rayaso

Topic: “I don't skate to where the puck is. I skate to where the puck is going to be.”

IN SEARCH OF A FRIEND

It was a beautiful day in the park. Families were having picnics, lovers were strolling hand in hand, and runners were almost enjoying running. But then there was Handihr. Handihr was roller skating as fast as he could, which was actually rather slow, and brushing into as many people as possible. Since he was squat, with a hard, knobby skin and a tail, he was especially irritating, which was the whole idea.

The object was to touch as many people as possible without knocking them over. “Go troll go!” his friends would shout. The game made the victims angry, which made Handihr feel bad, but not bad enough to stop. He was a teenage troll, after all.

This Saturday, Handihr was on a mission, actually three missions, but they were closely related. Handihr needed to get away from his parents, seriously avoid his homework, and find Puck, his elf friend, who would help with the first two.

“Where’s Puck?” thought Handihr. “I heard he might hang out here today. He’s been so busy!”

Handihr had already skated by the fountain, the food trucks, and the swimming pool (where the girls sunned themselves, so he'd taken some extra time looking there).

“Maybe Puck changed plans,” Handihr thought.

People thought their friendship was odd, but Handihr and Puck had grown up together, and even though he was a troll while Puck was an elf, it had worked for them, even now, in high school.

Puck – tall and fast -- played basketball, while Handihr used his powerful body on the offensive line of the school’s football team. Puck was going to be a success, you could tell just by looking at him, but Handihr was going to blunder through life, slamming doors and banging into things.

“Maybe Puck’s working out at the gym,” Handihr thought with a little jealousy. The Alta Mira was new, and really nice. “I wish I could just call him.”

Handihr’s parents had taken away his phone after that last report card. “I guess I’ll have to skate over there.”

Handihr’s bicycle was useless. Its front wheel had been bent when he had tried to ride off the school roof into the pool and had missed. By a lot. That had also cost him his driver’s license for three months. “If we can’t trust you with a bike, how can we trust you with a car?” his father had said.

Still, it had been worth trying, even though Puck couldn’t watch it. Grndskaw, the cutest troll at school, had been there – he’d made sure of that -- and she had rushed over to see if he was ok.

When Grndskaw had bent over him, Handihr had peeked down her blouse and the sight of her red wool bra had made the whole disaster a success after all.

Puck had said later that this was as close as he would ever get to her, and they had laughed.

“A troll can still dream,” Handihr sighed, before nearly skating into a lamppost.

“Puck just left,” the girl at the entrance to the gym told him. Handihr could see past the desk to people struggling to lift pretty chrome weights that he could lift with one arm and barely notice.

Puck had once told Handihr he couldn’t take him to the gym as a guest because he was so strong he’d wreck the equipment. Handihr smiled when he thought about it, but still wished Puck had at least taken him inside.

“I should think like Puck,” thought Handihr. “I can’t keep following him around on these skates.”

He knew that wouldn’t work, though. “There’s no way I can think like an elf,” he admitted to himself. The sun was starting to set and the day was wasting away.

It had been a long day, even for a troll. “I’m getting tired. There’s one last place to try – the hideout.”

There was an abandoned lot next to the junior high, and in the middle was a huge, hollow tree stump. When they climbed in, no one could see them -- it was their thinking place.

The old tree stump smelled musty from the decaying leaves on the ground, which made a soft cushion. “It smells like perfume. A girl’s been here,” he thought, “an elf girl.” Elves always smelled so light and fresh. “Not like trolls -- we smell like rock and earth.” Handihr also detected Puck. A troll’s keen senses were not always good to have.

Handihr sat down to rest as the light started to fade. He thought about all the good times he’d had with Puck in the hideout, including the time Handihr had shown Puck that he could flatten a soda can in one hand. Other, less welcome, thoughts crowded in until it became dark.

“I’m not quick like Puck,” thought Handihr at last, “but the train always gets to the station.” He finally suspected what was happening, why Puck hadn’t been around much, and Handihr’s shoulders drooped. He needed to talk to Puck about it.

It was less than a mile to Puck’s house. The street lights were on, and Handihr felt like walking, with the skates slung over his shoulder. His steps were slow and heavy.

Puck’s house was beautiful at night with the lights on, showing the lush landscaping. Handihr knew every room. Puck’s bedroom was on the second floor in the back.

As Handihr went up the graceful gravel walk, he could hear music and voices. He heard laughter from Puck and a few other kids, including a couple of girl elves.

He didn’t knock on the door; he just stood there. He had figured out at last that Puck was growing away from him, but he hadn’t counted on this. Turning his back, Handihr’s big hands came quickly to his face and his broad shoulders shook. “Puck doesn’t want to be my friend anymore,” he grieved, “and I didn’t even know it.”

After a few minutes, Handihr finally straightened up and began trudging back down the path, heading home.

He’d talk to his parents tonight, and probably do some homework. Might as well stop avoiding it, at least for a while.

“I’ll go back to the park tomorrow -- maybe some friends will be there,” he thought, smiling hopefully.

"And if I'm really lucky, maybe Grndskaw will be at the pool. This time I’ll talk to her, I swear."

Puck, he realized, was not the only one who could change.

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