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2006-05-16 || 10:05 p.m. || you are crowned the skate king || we went roller skating. and it was slightly uncomfortable, like when you spend time in your childhood bedroom and find that the bookshelves aren't as tall as you remember and your bed can no longer properly accommodate you. by being sealed up in the past it was preserved and shrunk slightly. it makes you feel kind of sea sick. requisite features of the skate king: foot smell, ancient carpet, air hockey, snack bar featuring faded soft drink signs (i forgot to ask you, billy, was the skate-king version of soda suicide worth the order?), disco lights, carpeted circular benches, photo booth that we sadly never got around to, skate skanks, blood on the rink, lockers, creepy middle-aged skate men. and us. we skated the first two laps and tried not to admit how much it hurt. bill's ankles and my left hip. beth let me hold her hand. i skated laps around my designated roller-rink crush. i almost fell on the carpet in the snack bar. i liked setting my own pace and skating on my own. i mouthed the words to def leppard and tried to feel if my eleven-year-old self was around. this is how you cross your skates over one by one. this is how you pick up speed to make your miniskirt flutter. this is where you look, at that mural of the kingdome, so that you can pretend you are the only one on the floor and about to complete in the professional national rollerdancing finals. things you learn as a grown-up at the roller rink: you shouldn't drink beer before skating. you should probably stretch. wood floors are a lot farther away than they used to be, and when compounded by wheels attached to your feet, there is a high potential for damage. roller rink music doesn't change that much. it is impossible to look cool while properly executing the hokey pokey. keep your feet far apart when you feel paranoid about the wheels getting caught up together. don't go too fast on the turns because you'll start sweating. don't eat the pizza. the dj wouldn't play my song. i shot him dirty looks when he skated anywhere near me. billy fell in the most beautiful slow-motion graceful way somewhere over by the giant plaster roller skate, and i meant to make a bigger deal out of the tear in the knee of his jeans and skating battle scar. there was no couple's skate, which is a good thing, because i am now a committed engaged lady, and that kind of thing just causes serious trouble, junior high or not. i completed half a lap of backwards skate, too afraid of falling to make it all the way. we skated for over three and a half hours. when we stood in the parking lot afterwards it felt like we were recovering from a wedding or a funeral or the olympics. we accomplished something serious. we counted the beginnings of blisters. i think i broke my toe. guestbook || notes || archives || profile || photos || d-land |