Kickflip Through Time

A kid discovers a magical skateboard at a garage sale that can travel through time, launching them on a wild adventure through history.

You are a skateboard kid through and through. You learned to ollie at seven, landed your first kickflip at nine, and you spend every weekend at the Millfield skate park trying tricks the older kids say you are too young to pull off. Your room is covered in skating posters, your sneakers are always worn through at the toe, and your mom says if you spent half the time on homework that you spend on your board, you would be a genius. 'Skating IS my homework,' you always tell her, which never goes over as well as you hope.

This Saturday morning, you are cruising through the neighborhood when you spot old Mr. Hendricks setting up a garage sale in his driveway. Mr. Hendricks is the quietest person on the block — he has lived in that house forever, and nobody knows much about him. You almost ride past, but then something catches your eye: propped against a rusty lawn chair, half hidden behind a stack of old records, is a skateboard. 'Whoa,' you whisper to yourself, hopping off your board and walking closer. 'That is a seriously old deck.' Mr. Hendricks looks up from his folding table and meets your eyes. 'Five dollars,' he says quietly. 'It has been waiting for the right rider for a long time.'