• Zeike had been skating ever since he was 5 years old; and even then, he showed promise to be the best skater who ever lived. Over the years he went through different roller blades, but he never threw a pair away. He considered all of them to be his friends. Friends who guided him along the path of the skater.

    Anyways, Zeike had just turned 13, and was testing out his newest roller blades, when suddenly, an unruly group were walking towards him. He could tell by thier demeanor that they were skaters just like him. But he could also tell that they didn't skate for the pure joy of it. They skated to maime, steal, and wreak havoc on all those who stood in their way. Zeike stood his ground.

    "Hey kid,' one of them spat at him," Nice pair of skates you've got there. Mind if I try them on?"
    "Yes." Zeike replied, " I do mind."
    The group laughed
    "He minds! Well how about that!" The one who spoke earlier jeered at him. "But I'm afraid what you mind or don't mind doesn't really matter here kid." He said. "Because those skates are mine. I saw them. I liked them, and now, I'm gonna take them."
    Zeike swallowed, and looked into the skater's eyes and said 4 simple words, " Over my dead body."
    Sniff...snif went the skater "Is, is that a challenge I smell?"
    "You bet." Zeike replied.
    "Okay then, pipsqueak, 5:00pm tonight. Be at the old construction site on 54th avenue. We're gonna race; winner gets the loser's skates. Deal?"
    "Deal." And the two skaters shook on it.

    It was getting close to 5:00 pm. Zeike skated to the site, and there, he was met with the gang and their supposed leader.
    "Ready? Punk?"
    "As ready as I'll ever be."
    They took their places on the starting line, and Zeike surveyed the track. It was an old construction site that never quite finished. The steel structure was still intact, but the steel beams making up the structure were all that were there. The flag was at the top of the site...fifty feet above the ground....well...this was going to be harder than anything that he had ever before experienced. No doubt about that.
    "Ready.."
    Zeike was shocked from his reverie.
    "Set.."
    He and his opponents set themselves up.
    "GOOOO!"
    They took off, scaling the track, doing whatever they could to stay up ahead.
    Zeike was leading the race, up until the gang leader punched him out of the way.
    "Hey! You can't do that!"
    "It's a dog eat dog world kid. You've gotta do what it takes to stay top dog"
    And with a laugh, the gang leader skated on, leaving Zeike in the dust. Zeike thought long and hard, surveying his location, and suddenly, he was hit with a stroke of inspiration. He found a rope hook left by a construction worker, and looped the hook onto the top beam of the site. He harnessed the rope to his body, took several steps back, and skated faster than he had ever skated before. He went off the platform he was standing on, and the roped tightened. He was swung from the momentum of his speed, onto the top of the site. And there, he retrieved the flag. The gang members, all the while looking on in shock that their leader wasn't the winner.

    5 minutes later, the gang leader arrived on the top platform. He looked outraged.
    "You can't do that! It's cheating! You cheated."
    And with a smile, Zeike replied, "It's a dog eat dog world dude. You've got to do what it takes to stay top dog. Am I right?"
    The leader was speachless. He took off his skates and threw them at Zeike.
    "Here. These are yours".
    Zeike threw them back. " No. These are yours. Skaters need their skates to keep skating, right? Otherwise, they're not called skaters anymore."
    The gang leader was again speachless.
    Zeike held out his hand. "Good race."
    The leader tentatively reached out and shook it. "Good race."
    And with that, Zeike went home to the cheering of the gang behind him. Glad that they had all heard his bit of wisdom.

    When he got home he was greeted by his mom.
    "And what were you doing all night young man?" She asked.
    Zeike shrugged,"Just going for an evening skate. Is there a problem?"
    "Yes," his mom countered "there is a problem. Why is there a rope around your waste?"
    Zeike looked down and his eyes widened. He had forgotten to unhook himself.
    I am so Screwed.