Skaterboy
At 5:00 in the morning, the alarm clock goes off. In his sleep, CJ is dreaming that he’s back in high school, outside by the band room door where he and his pals used to sneak smokes and flip their skateboards up onto the curb before class. He hears the alarm and in his dream it’s the first bell, calling them in. But it’s his turn with the board and he wants to show off a new trick he’s never done before—it’s his dream, he knows he can do it. He gets on the board and skates for the curb even as the other boys start to head inside, Kace and Johnny, kids he hasn’t seen in years. They haven’t aged a bit. “Wait,” he calls out, pushing off the ground harder to pick up speed. “Watch this, you guys. Look!”
At the curb he jumps. The board comes with him like it’s stuck to his feet. A t
