Neat Trick

Shane hadn’t meant to cause any harm. Actually he thought he told the guys it was a bad idea. He and Mike Di Salvo were 10, but the other boys were older and therefore always doing crazy shit. Outside the heavy gates of Mt. Hope Cemetery, he and Mike had hesitated. Doing jumps on the library grounds was one thing. But this was just fucked up.

“Told you they were pussies. Whatever babies.” The sounds of 12 wheels rolling down, deeper into the fields of stones. The white stones shone like bony teeth, baby mouth of grass.

” I don’t know Mike…” He said with eyes darting back and forth.

” Dont be a pussy, Shane.”  Mike slapped his skateboard onto the cement and started to ride down the road.

The boys were congregating by a line of stones. First Matty jumped from a stone wall onto a grey headstone. Then to best him, TJ made it across two stones. Mike only made it across two. Shane climbed the stone wall and was determined to make it down the line, down to the last bleached white stone.

He landed with perfect momentum. One, slide, jump, two, slide, jump, three, slide, jump, four, slide, jump. Just one more! He was king of the world.

The white stone felt his weight and instantly flopped over.

Shane didn’t know the stone would fall over like that! He was just doing the jumps, like all the boys. It should have been fine. I mean, what if Mike really loosened it?

Shouldn’t the ghost be haunting him too?