Mysterious strangers are never a good thing, particularly if you have a secret to keep. Obviously, I don't own MI High or its characters. Only the plot is mine.
Dan made his way through the park with his hands in his pockets. He had met up with Tom to watch a film in town. Tom had wanted to see the latest Marvel epic. Dan had spent most of the film trying to work out where the actors stopped and the stunt people began. A quick calculation on his fingers left him wondering if the stunt artists had spent more time on screen than the headlining actors.
Now he had the rest of the afternoon and evening to kill. He hated the weekends. School had never been the centre of his universe until he'd joined MI High. Now he kicked his heels through the weekends and waited for the school week to start again. He longed for that familiar twist in the gut which was half anticipation and half fear just before they went on a mission. Maybe he was becoming a mission junkie.
"Oi ! Dan !" called a familiar voice. Sighing, Dan turned slowly to see Keri jogging along behind him. "What are you doing ?" she demanded
"Walking home," said Dan.
"Oh. Alright, I'll walk with you," announced Keri, slowing in step with Dan. Sighing, Dan thought that there was little point in arguing. He noticed how quickly she got her breath back. "What have you been doing ?" she asked, looking at him intently. She was like Zoe in so many ways, but then so totally different.
"I went to see the new Marvel film with Tom," said Dan.
"Ooh ! Such a boy film !" declared Keri, rolling her eyes.
"Yes. Your point being ?" asked Dan.
"Um ? Oh, nothing. You're boys after all," said Keri undaunted by Dan's sarcasm. There was a minute's silence before she spoke again. "Do you like weekends ?" she asked.
"I used to," admitted Dan. "Now I can't wait for Monday."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to do stuff. It just doesn't seem so appealing now," agreed Keri. "What sort of things did you do ?" she asked.
"I liked free running and skateboarding," said Dan. "I do most of it in the gym now though," he shrugged.
"Ooh, that sounds fun !" said Keri. "Can you show me ?" she asked.
Dan looked at Keri wondering if she was coming on to him, but she just looked enthusiastic. Although Keri was much more knowing than Zoe ever was, she did seem to share the same enthusiasm for new things. The memory made him smile and then he remembered that Zoe was gone and felt the small ache in his chest. "Yeah, why not," said Dan. A bit of exercise might help him keep the memories at bay. "Come on !" he said, setting off at a steady jogging pace.
Running up to some large concrete kerbs, he rapidly stepped up and down, leading with a different foot every so often. This was his warm up. Keri copied him. Next he set off at a faster run towards some concrete benches. When he was younger they had seemed much larger than they did now. Now he could clear them with a single jump. The familiar elation at being in the air kicked in and his mood started to lift. Keri again copied him. Her first couple looked like an effort, but the third and subsequent hurdles looked almost effortless. She could pick up any physical move with ease. "Ready for a something bigger ?" he asked her.
"Bring it on !" said Keri with a grin. He couldn't help grinning back, before setting off towards the bridge which crossed over the cycle path. Putting one hand on the railing, Dan leapt over it and spread his legs slightly to cushion the impact of landing. Landing carefully on the balls of his feet, Dan rolled to absorb the rest of his momentum. Keri had stopped to watch him, then took a few steps back to get a good run-up to the railing. Kicking her legs to one side she sailed over the railing before swinging her legs back around and touching lightly to the ground before ending up on all fours on the ground. "Hm, not quite as elegant !" she grunted before jumping back up to her feet. "What next ?" she asked eagerly.
Dan grinned and set off along the cycle path. As the path rose slowly up, he jumped for the wall, grabbed a railing and leapt back up to the ground level. Turning round, he was surprised to find Keri right behind him. Without bothering to stop he turned and headed for his favourite spot. The cycle path split into two. Taking the right angled section, Dan jumped to the railing and pushed off, turning in a long, stretched out, somersault before landing again on the balls of his feet. The thrill of flying lifted his spirits like nothing else. Still running he hurtled towards the concrete wall in front of him, took two steps up the wall before throwing himself backwards in a tight somersault, landing back where he had started. Panting happily he looked up to see Keri leaning her chin on her arms on the railing above his head.
"Hm. I might give that one a bit of practice first," she said, creasing her forehead into a frown.
Dan laughed. "Probably a good idea," he agreed, sprinting up the cycle path to its entrance. Keri arrived at the same time. "I wonder if I can do the arm work now," said Dan.
"What arm work ?" asked Keri.
"Oh, I always wanted to do the Flare, but I didn't have the upper body strength," said Dan. "Maybe now," he said, heading for the children's play area. It had soft rubbery stuff on the ground. "Come on !" he said, dashing off. Keri looked bewildered, but followed. It was beginning to get darker now and the play area was deserted.
Keri watched as Dan jumped on to a bench and threw himself off sideways, twisting in the air before landing. He made it look effortless. "Was that it ?" asked Keri.
"What ? Oh, no. That was a butterfly twist," said Dan. "This was what I was trying to do," he said, lifting himself up onto his hands on the soft rubbery surface. He twisted and threw himself from one hand to the other, turning upside down, throwing his legs around above his head. After one full turn he fell over on to his side. "Damn ! Did it again," he complained, before getting back onto his hands. "Nearly got it," he grunted. Keri watched in astonishment as Dan started swinging from side to side, throwing his legs around over his head, while throwing himself from one arm to the other. "Yessss !" hissed Dan.
"Wow !" Keri murmured. "That's cool !"
Dan finally collapsed to the ground on his back with a happy grin on his face. Keri didn't remember ever seeing him smile like that. Dan was a whole lot more attractive when he smiled. Most of the time he just glowered his way through each mission as if he were sitting an exam. She suspected it had something to do with this girl Zoe they kept talking about. She needed to find out more. Her thoughts were interrupted by a whistle blowing at the far end of the park.
"Oh, they're shutting the park up. We'd better get going," said Dan, leaping straight to his feet. Keri wondered if he ever stood up like normal people. Maybe he sprang out of bed in the morning like that. She was now smiling to herself. "What's so funny ?" asked Dan suspiciously.
"I was just imagining you getting out of bed in the morning," said Keri. "Kaboing !" she laughed.
Dan laughed in return. "My Mum probably wishes I did. Come on, or you'll have to jump the fence," he threatened. Laughing together the two teens ran for the last gate to be locked, making it just in time. In the shadows under the trees a figure watched them leave, before turning and melting away in the darkness.