by Cheree Alsop
“I, uh, don’t know how to play,” Alex admitted before they reached the group.
Both of them shot him incredulous looks. “You don’t know how to play soccer?” the boy asked.
When Alex shook his head, the girl asked, “Where have you been that you don’t know how to play soccer?”
Alex thought quickly. “Boarding school.”
The boy nodded as if it made sense. “My cousin went to boarding school,” he told the girl. “He didn’t even know how to play video games.”
“Crazy,” she replied with a shake of her head. They reached the rest of the kids. She smiled at Alex. “Don’t worry. We’ll teach you. It’s easy.” She gestured at the other kids who looked between fifteen to seventeen years old. “These three are on your team.” She pointed to two boys with bright red hair and freckles across their noses who looked similar enough to have to be brothers, and a girl with straight black hair tied back in a bandana.
“Hi,” the girl said.
The boys looked like they couldn’t care less who played with them as long as they got to continue the game.
“Tell, uh. . .”
“Alex,” Alex supplied when the blonde haired girl paused.
She smiled at him. “Tell Alex the rules of the game. This is his first time playing soccer.”
Alex ignored the surprised stares of the others as he followed them across the grass.
“Well, we don’t have goals, so we use our backpacks,” the girl explained. She pointed to the two mounds closest to them. “We can’t let them kick the ball through here.” She pointed at the other two across the field. “And we kick the ball through there. That’s how we get a point.”
“And a point is good?” Alex asked.
The two boys snickered.
The girl rolled her eyes. “Yes, a point is good. I’m Cherish and these two blockheads are Ren and Steve.”
“Let’s get playing,” Steve, the older redhead said.
Ren nodded quickly. “We don’t have much time.”
“Right,” Cherish agreed. “Alex, stand over there. When the ball gets to you, kick it toward the goal.”
Alex walked over to where she indicated. The blonde haired girl kicked the ball to start, and it ended up straight at Alex’s feet.
“Kick it!” Cherish yelled.
The others swarmed Alex. He kicked the ball without thinking. It sped past those who were rushing him and sailed through the backpack goal. It proceeded to fly through the air until it hit a slide on the playground, barely missing two boys who were trying to climb it.
Alex froze. He had forgotten about his werewolf strength. At the Academy, that kind of a kick wouldn’t bring any notice. In the city, however, it just might be the thing that blew his cover.
“Uh, okay.” Cherish said, staring from Alex to the ball like everyone else was doing.
“I got it!” Ren yelled.
“No, I got it!” Steve countered. Both of them took off running.
“Glad he’s on our team,” Ren called over his shoulder.
“No kidding,” Sarah, the blonde haired girl, said. She gave Alex a closer look. “You sure you never played before?”
Alex shook his head quickly. “I’ve played football a bit.”
Tanner, the boy in the red shirt who had asked him to play in the first place, nodded. “I bet you’ve got a killer arm. You’ll have to stop by and play a game with us sometime. We hang out here most mornings before school.”
Alex gave a noncommittal smile.
After several more points were scored in which Alex was very careful not to overuse his strength, Cherish called the game over.
“We usually grab breakfast at the café before school,” Tanner told Alex. “Want to join us?”
Cherish and Sarah nodded encouragingly.
Alex’s stomach growled, reminding him that he had left the Academy too early for breakfast. “Uh, okay,” he said, unsure whether he was pressing his luck.
“Great. We’ll show you where it is,” Tanner replied.
When Alex made his way to the motorcycle, several of the soccer players joined him.
“This is your ride?” Josh, a boy with curly brown hair asked.
At Alex’s nod, Sarah said, “Dibs!”
Several of the others groaned.
Alex didn’t know what they were talking about until she climbed onto the back of the motorcycle.
“Are we going or what?” she asked, breaking Alex from his stare.
“Um, yeah,” he said uncertainly. He handed her the helmet. “You should probably wear this.”
“Good call,” Tanner said, still waiting on the curb. He studied Alex in a new light. “Be careful.”
“We will,” Sarah replied. She tried to buckle the chin strap, but couldn’t figure it out.
Alex helped her, aware every moment that Tanner was watching with his arms folded.
“Am I safe now?” Sarah asked. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of the ride.
Alex couldn’t help but smile back. “As safe as you can get on a motorcycle,” he replied.
She laughed, showing straight white teeth.
“You guys coming or what?” Cherish demanded as she pulled alongside them in a green car with a scratch that ran from the front bumper all the way across the doors to the rear.
“Lead the way,” Sarah called. She waved at Tanner who climbed moodily into the back seat of Cherish’s car.
Steve honked the horn of a black jeep behind them. “Yeah, yeah,” Cherish said. She drove to the stop sign and waited for them to catch up.
While they were waiting for traffic, Alex tipped his head, “Are you trying to make Tanner jealous?”
He glanced back to see a smile cross Sarah’s face. “You think it’s working?” she asked.
Alex nodded. “I think he might want to kill me when we’re done.”
Sarah shook her head. “He’s not like that, but sometimes I wish he was.”
Alex pulled carefully onto the road behind Steve. “Why?” he called back, confused as to why she would want someone to fight over her.
Sarah’s hands slipped around his sides. He was very aware of her pressed against his back. “Sometimes a girl likes to know she’s worth it,” she shouted over the roar of the motorcycle engine.
Alex pulled into the small café parking lot. Tanner was there before Alex had even turned the key to the off position. Tanner unbuckled Sarah’s chin strap and tossed the helmet harder than necessary at Alex. The boy then lifted Sarah from the motorcycle. Alex watched Tanner open the door for her at the café. Sarah looked back when he wasn’t watching and winked at Alex.
“Girls,” Cherish said, walking up.
“You’re a girl,” Steve said from behind her.
Cherish laughed and flicked her hair behind her shoulder. “Yeah, but I’d rather play soccer or soft ball. Guys just get in the way.”
“You got that right,” Ren said, crowding past Alex and Cherish as they tried to walk through the door.
“Watch it,” Cherish said, shoving Ren in the back.
Ren stumbled into Tanner, who bumped into Josh and the red-haired girl he had his arm around.
“Idiot,” Josh said, slugging Ren in the shoulder.
Cherish shook her head. “See; always in the way.”
Alex realized when he got to the cash register that he didn’t have any money. The only things he had actually bought in his life were when Nikki took them shopping for each other at Christmas, or the occasional week before school to get new jeans. He couldn’t remember the last time he had actually paid for something with cash.
“That’ll be five seventy-five,” the girl at the register said.
Alex was about to apologize and retract his order when Cherish leaned past him and slid a five dollar bill and a one dollar bill across the counter.
“You don’t have to do that,” Alex said, embarrassed.
She shrugged. “I noticed you seemed a bit short.
Don’t worry.” She winked. “I mow lawns on weekends with my brothers. It pays well.” She jerked her head toward the soccer group who now sat around a table laughing and eating their breakfast. “I’ve covered for a few more of them than they’ll admit.”
“I really appreciate it,” Alex told her.
“Thanks for helping us finish our game,” she said. She picked up her tray loaded with three breakfast burritos, tater tots, a breakfast sandwich, and a cup of orange juice.
Alex picked up his tray that contained a breakfast burrito and tater tots. He paused at the condiments to get ketchup.
“He’s really cute,” he overheard Sarah say while the guys talked animatedly at the other end of the table about something that sounded like football.
Jen, Josh’s girl, said, “Yeah. He’s like the bad boy my parents always warn me about. With his hair and his motorcycle, he could take me away any day.” She flicked her bright red hair behind her shoulder.
The other girls giggled.
Alex looked up to find all four of the girls watching him. They ducked their heads and burst into laughter again.
Alex hoped his cheeks weren’t red as he made his way to the table. Jen patted the empty chair next to her.
“I saved you a seat,” she said, peering up at him through lowered eyelashes.
“Jen, cut it out,” Cherish scolded her.
Chapter Ten
Alex took the seat and pretended to be interested in his burrito. It felt surreal to be surrounded by so many humans, yet to feel like he wasn’t such an outcast. He shared his tater tots with Jen and Sarah who said they hadn’t gotten any themselves because they were watching what they ate.
“Why do you need to watch what you eat?” Alex asked. “Are you allergic to something?”
All three of the girls burst into laughter. Talking slowed at the other end of the table. Alex glanced over to find the boys watching him and the girls with serious expressions on their faces. He searched quickly for a topic that would dissolve the tension he felt from them.
“I’ll be heading out after this. I’ve got to get home pretty soon,” he said.
“Oh, really?” Tanner asked in a tone that let Alex know the boy was very interested in him leaving. “And where’s that? Pretty far?”
Alex nodded. “Over by Haroldsburg. It’s a little place.”
He knew he didn’t image the disappointment that crossed the girls’ faces or the relief on the boys’. Since he was no longer a threat, they didn’t seem so bothered by him.
“How long have you been riding your motorcycle?” Josh asked.
“Not long,” Alex replied. “A friend gave it to me.”
“That’s some friend!” Steve said.
Ren nodded. “I’ve never seen a bike like that.”
“It’s custom,” Alex told them. “A Trent Rushton special.”
“Now I know what I want for my birthday,” Josh said.
Everyone laughed. “You’d have to save up your money for like fifty years,” Cherish said. “Good luck with that.” At Josh’s chagrined expression, Cherish explained, “He has an obsession with spending money.”
“So I like clothes,” Josh told them. “I look good. Feel free to hate.” He plucked at the material of his shirt. “Dress the best.”
His friends burst into laughter, teasing him. Alex couldn’t help feeling like he had been given something priceless, a glimpse into a normal life with a normal group of friends. At the Academy, it was easy to forget that life continued outside of the walls and forest.
If the genocide hadn’t happened, perhaps he would be just another student out playing soccer in the middle of the city before school started. His parents, or who he had grown up thinking were his parents, would be there waiting for him and Cassie when they got home. Life would be extremely different. Alex forced down the wave of regret and sat back, smiling when Josh kissed Jen on the forehead and Cherish threw ketchup at Steve.
“Thanks again,” Alex told Cherish at they made their way outside.
“Don’t mention it,” Cherish replied. “Just be sure to catch another game whenever you’re this way. It’ll be—” She stopped talking.
Alex followed her gaze to the three men standing around his motorcycle; the rest of the soccer group crowded behind Alex and Cherish. The men looked young, like they were just out of college, except Alex doubted by their appearances that they had ever actually made it to college.
“Does this bike belong to one of you?” a man with torn jeans and a red bandana tied around his head asked. The man’s hair was buzzed with a star shaved into both sides of his head.
“It belongs to me,” Alex said. He heard breaths of fear from the students behind him.
“We like it,” another man with a red bandana tied around his arm said. “Don’t we, Ruse?”
The first man nodded. “Yeah. We like it a lot.”
“Thanks,” Alex said carefully.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Steve said from behind Alex. Alex heard the student’s outlet of air when Ren elbowed him in the side.
“How fast does a bike like this go?” Ruse asked.
Alex took a step closer, careful to keep himself between the three men and the students.
“I pushed it over a hundred on the way here,” Alex answered.
Ruse whistled and eyed his companions. “It’d be fun to ride a motorcycle that fast. I think I should give it a go. What do you say?”
Alex shook his head, but kept his smile. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Come on,” Ruse replied, closing the distance between him and Alex. “I think you should.”
Alex heard whispers as the kids behind him debated whether to call the police.
“Nobody rides this motorcycle but me,” Alex said, his tone still friendly.
Ruse’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you understand. We want your bike.” A click caught Alex’s attention and knife appeared in Ruse’s hand.
The other thugs opened similar knives. The blades were longer than a hand and glinted in the morning light. Alex glanced around. They were alone on the street in the early morning. A few cars breezed past on the road, but nobody even so much as glanced into the small café parking lot. The way the building was angled, there weren’t any windows in view. They were completely alone.
“Give us the key,” the man with the bandana around his head said, holding out a thick-fingered hand.
“I think you should listen to him,” Josh whispered behind Alex.
“It’s not worth it, man,” Ren said.
Alex pulled the key from his pocket. He looked behind him at the terrified faces of the seven boys and girls who had so willingly invited him to join their game. If he wasn’t careful, some of them could get hurt. Cherish met his gaze. Her own was pleading.
“Give him the key,” she said, her voice shaking.
Alex nodded. “You can have it,” he said. He threw the key at Ruse.
It hit the man square in the chest and fell to the ground. The man bent down, and Alex was there.
He elbowed Ruse in the back, and slammed his fist sideways across the second man’s jaw. The third tried to swipe at his face. Alex leaned back just far enough to miss the blade, then dropped to one knee, spinning to knock the man’s feet out from under him. Alex rolled backwards in time to miss Ruse’s attempt to cut his throat. He kicked hard as he rolled, connecting with the blade Ruse held. The knife shot out of his hand and clattered to the ground near Cherish’s foot.
Alex reached his feet and kicked high, catching the second man in the jaw again. When he stumbled back, Alex followed with a punch to the face, then one to the stomach. The man doubled over just as Ruse was getting back to his feet. Alex ran and jumped, rolling with his back over the thug’s and connecting with a two-footed kick to Ruse’s chest.
The whisper of metal through the air warned him and he ducked and spun, knocking the third man’s legs out from under him. The man’s hand hit the ground, sending the kn
ife from his grasp. Alex slammed a fist into the man’s jaw. His eyes rolled back and he stopped struggling.
Ruse and the man with the bandana on his arm struggled to their feet. Alex placed himself between the two thugs and the kids who waited with wide eyes. There were tears on Sarah’s cheeks, and she and Cherish held hands, their faces white with fear.
It was clear when Alex met Ruse’s eyes that the man hadn’t been prepared for a fight like that. Alex bent down and picked up one of the knives. Ruse took a step back. Alex closed the knife and tossed it at the thugs. It hit Ruse in the chest. The man caught it before it hit the ground.
“Leave while you can,” Alex said.
Tension hung in the air between them. After a moment, Ruse nodded. He and the other man picked up their friend. The three of them disappeared around the corner.
Alex’s senses strained as his listened to their unsteady footsteps fade away. He hoped they wouldn’t be back bothering students for a long time.
Alex turned around. It wasn’t until he saw the expressions on his friends’ faces that he realized what he had done. The adrenaline pounded through his veins. Though he hadn’t phased to wolf form, he had beaten three grown men while barely raising his heartbeat. The thugs who wanted to steal his motorcycle had turned tail and run from a sixteen year old boy. He had really messed up. All he needed was for one of them to call him a werewolf and he was done.
Cherish and Sarah still held hands while Jen gripped Josh’s arm, her fingers white and eyes large as she looked at Alex.
“That may have been the most impressive thing I’ve seen in my entire life,” Josh said.
“Seriously,” Tanner seconded. “That was incredible.”
Alex dared to take a breath. He forced a shrug past his tight muscles. “I like my bike,” he said.
Steve and Ren burst out laughing as though he had said the funniest thing in the world.
“You must,” Steve said, walking over to pat Alex on the shoulder. “I’ve never seen anyone do that to save their motorcycle.”