Work Text:
Just the way that you are has got me hypnotized
Like I'm dreaming, dreaming
Dreaming about you
When Camila Montero was 13-years-old, her family moved from the Dominican republic to the united states. That same year, the Uncle who brought them to Albany bought her a pair of ruby red roller skates. They had a sparkling finish, and the wheels were white, with long white laces and black soles. And though Camila had trouble making friends, be it her accent, her language, or her dorky hobbies, Camila never once had trouble roller skating.
See, the thing about her roller skates is that they were a constant. When she outgrew them, Tio Francis would buy her a pair that fit. When she had a good day, or a bad day, or got bored, or felt anything she could go roller skate. Even bullies couldn’t stop her; she could always outrun them.
But while the skates were constant, time wasn’t. She got through middle school, High school, and hadn’t come out of either with a single friend. Just a pair of ruby red roller skates. She got an offer to go to a veterinary science program in Newport News of all places. And she had no qualms about going.
It ended up being good for her. Why?
Roller Derby.
There was a team, right by the school, the Heartbreakers, and they needed a new girl. Camila had to be convinced at first, but she could skate and she had Friday nights off. She tried it out once, and she was instantly accepted. She was built for a sport like roller derby.
Camila joined the team as a blocker at age 18. And since that time 3 years ago? She’s never missed a match.
That is to say…a version of Camila. A kind of Camila that wasn’t into comics, or fantasy novels. The kind of Camila that wasn’t weird, or out there. The kind of Camila that people wanted her to be. Calm. Stalwart. Carbon Neutral.
The team needed someone like that. Someone who played her cards close to her chest, and feared anything but anonymity.
They also needed a new pivot, think a team captain. And who better than the girl with no ego to lead the team?
Camila looked her helmet. And the glossy new red stripe of E-tape that adorned it. Tonight was her first night in the role of pivot, and she was just a little bit absolutely terrified. She had done decent in practice, and learned each of the formations. But one could tell by her tight shoulders and tapping foot that something was clearly off.
“This isn’t even an important match.” Cami said to herself, looking firmly at the rink’s floor, “This is just…a rehearsal. A practice run!” She repeated, tying her long hair into a tight bun.
“You lose this match, nothing happens, nothing explodes, everything is fine. It’s all going to be fine.”
“Camiiiiiii!” A voice from behind her, walking up and flicking her shoulder, “You gonna whoop ass?” The voice asked, sitting next to her.
Rochelle Leary was the team’s star Jammer. She was a bullet on skates, and a firework everywhere else; A buoyant, fun loving jock, with so many trophies she needed a cabinet for them all. She was going to college for a phys. Ed. Degree, and didn’t even spend time in the same building as Camila.
Though Rochelle knew little about Camila, she knew more than the others did; about her veterinary wishes, her living situation…but Rochelle was just one of those people who was friends with everyone in the room, no matter who they were.
Hell, no one else was allowed to call her Cami.
“You know it, Roach.” She said, casually covering up a little homemade Cosmic Frontier badge she’d left on her duffel bag with her helmet.
“Is that why your foot’s tapping like that?” Rochelle asked, crossing her arms, “Because you’re perfectly fine and okay?”
“Ai, fine, I’m nervous!” Camila groaned out, putting her face in her hands, “This is my first night as pivot and if I fuck this up-“ Camila rubbed her temples, “I’ll let everyone down.”
“Cami. Oh my god.” Rochelle rolled her eyes, and crossed her legs, “You’re gonna do great, because you always do. And if you don’t?” Rochelle shrugged, “Oh no! We get our best droprunner back into her role! Then what are we gonna do?” Rochelle mocked fear, putting her hands to her cheeks and gasping.
Cami giggled, “I know, I know. But part of me is still scared.”
“Worried yer crush is gonna be disappointed if you lose?” Rochelle smirked.
Right. Camila’s ‘crush’. A boy who used to work concessions. He would stare during jams, and she would sometimes stare back. But she would never talk to him. She had tried dating once, and she would never make herself that vulnerable again.
…No matter how cute he was.
“Roach, please,” Camila huffed, “I’ve got other things on my mind!”
“Right, right…” Rochelle mumbled in disbelief, “but crushes aside, listen!” Rochelle leaned into Camila, looking out on the rink.
“We kick ass. You, me, Dana, Grace, everyone. We kick ass.” She repeated. “Say it with me…” Rochelle smirked and flicked Camila’s shoulder, “Say it with me. We kick…?”
“…” Camila sighed, and smiled, defeated, “We kick ass. So much ass.”
“SOOOOOO much ass. Come on,” Rochelle rose from the bench, “Let’s get suited up.”
Camila got up from the bench, and held her helmet over that little badge. She knew no one here would know it was from Cosmic Frontier. But even having it on her bag made her scared. If it weren’t so fragile, she’d chuck it in with her knee pads and red jersey.
Hiding it would be fine.
Hiding it had always been fine.
Manny Noceda got his first comic book at age 8. It was about some people in space, traveling through an unknown galaxy, and someone got eaten by a worm.
He loved it
Since that day, Manny Noceda was an unapologetic and unforgiving dweeb. When you already get bullied for your lisp, and your accent, why not add more fuel? Why bother being liked if you know no one will like you?
Was this perfect? No. There were bullies. There were bad teachers. There were sticks, stones, and words so many words. But He never once had a fake friend. He never once spent a night desperate for love. He felt so alien that he could fit almost anywhere, just by fitting nowhere.
He got hurt. A million billion times. But he was loved just as many.
This mentality nearly killed him in high school. It was a boon in college. What could have been a miserable transition turned out to be a blessing. ODU was a big campus, and he could find so many people who were just like him! He had one or two friends in school, but he had a good network at college. Especially in his major. Industrial design? There, sincere geekiness is not a weakness.
It’s a strength.
No no no, his weakness was the girl. At the roller rink he used to work at, there was this girl on the team. Long brown hair, deep walnut eyes, and ruby red roller skates. She was cool. She had to be. She probably didn’t jive with geeky comics like Manny did. Cool people like her, with cool clothes and even cooler hobbies, didn’t like the things Manny did.
But she had to be easy to talk to! Just go up, say hey, and make a good impression! Not too hard, right?
Well, he couldn’t be confident about everything.
Though Manny didn’t work at the rink, he still liked watching the jams. So he would show up, and every night be confronted with his fear of speaking with her. With the girl.
Tonight, though, he was gonna say something. He had to say something.
“…You’re gonna wait until the game is over? Dude, that’s kind of creepy.”
Manny’s roommate, Thomas He. Tom was a design major, spent a lot of time around Manny. They’d been friends since meeting in freshman year, and owning an apartment together was turning out to be a good call.
“It’sth not like I’m sthtalking her!” Manny said, running a hand through his hair and checking himself over in a mirror.
“Dude. You’re waiting for her in the parking lot. That’s sketchy.” Thomas said, crossing his legs.
“You’re not listhening.” Manny said, “I am gonna wait by the claw masthine. Make it look casthual, and sthay sthomething to her.”
Thomas crossed his arms and tilted his head, “Buddy. Listen to yourself. You think I met Addy by waiting at the back door of the krispy kreme? NO! I got to know her through a friend!”
“TOM. I DON’T KNOW ANY OF THEM.”
“She goes to school out here, right?” Thomas asked.
“CNU.”
“She’s a Captain?” Thomas smirked. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, huh?”
“…Diosth Mio, I never thought of that!? What if sthe already hatesth me!?” Manny groaned out, his shoulders slumping, “I fucked up stho bad, Tom, stho stho bad!”
“Manny.”
“A public plasthe? I’m about to asthk out a girl in public? Like I justht KNOW her!?”
“Manny.”
“What if the thinksth I’m cornering her? Thisth’ll be like Jill all over again, oh my god I am stho BAD AT-“
“MANUEL NOCEDA.”
Thomas stood up, and walked over. “You are not gonna look like a creep. You are not gonna corner her and threaten her to say yes. You are NOT gonna get your dating advice from shitty 80s romcoms. You know why?” He clapped his hands onto Manny’s shoulders, and squeezed them.
Manny gulped, looking Thomas in the eye, “…Becausth I’m not going?”
“What? No, dude,” Thomas shook his head, then pointed a thumb at himself, “because I’m going with you.” He nodded, the left corner of his mouth curling upward.
“…But you were gonna sthtay home tonight-“
“And do a whole lotta nothing!” He said, “It’s November, TV’s all christmas junk and reruns. They’re not even starting the new season of Starship Fortune until next year!” he said.
“We go, we hang out, and if she rejects you, we immediately go to a bar, and if she doesn’t we immediately go to a nice bar.”
Manny tilted his head, “…you’d do that for me?”
“What, like I don’t owe you a favor?” Thomas asked, “Come on, Manny. Us losers gotta stick together.” Thomas nodded, “You’re cool paying our cover charge, right?”
Manny laughed, pulling away from Thomas and grinning, “Sthure, sthure. I’ll get usth in. And Thomasth.”
Manny hugged him.
“Thanksth for helping me here.”
Thomas hugged back. “You’re gonna be fine. Trust me.”
“Alright. Everyone gather around.”
The Hampton Heartbreakers were in the roller rink’s dinky little locker room. And Camila was incredibly nervous. Her hands were clammy, her eyes were wide, and her knees were shaky. What she really needed was a pep talk, a good sports movie coach to rally the troops and prepare for battle.
…Too bad she was the Pivot tonight. Meaning she had to give the pep talk.
“Roach. You can start us up for first period. Remember, outmaneuver, don’t try to outrun.”
“Got it.”
“Starters are Tammy, Connie, Dana, and Reggie.”
The four girls looked up when their names were called, and all nodded. Seemed like Camila was packing in the heavy hitters tonight.
“The splinters are fast, and their Jammer’s no joke.” Camila hid her fidgeting hands behind her back, “So we’re gonna go with cannon defense tonight. Really throw them off their game.”
The team nodded.
“Remember…” Camila couldn’t think of anything else to say…the game plan had been set, the only thing left was to play it…She looked to Rochelle, and for the first time that night, she let a confident smirk grow on her face.
“We. Kick. Ass.”
The team cheered and hollered, getting on their helmets and making their way to the rink.
“LllllllllllllllllllllllllllADIES AND GENTLEMEN!”
“Is it always this loud!?” Thomas asked
“Yeah! I told you to bring earplugsth!”
Manny and Thomas had managed to get seats in the front. Granted, not a lot of people were here. But Manny had made sure to dress up…well enough. To try and stick out. Be visible. ‘Maybe,’ he thought, ‘sthe’ll sthee me.’
“WELCOME to the PENINSULA SKATING CENTER! TONIGHT, our rink plays host to the 5th match in the 1999/2000 TIDEWATER ROLLER DERBY CHAMPIONS SERIES!”
The crowd cheered, and Thomas pointed, “Is that her!? With the red stripe on her helmet!?”
Manny couldn’t spot the girl’s hair. Or her eyes. And was this girl the Pivot? It couldn’t be her-the ruby red roller skates.
Manny blinked, and looked, pointing, “…YESTH! YESTH, THAT’STH HER!”
Camila lined up into a formation with her teammates, visibly unsettled, but trying her hardest not to be.
“Remember, keep it locked down tight! Move with the Jammer!” She called out.
A whistle sounded. And the games began.
Rochelle, as always, took off like a bat out of hell. But this team, the Splinters? They had a fast defense. It wasn’t so much a strength problem as it was a speed one. She was at the pack, but struggling to get through.
And Camila saw the Splinter’s Jammer coming straight for them.
Camila called out, “PINCH IN!” And before the Splinter’s Jammer could even interpret what she said, the pack had shifted into a tight V formation. Camila was worried about the strength of it, until she looked up and saw just how far Rochelle was.
And just like that…
Two whistles sounded from the center of the ring. Rochelle had pressed through, and signaled the jam was over. Rochelle was lead jammer, and the Heartbreakers were up by one.
Naturally, the crowd took it well, whooping and hollering as their team lined up for the next round, with Manny amongst the crowd and Camila thankful she’d done well enough to block a jammer…this might just be their match.
…It wasn’t.
It was a close game, but eventually the Splinters pulled out with a one point lead, and managed to block out Rochelle, who at this point was exhausted. Splinters win 7-6, but damn was it a close one.
“…Alright.” Camila, still in her uniform, holding her helmet in her arms, huffed as she caught her breath. “First, let’s be blunt; We lost.”
The whole team, sat in the little locker room, nodded softly.
“BUT. We only lost by ONE point. That’s the smallest gap they’ve ever had. Usually they win by 5. You know what that means?” Camila asked, leaning forward and putting her foot on a bench, “We scared the SHIT out of ‘em.”
The team loudly agreed, cheers and clapping hands and stomping feet.
“We did good today…and I’m proud of all of you.”
“YOU KICKED ASS, CAMILA!” Dana, a blocker, shouted from the back. A round of laughter, and cheering, as Camila hid her face with her hands.
Camila set the team loose, and went to her little locker. She opened it up, and adjusted the little badge on her duffel bag.
‘Just make it home and put it in your drawer,’ she thought to herself, ‘just make sure no one here sees.’
“Cami!” Rochelle walked over to her, and clapped a hand on her shoulder, “You did good, girl! How’d it feel?”
Camila huffed and rubbed her eyes, “Ai, I screwed up that last call…she was expecting a drop, I should’ve hammered.”
“Yeah, but hey, you really did a number on ‘em. They don’t usually win by just 1.”
“I know…”
“You coming out?” Rochelle asked. “My place, my roommate’s out of town.”
“What, drinking? Nah, my roommate’s expecting me.” She said, giggling awkwardly, “I-I appreciate it though.” She took her hair out of its bun and began to change back into her street clothes.
“Cami, no one’s gonna make you drink. You should come out! It’s just gonna be us, no one else is coming!”
“No, I really should get home…” Camila said, “Maybe some other time. Next week.”
“Awww.” Rochelle mocked, “I gotta get going. Sure you don’t wanna come out?”
“…I’ll think on it. Bye, Rochelle.”
“Catch ya later.” Rochelle said, leaving the locker room.
Camila sighed softly as she got her things into her bag. She thought about it. About going to Rochelle’s. About partying with the others. About not drinking. About saying the wrong thing, making the wrong joke, and opening herself up to even more criticism, more bullying, more heartache. If you knew how much bravery it took her to put her little homemade comm badge button onto her duffel bag, you’d know just how difficult it would be to go to a party, surrounded by reminders to stay still and shut up.
Camila was confident until she got out of those glass double doors. Then? It was back into her shell. Where no one could hurt her. Where she’d never get hurt again.
As Camila readied herself to go home, the crowd in the rink dwindled. It’d stay open for another hour or two, but most people just came for the derby. Manny and Thomas, though? They were waiting by the exit.
“That shit was cool.” Thomas said, “Like you’ve been holding out on me, man.”
“Have not! I alwaysth asthked you to go, but what did you tell me? Every time?”
“I was busy! I meant it! …Uhh, hey, this place have a bathroom?”
Manny, still uneasy from the thought of talking to this girl, nodded gently as he rocked back and forth on his feet.
“Over that way, red doorsth.”
“Cool.”
Manny waited, his eyes on the locker room door, waiting for Thomas to get back. But unfortunately for Manny, someone was about to beat Thomas to the door…
The girl with the ruby red roller skates.
Shit shit shit shit shit! Manny was alone! He was gonna let her get away, as he timidly looked at his shoes, frightened to even be around her!
She seemed to be avoiding him, too…was it the hair? It had to be the hair, he knew it had to be the hair. He looked up to look for Thomas, and then-
He spotted her bag. The pin on her bag.
No. Fucking. Way.
“…do you have a Galactic Pilot badge on your bag?” Manny asked, careful to hide his lisp, but not careful to hide his shock.
Camila stopped dead in her tracks…the guy? Who had watched her jams? He could talk? And was asking her about her Cosmic Frontier pin?! Oh NO, this was it! Her rep was ruined! This guy was gonna tell EVERYONE wasn’t he!?
“O-Oh!” Camila looked about as awkward as Manny did, her posture slumped and her eyes wide with fear, “…I made it myself! I used an old aluminum can, and some resin.”
“I didn’t know, um…” Manny blushed, scratching his neck, “I didn’t know you read it…”
Camila felt how awkward that was. “I-I didn’t know you wore it-er, Watched it-oh, READ it…though I think the TV show is just as good as the comics-…um…”
Cami could hear Rochelle in her head, Nailed it girl.
Manny looked terrified. He was practically shaking,
“I’m Manny.”
“…Camila.” She smiled. “…You come to the jams a lot.”
“I worked here for a while. I, um…I thought you looked cool.”
It was Camila’s turn to blush, “me?”
“I-I mean…the TEAM, I-…” He huffed, “And, I mean, your badge, it’sth cool-“ He covered his mouth and winced…she heard his lisp. She heard his lisp! That was it! It was over before it even started!
Camila giggled awkwardly, and tilted her head, “…If you recognized the badge you must really know your stuff.” She said.
“Well, yeah! I mean, you got the color right, it’sth clearly from Gannet Learsth’ arc.” Manny explained, his posture growing more confident. He was in his comfort zone. He could do this.
Camila nodded, “It is! I loved that one-“ She saw some other members of the team coming, and had to cut this short. “I’m…sorry, I have to get going.” She said, “Where do you buy comics?”
“Oh! Rosthie’sth. It’sth thisth sthide of the bridge.” He said, sticking his hands in his pockets, “It’sth pretty sthmall, but they’ve got real good usthed-“
“Can I meet you there? Tomorrow?” Camila blurted out, before her eyes went wide, “…To talk about Cosmic Frontier. More. Of course.”
Manny blushed, grabbing a pen from a nearby counter and whipping out his ticket stub, hastily scribbling his number down.
“C-Call me when you can,” Manny stammered, “we’ll go.”
“It was nice meeting you, Manny!” She hid the badge with her hand and rushed out the door, huffing as soon as she got outside.
“…I haven’t talked about CF in so long…and it was the cute guy from the rink? Oh my god…ohhhh my god.”
Camila and Manny had the same question on their minds.
What the hell was that?!
Thomas walked over to Manny, “Hey, sorry…bit of a line.”
“Sthe came by while you were gone.”
“…Oh, shit.” Thomas looked concerned, “good bar or bad bar?”
“Sthe had a Costhmic Frontier badge on her bag. Sthe wantsth to call me tomorrow.”
“…” Thomas’s eyes went wide, “YO!”