Congratulations to Elaine Hayden Booker! She won the LOCKDOWN LOLITA writing challenge with her postcard story, Unretired. I love how quirky it is.
Follow Elaine at her blog or on Twitter @abstractsunflwr
Unretired
(postcard fiction by Elaine Hayden Booker)
Most of my peers are retired. Not out of a desire to be retired; we were retired too early when we were all replaced with these skinny little things a number of years ago. I’m one of the select lucky few to come out of retirement and have a whole new second life. My former life was great; I spent a lot of time rolling around places with loud music playing and disco balls. Those days were fun. These days, though, are exhilarating.
My new life has introduced me to competitive sport–or rather, competitive sport has introduced me to my new life. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. The cheering from the crowd, the sense of urgency to make it to the front of the pack, the spontaneity of never really knowing what the blockers are going to do to prevent you from getting past them. On occasion I’ve been roaring down the track at top speed and then without a moment’s notice found myself flying wheels up in the air without a clue as to how I’ve gotten there. A few times I’ve had to dodge or jump over a face that’s found itself on the track. Once, I even came so close that I ran over a dreadlock that was sticking out of its helmet. Talk about adrenaline.
In the past few years I’ve made a lot of new friends who I could have never imagined before this new life. It was always just me and my twin back then. Now we spend a lot of time with the helmet, mouth guard, and the other twins: elbow pads, knee pads and wrist guards.
Yes, coming out of retirement has been incredible. I think every pair of four-wheeled roller skates should have the opportunity to have a new life as a Derby Girl’s skates. There’s nothing quite like it.
i make squee noises when you tell me stuff.