“Well done, bitch!” she says, offering me a hand. “Now get your ass off the track before you become roadkill.”
“I think my blisters have blisters,” says Jax, a willowy skater with they/them pronouns on their name tag. They yank off a skate and peer at the hole in the big toe of their sock.
“Epsom salts, everyone,” Violet says, weaving through us as we peel off our gear on the floor. “If you have a bathtub, pour a cup into hot water and soak. If you don’t have a bathtub, make friends with someone who does.”
“Tempted to book a room at the Holiday Inn just to use the hot tub,” Emme, another freshie, groans.
“I’ll go in on that with you,” Georgia says.
There are fourteen of us in this fresh meat class. At the beginning of practice, Violet explained that we’ll have six weeks of fresh meat training, during which we’ll learn skating skills and game play. At the end, we’ll take a skating skills test and a rules test, and if we pass both, we’ll be drafted onto one of the league’sthree teams and be eligible to play in the first game of the season at the end of July.
My fellow freshies, as Violet called us, are a diverse bunch, ranging from eighteen-year-old college freshman Madelyn to Tilly, who looks to be in her forties and has a teenage daughter. About half of the prospective skaters are IU students—mostly undergrads, but Mercedes is working on a PhD in biochemistry.
“Anybody want to go for a drink?” Jax asks.
“I’m not twenty-one yet,” Madelyn sighs.
“We can totally go somewhere with NA options,” Jax replies, and Madelyn smiles gratefully. “Who’s in?”
There’s a chorus of yeses as everyone starts shoving gear into bags and climbing off the floor. Tilly bows out so she can pick up her daughter from soccer practice, and Georgia has go home to shower before meeting her girlfriend’s parents for dinner.
“What about you, Carson?” Jax asks.
“Oh, I’m actually meeting up with some friends back in Cardinal Springs,” I tell them, thinking about the text I sent to Grace and Wyatt before practice began. I dig through my bag for my phone.
“You’re seriously going to drive forty-five minutes each way twice a week for practice?” Mercedes asks.
“It’s not so bad,” I tell them, finding my phone. “I’m an audiobook girlie, so the time is well spent.”
“Well, if you ever don’t want to make the drive and need a place to crash, Casey and I have a really great couch,” Jax says, nodding at their partner, another freshie.
“I’ll let you know, thanks!” I say, waving as they file out of the gym.
I shove my skates into my duffel and then reach for my phone, which displays a few missed text messages. My group chat with Wyatt and Grace has a notification, which I figure is about plans for tonight, so instead I open the one from Violet.
Violet
Hey bitch! Good work today. Mayhem snapped this pic while you were doing your sprint. Can’t wait to see you on the track this fall!
The photo is of me on the last turn of my triumphant sprint lap, approaching the jammer line. I’m crouched low, my blond ponytail flying behind me. One arm is forward, the other back as I sprint. But it’s the look on my face that catches my eye. It’s one I’ve never seen before. My brows are knitted, my jaw sharp, my mouth set in a firm line. I look determined.
The feeling of crossing that finish line and hearing my time comes roaring back. Yeah, I have a lot to learn in the next eight weeks, but I’m going to be riding this high all the way through training.
With that fizzy feeling in my body, I click over to my group text with Wyatt and Grace. Before practice, I texted them to see about having a girls’ night. It’s been a while since we’ve all gotten together. Grace has been busy with her bookstore and the house her boyfriend is building for the two of them. And Wyatt, on top of falling madly in love with Grace’s older brother Owen, has been deep in auntie life. Her sister had a baby last year, and the three of them are living together, along with Wyatt’s mother, who recently returned from prison. It’s a whole thing.
But it’s Saturday, and I want to get together with my girls. I want to tell them all about roller derby and my sprint and how I haven’t hit anybody yet, but I want to.
Grace
I want to hear all about roller derby! But Dad called a family dinner tonight, so I’ll be there. Maybe next weekend? I have an event at the store, but we could do a late-night thing after closing?
Wyatt
I’ll also be at family dinner tonight with Owen, but I could maybe do next weekend? I might be watching Eden so Hazel can go to a movie, but I’ll double-check. What about tomorrow? Sunday brunch?
Grace
Decker and I are going up to Indianapolis to look at tile for the bathrooms. I could be back for dinner though!
