The Juniors - The Villains of Valley View

TEN / "Perspectives, Take Two"

JUSTICE // JAXON

"ALRIGHT," I said, going into our backyard where Sandie was in his adult form.

He was dressed in a tan leather jacket and straight-legged jeans. He also had on a white bucket hat and gloves. It wasn't that hot of a day for mid-May.

I was wearing dark ripped jeans and a white hoodie.

"I got the puck and sticks from when North and I went to get food."

"Sweet," Sandie drawled. "I need to go to one of your games. Like what's the worst injury there's been so far?"

I grinned devilishly. "Chuck, my teammate, got smacked into the glass at practice yesterday. Other dude named Matt almost busted his knee on the ice."

"Shoot. You gotta sneak me in. Do you guys have a coach?" Sandie asked with way too much excitement.

"Uh, cool down, dude," I said with a half smirk. My brows furrowed in confusion. "We wouldn't be playing without a coach."

"Aw man. I wish I could shift into you sometimes so I got to play."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I tossed Sandie a stick which he fumbled with for a moment. He eventually caught it and held it in both hands. "We can play right now."

"I know," Sandie said while I tossed the black puck on the grass between us. "But I kind of just sit around in this grown man's body all day. Sometimes North doesn't go out, so at least she's here to play video games with me. But most of the time she's working on her hair or something."

"I could skip school tomorrow," I suggested. "But dude, Sandie, you can't keep being scared of the sun. Like, take your hat off it's not even out."

The sky was covered by a white cloud that completely blocked out the sun. You couldn't even tell it was three in the afternoon.

Sandie looked up slightly, his mouth wide and eyes squinted. Then he looked at me with an unsure look before sliding the bucket hat off his head.

"How you feel?" I asked with a smirk.

"Not like I'm gonna turn to glass."

"Hope not. I want this to be a fair game."

Sandie smiled before taking his shot.

"Whew!" I whooped. "That wasn't fair! Good job."

"Jepito?" a voice called out.

I sighed and rested my forearms on top of my hockey stick.

"Josie," Sandie and I said at the same time. A look of disappointment was permanently etched on my face as I turned around.

I grabbed my temple with one hand and used the hands on my stick to lift my fingers slightly. Aiming at the sliding glass door I'd just walked through, I swiped my fingers, closing the blinds first. Then I repositioned my hand to close the door.

"You know how slow Josie is. It'll take her hours to find us out here now."

"I don't know. Maybe she really needed me for something. I should go see what's up."

When Sandie was about to pass me, I extended my arm to block him. Even in his burly adult form, he still wasn't stronger than me with my super strength.

"Don't. She's probably using process of elimination—" learned that from Jake "—to hang out with someone 'cos she ruined things with North, and everyone knows we hate each other."

"What if she isn't?"

Damn naive kid. "Jepito, I'm telling you, it's nothing. Are we gon' play or not?"