Jill Murray
BOT Excerpt, Chapter 1, Page 3
The room gets loud again. A fight almost breaks out. Bouncers struggle to keep people apart. The MC has to yell into the mic to take back control of the crowd.
“The judges request that each crew sends one man forward.”
I can’t believe my ears. There’s going to be an extra round–a one on one battle–Foundation only. No power moves. No back flips. No amount of spinning will help.
Sean grabs his face in his hands. I know he wants to put himself in but he went all out on his last run and popped his knee. Recoil hasn’t practiced foundation in like, a year. Encore steps forward like he’s ready to take on the job like a man, but to my amazement Sean sends him back.
“Sorry man,” he says, “I know you want to battle but I have to think about the big picture. It has to be Nadine.”
I am blown away. All the times he acted like I wasn’t strong enough, all the hours he spent making me do it over–he saw my true potential all along.
Encore looks mad for a second, but then he thinks about it.
“It’s true, dawg, it’s true,” he says. Nadine’s our only hope.”
“Amen,” says Recoil.
“Six Sky, Six Sky,” they start to chant as I step into the circle. Mephisto steps forward and stares me down but I am not afraid. I breathe deep and summon the spirit strength of the warrior queen who is my b-girl namesake. I am Lady Six Sky.
The DJ drops the needle and Treat ‘em Right by Chubb Rock bursts through the speakers. I leap into the circle. None of this waiting stuff for me. I have to be first. No way am I letting the judges think the other guy might be hungrier. I don’t care how much experience he has. I don’t want to hear about upper body strength.
This one is mine. His crew might be legendary, but I’ve trained for this. I have talent, I have energy and more importantly, I want it more.
The music rips through my body, pushing me to move. I’m not thinking. I’m not even in control of my limbs.
Within twenty counts, I’m down on the floor. My hands and feet twist and wind around each other with familiar flow, weaving my body through illusions of contortions. The crowd cheers louder the deeper I get. I feed off their energy.
When the timing feels right, I unwind from a windmill, track into a headstand, fake like I’m going to end my run right there but then pop up into a hollow back handstand, my shoulders stretching, back arching so far that I can feel my feet reaching for the ground. I freeze there for a gravity-defying lifetime of seconds. The crowd sucks in its breath, then lets out a cheer as I land back on my feet in a proud b-girl stance. I brush the imaginary dust off my shoulder and toss my hair at my opponents.
Sean is waiting for me on the sidelines. He wraps me in his arms.
“Baby, I am so proud of you.”
The guys grab me and lift me over their shoulders.
Mephisto finishes his run and the judges dive into a quick huddle. The MC steps up to announce their decision.
“And the winner is–”
Sean squeezes me tighter. Encore and Recoil have their fingers crossed.
“Rackit Klub.”
He says it again ’cause no one can believe it.
“Put it together for Rack-itttt Klu-uuuuuubbbbbbb!”
The entire building loses its mind. People jump on top of us in a giant heap, cheering. A hundred strange hands pat me on the back. I’m carried across the club by a tidal wave of fans, to a podium where Ender from Infinite is waiting to present Rackit Klub with a cheque for $5,000, Ed McMahon style.
“That was amazing!” he says. “Have you ever thought about teaching a class?”
Before I can answer, a reporter from my school newspaper shoves a microphone in my face.
“Lady Six!” a voice calls behind me. I turn around and Sassy Sam from Grüv TV is standing there with a camera.
A whole line of little kids ignores her and wave pens at me, begging for my autograph.
Infinite brings around a rented stretch Hummer to escort us to their private winners’ party and the day ends with the flash of a hundred cameras.
We’ve unseated the champions. At the age of 15, I am the youngest Showdown winner in over a decade, and the first girl ever.
But forget all that. It’s just a stupid dream that’s never going to happen now.
