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Reki clicked his tongue over his workbench and Langa looked up in question.
Reki sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “The parts I need are more pricey than I thought they were. I’m gonna need to get more money to cover them. Damn, thought this last one would last longer…”
Langa blinked. “Last one?”
His friend waved him off. “If I need extra cash for parts,” he gestured at the half finished skateboard, “I just make a few bets at S. Nothing too bad, but the last one had some high odds so I figured I would be set for a while. Turns out, shit’s expensive,” he laughed.
Their shift was soon over and they waved goodbye to manager Oka before heading to get something to eat. It was a while yet for S.
“Hey,” Reki called as he scrolled through his phone, “do you know who’s beefing tonight? Other than Shadow, I mean.”
Langa shrugged. He didn’t really pay attention to that, only really cared when he or one of the others were challenged. “Why?”
Reki grinned as he peeked up at him. “There’s not a lot of time to get bets in before the beefs start, but I can work with it. Come on, race you to the diner!”
When Shadow picked them up that evening, looking determined, Reki asked again.
“Hey, do you know who’s beefing other than you?”
Shadow gave him an odd look. “Why?”
Reki shrugged. “Just wanna know.”
“Yoshio is, I think? I don’t know the others, though, not by name.”
Reki hummed. “That’s fine. Cherry or Joe might, I just need someone to point them out.”
They parked and skated the rest of the way into the roaring crowds and quickly found the other three.
“About time,” Miya sneered, “thought you’d be late for your own race, old man!”
Shadow immediately started to chase the thirteen year old and Reki looked over the crowd with careful eyes.
“Hey Cherry, Joe,” he greeted, “you guys know who else is racing tonight?”
Cherry raised an eyebrow. “I do. That one, over there, in the red, is racing the punk girl, I believe her name was Yamana. And Yoshio is racing Tamada, that man in green.”
Reki hummed and eyed them for a moment before smirking. “Ok, cool, thanks! Don’t wait up, I’ll be back in time for your race, Shadow!”
Shadow squinted and abandoned his noogie-ing of Miya, who immediately clung to Cherry and hissed like a cat, trying to settle his mussed hair.
Joe blinked. “Reki usually doesn’t care who beefs. What’s up with him?”
Langa shrugged. “He said something about betting. I didn’t know you could bet at S.”
Cherry stiffened. “He’s what?!”
“Betting. Said he needed more money for some board parts.”
Miya perked up. “Ooo, I wanna make a bet!”
Shadow was still squinting at Reki, talking at the booth and putting in a few bills before walking away with a wave. The people at the tells seemed fairly familiar with him, and they started putting up his bets as he walked away with a bright smile.
Shadow’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, he’s the Psychic.”
Joe leaned in. “Wait, that’s real? I thought that was an S legend?”
Cherry wrinkled his nose. “Psychics aren’t real, gorilla.”
“No no,” Shadow waved his hands, “you don’t get it. The Psychic is this crazy person who used to show up every month or so with a few bets, some on every race, that seemed impossible. When someone would do a trick, how they’d take a turn, or if they’d even make it. One time, he predicted that someone’s wheel would snap off at a specific point in a turn. The crazy thing is, the person was always right. Every time. It seemed impossible because they were so specific, so people would be against it. The payoff must have been huge from the odds alone. But it’s been a few months since they’ve put in any bets, so everyone just assumed they stopped.”
Miya looked even more intrigued. “So, what, you think it’s the slime? Yeah, right!”
“Ok,” Reki came back with a grin, “I’m all set. Shadow, don’t you have a race to win?”
Shadow blinked. “You think I’m going to win?”
Reki cocked his head and furrowed his brow. “Yeah? Dude, usually you’re more confident than this!”
“What did you bet on my match?”
Reki gave a bashful grin. “Dude’s gonna wipe at the third turn when you firecracker him. He’s hopeless.”
Shadow nodded in a daze. “Right. I’m… gonna go race now.”
Reki watched him skate away with confusion. “Is he ok? Did he seem off to you guys?”
Joe chuckled. “He had a revelation of sorts. You say Shadow’s using firecrackers at the third turn?”
He shrugged. “He could use them earlier, but it seems like that’s his best strategy and in line with what I’ve seen before.”
The race kicked off with a bang and Shadow seemed to be back to his usual self, but they noticed him hesitate before throwing his classic firecrackers, and his opponent wiped out on the third turn, just like Reki had said.
Cherry narrowed his eyes and Miya looked far too excited for this.
“What was your prediction for this race?”
Reki responded almost absently from where he was cheering for Shadow. “Yamana’s wheel is wobbly, she’s going to lose too much speed on her turns trying to make sure she doesn’t wipe by overcorrecting, so she’s going to lose by at least ten seconds.”
Miya was basically bouncing as the race concluded.
“Slime, I had no idea you made this many bets!”
Reki scratched the back of his neck as red creeped up it. “I don’t, really, just every once in a while when I need a special part or whatever. It’s no big deal.”
Cherry sniffed. “You shouldn’t be betting at such a young age.”
“Don’t worry,” Reki rushed, “I only bet on things I know I can win.”
“Yeah,” Miya crowed, “I wanna get in on this action, maybe I can buy a new video game!”
Joe snorted. “Like you don’t have tournament money.”
“Yeah,” Miya rolled his eyes, “but I don’t want to spend that money.”
Shadow snorted. “You can’t just piggie back off of the Psychic, squirt.”
Reki blinked. “The what?”
Joe grinned. “Oh yeah,” he said smoothly, “there’s this rumor that there’s a psychic at S who makes bets you can’t help but bet against because they seem so out there, but they win every time. Crazy, huh?”
“Weird. Maybe I’ve seen them? Never heard of that guy.”
Langa blinked. “But Reki, it’s-”
“-a really popular rumor,” Joe held his hand over Langa’s mouth, “I’m surprised you haven't heard of em! Granted, it has been a few months since they last showed up…”
Reki shrugged. “I wouldn’t know, I don’t actually bet all that often.”
Joe chuckled until he choked as Cherry elbowed him violently.
“So,” Miya said casually, “last official beef of the night. Predictions?”
Reki perked up. “Yeah! So Yoshio is fighting Tamada, but Tamada’s board is, quite frankly, shit. It’s gonna snap if he takes the turns too hard, like actually snap in half. Tamada isn't finishing this race at all. If I’m right, it’s gonna go on that turn with the boulder on it? You know, the one I almost slammed face first into? Yeah, he’s gonna taste rock.”
The timer counted off and they watched the race, most of them with bated breath, especially as the turn in question came up. They leaned forward and everyone heard the sharp snap before Tamada face planted into the boulder and Miya erupted into cheers.
“Yes! Holy shit, yes, this is the coolest thing ever-”
“Language,” Cherry said sharply, “but it seems as if you were correct,” he raised an eyebrow at Reki, “how did you know?”
Reki shrugged. “It’s easy, I build boards like, all the time, I know how they work. And I’ve been coming to S since I was Miya’s age, so even if I didn’t know people’s names, if they’ve skated before, I’ve probably seen it. Not that hard to remember, to be honest.”
“He really is the Psychic,” Joe laughed breathlessly, “that’s crazy!”
Shadow stared at him. “I raced the Psychic. I beat the Psychic. Oh my god I think I need to sit down.”
Reki looked around in confusion. “That guy you were talking about earlier? When?”
Miya doubled over laughing. “The slime doesn’t know! Listen, idiot, they’re talking about you. You make crazy bets and win, every time. I need you to teach me how you do that!”
Reki looked blankly at the shaking teenager before looking at Langa in helplessness.
He smiled. “That’s really cool, Reki.”
Reki looked between the five of them. “Ok, I have to be missing something here. It’s not that hard? I mean, come on, there’s no way you guys didn’t see what I saw.”
Cherry raised a single eyebrow. “While Carla could no doubt have told us those things, no, Reki, I don’t think any of us can look at a skater and their board and predict the race outcome down to the turns. That is a fascinating skill. And you say you make boards?”
Reki nodded slowly. “I mean, yeah? I made Langa’s board…?”
Langa grabbed at his hand. “It’s the best. He’s really talented.”
“Dude,” Reki flushed, “it's really not that big of a deal.”
“I think it is,” Joe said with a wide grin, “considering you’re just as much of a legend here as we are, even if you are a bit of a cryptid.”
“What are you talking about?”
Joe chuckled. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
They all walked in the direction of the betting stand and people were talking.
“The Psychic is back?”
“Man, I knew I shouldn’t have bet against the Psychic, but those bets just seemed so…!”
“Every time, they know every time, down to the turn! This is crazy!”
“When the board snapped I lost it, dude, how the hell did they know?”
“Wish I had the power to tell the future…”
The teller noticed them walking over and made direct eye contact with Reki, not even paying attention to the other big names around.
“Come on, kid, get your winnings. Bastard.”
Reki grinned, seemingly on reflex as he put the previous conversation out of his head. “Aww, come on, you say that every time! It’s not like I’m draining you dry every night, am I?”
The teller snorted. “And thank god for that. You took a break after the last one. We gonna be seeing you more regularly?”
Reki shrugged. “Depends on the parts I want.”
“Whatever,” he slid over an envelope, “take your ill gotten goods.”
“Thanks, dude!”
He walked away a bit before looking up at the other five staring at him.
“What?”
Joe chortled. “You’re so friendly with the teller, Reki.”
He shrugged. “They give me shit every time I bet. I think it’s funny.”
Cherry hummed. “Remind me of your grades, Reki?”
He blinked. “Um, decent? …Why?”
“Carla, what are Reki’s grades?”
“Searching for Red Son’s grades.”
He blinked. “What? No, Carla, don’t do that! Also, um, what?”
Cherry glowered at Joe. “You tampered with her. Again.”
Joe held up his hands in complete innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Search complete. Red Son has B’s in all subjects save for Math and Science, in which he has A’s.”
Reki grimaced. “That’s definitely illegal. Like, that’s illegal for sure.”
Shadow clapped him on the back. “Look around, kid.”
“…Point.”
“So slime,” Miya called, hands behind his head, “what am I going to eat for breakfast tomorrow?”
Reki's nose crinkled. “How should I know?”
“Because you’re psychic, duh.”
Langa nodded. “You really are.”
Reki looked between them. “You’re not letting this go, are you? I’m telling you, I’m not the guy they’re talking about!”
Joe clapped him on the back and dragged him in for a noogie. “Yeah you are, kid, you’re a cryptid legend here. Who would win in a race between Cherry and me if we beefed right here, right now?”
“Cherry,” he said immediately, “because the left screw on your front axle is loose and your wheels need tuning.”
Joe made a noise of offense as Cherry gave a huff. “I see,” he said smoothly, “in that case, Joe-”
“Oh hell no,” Joe cut him off, “no way! God, I didn’t even notice the loose axle…”
Reki shrugged. “It’s an easy fix, I could do it right now. Then it’s all up to however the race goes and not the fault of gear.”
“You could do it right now?”
He shrugged again. “Sure, I have my tools on me. As long as your board doesn’t break like Tamada’s, I can probably fix it without a trip to the workshop.”
Miya snickered. “Only you, idiot. Only you.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t get so high and mighty,” he immediately teased, “you have a crack in your back wheel from landing that trick yesterday, remember?”
Miya tensed. “I what?! And you didn’t say anything sooner?!”
He blinked. “Thought you noticed.”
Langa snorted. “No one knows skateboards like you do, Reki. They can’t tell these things at a glance.”
“They can’t?”
Shadow laughed. “No, kid, that’s just you.”
“If you have your tools here,” Joe smirked, “can you tune up my board so I can show the princess here how to skate?”
Cherry huffed. “Even if you fix your board you can’t fix your lack of intelligence, idiot.”
“Oh it is on-”
Reki laughed and took out his small box of tools. “Alright, alright, hand it over, then we can see who comes out on top.”
Miya folded his arms with a huff. “Who would win between me and Langa?”
“Langa.”
“You’re so biased!”
“Nah, just telling the truth.”
“What, because of a stupid wheel?”
“No because you suck-”
“I’LL KILL YOU, SLIME!”
“Woah, not when he’s holding my board-”
“Really, you meathead? That’s what concerns you?”
“Kids, calm down-”
“Stay out of this old man, the slime has insulted me for the last time!”
“Then beef me, cat boy! Here you go, Joe.”
“I will!”
Reki grinned. “I bet you’re going to lose, but only by a hair. It’ll suck.”
Miya puffed out his cheeks. “I’m gonna prove one of your predictions wrong, slime, just you wait!”
“Come on,” Joe wheedled, “you can duke it out after I put Cherry in the ground.”
“Carla.”
“Ow! Stop making your robot wife hit me!”
“Stop being so hittable, then. And she's not a robot, she’s an AI.”
“Oh, you’re going down, princess.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Reki hung back as they all walked towards the track and Langa fell into step beside him.
“Enough for the part?”
Reki beamed at him. “And then some! Now come on, we have to go watch them beef! It’s not often we get to see them skate!”