by R. J. Ross
“You know, I heard Trent wanted to play football,” Ace says casually, just watching as Matt’s pulled to his feet and brushed off. “I never could understand why.”
“Are we just going to stand here and watch him get trampled? Because as amusing as it is, it’s not getting much done,” Freddy says. “What’s the plan?”
“This,” Ace says, holding out a hand. A phone appears right in front of my eyes and he brings it up to his ear, waiting patiently. Below, everyone starts to pat down their pants, looking for the ringing phone.
“Do they even HAVE pockets in those pants?” Freddy asks as Matt pulls a phone out of his pants pocket and holds it up.
“It’s mine!” he says.
“No,” I say, a bit stunned, “they don’t.” He actually—ALL of them actually—how stupid can you GET? Freddy is laughing so hard he’s leaning against me. All of a sudden he shuts up, because a black strip covers his mouth, but I can feel him shaking with laughter even with that.
“Hello, Matt,” Ace says in a dark, sinister voice.
“Wha? Who is this?” Matt asks, looking around as he heads off the field.
“Dragon,” Ace says.
“Ace? Seriously? Oh, man, this is AWESOME! Was it Jenna? Did Jenna tell you I was asking about you?” Matt asks, turning into a complete fan-boy in a blink of an eye. “She’s finally good for something!”
Freddy stops laughing and rips the black tape off of his mouth. I’m too busy reeling to react to that.
“Regardless of how I heard, why don’t you and I meet up?” Ace asks. “Talk about old times.”
“Yeah! Sure, I’d love to! When?”
“How about now?” Ace asks, whacking Freddy’s hand away from the phone. “It’s got to be somewhere people won’t notice—I’m supposed to be up north right now. How about the park by school?”
“Sure! I just gotta get out of practice—I’ll be right there,” Matt says, hanging up.
“That guy’s a total—total—” Freddy starts out, still reaching for the phone until it disappears. “What a waste of flesh,” he says, his hand falling now that the phone is gone. “Jennifer?” he asks, placing a hand on my shoulder when I don’t respond. “Look—”
The touch snaps me out of my shock. Suddenly I’m angry. That was just the final straw, I think, my hold tightening on Ace’s jacket. “I can’t believe I didn’t laugh when he broke his stupid hand on your face,” I say, fuming. “I was actually sorry for him!”
“Ready to get a little revenge, then?” Ace asks.
“Do YOU want revenge?” I ask him.
“Honestly? I don’t care about the guy anymore. Because of his stupidity, I wound up where I belong. But it sounds like an entertaining way to waste an afternoon, as long as nobody dies or anything,” he admits. “So I vote yes.”
“YES,” Freddy says, “Me too, I vote yes.”
“I—” I start out, my mind going back to how hellish life had been for the past few months. His words keep repeating in my head, “She’s finally good for something.” “I’m better than that,” I say, my chin going up.
“But I’m not,” Freddy says. “So you can just sit back and watch,” he tells me, grinning evilly. “Nobody uses one of my friends. So what are we going to do?”
“Nothing that you’ll feel guilty about,” Ace says, looking back at me with an evil grin. “We’ll call this your… initiation to the dark side, what do you say?”
This is my chance, I think as my eyes widen. This is the perfect way to get in with one of the big three! If I can get Ace’s respect now, I’ll be one step closer to my goal! “I’ll help,” I say boldly, “but you have to do a favor for me, afterward.”
“This entire thing is a favor for you,” he says.
“One I didn’t ask for,” I point out. “Come on, Ace, it’s just one little thing and we’ll be even.”
“Tell me what it is, and I’ll think about it.”
I hesitate, glancing at him and then at Freddy. I can’t tell them the truth, exactly, but I CAN tell them part of it! “I want to interview you,” I say. “It’ll only be seen in the school—the only phone I have is the one Nico gave me, right? So it’s not a big deal!”
“Interview me?” he repeats blankly.
“My aunt’s a reporter—I thought it’d be fun to do some reporting for the school—like a school newspaper, right?”
“Just for the school, huh? Yeah, sure, why not?” he says, relaxing and starting forward. “But they probably know more about me than you do.”
“I went to school with you for like two YEARS,” I say.
“Doesn’t matter.” He looks at me seriously, “In all that time, did we ever talk?”
I have no reply, because we both know the answer.
***
The park is abandoned at this time of day. Matt walks up to the picnic tables, looking around for a moment before sitting on top of it. He pulls out his phone, checking his teeth in the camera before taking a selfie of himself. He’s going to record this, he decides, tapping on the screen. It’s going to BLOW UP YouTube, man—he’ll go down in history as Dragon’s personal friend!
“Seriously?” he hears Jenna ask. He jerks, almost dropping his phone as he sees her walking towards him. She looks good, is his first thought. His second thought is that she also looks really pissed off. “You seriously thought Ace would come to see you?” she asks, giving him a pitying look. “I mean, really, I knew you were stupid, but not THIS stupid,” she says, pulling a blue phone out of her pocket and waving it. “Regardless of how I heard, why don’t you and I meet up?” comes from the phone. It sounds exactly like the call from Ace.
“Jenna?” Matt asks blankly, “You tricked me?” She smiles—but there’s something positively wrong about that smile. He’s seen her smile a million times, and not once did it send a chill down his spine. “But we’re friends—”
“We were NEVER friends,” Jenna says, walking over and poking him in the chest. It sends him flying off of the table and onto the ground. He scrambles, trying to stand up, but can’t seem to get his feet under him. “I was stupid enough to have a crush on you. I trusted you, Matt,” she says, reaching down and picking up the wood and metal one piece picnic table with one hand. She holds it over her head as if it weighs nothing. “Yet here you are, trying to use ME to get in touch with Ace,” she says, waving the table around. “Do you have ANY IDEA HOW MESSED UP THAT IS?” she bellows.
“I—I was just—there—” he stutters, covering his face with his hands. “Not the face, please? Not in the face!”
“I think he wet himself,” someone says from behind him. He jumps, turning to look in shock at the teen standing behind him. “Ace, he definitely wet himself over here!”
Jenna and the table disappear, blown away like smoke in the wind. There’s the table, just like it’d been when he got there, and Ace, standing on top of it with his hands in his pockets and an evil grin on his face.
“A—Ace?” Matt asks, the blood leaving his face. “Were you just screwing with me?” he asks, listening to his heart slow down. He almost had a heart attack, he thinks.
“Just a bit of a friendly greeting,” Ace says, hopping off the table and walking over to him. He holds out a half gloved hand, which Matt hesitates to take. Slowly, though, he takes the help, getting to his feet and looking down. “There’s a restroom over there,” Ace offers, motioning to the restrooms. Matt turns and makes a run for it.
“I’ll—I’ll be right back,” he says over his shoulder.
“We’ll be waiting,” Ace says in a friendly tone.
***
I’m sitting on the surfboard all alone, floating over the park with my phone pressed to my ear. “He’s such a putz,” Freddy says with a snort. “We’re not done here, yet, are we Ace? PLEASE say that wasn’t all we’re going to do.”
“Jen?” Ace asks.
“Well, he did wet himself,” I say, torn between old habits and my new desire for revenge. Seeing my ex-c
rush trembling in front of a fake version of myself had been—okay, I won’t lie, that’d been really satisfying. Maybe I’ll be a good villain, after all. “Maybe just a few more tricks?” I offer guiltily. “Nothing that’ll kill him, got it?”
“We don’t kill,” Ace says. “It’s part of our villain code—otherwise we risk Cape Cells. But do you want to come down, or are you good up there?”
“I’m kind of enjoying it,” I admit, moving so I’m lying on my stomach on the board. “I can feel the wind so much better up here. I wish I could fly,” I admit.
“I’ll never fly, either,” Freddy says.
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Ace says. “Now shush, he’s coming back out.”
I keep the phone out, more so they can hear me than me hearing them, and watch, feeling a little thrill run through me. This is SO bad. I mean, you’re supposed to turn the other cheek, and all that, right? But sometimes bringing egotistical, USING jerks down a few pegs should be considered a gift to society. I mean, consider all the people he’s bullied over the years? Like ACE! I hadn’t seen it that way at the time—I admit I was stupid, but HELLO, Ace is a super—supers can’t be bullied. Well, Matt obviously hadn’t realized that before he punched him!
Okay, maybe a little of this thought process is justification for letting Ace and Freddy do what they’re about to do.
Just a little.
***
Matt, dressed in his gym clothes, steps out of the restroom. “Hey, you guys wouldn’t mind if I went home and got something else to wear—” he starts out.
“Sorry, can’t do that,” Ace says, shaking his head a bit sadly. “I’ve only got so much time to hang out, you know? I’ve got a big job coming up. I can’t be late.”
“So you uh—you’re going to do some epic villainy or something?” Matt asks, eagerly. “You’ve got a SCHEDULE for that?”
“Of course I have a schedule,” Ace says. “I’m a busy guy.” He drops down on the table, leaning forward so his elbows are on his knees. “So tell me, Matt, why are you trying so hard to get a hold of me?”
“Well--you’re awesome,” Matt says a bit stupidly. “I mean, if you had just SAID something back when you were in school--”
“Said something? Like... Oh, maybe, ‘Hey, my dad is Blackjack’?” Ace asks, his tone almost casual. “I distinctly remember doing just that.”
“I’d have believed you!” Freddy says, jumping up and swinging off of the playground like a monkey.
“Thank you, Freddy, for the show of faith,” Ace says.
“Well--you never backed it up!” Matt says. “You could have just whipped out some crazy illusion and EVERYONE would have believed you! Then you and me, we could have ruled the school!”
The table Ace is sitting on shifts into a massive throne and a little crown appears on his head. He even has a scepter in his hand, which he waves around. “Something like this?” he asks.
Freddy doesn’t even blink at the sight of his clothes changing, but he does roll his eyes as the court jester bells ring cheerfully.
“Exactly--well, maybe not so much um... ruffles,” Matt says, motioning to Ace’s new red, black and white outfit.
“Off with is head!” Ace shouts, holding out his scepter. Massive men in black hoods appear with axes in their hands.
Matt jerks, looking from one to the other with pure terror on his face. “Wait--I meant--we--I want to keep my head!”
The executioners fizzle out, swirling like smoke for a second before they’re completely gone. “You don’t seem to get it, Matt,” Ace says, hopping off his throne and waving a hand. His outfit changes, turning dark and gothic--what he usually wears during work. “What you did, man, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Matt stares at him, obviously confused. “But--”
“Breaking your fist on my face turned out to be the very best thing that ever happened to me in my life, man. That’s why I’m here. I want to thank you.” Ace walks over to him, placing his hands on his shoulders. They’re eye to eye. Ace is not nearly as broad through the shoulders, but they both know who’s more dangerous. “I want to do something for you. What do you want me to do?” he asks.
“I--I just--um--” Matt says, digging through his pockets. “I just want a selfie,” he says stupidly, holding up his phone.
“Alright, Freddy, get over here,” Ace says. “Take our picture.” Freddy jumps down, grabbing the phone and messing with it until Matt shows him how to take the shot. While that’s going on, Ace takes a step back.
A second later a massive dark red dragon stands behind them. “Okay, say cheese!” Freddy says. Matt starts to grin, looking back--
And promptly screams like a little girl as the dragon opens his mouth.
“Awesome shot!” Freddy says, even as he deletes all the evidence on the phone. The dragon disappears and Ace starts laughing.
“Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t help myself,” he says, draping an arm over Matt’s shoulders. “I’m just messing with you, man,” he says, grinning hugely. “You see, we also came here for another reason,” he goes on. “Jen, I’m bringing you down, now,” he says.
Matt slowly looks up, following the two boys’ eyes to where Jenna is coming down, sitting on the silver surf board in the sky. “Jenna--”
***
I won’t lie, I didn’t exactly want to come down--but you can’t say no to the guy keeping you afloat, right? I look at Ace, who has a surprisingly sympathetic smile on his face.
“Hey, Matt,” I say, holding up a hand in a rather lame wave. “How’s it going?”
“Um--I--it’s going fine,” Matt says. “How’s school?”
“It’s good,” I say, a bit surprised to realize I actually MEAN it. “It’s really good. I mean, I’ve met all sorts of cool people. I’ve got friends--friends that DON’T care that I’m different. Well, I guess they wouldn’t, since they’re different, too...” I say, almost to myself.
“One day, I hope she figures out what I did,” Ace says, walking over and leaning against the board I’m sitting on. “You being a total dirtbag is probably the best thing that ever happened to us. I mean, if you weren’t such a jerk, maybe we’d both still be here pretending to be less than what we are. What do you think, Jen?” he asks me.
I blink. “Oh my gosh, you’re right!” I say, starting to laugh. “I mean, being a cheerleader is fun and all, but I’ve got an awesome future lined up thanks to Cape High!” I say. “Wow--when you put it that way... I should thank you, too, Matt! There is no bigger jerk than you.”
“What?” he asks stupidly.
“They’re calling you a jerk, man,” Freddy says, clapping one hand down on Matt’s shoulder. I see his fingers tighten slightly and Matt winces, almost falling over from the pain. “I’m pretty sure that means she doesn’t want to date you,” he adds dryly.
“Oh definitely not,” I say, waving a hand. “I mean, I don’t even have my old phone--this old life, well, it’s better left behind me, right? I’ve got a lot to do as a super, and none of it involves you,” I tell Matt, looking him straight in the eye. “You understand, right? It’s not you--actually, that’s a lie. It’s totally you.”
Ace starts laughing his head off and Freddy grins like a villain. Matt still looks confused. I almost feel sorry for him. “Look, Matt, somewhere, deep deep down, I know there’s a nice guy in there. Maybe, after we leave you here and don’t look back, you should think about how the people you bully feel. Be a nicer guy to people. Don’t go through life only being thanked for being a jerk.”
“And a user,” Freddy adds, letting go of Matt’s shoulder.
“Yeah? Well Jenna’s no better than I am,” Matt says, pointing at me. “She’s a royal--”
“Sure, I used to be,” I say, honestly. “But I’ve come to realize that there’s a lot more to life than popularity. I mean, I survived when you outed me. Everyone in school hated me, because of you. But hey, that's just another reason I should thank you,
I guess. Are we done here?” I ask Ace.
“We’re done,” he agrees, pulling himself onto the board. Freddy jumps up on my other side, pulling me to my feet. We leave, and I’m proud to say I don’t even look back.
I do take a deep breath. “He’s right,” I say.
“About what?”
“I was a jerk, too.”
“I was an anti-social goth,” Ace says. “I never spoke to anyone in more than single syllables.”
“I was a petty thief,” Freddy says.
“Consider Cape High a new life, Jen. Live it how you want. Do you want to keep being a jerk?” Ace asks.
“No,” I say. “I don’t. But you’re still a goth,” I have to point out.
“Sure I am, but I’m a social one!” he says, grinning over his shoulder at me.
“So... The whole Matt thing is done now, right?” Freddy asks.
“Beyond done,” I agree.
“Wanna go on a date?”
I blink, looking up at him in surprise. That was TOTALLY out of left field, I think. Well, sort of out of left field. I hesitate.
“I mean--like a group thing,” he says quickly. “We’ve got Ace for a little longer--you don’t want to go back to your team yet, right, Ace?”
“Not really,” Ace says. “Wanna go do something fun?” he asks me.
"Can it involve the interview you promised me?" I ask, getting excited. This is it! This is my chance! I can send a copy to Mr. Harrison to show that I'm working towards being an awesome reporter.
"You're pretty intent on that, huh?" Ace says. "Planning on going to work for HTV?"
"Um, well," I say, hesitating. But saying I'm aiming to go to HTV isn't the same as saying I want to be a part of a whole new television channel DEDICATED only to villains, which will be a part of HTV-- "Yeah, actually," I say. "I want to be a reporter, like Aunt Barb. I mean, I could try and join a Hall and fight crime all day, or I can dress fabulously and just report on it!"
