen.

   There were kids from our school all over.  Some chatting far off on the swing set, flirting and kicking sand around.  There was also a group of Goths under a huge tree, doing nothing but staying out of the sun, I guess.  What I loved most was the music.  Someone was blaring a new mix of trip-hop-rock.  I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I liked it, and it gave me inspiration enough to jump on my board and head to the half-pipe.

   Seth followed, zoomed past me, and gained speed.  His long green hair was a blur as he gained momentum, and I started to get worried.  The boy can’t walk two steps without falling.  He was bound to break his neck.

   Instead, he gained even more momentum on the half pipe, until he reached the top and kick-flipped his board. He landed perfectly and rolled back down. 

   “What are you waiting for?” he called out at me as he zoomed by, and I realized I was just standing there, staring.

   He reached the top again, grind it, and managed to stay on top, catching his board with his hand.  He waved down at me, then pointed in the distance.  Dumbfounded, I turned my head to where he was pointing at.  I realized he was pointing at John Cooley, who was approaching--my cue to start some amazing skating of my own.  

   I wait ‘till I’m sure he’s within viewing distance, then I hop on.
   I’m gaining as much momentum as Seth had, if not more.  I’m fueled by the strange music that seems to have seeped into my pores, combined with the sound of my board against the hard wood.  I’m fueled by the excitement of having a viewing audience such as John.  The short strands of my colored hair love flowing wildly in the wind as I reach the top, then go down again for more momentum.  I’ve reached top-speed, and I’m ready…

   And I cannot believe I landed a perfect finger flip and impossible! I have no idea how much time I was skating, or up in the air, but now I’m on the ground, applaud going up all around me, and Seth is hugging me uncomfortably tight.

   “Alright, alright”, I play it cool and walk towards where I’m sure John Cooley has been staring at me the whole time.  Only, he’s not there…

   “Neon, he wasn’t watching”, Seth says with those big blue eyes I’ve come to know so well.  I’ve learned all the expressions in them, and this time they are saying to me ‘I’m sorry’.

   He’s looking down, refusing to tell me where John has walked off to…but I think I have an idea.  I silently pray that I’m wrong as I walk towards the back of the half pipe.  I peek around the huge wooden structure to feel my heart harden into brittle glass and shatter.

   There he is--the gorgeous 16-year old guy with his hair on his eyes.  The perfect skinny jeans. The flat Converse shoes and the arm bands. Holding a strange-looking cigarette.

   Bummer.

   Turns out, John Cooley was just another clone.  No wonder his skateboard was so shiny and new.  He only uses it as a fashion statement.

   But, I refuse to be held back by all that mess.  It’s only taking me a second to sweep up the broken glass that used to be my heart.  Seth looks at me with concern as I walk towards him.  He begins to walk my way, trips over his beat-up jeans, and falls hard to the ground.  I laugh my butt off.  Only this time, I don’t help him up.  I fall right down next to him and kiss him.  After all, he’s unique.  He’s the real deal.  

*The End*
YG

Author's Note

Honest feedback is welcomed :-) Positive? Negative? Doesn't matter~ tell me what you think ^.^

Reviews

[Sweet Emotions]

I love the ending! This is great.