AN: Hello! Parry here! Well, I was kinda bored with my other story. It turned out WAY to fluffy for my tastes, so I decided to just test out another lil' story I have up my sleeve! Just was bored and was jotting it down. It turned out pretty good (to me, anyways) and I'm thinking about continuing it. What do you think? It all takes place within SSX 3, and I added my own character. This isn't one of those "I inserted myself in my fic". And guess what? She's not the "perfect" character either. She's kick ass!! Yay! She's a little slow at times, but that's what I like about her. Everyone in this story is fictional! No one was a remake of anyone I know. What really kind of inspired me to write a story that's in first person's point was really that fact that no one here in the SSX fan fics writes like that...so I thought I'd mix things up a bit! Cuz I do that!! Yeah!! By the way! Please!! PLEASE!! REVIEW! I won't continue my story until someone tells me that it's at least "okay". I don't wanna continue a sucky story. Byez! XD

Another thing: Sorry if you think the beginning's a little slow. The first race will come in chapter four. Promise!!

Also: I don't own SSX!! Curses!!

Intro:

Name: Yuri Yoshioka AKA: Speedy Height: 4'11'' Weight: 102 Lbs. Age: 14 (and 7/8!!) Hair color: Auburn Eye color: Brown Nationality: Japanese Friends: Nate Logan/Kaori Nishidake Enemy: Allegra Trick: Lounge-about Spinster Type: BX Movie: Paper Sky Music: Techno/Dance

Chapter I

I took a deep breath and watched as I saw two instantly recognizable people enter the hotel lobby.
Zoe "Royal" Payne.
The clever snowboarder that always managed to look cool to me, even if she was getting a face full of snow. The one I had watched rip slopes up on the television. She always was a kind of mentor to me...she was so beautiful and talented, and yet, she was also a real trip. Zoe was something else, a puzzle you can't help but try and figure out. She grinned as she high fived-
Kaori Nishidake! Or in other text: "Tricky" Nishidake. The spunky energetic ball of "oomph" that was always making my brother and I laugh. I liked her the most. She had a great attitude, and I admired her for that.
Zoe sat herself on a couch nearby the active fireplace while Kaori made herself comfortable on one of the biggest lounge chairs I had ever seen. They were here...in front of me!!
And yet...here I am...living in their world! I shivered for some reason, slumping back behind the bookshelf, pretending to be interested in "The Fall of the Season" by someone named A. E. Smyth.
...Right...
The hotel had amazed me at first. It was so...huge. There was no other way to describe it! When they had picked me up earlier that day at 2 a.m., I was expecting the worst. Even the limo didn't surprise me. However, when they brought out a huge helicopter/airplane thingy that looked huge, I was surprised. At first, I refused to go in. I wouldn't get into that thing until the pilot said that I would be forfeiting my SSX career just because I was a little chicken. That pushed me. But still, even when I was cowering in the corner of the plane, the splendor and beauty of the terrain around me passing by, all I could think about was...would they like me or not? Was this some kind of joke? All I could remember was when I had been snowboarding with my cousin and all of the sudden, this clean cut guy approached me, his hand outstretched in a friendly gesture and a smile molded on his face.
"Hello, there,"
I remembered taking a step back cautiously, "Er...hi..."
He laughed, "Don't worry, I don't bite,"
I took his hand, still not convinced, and forced a smile. I didn't like this guy...
"The name's Atomika. Well...er...not really...but that's my DJ name."
"Yuri Yoshioka," I said.
"Woa! You're a DJ?" Eric had asked him, fascinated.
Atomika's eyes glistened behind his purple tinted goggles, "Yeah. You familiar with the SSX tour?"
"Are we!? Are you kidding!? We LOVE SSX!" Eric said excitedly.
"What are you getting at?" I asked suddenly, tilting my head to one side.
"Well, I didn't think you would mind...but I watched you perform. You know, kid, you're not that bad." He grinned, pointing at me, "Ever think of boarding for the big league?"
I was at a loss for words.
"You sayin' you want her to board for SSX?" Eric said, hanging his board over his back.
"Well, I'm not saying I could get your...er...your sister?"
I shook my head, "We're cousins."
"Anyway," Atomika said quickly, "I'm not saying I could get your, erm, cousin in the league...but I was thinking she could-if she wanted to, of course-you know, perform for the judges. She just might make it into the league."
Eric glanced at me, "You!? In the big league? With the SSX stars!?"
Atomika shrugged, "Maybe. Just how old are you, kid?"
"Turning 15 this month," I said confidently.
"Well, well, well." Atomika smiled mischievously, "You know, you might even break Mac's record,"
"You mean Mac Fraser?" Eric said suddenly. Mac was his favorite boarder. "Mac Fraser from SSX?!"
"Well...yeah. Mac joined when he was 15, making him the youngest boarder in the league to ever join. Now if you were accepted, you could break his record."
(If I was accepted? Accepted? I could be ACCEPTED!?)
"Yuri, close your mouth, you look like an idiot,"
Open mouth. Insert foot.

To make a long story short, I found myself shaking the hands of several men at the same time, each of them nodding and smiling. I caught a couple of phrases such as "great work," "we could use this one," "that was SICK!" and some other stuff, but I was still in a daze after Atomika had handed me his business card and told me he would contact me "if necessary". It turned out they had recorded my entire run and they were still fishing for other boarders, and I was a possible candidate! I couldn't believe it. Eric had laughed at me when we were making our way home.
"You should've seen yourself! You were amazing! Except when you were shaking their hands. You looked like a complete idiot!"
If I had been my normal self, I would've tackled him and knocked him senseless. However, all I could hear were the words "we could use this one" in my head over and over and over...

Now, as I was standing there in the hotel lobby, watching my favorite boarders my family and I would watch on television and gasp and "ooh" and "ahh" at, I felt like running back to my house and hiding under a blanket. They wouldn't like me...I knew it...I was too young! They would treat me like a baby! Well, maybe Mac would at least give me his autograph for Eric before they booted me out-
"WOA!! Check this pad out, man! You mean to tell me we're gonna be crashin' here? DAAAAAMN!"
"Watch your mouth, kiddo,"
Two more people came in, one was really tall and tough looking with a cowboy hat on and black sunglasses. The other one...I couldn't believe...
He had to be eleven or twelve years old!
"Aw, c'mon, Nate! You're not my dad, y'know!" The kid shoved him playfully as he landed on the couch, making himself comfortable. He stared at Zoe.
"Watcha lookin' at, kid?"
"I THINK it's Zoe Payne...but...no way...you can't be!"
"Yeah?" Zoe smiled as her ego slowly rose, "Why not?"
"Cause you're way too ugly to be her!!"
Kaori snickered, bringing her knees up to her chest as Zoe's eyes widened in shock. Zoe slowly rose up and loomed over the little boy, "You lookin' to get beat?"
Nate (If that was his name) stepped up from behind the laughing kid and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now, now, Griff. Already getting into fights, are we?"
Griff (or at least I thought Nate called him Griff) only grinned. "I'm just havin' some fun!"
Zoe sank back into the couch, glaring at Griff.
"I can't believe it. They let some little punk like you in the tour?" She mumbled under her breath.
(Oh no...if they don't like Griff, then they definitely won't like me!!)
At least I didn't have to worry about being the "baby". I could already see Griff being an easy target for some of the other competitors. I imagined Luther looming over the poor kid, laughing and threatening to "smash 'em like a pancake" as Luther liked to put it.
I shivered again. Luther was never really one of my favorite boarders. Well, who knows? Maybe Luther really was a nice guy. If he could befriend JP and become his boarding partner, maybe he really wasn't as bad as he seemed.
"HEY!" A hand clamped down on my shoulder. I shrieked as I leapt into the air.
DJ Atomika was laughing at me, not for the last time. He folded his arms and leaned forward, trying to stop the tears from coming from his eyes. "Hooooo, you're a real trip, Yuri. You know that?"
I only glared at him.
"Well?" He said innocently, "You gonna go join our other boarders by the fireplace or what? When everyone else arrives, I'll be starting the presentation. You might wanna catch a seat on the couch or something, or else you'll be stuck on the floor. There's a lotta us comin' you know,"
I nodded reluctantly.
Atomika grinned as he led me towards Kaori, Zoe, Griff, and Nate.
"Hello, ladies and gents!" He said happily.
"Who's the newbie?" Griff said immediately, cutting Atomika off.
"Look who's talking," Zoe grunted. Suddenly, Zoe seemed like she was the greatest person in the world to me.
"Do I sense tension already?" Atomika challenged, raising an eyebrow.
"You betcha!" Zoe said loudly as Griff shook his head innocently. Nate stifled a laugh while Kaori fell off her chair laughing.
Atomika sighed, "Anyway, this is Yuri...er..."
"Yoshioka," I finished for him, blushing slightly.
"Hey, why's she got the formal intro-ducto?" Griff whined.
Atomika snorted, "From what I hear, you've made quite the introduction all by yourself,"
Zoe muttered something unclear.
Kaori smiled at me. "Hello, Yuri! I am Kaori!"
I returned her smile, "Yuri Yoshioka,"
"You were born in Japan, yes?"
I nodded.
"Me too!" Kaori giggled, "How old are you? You look young as Mackie when he first came here!"
I completely forgot her question at the word "Mac", "You know Mac? Is he coming?"
Kaori laughed and nodded, "Yes, I do! I am his partner after all! Now, how old are you?"
"Oh!" I said, my cheeks heating. "I'm fourteen. But I'm turning fifteen this month!" I added quickly.
Kaori nodded, "Oh, I see."
"You know, Kaori, your English isn't that bad,"
Kaori beamed, "Arigatou, Zoe,"
"I think your English is better then Mac's by a long shot," Zoe pointed out, "With all the 'yo's' and 'dawg's' he says in one sentence, it's hard to understand the guy,"
I took a seat on the couch across from Zoe and nodded in agreement. "My brother loves him, though. He copies every move Mac makes. It drives me crazy!"
Kaori laughed and stood up, leaning against the lounge chair. "Yes, I know what you mean,"
"Remember when he asked you out for pizza for the first time?" Zoe said, "He was like-"
"Yo, Kaori, dawg, you thinkin' about catchin' a slice o' pizza sometime this evenin', yo?" Mac appeared from behind her and slipped his hands around her waist.
"Ma-chan!" Kaori squealed, hugging him back.
They both laughed as they embraced each other.
(So...the rumors ARE true! They are a couple!)
Atomika must have noticed me smiling because he leaned over and whispered in my ear: "Yeah, we like to keep stuff like that a secret. You know, what if they were ever to break up? They really wouldn't wanna be boardin' partners...you know what I'm sayin'? We like to keep their personal lives out of the media's grasp,"
I nodded.
Griff groaned, "Man!! What's takin' everyone so long? And when're we gonna board, man?"
Atomika shrugged, "They get here on their own time, kid,"
Mac stared at Griff for a minute as if he had metal poles sprouting from his ears. "Who the hell're you?"
Kaori slapped the back of Mac's shoulder disapprovingly.
"I'm your worst nightmare, yo!" Griff boasted.
Nate sighed and massaged his forehead with his hand. "My God...this kid'll be the end of me..."
I noticed Nate and laughed. Nate returned my smile as he stuck his hand out, "I'm Nate, pleased to meet you, Yuri,"
"The pleasure's mine," I said. I soon realized what I said must've been the corniest thing in the world, but dismissed it when Nate continued.
"I can't believe they'd let a twelve year old in on the league, I mean, sure I can imagine a fourteen year old," he added quickly when I raised my eyebrows, "but a twelve year old?"
I nodded, "Yeah, this is gonna be interesting, huh?"
Nate nodded, "This'll be the end of me, that's what." He sighed again, continuing to massage his head, "I guess it's up to me to protect the little smurf,"
I laughed, "Smurf? I don't think he's a smurf. He's more like a...a..."
"You rotten little cornball!" Mac spat after Griff had turned his back on him.
Nate and I both raised our eyebrows and exchanged glances.
"Right. Cornball."
"Better than smurf," I said.
Soon Nate and I were bursting out laughing.
You know, this just might've been the greatest decision I had ever made. I couldn't wait to meet the rest of them!