The last bout

Today, Kate (AKA Snarky Brewster) and I are playing our last bout together.

Actually, she's bench-coaching. She wrecked her shoulder at a mixer three months ago and she's been off skates ever since.

Snarky and Mr. Brewster, kickin' it at the ED.

I remember when I first started with NOVA Roller Derby. I barely knew Snarky then - she was just the sister-in-law of my band's bass player. I'd been off skates for two years at that point, too busy and broke to keep up the habit while I was finishing graduate school. Though she could barely skate at all, she joined NRD before I did. She heard from Emily that I used to play derby, and so she convinced me to come out to a practice.

I was nervous. I hadn't skated in a couple years, and I didn't know that the league had only been together for a few months. For all I knew, they were all awesome and I was going to look like an idiot. As it turned out, I was fine.

The first practice I skated with NOVA was at an outdoor hockey rink that was only slightly less crappy than the one my league back home had skated on. As I started getting my wheels back under me, I did a few laps with Snarky. She promptly fell and, in a wild attempt to catch herself, grabbed my boobs. Both of them. At once.

Derby has always been a major part of our relationship. We talk about lineups, bicker about league policy issues, and gossip about derby people (and to whoever's reading this going "gossip is bad! it's toxic to leagues! you're a terrible derby girl!": don't even act like you don't do it, too. Tell me you don't gossip with at least one close friend, and I will call you a liar right to your face.) We talk strategy, bout makeup, sports bras, "to Spanx or not to Spanx," and go out to win the after party.

Derby will probably be where I miss Snarks the most. I have other friends there, other good friends, even, but as much as I love them, there's nobody quite like her. All the gossip will be going one way now, from me to her, and anybody she talks to me about will be somebody new who I don't know. She won't know this next Fresh Meat class; soon I won't be able to run lineups by her anymore, because she won't know the players. On the up side, however, since she won't be affected by league policy issues anymore, she pretty much has to respond to any of my complaints with "you're right, and all those other people are stupid."

Note to self: drinking at the after party tonight will only end in tears. Stick to water.