Prologue

My friends and I are outside now.

They invited me to the park and ride bicycles and whatnot. I refused but they were adamant.

So in the end I joined them.

The park was a clean place. Wide too. With many intersecting pathways where the occasional jogger or dog walker passes by. I liked it especially when the dog walkers pass by though. I like dogs.

“Hey Jacob! Stop dawdling!”

Someone called out to me. I turned to look and find my friends. Five of them. I have other friends but they weren't able to come. To me, I think they just didn't want to.

“Jacob!! Slow!!”

She called again.

Her name is Jasmine. A very friendly girl. Around 5 feet and had light brown hair. She wore a sleeveless white shirt and a denim vest. She wore shorts that showed off her legs and had converse shoes. Behind her is a skateboard.

As for me, I had I had a regular maroon shirt and jeans. I wore sneakers as I thought it appropriate for the occasion.

I shrugged and walked towards them.

Behind Jasmine, were my other friends.

Alex. A very cheerful girl, and bestfriends with Jasmine. She was much shorter though, around an inch and a half shorter. But even so, her presence alone can already bring the entire group's spirit up.

She wore a grey shirt that seemed to be a bit too big for her and black leggings. On her feet were roller blades.

The other three each had a bicycle. Okay well one of them had a scooter, and the third bike was apparently for me.

It was already quite late into the afternoon but the cold air felt refreshing.

My friends motioned for me to hurry up as they straddled their respective rides. Being college students, doing this once in a while is not so bad. But the only problem is...

“Jacob! What are you waiting for!” Alex shouted as she already started dashing around.

I look at the bike. And sighed.

The only problem is, that I never rode a bike before.

“You what?!” Alex shouted yet again. “So this would be your first time riding a bike then?” She asked excited.

I nod.

“Well this is good then! This is the perfect chance for you to start!” She said.

“Yeah. But still, to think this is your first time...” One of the guys said.

“Can't believe this is your first time as well.” Another guy said.

After a while of being surprised and excited about how this is going to be my first time riding a bike, they finally settled down and we started.

Started with me trying to get on the bike with the help of my friends.

I had a bit of trouble getting on it but my friends were patient. The next step was boosting myself so I could move forward and start paddling.

At least that's what my friends said.

So I tried doing what they told me to do. Sitting on the seat with my feet just barely touching the ground, I pushed myself forward. I tried to quickly put my feet on the paddles but had a bit of a panic. Thankfully I was okay.

“Ooohhh. Nice job. Keep going.” Alex said.

Yeah. Most of the time it's her talking while the rest of us drop in some of our comments own every now and then. As for Jasmine, she's actually quite the smart girl. Our top notcher in fact. But I didn't really think anything of it.

What I'm thinking of right now is how to keep myself steady and balanced.

After I gave myself a boost, I was thankfully able to get going. Albeit a rough start. But still a start. But from there, I had trouble keeping myself straight. The bike kept wobbling and I get tense and nervous.

“Don't get nervous! Just relax! If you do, it is a sign that you are starting to enjoy riding a bike!” Alex called out as she passes me by with Jasmine. Jasmine just smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

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No, don't leave me here..

After a while and a few falls, I was sort of getting the hang of it. But the next obstacle arises. As I continue paddling, I slowly approach...

A TURN. Dun dun duuun...

Okay. Enough jokes.

“Uhh, hey guys? How do you turn??” I asked slightly in a panic.

“Just slowly lean! Don't immedia-”

Before Alex could finish what she was saying, I kind of lost control of the bike and fell.

Well the bike fell. I instinctively stumbled off and manged not to fall. But of course, I didn't get out unscathed as I sprained my ankle. Nothing serious though. Just a slight pain when I take a step.

My friends came over to me with wry smiles.

“Aaahh. Reminds me of when I started..” One of the guys said.

I gave them a wry smile myself.

“Well, I am a bit tired. I kind of enjoyed though.”

My friends smile.

Yeah. They were good friends. During my ordeal of trying to ride the bike, they kept cheering me on.

They would also help out when I fell.

It took about an hour 30 to get to where we were now. Hmm.. an hour 30.

Feels like I only made small progress...

“Nah, don't feel that way.” Jasmine said. “In all honesty, you were pretty good. Took me a few days to actually ride it properly.”

Really now? Oh well.

Looking at the sky, I see that it started to get darker. I turned to the horizon. There, I see a beautiful combination of red, orange, and the coming night sky. It was amazing. The stars are starting to come out as well.

Side glancing, I see that my friends as well are thinking of the same thing.

After a while, we decided to finally head back home.

But before we could, we saw something else.

Actually, it was someone.

A girl. She had black shoulder length hair and wore a hoodie all zipped up. She wore converse as well only this time ankle high. She also wore denim shorts just like Jasmine's.

Geez.. don't girls feel cold in that? Espcially now that the sun is starting to set? (AN:hahaha)

Oh well. But what intersted me more was the fact that she was riding a bike.

Even my friends seemed impressed.

Why?

Well it was because she was riding the bike differently.

She was fast. And at times she would let go of the handles but could still keep the bike steady. Her arms were outsretched to the sides as if she didn't care. She even managed to turn the bike. Sharp turns.

And once she gets a hold of the handles again she does something else.

She would tilt the bicycle while it was still moving and put both feet on one side. And still keep the bike steady. She would make a few turns here and there then switch to the other side.

We watched her do a few more things before finally deciding to go home. We went back home mostly because the girl started leaving as well.

And as we were walking home, the topic of most of our conversations was mostly about that girl with th hoodie. Honestly, I sort of felt inspired because of that as well. It made me feel like riding the bike more. So most of conversations went like this.

Around the lines of 'that girl was pretty good huh? Wish I could do that.'.

Or maybe 'Want to come here again?'

We talked about the girl, biking, and plans to come here again.felt

Yeah, I would like to come here again, and maybe even see that girl again.

'Cause I really felt amazed and mesmerized when she did all that.

Made me want to do the same. And now that I've sort of learned how to ride a bicycle, I felt that if I practice enough, I would be able to do what she was doing.

But for now. All I can do is wait.