SFX League

|| Double parentheses, ”(( ” is used to identify internal dialogue.

”Next, ” ushered a hefty man dressed in a white security shirt.

A woman proceeded from the outdoor security table with a green entry bracelet, and the next in line stepped forth.

”ID, ” issued the guard, holding out his hand in receipt.

A state license landed in the patrols hand, and he compared it to the young man before him. The card was two years old, but the photo resembled him well. A tall, slim, though athletic build. Brown skin like roasted almonds and an incurably salty resting bitch face to accompany. Tiny strands of hair on his shoulder exposed that hed recently had his black, short, undercut hairstyle restored.

”Gavin Dance Jr, age 18, any felonies? ” The guard asked, to which his subject readily responded, ”Just misdemeanors. ”

Prying further, the security swiped left on a digital tablet. ”According to your file, youve been charged with: Trespassing, petty theft, destruction of private property, disorderly conduct, and illicit use of nanotechnology. ”

”All petty crimes, ” Gavin replied, confidently presenting his bare wrist.

”I get it; I was your age once too, ” shared the guard. A thin green bracelet was attached to Gavins arm as an indication of being reviewed. He proceeded past the clearance table and boarded a parked red trolley crowded with other individuals.

The inside was unlit, every red chair was stained brown, and it was deathly quiet. Rows of strangers eyed him as he walked down the aisle to an open seat. Once sat, he zipped up his jacket, then adjusted in his spot to peer out the window.

The sun was cloaked, hoards of dark gray clouds threatened rain, and a chilly early morning breeze made him regret not bundling. It was a lousy setting for Gavin, who went by Vin to ease the confusion around his household.

”Does it always have to be so gloomy, ” he said. Not that it mattered because even when the forecast called for warm weather, Vin was inherently cold. As a lame joke, he told anyone questioning his jacket obsession that he was genetically born cold-blooded.

Before long, the trolleys wheels screeched and commenced its journey up the hill of their small town.

Headphones kept Vin company as the vehicle climbed past the citys shops and homes. At the time, a new feisty pop song called ”Wake Up ” by ”Cave In ” had become his hype anthem. He heard it playing on radios everywhere, and athletes usually jammed it while active.

After a four-minute trip, theyd arrived at the hills peak and disembarked. He was poised even as he glanced down the steep road at the rooftops of buildings below.

An old, rusted speaker on the trolley enabled, and an excessively eager voice announced, ”race starting in 3 minutes! ”

With that, Vin detached a 32inch board from his back and laid it on the dark asphalt.

(( ”They didn close the street? ”)) he thought to himself, peeking at the continuous traffic of cars and trucks. (( ”Hope no one gets injured. ”))

His light, sharp brown eyes unhurriedly shifted from his right, then to his left, where 40 local skaters prepared themselves to descend the tallest hill in their small town. Vin had no gripe with the course; he continuously examined his watch and counted the seconds until the event started.

It was a dull, quiet wait, but the intercom finally sounded again to initiate the race. ”Activating SFX field, ” the man announced. With the flip of a switch, colorful holograms outlined the road, defining the course with borders and directional arrows to keep racers on track. Digital screens abruptly displayed in thin air, revealing the thousands of hollering and cheering fans waiting at the finish line.

”Nanospheres now online, ” added the same speaker.

Vin reached into the pocket of his tracksuit and withdrew a baseball-sized, steel, solid black orb. ”Nanosphere ” was the official name. It housed billions of nanobots, each individual the size of a grain of sand. They were essentially mini displays that emitted light, sound, and temperature.

Those tiny bots were programmed to create flashy and dynamic effects. In 2080, almost everything affiliated with entertainment employed these machines to add extra sauce to publicized events.

This brings us to Vins current affair. A potential invitation to a new, exclusive university specializing in SFX entertainment. In other words, it was an opportunity to do what he loved most, race.

Digital fireworks went off in the gloomy sky, and a large red number 10 appeared. Vin pressed his left foot on the front of the deck, then hunched over the entire board.

|| Deck: Top side of a skateboard.

The digit dropped from 10 to 9, then a painstakingly slow 8 seconds passed before the red number burst, and a blaring horn erupted.

Vin launched off at the signal, balanced and steady. His nerves were perfectly appeased even as dozens of other racers matched his pace and barreled down the road.

”There are too many people, ” he mumbled to himself. ”Its going to be a headache when the fighting starts; I should clear outta here soon. ”

He accelerated more by the second while stanced so low he could reach down and touch the street. His eyes were squinted to combat the whiplash of incoming winds and glimpse ahead at closing obstacles.

With two lanes of oncoming and ongoing cars, most racers prepositioned on the right to travel alongside traffic. Vin, however, strayed left to cross the oncoming vehicles. One to separate himself, and two, to collect style points.

|| Style Points(SP): Automatically rewarded when performing tricks or impressive actions. Points are displayed on the racers wristwatch and are needed to activate nanospheres.

Vin hauled his weight far left and dragged his wheels across several unexpecting racers. He confronted the blaring horns of startled vehicles as he cut cleanly across the road, stood, then kickflipped the skateboard onto a sidewalk littered with people.

|| Kickflip: Flicking the board horizontally. Does one full rotation before landing.

While bodies shuffled to clear the way, Vin apologized and endeavored to steer close to the edge. His path was no less treacherous than the main road, but getting there was a worthy risk.

A glance at his wristwatch revealed his quantity of Style points. 40 in total, each equating to a single second of use of the nanosphere.

”Good enough, ” he calmly muttered, ”Help me out, Miyo. ”

Nanobots flooded from their steel home, clustering and taking shape. In seconds, a black, shadowy, flaming phoenix was molded from the tiny robots. It was no larger than a pigeon with lengthy wings, three blazing tails, and wide inviting eyes, unlike its owner.

”Lead the way, ” he commanded. The summoned being, Miyo, nodded, then flew ahead, leaving a dense trail of black fire. Vin followed his little navigator, hugging the line drawn for him and maneuvering around pedestrians.

Cars parked on the side of the street made it difficult to see where the central pack of racers was. Vin knew they could appear any moment, so as a safety measure, he planned to gather more points to maintain the summon.

There was a lot to utilize when skating down an urban area. Vin navigated toward, then popped his board upside down onto a metal bench; he slid across the top and then skillfully flipped the board back onto its wheels. Immediately after, he steered for a man kneeling down to tie his shoe.

The plan was to leap over the knelt man, but before Vin executed the action, blaring car horns sounded at his flank. He pivoted to see a female racer cutting through the moving traffic and progressing toward his secure location.

The stranger snapped their board on the same sideway, only a few feet ahead. She rotated, sneered at Vin, then sped up before vaulting over the bent-over man and snatching his hat off.

”Find somewhere else to skate, ” she hollered back, placing the stolen cap on her head and activating her personal ability. A pink flame engulfed the hat she swiped, then she snatched a water bottle that caught fire upon contact.

Additionally, a thundering roar sounded on the opposite side of the street and momentarily robbed both of their attention. Materializing in the middle of the race was what Vin believed to be literal Big Foot sheathed i