Excerpt from The Fall by Colleen Nelson The door thudded and clicked behind us, sealing us out

of the theatre. I thought of Dad and his girlfriend on the other side. I wondered if hed think about me while he watched the movie. Hed acted like everything was fine between us. He could have at least apologized for not showing up the other day, but I guess he didnt want to look like a deadbeat in front of his girlfriend. I wished Id told him off, right in front of his girlfriend. With the door shut between us, all the things I could have said hammered through my head. That was bullshit, man! Cory spat at the door. That fat dude was watching us since we walked in. He just wanted an excuse to kick us out! It was your board. He pointed at me. They hate it when kids bring them in. I didnt point out that Luke had knocked over a garbage can and theyd all acted like assholes. We should tag this place! Luke said, Later tonight, when everybodys gone. That would teach them not to mess with us! Nah, Id rather just catch that fat bastard on his way to his car after work and Cory smashed his fist into his palm and gave a throaty laugh. Taz had lost interest in getting revenge and pointed to the construction site next to the theatre. Come on, lets go smoke the other joint. Hey, Im gonna grab a bus home. After getting kicked out of the theatre and seeing my dad, I wanted to be alone. The three of them looked at me. Cory shrugged, Suit yourself. He and Taz kept walking. Yeah, me too, Luke said. It caught me off-guard and I stared at him. Dont you want to hang out with your brother? Nah, its cool. Ill just crash at your place tonight. It wasnt cool. Mom would freak out if Luke came in smelling like weed. Or worse if she got home from work and found him sleeping on the couch. I didnt want to deal with Mom being pissed at me. Tessa was enough. With a silent groan, I gave him a

half smile. Actually, I will hang out for a while. Kind of early to go home. Maybe once he started smoking some pot, hed be too stoned to notice if I left. Lukes face broke into a grin. Yeah! Dont want to miss out on a few sweet tokes, right dude? Me neither. Gripping my board tighter in frustration, I nodded. We caught up to Taz and Cory at the chain link fence surrounding the construction site. A heavy padlock strung through two thick chains ensured that kids like us wouldnt be able to get in. Taz yanked the locks and dropped them with a rattle against the fence. Lets jump it. Give the skater a boost, Cory ordered. Taz crouched down so I could step on his back. What the hell? I didnt want to be the one to go over first, this wasnt even my idea. My board. How could I climb the fence holding it? Cory grabbed it and tossed it over the fence like it was a piece of garbage. It bounced and landed against a port-apotty, but didnt break. He smirked at me. Better go get it. My cheeks blazed, but I gritted my teeth and stepped on Tazs back stretching to touch the top. Stand up a bit, Cory told Taz. He cant reach. Tazs legs trembled under my weight. The sharp points of the chain stabbed my palm as I heaved my body over the top and dropped to the other side, a cloud of dust puffed up around me when I landed. Find something to open the gate with, Cory ordered me. Wire snips or a hacksaw or something. I ignored him and went to my board, spinning the wheels to make sure there was no damage. Whats that? He pointed to a pair of rusty, long handled bolt cutters lying beside a yellow construction helmet. Try to cut the fence with them. After a few snips, Cory peeled back a corner of the fence so Taz and Luke could crawl under and then went through himself. They stood, brushing dirt off their hands and knees and surveying the site. In the dying daylight, the skeleton of a four-story parking garage loomed over us. Steel girders crisscrossed each other in a three-dimensional grid. The top level was covered by corrugated metal sheets, and a grid of rebar not yet covered with cement coiled around the exterior of the building. A maze of scaffolding covered the backside of

the building. Traffic noises, honks and accelerating motors, filled the air, but the site was still, except for us. Cory made a leap for the scaffolding and grabbed on to the lowest level, hauling himself up like a swimmer out of a pool. Come on, he taunted, looking at Taz. Lets go sit on the roof and smoke the joint. I looked up to the top of the scaffolding. If construction workers climbed up and down, it could hold us. The other guys went first, following Cory who climbed higher, zigzagging through the metal beams and cross bars until he reached the top. I was still on solid ground. Setting my board on the ground beside me, I took a deep breath and jumped up onto the wooden plank. By the time Id climbed up one level of scaffolding, Taz and Luke had made it to the top and bellowed the same whoop Id heard at the train. They fist-bumped me when I reached them. It was hard work and we were all breathing heavy. Four stories was a long way up. Our feet echoed across sheets of corrugated metal as we clomped around. Sometimes a piece would shift or buckle, sending a vibration through the rest. Hey, watch this! Luke stood near the edge and undid his fly. A trickle of pee arced through the air and then separated as gravity pulled each droplet apart. He pulled up his zipper and turned to us with a dopey-eyed, wide-mouthed grin. Taz curled his lip in mild disgust, as if someone had farted. Hey, over here! Cory called from the other side of the roof. He sat on the edge, with his legs dangling over. It was a bad patchwork job and the metal sheets didnt entirely cover the top. Between the gaps I could peer down into the bowels of the structure. It was windier at the top than it had been on the ground and my hair floated into my face. I didnt want to brush it out of my eyes, nervous that Id lose my balance and slide off the edge. Gingerly, I walked towards Cory keeping my eyes glued to the peaks and valleys of the metal. He had dug some pennies out of his pocket and tossed them at a metal hydro pole. They hit with a ping, the noise echoing in the stillness four stories up. Eight crows sat on a wire, fixated on the movie theatre parking lot. Their shiny black feathers glistened purple-blue in the streetlights, like motor oil in a puddle.

A whole section of the metal sheeting was missing and the only way to cross was to balance across a steel girder. Trust Cory to force us to follow him across a chasm. I hung back, checking out the view of the city from four stories up. A few tall buildings rose up from downtown and the river, muddy and twisting, snaked through the city. Cars raced over the bridge connecting both sides of the city. From up there, I could even see where the sprawl ended and gave way to wide open fields. Taz gave a groan of impatience and moved past me, stepping across the girder like it was a balance beam two feet off the ground, not four stories in the air. I counted his steps. Hed crossed in eight. Luke was next. He peered over the edge. Come on, Taz jeered from the other side. Dont be a pussy. Luke turned to look at me. His eyes were wide with fear and hed gone pale. I wanted to reach out to him and make him follow me to the ground. I opened my mouth to say something, but hed already turned back to his brother. He took a tentative step on the beam. His shoes were red. Red skater shoes with thick, flat soles and a wide, gaping space for the laces. I held my breath for him as he put his other foot on the beam. Taz stood on the other side watching. His face tense. Lukes breath came in short, jagged spurts. This isnt so hard, he said, his voice full of confidence. He looked up at Taz, who gave him a lopsided grin back. I saw his shoulders relax when hed made it more than halfway across. Cory, his back to us must have grown bored of flicking coins at the pole, because hed turned his attention to the birds. I kept my eyes trained on Luke. Only a couple more steps. I felt myself exhale. He was going to make it. The crows suddenly took flight, in a burst of squawking and flapping, they rose off the wire and above our heads.