Chapter Text
Miya was good at skateboarding, and found it very enjoyable for a while. Everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Just kidding, but in all seriousness, it changed after he won his first trophy. “You think you’re better than us?” His so called friend yelled. “No! Of course not!” Miya wasn’t lying when he said that, but his friends abandoned him nonetheless. He continued putting all his time and effort into his skating, even though it felt empty without friends to enjoy it with. It just stopped being fun. However, there were things that Miya still loved and enjoyed, such as… cats. Miya LOVED cats. They were so fluffy and cute, and he just wanted to pet them all. If he wasn’t skating, he was researching cats or watching cat videos on YouTube. His obsession finally went down to a normal level, but the felines became apart of his branding. His aunts and uncles began calling him, “catboy” much to his dismay.
For his 11th birthday, he received a soft, fleece, neon green hoodie. With cat ears. The fabric felt nice and snug on his skin, and it became a permanent addition to his wardrobe. Normally, he wouldn’t have worn it to school, but who was he trying to impress? Miya’s mother thought that Miya only loved two things, skateboarding and cats. But she was wrong. He only loved one thing, cats. In spite of what she thought, she signed him up for a build-a-board class, where he could customize his own board. “Do I have to?” He groaned, turning on his phone. “I thought you liked skateboarding! You’re so good at it!” His mother said, with slight confusion. “I.. do. I’m just tired. I know that I’m really good at skateboarding and that no one my age beat me, obviously, but decorating one is different, Ma! I’ve only really had two competitions.” He spat, crossing his noodle arms. “We already paid, Miya, sorry.” “Fine.”
The drive to the place was slow and boring. Miya checked his phone to see when his next competition was. The next day. Great. Just as Miya began to doze off, his mother pulled over. “We’re here.” He heard the click of his mother unlocking the car door. Miya opened it and jumped out, his black vans splashing into a puddle. “Shoot.” His mother rolled down the window. “Go through the blue door over there. I’ll pick you up in an hour. Bye.” She drove off in the black 4 seater, rolling up the window. Miya walked to the blue door as he was instructed to, unknowingly leaving a trail of muddy water behind him.
When he stepped into the building, there was an overwhelming wave of excitement in the air. The walls were a dark shade of grey, with splashes of neon colour in every corner. They were lined with custom made skateboards. Wooden shelves were built into random places, and LED lights were resting on them. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad. There was a long wooden table in the center of the room, children of all ages seated on the stools surrounding it. At the head of the table, sat a teenage boy with red spiky hair, you could assume to be the course instructor. There was a generally happy-go-lucky vibe that almost anyone can detect from him, solely from his smile. A thick blue and white bandana was wrapped around his head. Miya finally took the last remaining seat after observing the room.
“Ok everyone! I hope you’re all DYING to make your boards!” Started the redheaded spiky haired boy. “My name’s Reki, and you guys can call me Mr. R. Or… Reki. Doesn’t really matter to me. Anyways, you guys all have a board in front of you, right? Right. Now I’m gonna have all of you line up in front of me with your boards.” A dozen children were already getting out of their chairs, as to be the first in line for whatever was happening. “Not yet, haha. You guys have to choose your base colour. So when it’s your turn, you can pick a can of spray paint to spray on as your base. Then y’all will put your board on this white mat over here. Also, don’t forget to put your safety goggles on, or you’ll DIE!” Miya saw the eyes of all the children widen. Heh, they’re so stupid. “Just kidding, just kidding. Still do it, though. Alright! Now you guys can line up.” Everyone, including Miya, scrambled to where Reki was standing. The children pushed and shoved, unnecessarily. It was like a germy war zone. After relentlessly arguing over spots, the children managed to create a somewhat straight line. Miya, by some miracle, managed to work his way to the front. He put his board on the mat.
“Hey kid,” Reki said, bending over and putting his hands on Miya’s shoulders. “That’s a neat hoodie, but would ya mind putting your hood down to put on your safety goggles?” The other kids bended to the side, and laughed at his hoodie. “That’s not cool, bros.” They all stopped. Miya complied, and pushed the thick neon fabric backwards. “Great. What colour do you want? Miya thought for a moment, his eyes staring at the vibrant cans of paint. He visualized what board he wanted to go with. Flashy? Honestly, no. Minimalistic it is. He looked at the assortment of colours, pinks, greens, purples, blues, etc. “Black.” He finally said.
“Oki Doki! Here. Put these on and you're good to go!” Reki handed Miya grey safety goggles to Miya. Miya put then on, and tightened it slightly because his head was teeny. “Are you comfortable?” Reki asked. Miya nodded, as Reki gave him the spray paint. “Ready?” Miya nodded again. He sprayed. It was really satisfying to watch the board be enveloped in paint, as the wood slowly turned dark. All Miya managed to say was “cool”. “Alright, kid! You did it! Cool!” Reki said, raising his hand for a high five. Miya was confused at first, but gave it to him after leaving him hanging for 5whoke seconds.
That day was actually the first time Miya had fun in a while. He was able to show other kids his tricks and get compliments, rather than painful remarks like “Showoff” or “Cheater.”. One hour flew by relatively quickly, and Miya’s mother was delighted that Miya wasn’t such a grump about it. He was happy about the skateboard he created; a black one with a purple ‘x’ traced onto it. He actually performed the best he ever did with that skateboard.
Maybe Miya would hold onto it.
2 years later…
Reki stared at the television screen at the shop, mesmerized by the talent of the skaters there. Within the many competitors, he spotted a small boy with a green hoodie, using a black skateboard with a purple X. He looked soo familiar to Reki. He shrugged.
No, it’s just a coincidence.