Freerunner Read online

  As I slipped past him, I heard a roar. All the earlier racers, teachers and organizers were watching from the finish line. They were cheering. I reached the end of the beam, grabbed the last bar and started to swing. Once my body was almost horizontal, I let go and went sailing. I landed and did another parkour roll just for fun. I jogged across the finish line alone.

  Parker ran up to me and gave me a hug. Kids from my school who’d barely known my name before were patting me on the back.

  Organizers put a medal around my neck. Jayden must have found the strength from somewhere, because he finished second just a minute later. Parker and I were there to congratulate him. I couldn’t see any point in staying angry at him.

  “That move at the end was impressive, Tricky,” he said.

  I wasn’t expecting that. It sounded like a compliment. “Thanks.”

  “It’s funny that nobody else thought of it.”

  I guess he thought it was cheating. That’s more of what I expected from him. “You know the medals are all the same,” I said. “They all say ‘finisher.’ There’s no first or second.”

  The crowds and the race organizers forced us all to shuffle forward. There was an awkward silence as Jayden and I stood shoulder to shoulder.

  “True,” he said. “And I don’t really care about this. We will see how the demo day goes. That’s what I’m worried about.”

  My head spun around when he said that. He was worried about something. Was it his performance or mine?

  “I’ll be there,” I said. “But I’m not really worried about it.”

  I think Jayden realized what he had admitted to. He changed the subject.

  “Coach won’t let you quit parkour, will he? It’s almost like he knows you. You know, from work. Ever run into him when he’s wearing a uniform? Maybe that’s why you’re at the gym all the time. So he can keep an eye on you.”

  I knew he was bluffing. Coach promised me he would never tell anyone why I was taking parkour. But it made me happy that Jayden had stopped smirking. He was worried and thinking of ways to take me down. He was taking me seriously.

  18

  Breaking “The Bank”

  I stepped off the bus and shielded my eyes from the blazing Sunday morning sunshine. A block ahead I could see the Bank. It looked empty, which was perfect. I didn’t want anyone watching me. I wanted to try some things without anyone chasing me off for running along the walls or vaulting the statues.

  Parker had invited me to train with her there exactly two months before. I barely knew anything then. My vaults were slow and shaky. Every so often, I’d hurt my back on a parkour roll. Now, everything was quicker and smoother. Nothing hurt — very much, anyway. And I wasn’t scared to try the moves outside the gym.

  I crossed the empty street and approached the Bank from behind the tall trees. A familiar voice echoed ahead of me. I ducked under some low-hanging branches. I peered from behind the tree and just about barfed. There, running the walls, were Jayden and Parker. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

  I was pretty sure they couldn’t see me, so I sat down. I didn’t want to watch them. But I couldn’t turn away. They were having fun.

  Laughter echoed around me. Jayden was flying over the statues. He was running over the Maritimes in a side-step pattern. I had never thought of that. It made total sense. I kind of hated him for thinking of it.

  Parker vaulted over Saskatchewan and ran through the dry fountain. She curled back again and vaulted Manitoba.

  I considered stepping out of the trees and breaking up their fun. I was angry. Just a few days before, Parker had been hugging me at the finish line of the obstacle course. Now, she was with a guy who had tried to get me kicked out of the club.

  I flexed my legs under me. But I didn’t stand. Soon Healthy Habits Day would be done and I would be free. I would never have to see Parker or Jayden again. If I confronted Jayden, who knows what would happen. Maybe I’d end up back in court. Instead, I decided to sneak away.

  I must have walked for twenty minutes. But I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was surrounded by concrete buildings and freeways. I was trying to get near the water. But the best park was back where I’d just come from. I’d come downtown to practise.

  Forget it, I thought. I’m going back. I don’t care if something happens.

  As I appeared through the trees, Parker stopped running and stared. Jayden was on top of Quebec. He turned to look at me. But he didn’t wave. And he didn’t jump off the statue.

  “Hey,” I said.

  Parker’s face started to turn red. And it wasn’t from running. I think she was embarrassed. I was having a hard time hiding my anger. She could probably see that too.

  “I thought you were security or something,” she said. “Hey, you wanna trace with us?”

  I looked at Jayden. He turned and headed toward the Maritimes. I guess he didn’t care.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I said.

  I ran at Manitoba and jumped on top of it as Jayden jumped off the last statue. I leaped over the gap to Ontario and then to Quebec. Parker joined behind me. I stepped across to New Brunswick, dancing between Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

  My feet were light, never resting on any surface for more than a second. My balance was low. My knees were flexed as I looked ahead for the next place to land.

  I jumped off into a parkour roll. Parker followed me. Jayden drifted off to the trees and some shade. He watched for a while. Parker and I kept circling through.

  “My turn to lead,” she shouted.

  I followed her back the other way and we reversed the course. After fifteen minutes, we were both wiping away sweat. Jayden just sat and watched. Parker finally waved me over to where Jayden was sitting. She bent to get a water bottle. I followed, keeping her between Jayden and me. She offered me her bottle. I gratefully accepted.

  “It’s cool you showed up,” she said.

  I thought about that for a minute. Most of my anger was gone. Parkour had that effect on me. Parkour was better with other people. I was learning just by watching how other people approached obstacles.

  “Yeah, I just want to be ready for next week.”

  “Us too,” Parker said.

  Us? I thought. Why did she say, ‘us’? Are she and Jayden an ‘us’ now?

  I wanted to know why they were here. I just didn’t know how to ask. I was also hurt. If I was back in Red Rock, I would have kept walking. I would have given up on Parker. I would have told myself she wasn’t worth it. But that was a long time ago. And Parker was important to me. At least I thought she was, until I saw her here. Maybe I didn’t know her well enough. Maybe I should stick around and get to know her better.

  “I guess this is the best place to train,” I said, finally.

  “For sure,” Parker said quickly. “I used to come here with Jayden every week, before . . .”

  She didn’t finish her sentence. Jayden looked up at me. She was going to say they came here more before I showed up at the gym. Jayden stood. He grabbed his water bottle and checked his phone.

  “Our ride is coming,” he said.

  He started walking away. But he stopped and turned back after only a couple of steps.

  “You got pretty good at this,” Jayden said, looking right at me. “I guess I’ll have to be on my toes at the demo.” And then he kept walking.

  He was being nice to me. Well, as nice as possible for him. Now I was really confused. My eyes glanced at Parker. But they didn’t stay for very long.

  “You okay?” she asked me.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder and stared at me. I couldn’t look her in the eye.

  “It doesn’t mean anything, Tricky. Jayden and me being here,” she said.

  “Jayden hates me,” I replied,
quieter this time. “But I thought you liked me.”

  “I do,” she said. “Okay, look, I’m sorry. Jayden asked me. I knew you wouldn’t come with us. Plus, that would be weird.”

  “So you decided to sneak around?”

  “I didn’t sneak,” she said. “Jayden and I have known each other a long time. He and his friends are all spoiled rich kids. He likes hanging out with me because I don’t care about his shoes or his haircut. That’s why I like you too. Because you don’t care about your shoes or your haircut.”

  My head was spinning. Finally, I realized it was up to me. I had to trust that Parker was telling me the truth. And I did, even as she hugged me goodbye and left with Jayden. What I didn’t know was if it was enough.

  19

  Demo Day

  We piled out of Coach’s van at the Healthy Habits Day event. Four young boys playing “ninjas” nearly crashed into us. One kid spotted our black-and-yellow T-shirts.

  “Cool, you do parkour?” he said.

  “Yeah, you should come watch us,” I replied.

  In just a few hours, this whole thing would be done. My demo would be finished. I’d be free. I looked up at the sprawling lawn filled with hundreds of people.

  “Let’s go take a look at the course,” Parker said. “I can’t wait!”

  We moved through a crush of kids and their parents, all checking out the various sporting booths and areas. They were trying everything from ballet to boxing. First were boys shooting pucks on artificial ice. Next to that, young kids were dancing a hip hop routine. Beyond them, girls watched a friend pull a bowstring to fire an arrow at a red-and-blue hay bale target.

  “I have to come back and try that,” Parker said.

  I looked at her and smiled. I was still trying to figure out what had happened the weekend before.

  “Last week, I’m glad you told me what you did,” I said. “And I know I haven’t said much to you. But I have something I need to say now.”

  “Wait, me first,” she interrupted. “When I saw you with those kids at the gym, I knew you weren’t like Jayden. I’m really glad you joined parkour. I like you and I like Jayden. But it’s different. Hey, remember, I faked your signature for that movie thing. I wouldn’t do that for just anyone.”

  I wasn’t sure that made what I was going to tell her any easier.

  “My turn,” I said. “Parker, I’m not here because I want to be. Coach, he caught me shoplifting. But he said if I did parkour for three months, I wouldn’t get in trouble. This is the last day. So you won’t have to see me at the gym anymore. I’m pretty sure you won’t want to hang out with me after hearing about the shoplifting, though, and that’s cool. I understand.”

  Parker stopped. Before she could answer, a crowd of little kids ran between us. I was okay with that. It felt good just to get it off my chest. But I wasn’t sure how she was going to react.

  I didn’t have much time to think about it, either. The parkour set-up was at the centre of the park. It distracted us both.

  It was amazing. There were bars with rings hanging down. Three sizes of vault ran down the middle. A wall that had to be five metres high towered over the far end. It was curved and had the word “Warped!” spray-painted through the middle like a tag. On the far side were stairs to a platform. Below that were walls with cut-out windows and doors. They had horizontal bars across the frame or across the corners. There were boxes with angled tops along the ground and two sets of rails. It was up to us to decide how to use it all. We could make up our own routines.

  Our team stopped along the fence. Nobody said anything for a while.

  “Whoa, whoever did this is really awesome,” Jayden said finally.

  I had to agree. More teams started arriving and we got ready to warm up. Before long, the place was buzzing. Electronic dance music bounced from the speakers. After about fifteen minutes, an announcer on a loudspeaker asked us to get ready to start the demo.

  We watched as the first three teams ran through their routines. There were some really cool moves, even from the younger kids. A nine-year-old girl named Isobel got the biggest applause when she breezed through the rings into a spinning dismount.

  Parker went first for our team. Her routine was heavy on gymnastics. She used cartwheels, back handsprings and front twists. She vaulted over the boxes in the centre and swung under the handrails.

  She ended on the top vault. Instead of going over it, though, she jumped onto it. She leaned forward, placed her hands on the top, and stretched into a handstand. She held it there for a few seconds, giving the crowd a chance to cheer.

  Then she kicked her legs forward to flip onto the ground.

  “Yeah, Parker!” I shouted.

  Everyone on our team stood and clapped.

  It gave me a burst of energy for my turn. I jumped to my feet and ran to the end of the course. I took a deep breath and rocked back on my heels. Then I leaned forward and bolted for the first vault. I put my hand onto the vault and kicked over with my legs. I started with a thief vault.

  It was the only kind of thief I wanted to be known as now.

  My legs pushed me for the Warped Wall. I slammed my right foot hard into the bottom of the ramp and kicked with my left.

  I took two more steps on the ramp before I stretched. My left hand reached the ledge first. My right hand darted from my side and I grabbed hold. I let go, spun and headed down the wall.

  The curved base gave me the momentum I needed. I ran for the laché bars, jumping high to grab the first. My legs swung easily forward. The momentum shot me higher and I grabbed the second horizontal bar.

  I kept swinging, kicking my legs high and twisting my body so I spun 180 degrees. That slowed me down, though. My body felt heavy, so I swung my legs twice to regain some power.

  I managed to generate enough thrust to get to the next bar. My arms were tight. I needed to use my legs instead. My plan was to do something nobody had thought of during the practice time.

  I dashed through the open “door” cut from the wooden frame. To be cute, I turned and waved goodbye. There was room back there to hide from the crowd. I heard laughter and some clapping.

  I found open space that led directly to a “window.” Waiting for a beat in the music, I started my run along the path. Just as the drums exploded — bap, bap, bap . . . BOOM — I burst through the window into a parkour roll. The crowd erupted again.

  I headed for the next vault. I stretched out my arms, planted both hands and dragged my legs through for a Kong vault. It was the farthest I had ever vaulted in my life. I stood and stretched my arms up to the sky just as the music stopped with an explosion of drums. It was luck, for sure. But it was perfect. The fans must have thought I was a genius, as they roared their approval.

  There were so many emotions running through me, I couldn’t tell what was strongest. It had been twelve weeks since the whole mess had started. I couldn’t believe I was able to pull off this routine. I was amazed at how the crowd and other teams were there to help me through.

  It was enough. I was happy. I walked back to where I’d left my bag on the grass. Parker and Coach watched me as I neared them. I peeled the tape from my fingers and tossed it into the garbage. On the other side of the fence was my freedom. I picked up my bag and looked at the gate.

  20

  Rising and Falling

  As I lifted my backpack over my shoulder, I turned and looked back at the course. Parker was running up to me. She hugged me before I could move any farther.

  “That was amazing,” she said. “Where are you going? You look like you’re leaving. But you have to stay with me, with the team.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I wasn’t going anywhere, honest.”

  “We have to celebrate tonight, in the market. It’s my treat. I might even let you have your own dessert.”

  “Really? Are your friends comi
ng?”

  “No, they aren’t invited. It’s just you and me.”

  I don’t think I’d ever been happier.

  “Deal,” I said.

  We turned as Jayden stood to start his run.

  Parker and I sat down next to Coach in the athletes’ area along the barricades. The music started again and butterflies hit my stomach. I did want him to do well, even after all that had happened.

  He bent at the waist, dipped his head and swung his legs around. It was one of his usual martial arts moves, a butterfly twist. Then he took a big step with his right foot and another with his left foot. His right foot kicked around him and he spun in midair, nearly horizontal, for a corkscrew jump.

  His next jump started the same way, with two big steps, left and right. Off his left foot, he jumped back and kicked his right leg hard. It spun him around for what looked like a backflip, or at least half of a backflip.

  “What do you call that?” I whispered to Parker.

  “He calls it a cheat gainer,” she said. “He learned it on YouTube.”

  “It looks kind of cool.”

  “Yeah, I could teach you in five minutes.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I’d like that.”

  She smiled at me. Suddenly, I didn’t feel the need to run away anymore.

  Jayden was making his way for the Warped Wall. He ran up to the top ledge and pulled himself up. Then he jumped off the top, and down into a parkour roll. He stood and ran for the rings.

  His approach seemed fast to me. He extended his hand for the first ring. But he slipped off, falling awkwardly onto his side.

  “Oh!” the crowd gasped.

  Jayden stood quickly. I thought he might have hurt his shoulder. And he looked confused. He stepped away from the rings and headed again for the Warped Wall. He planted his right foot and spun around it, going for another twisting jump. He was too close and too slow, though. He stumbled into a landing.

  Now I was starting to feel really bad for him.