K2 is a Bitch I Can’t Skate

“grayscale man skateboarding on skate park” by Julien Lanoy on Unsplash

“Fucking California. Should never gone. Improve English, get life experience, meet the pretty girl, and skate, they say to Kenji(me). That “skate” hook me. I want The Cove in Santa Monica, best in the world, they say. End up in Venice High School instead, shit hole of world I think.

All the kids do the marijuana. They say, “Come on Kenji, you try. Be like the cool man.” So I try once and nothing. So I think, no big deal, I don’t need.

Only go to The Cove five times in one year. Skate like a demon while there. Host family say, no can take me, but drive twice as fucking far every Sunday to stupid church. Hate my time in America and food is very bad. Grades suck ass and get sent home after one year. Mother won’t look at me at airport and father stops talking.

One year back in Nagoya and drop school. Private high school stupid expense and I not do good anyway. Out of school focus on skate. Skate, skate, skate every all day. Get better and better.

Then father say, “You lazy no bum, no job, get out!”

I leave, but Nagoya cold city in winter, cold night time city. I go with skateboard and nothing. Nobody at skate park at night, but I skate hard all night. Then in morning see Jorgi.

“Hey Kenji, why you out all night in cold?”

“Father kick me out. Homeless guy now.”

“Shit man, want try this?”

Jorgi hand me what look like pot joint. “I no smoke it in Japan.” I say, “Too illegal dangerous here,”.

“No man, Kenji, this K2, like legal pot now. Great shit, eh?”

I no want, not even smoke cigarettes, but I cold and think maybe be cool to Jorgi and maybe he help. Take a hit. Not like pot. This time feel right immediate. Feel good. Great. Skate hard all afternoon. Then come lunch time no know what to do. Jorgi maybe gonna bail.

“Hey Jorgi, where you go now?” I ask him.

“I got crash house up the street. Old owner die a few years back. No one live there. Me and couple skate friends live. You wanna crash too?”

“Yeah, sure maybe couple of days.”

Follow him through the concrete ugly dirty streets to busted down house and sneak in back door broken. A few skater dudes, I all know, sit on broken couch and old mold tatami floor smoking more K2 weed. No lights and toilet stinks bad.

“Where you go for a bath?” I ask Jorgi.

“Shit at the park toilet across street. But have to go to the local sento for bath (public baths).”

“Cool,” I say sitting on stinking tatami floor.

We smoke the K2 weed all day and most night. I no go back to mom and dad. Fuck them. Other skate dudes come and go. I stay all time cuz I got no where. We high and good laugh lots.

Skate next day, all day high again. Three days in mornings walk to little head shop in bad town spot and buy K2 over and over. Then third day Jorgi say,

“Shit, we out of no more cash. Need to do something to get it for food and shit.”

I say, “What we do?”

“I got plan,” Jorgi say, so I follow.

We go to Jorgi grandmother’s house. I sit with grandmother make nice grandmother talk, eat cookies, smoke cigarette cough to be nice. Jorgi go in back room gets some stuff, don’t know what.

Ten minutes we out with hardly goodbye. Sort of mean, but oh well, fuck it. Jorgi says we take a train way out to county side place. Near country side train station Jorgi start scanning houses for empty no car driveway.

“Need house with owner all gone work or school,” Jorgi say.

In station toilet we smoke last of K2. He has workman style uniform coveralls we wear over our clothes. Then we go house he saw from train. Jorgi give me some tools and says, “Stay outside and be watcher for cops or other peoples. Act like worker.” He go inside house through window with lock he bust. Comes out ten minutes later with me nervous all time. But he gots necklace, rings, plus cash. We take train back to Nagoya city and got to pawn shop to sell necklace and rings. Fifty thousand yens (abouts 500 dollars) rich so we buy lots cup noodles and lots more K2.

Everything good for two more weeks. Then one day time I come back from skate alone and cops all over house. I see Jorgi in cuffs taking back of police car. I spook and leave place quick. Can’t go home and got no money. I need the K2 bad. Go to pawn shop and get 4000 yen ($40) for my board. I can smoke that away in day and half.

K2 is a Bitch I Can’t Skate was originally published in The Junction on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.