Free Skateboard Tough by Matt Christopher Page A

again cheered and applauded. “A Radical Invert,” he explained.
    Brett did a few wheelies to recover his breath again, a Fast Flowage (skating as fast as he could down the arena, then lifting the board off the pavement for a moment with one foot), then another Hand Plant just as the whistle blew.
    Applause filled the air as he wheelied to a dead stop, nodded to the applauding crowd, and headed silently back to the bench.
    Two other skaters performed before the contest was over, including Johnee, who did very well but didn’t try anything too fancy. After the last skater, the crowd waited in breathless silence for the winner to be announced. Brett, sweat glistening on his face, was gazing at the skateboard between his sneakered feet.
    “Think we won it, Lizard?” he said quietly.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we have a winner,” the announcer said. “It’s …Brett Thyson! Congratulations, Brett! Come up here and claim your gift certificate!”
    Once more the crowd cheered and applauded as Brett jumped up, punched the air with his fist, and strode over to the announcer’s stand to receive his award. He didn’t really care about the prize — this moment of victory was enough.
    “Thank you,” he said, shaking hands with the presenter.
    “I never doubted it one bit,” W.E. said, reaching forward to shake his hand, too. “Congratulations, Brett.”
    “Thanks, W.E.,” Brett said. He realized that, except for one shaky moment, he hadn’t doubted himself either. He knew he was the best, and now everyone else would know it too.
    He expected Johnee to come over and congratulate him, too, but Johnee was nowhere to be seen. Brett noticed that Kyle also had disappeared.
Sore loser,
Brett thought, disappointed that he had missed seeing Kyle’s reaction to his win.
    There were others who did come over: his mother, father, Shannon, and a couple of other people he didn’t even know.
    “I can’t believe it, Brett,” his mother said, looking at him as if he had won an Olympic medal. “You were …incredible! I never knew you could do tricks like that!”
    “Really surprised you, didn’t I, Mom?” he said, amused.
    “You sure did!” she declared.
    “And me, too,” his father said, his face wreathed in a smile. “You must have been practicing all those tricks behind our backs.”
    “Not all of them,” he said honestly. “Here, take my prize home with you.” He handed the certificate to his father.
    Could there really be another reason, other than pure guts and ability, that I had been able to perform all those tricks?
he wondered. It certainly wasn’t because he had practiced them. Heck, he didn’t even know half of the tricks he had done, or their names! They had just come to him while he was riding the skateboard!
    So …what was truly behind his prizewinning performance? His
natural
ability? Or was it The Lizard?
    The Lizard, heck,
he told himself.
It’s my natural ability. It is!
    Brett waited for the crowd to disperse, then went up to Mrs. Weatherspoon, who’d been congratulating all of the contestants and their parents.
    “That was great, Mrs. Weatherspoon,” he said. “We all appreciate what you did.”
    Mrs. Weatherspoon’s face spiderwebbed into a broad smile as she took Brett’s hand and shook it. “Well, it’s nice to be able to help the kids in the neighborhood,” she said. “You did very well, Brett. Amazingly well, as a matter of fact.”
    “Thanks,” he said. “Well, see you later, Mrs. Weatherspoon.”
    He left the yard, skated out to the street, and headed for home.
    He put The Lizard in the garage and went into the house. He had barely closed the kitchen door behind him when he received an unexpected ovation. “Guess who came in first in the Advanced Division of the contest? Our one and only … Brett Thyson!”
    He stood, still panting, as Shannon rushed up to him and gave him a big hug. Standing behind her, her face flushed with admiration too, was Kristyne