Read Skater Boy for Free Online

I wonder how sterile his needles are.
    Starr flashes me an excited smile and I smile back. Then, when Sean turns his back to examine the walls of tattoo designs, she nods toward him, then gives me a thumbs-up. I stifle a pleased giggle.
    Todd walks over to Starr and rips open a paper package containing the hugest needle known to mankind. I stare in shock. They’re going to put that through her tongue? I want to ask her if she’s sure she wants to do this, but don’t want to sound like a Barbie again.
    Starr promptly sticks out her tongue, looking as if she doesn’t have a fear in the world. I wish I had her confidence. Or tolerance for pain, at least. The man rubs numbing solution on her tongue, then readies the needle. At the last minute I turn away, not able to watch the sharp object penetrate her.
    When I turn back a moment later, it’s over. There’s now a silver stud embedded in Starr’s tongue. Eddie gives her an atta-girl woot and she smiles.
    â€œDid it hurt?” I ask.
    She shakes her head. “Nawh that mucthh.”
    â€œIt may be hard to talk for a day or two,” Eddie informs her. “But trust me, it’s worth it.”
    â€œAnyone else?” Todd the torturer asks.
    â€œDawhhn,” says Starr, pointing at me.
    â€œWhat? No way,” I protest. “I am so not having my tongue pierced.”
    â€œBahhbie.”
    â€œI’m not a Barbie. Just ‘cause I don’t want a big metal spike jammed through my mouth does not make me a Barbie.”
    â€œHey, babe, chill,” Eddie says. “Give the girl a break. Even you gotta admit, a tongue’s pretty hardcore for a first piercing.”
    Yeah, I say, mentally thanking Eddie for his voice of reason.
    â€œHow about your navel?” Todd suggests.
    â€œNavel?”
    â€œYeah, you know. Belly button,” says Eddie, gesturing to my middle.
    â€œI don’t know …” I wonder how many coolness points I’ll lose if I run screaming from the piercing parlor. Probably all, since I don’t have that many to begin with.
    But still, I can’t get anything pierced. Not even my belly button. The Evil Ones would kill me …
    ... if they found out, that is. And there’s no way they could—if I play my cards right. It’s not like they ever see me naked, so unless I wore a half-shirt or bikini in front of them, they’d probably never know....
    â€œForhget ith, Eddie,” says swollen-tongued Starr. She rises from the piercing chair. “She’th too scared.”
    â€œI’m not scared,” I retort, sick of Starr’s jabs. I plop down on the chair and pull my shirttail out of my skirt. “Go ahead. Pierce away.”
    Starr, Eddie, and Sean look impressed by my random act of defiance. The tattoo guy chuckles, as if he’s seen these kinds of dares a million times. He goes back behind the counter to get a clean needle.
    Starr and Eddie, mission accomplished, wander off to go look at some silver and leather jewelry. Sean approaches and kneels down beside me, his intense blue eyes searching my face.
    â€œAre you sure you want to do this?” he asks.
    â€œYes,” I say firmly, even though I’m totally not.
    â€œDon’t let them goad you into something you don’t want,” he says earnestly. “You’ve got nothing to prove.”
    I appreciate him saying that, but I realize that in this case, he’s wrong. I do have something to prove. To myself. This piercing will be more than just a hole in my abdomen and a new piece of jewelry. It’s a symbol of me taking control of my life. Of doing things the way I want to do them, even if those things don’t fit into The Evil Ones’ plan. Even if they are looked down upon by my airhead friends. By piercing my belly button, I’m saying that I’m my own person. And I’ll do things my way.
    â€œI’m sure,” I say.
    The man returns with his