Talent show Taunt

Kendall felt frazzled. The talent show was only a week away, and somehow the principal had contrived to make it a class-vs-class contest. That didn't sit well with Kendall. No one in the class had come forward . . . other than Kick buttowski, that is. But Kendall had only taken his single signature on the sign-up sheet and thrown it into the recycling. Was it really worth the destruction he brought to win the talent show?

Kendall sighed. She had put a lot of effort into convincing the class that they needed to come up with a great talent, and what had they done? Sat back and done nothing, that's right, nothing! She was further behind than any other class president, she was sure, and that meant there was only one choice . . . but Kendall couldn't bring herself to do it. It was . . . weak, to ask him for help. The shorter kid had always been a crowd-pleaser, and he practically controlled the class. Kendall wondered if he were intentionally keeping the class from signing up. Kendall could never tell what went on in that head of his. It was almost like nothing could make him loose his cool, and Kendall envied that. She thought back to a few weeks ago, when Kick had barreled down the hill, with her screaming by his side, clutching his arm in a vise-grip. She remembered that look of pity, and had come to realize that Kick had seen her at her weakest. She felt . . . exposed somehow, and felt the need to cover it up with harshness, or maybe just ignoring him.

However, when half the week was done, kendall had to face facts. No one was going to come forward, likely because they all believed Kick would do it. Kendall didn't know if this was a smart move on their part, or a lazy one, but either way, by Thursday she was forced to give in.

Kick saw Kendall walking up to him, and nearly sighed in relief. She was here to talk about the talent show, that much was certain. She had been avoiding him all week, though Kick didn't know why. After all, he was the only one who had signed up! Shouldn't they have gone over his routine a little? Kick didn't feel the need to go over the stunt too much, but Kendall would probably want to knit-pick everything, which didn't bother Kick. More things wrong with the stunt, more times to do the stunt.

"Kick, um, I . . ." Kendall started, and Kick held up his hand. "You want to go over the stunt I'm going to do for the talent show, right?" a look of surprise crossed Kendall's face, but she calmed herself. "Yeah. Just try not to break anything." Kick could see she was trying to force a distain in her voice, but didn't seem to manage it. Kick followed her to the stadium, and when she sat down, Kick noticed that she seemed . . . tired. Spent. It was probably the organizing of the talent show. Kick didn't think a class-vs-class talent show was very fair, but it was a small school so he supposed they thought they could get away with it. It seemed to be hard on Kendall. Kick climbed the ladder to the ramp. He was going to jump the stadium, grab a trapeze, and swing back and forth between two of them, doing flips and acrobatic twists with his skateboard taped to his feet, running along the ceiling and pipes, while Gunther flashed lights. It would be a show overhead, not confined to onstage. He'd gotten the idea from Brianna's pageant show, though it was a lot less girly. The finale was to zing back and ride the ramp up, where he would pose. He looked down and shouted out a short explination of what he'd do, then signaled to Gunther to dim the lights.

As Kendall watched, she tried hard to look disinterested, but was enthralled. The ramp was just to build up speed, Kendall suspected, but when he flew over her head and began swinging from bar to bar, going completely nuts with stunts, her jaw dropped. It was . . . well . . . awesome. Each time Kick finished a move on one item or another, he'd swing, and for a moment it would look like he'd fall right on top of her, but would snatch another bar just in time. The show kept her on the edge of her seat. More than that, Kendall could almost feel herself flying through the air with Kick, dropping then swinging, diving then jumping, leaping for doom, then swinging back to safety.  Her stomach lurched in a sympathetic reaction, and Kendall found herself almost enjoying it. Almost.

After flipping around for a while, Kick disappeared into the rafters. Suddenly, she heard "Chimichangaaaaaaahhh!!!!" and Kick came swooping down, so close to her she thought she'd get hit. She ducked down low, and watched as kick, built with momentum, rode up the ramp, and posed with his skateboard. It was breathtaking! They'd win the contest for sure! But before Kendall could say so, she stopped herself. She couldn't become like Wacky Jackie, who practically worshiped the ground Kick walked on. No, she had to be firm, resist his . . . awesomeness. Kick climbed down the ramp and met Kendall in the seats. "Well, whaddaya think?" he asked. For a moment, Kendall said nothing. If she said there was something wrong with the stunt, he'd just do it again, trying to correct what she had knit-picked. But if he did the stunt again, she was liable to become like Wacky Jackie. This was exactly the reason why Kendall didn't watch Kick's stunts. He didn't need anything to boost his ego. He was confident enough. After a moment, Kendall replied. "It was alright. We might make it to third, if we're lucky." And she turned.

Kick was shocked, angered! He'd just busted his butt to do that stunt! Sure, there were things that he'd done wrong, things that he could work on, but she was just going to brush him off?! Kick gritted his teeth to keep his furious words behind his teeth. Getting angry would only encourage her. Kick tried to think of something, anything that calmed him. He thought of Dead man's drop, and suddenly had a flashback to when Kendall had been riding down the hill a few weeks ago. Her helpless look comforted Kick, though he didn't know why. She was putting on a brave face. Again. She was always doing that, Kick suddenly realized as Kendall walked out of the auditorium. She never complained about being class president, having to deal with all the pressure and responsibility. She never whined about how she didn't really have any friends. Kick wondered curiously how she really felt about his stunt. He tried to remember her face as she'd been looking up, but failed. He'd been too focused on the stunt. Suddenly, Kick got an idea.

"Kendall, Kendall! Wait!" Kick said, running after her. Kendall stopped walking. "What." She said coldly. "Kendall, my stunt could use a lot more work, and I'm not sure what it needs." Kick walked Kendall through the auditorium doors. "So, I was wondering, would you be willing to film me?"
"Kick, that's-."

"A great idea, I know!" Kick said, before she could protest. "Gunther has a camera. GUUUUUNTHEEEEER!!!!" Kick called, and Gunther came running down the steps that led to the rafters of the theater. "Kendall needs the camera." Kick said. "But you said that-." Kick covered Gunther's mouth quickly before he could finish his sentence. "Kendall needs the camera to record me, to make sure that I do a good job on the stunt."

"But Kick, I-." Gunther started, but Kick cut him off. "Gunther! The camera! NOW!" Gunther fished the little camera out of his pocket moodily, knowing it was useless to argue with Kick when he used that tone of voice.

"I-I don't think I can do this . . ." Kendall started. "Sure you can!" Kick said.  
Kendall's hand shook as she held the camera. "Now, make sure you catch everything!" kick yelled, and began. It was better than the first time, Kendall realized. He actually performed better, took more daring dives. He flew about crazily, amazingly. Sometimes it was as if he was flying and swooping, like a hawk. Kendall's mouth dropped open as she watched him. It was . . . . amazing.
After the stunt, Kendall handed the camera back to Kick. "It should be ok for the talent show." Kendall said, and walked out of the auditorium. Thankfully, Kick didn't follow this time.

Kick placed the tape into his tv and watched. "Why did you want me to film Kendall?" Gunther asked as he sat next to him. Kick shrugged. "I just want to know what she really thought of my stunt. I don't think she was telling the truth." As Kick watched, his suspicion was confirmed. Kendall's mouth was open, and her eyes sparkled in wonder. Kick began to wonder how much Kendall had wanted to actually do the stunt. What was going on? She had been acting a little strange around him since the day he saved her from a dead dame's death. Kick wondered if she actually liked . . . . . . . "Impossible." Kick said before he could finish his own thought. "what's impossible?" Gunther asked. "Nothing." Kick said, and left it at that. Something about Kendall's reaction made him feel pleased, but disturbed at the same time. She'd never enjoyed the stunts before! Maybe it was because of that near-death experience with Dead Man's Drop. Kick wondered what would happen if he took her down again. Would she enjoy it? He didn't know. Was she daredevil material? Only time could tell.