Walking up to the roller derby arena (local gym) I began to feel completely out of place. My sister and I with our blonde hair, blue eyes, shorts down to our knees, shirts covering our stomachs were definitely in the minority. In line in front of us was a tattoo clad, belly bearing group of girls. I cautiously looked around at the crowd of people catching glimpses of others' attire. Yep. We did not belong. Going to a roller derby had been on our bucket list but I didn't really think how out of place I would feel. We shuffled into the arena, trying to act and look as tough as we could. We sat on the far side of the bleachers to avoid being right in the middle of the excitement. The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers. "And here come the Lolitas de los Muertos!!" Skating at full speed, fierce looking girls with skull painted faces filled the skating rink. Then "here come the Hail Marys!" The crowd roared. The teams lined up in the rink and the derby began. Elbows, hands, heads, were used as malicious weapons as several girls attempted to take out their opponent. Not long after the starting whistle, my sister and I got caught up in the excitement and we found ourselves cheering as one roller derby girl shoved an opponent out of bounds. Soon we forgot we weren't necessarily part of this "crowd" and had a blast doing something completely out of the norm.
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