Sai's Skateboard

Not so long ago on a tiny island called Jamaica, there was a beautiful brown boy named Sai. He lived with his family. His family was big, but they squeezed into a little house. The house was full of laughter and people talking in the loud shouty way that Jamaican’s like to talk.

On this morning everyone was sitting on the porch eating ackee and saltfish for breakfast. Grandma Sita was cooking for everyone. She cooked festival in hot oil. They were listening to the radio and singing reggae. Sai ate quickly whilst he got ready for school. Then Sai and his little brother and sister ran into the yard to play in the June Plum tree (they loved that tree). It had a rope swing. They picked the unripe plums and threw them at each other. The plums were as hard as rocks. The little sister cried when one hit her head. Grandma Sita yelled at them to stop.

When the school bus arrived Sai got on and said ‘Wah Gwaan!’. On the bus all the pickney were excited and talking loudly. Sai didn’t know what the conversation was. So he asked Belle. She was a brown girl with beads in her dreadlocks.
‘What’s everyone talking about?’
Belle looked up and said ‘Oh, You haven’t heard?’
‘Heard what?’
‘There is going to be a skateboarding competition in Black River. First prize is 500 dollars’
‘Whhhhhaaaaatttttttt’ yelled Sai.

Sai made sure his brother and sister got to class. Then he was sneaking off. He wanted to build a skateboard so he could enter the competition. (Did you know Jamaica doesn’t have shops that sell skateboards?!). He went to the junkyard to get wood and wheels. Then he went to the service station where his friend Charlie worked.
‘Wah Gwaan’ said Charlie.
‘Not so loud’ said Sai.
‘Why?’
Sai looked back and forth and sideways. ‘Okay. It’s a secret’ said Sai.
‘A secret. What kind of secret?’
‘A skateboarding secret’
‘Okay. Okay. What do you want me to fix?’
‘I’m not fixing. I’m building’
‘What are we building?’
‘A skateboard’
‘Give me your supplies’
Sai put the supplies on the counter. Charlie picked them up. Together they started to build the skateboard.

Sai had bad news and good news. The bad news was he had missed the school bus home and Grandma Sita was going to be very mad. The good news was that Sai and Charlie had built a skateboard.
Sai kept money in his backpack. He used it to pay for a taxi ride home.
When Sai reached the yard he saw Grandma Sita looking very cross.
‘Where have you been? I was so worried!’ she said.
He felt ashamed. ‘I’m sorry Grandma. I was with Charlie. We built a skateboard’
‘I really like your skateboard Sai. But it was wrong to sneak away from school. You must do all the chores’
‘Yes Grandma’
‘But first, lets go skating’
Sai and his family took turns on the skateboard.






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