We had a roller skating rink built in the parking lot. Yes. I will say it again. We had a roller skating rink built in the parking lot. I signed the papers that ensured that I would not leave with the roller skates and that I could not sue anyone if I broke my assets. I was handed the skates, and I stuck my long skinny feet inside of them and laced them up. I then stood up with my circular shaped blue pillow that I had stuffed in my buttocks pants area in order to protect myself from any hard falls.

There was a really nice girl who was on the floor already. I started to skate around and noticed that she stayed sitting on the floor, and I went over to help her up. I offered her my hands and she grabbed them. I lifted her and then I started to skate backwards in order to teach her how to move forward in a sense. It was really hard to teach something I felt came so naturally to me.

Actually let me rephrase that. Skating was not a natural thing. I used to roller skate often when I was kid. I’d fall a lot then. Skating is like riding a bicycle—I suppose you just never forget how. As I was learning how to skate, my mom told me that if I were to complete skating lessons, then I would be able to get my own pair of skates. I remember that back then, I had the fastest wheels (although I was not the fastest skater). Everyone wanted my wheels. I suppose at the end of the day, no matter which sport it was, my mother would get me lessons to ensure that I was aware of how to perform the sport properly and in the most safe and effective way possible.

Speaking of safety, there were times when large masses of girls would clump together on the floor in one corner, chatting away. The other corner went downwards a slight hill because of the slant in the parking lot. The next corner was the corner where people would fall the most because the chairs were set up in that corner. Perhaps it was the fact that people would head straight forward at full speed and hope the little plastic flimsy chairs would hold their force. I would yell, “Wait!”… “No!”… “Slow down!” then, “Ouch…”. I would sort of squint my eyes so that I wouldn’t see the crash in full effect because then it would look more painful. It was almost like an obstacle course. My favorite part was the downhill slant because it made me go faster. I was afraid of the clumps of bodies standing together having conversations in the far corner. It was like skating through trees. I would have to dodge them. Or crash.

I taught a lot of people how to stop. I enjoyed helping others during this activity. A lot of the time people were helping me out here, and this time I had the chance to return the favor. All of the girls, even the ones on the side who weren’t skating cheered the skaters on. The music was fun. They had disco lights. It seemed to be a wonderful evening all around. Oh and by the way, I took my butt pillow out of my pants after I had realized that Stella had her Groove back!