With Noor on foot and John on wheels, they crossed a municipal parking lot and a housing project and made their way to the sloping walls under the shadow of the bridge. The sound of so many wheels grinding on concrete made his heart pump. This is weird, Noor said. I’ve lived here forever and I never heard of this place. But who’d think of a park under the bridge. And it doesn’t exactly look like a park anyway. John filled her in on the Banks’ history. It’s legendary for skateboarding. The most awesome skaters have grinded here. But it’s like a rundown dump, Noor said. Skaters don’t mind rundown, John said. Watch what they do and you’ll understand why. Here, watch this guy. They watched a kid ollie his skateboard onto a rail, slide down, land, and roll away. That was an ollie to a feeble to a backside grind, John explained. Watch again. He’s good. He lands buttery, pops out of his feeble, and continues grinding as if it’s all nothing. Can you do that? Noor asked. Yeah, but this guy is good.
