A Princess's Guide to Dragon Domestication

(6) The Spy Disguised as a Dead Bird, And the Superhero That Was a Ghost

*** New Material  ***

Zane was right. I really didn't know Raees. I mean, sure, he was a jerk. But even jerks contained multitudes. You couldn't describe any person with a single word. Especially when the word was just another category.

I mean, was he an I'm-better-than-the-rest-of-the-world jerk, or just an I-hate-everyone jerk? Because there's a huge difference.

So when I saw him sitting on a bench, alone, in the park, I decided to stay out of sight and watch him.

Because I had nothing better to do and I was bored.

Not like Raees had anything better to do. He just sat there, with his eyes closed, probably asleep.

Some jerk he was.

But jerk or not, there was something peaceful about him. He wasn't frowning or glaring; he was almost serene. It was like a watching a whole different person.

"Whatcha doing hiding behind a bush, Maisha?" I let out a squeak before I realized it was just Sid, my twelve-year-old neighbour.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I whisper-yelled while sneaking a glance at Raees. His eyes were still closed. Good.

He crossed his arms defensively before pushing his glasses up his nose. "I was playing Pokémon Go, and it led me here."

Seriously, he was STILL playing that game? "Are you calling me a Pokémon?" Sid had called me a number of things in the past year since I was the biggest target for his lame (he called them flirty) one-liners. His parents thought his crush on someone who was nearly a decade older than him was cute.

I thought it was bad parenting.

Ricky thought it was hilarious.

"My phone is calling you a Pokémon," he said before giving me sly grin, "You do kind of look like a Pikachu though."

I gave him my best glare. "Go away."

He chose not to. "Why are you stalking the new neighbour?"

"I'm spying, not stalking, and it's for the good of the park. I mean, what if he's a duck killer?" I gave him a sideways glance. "You know him?"

"Define know." I didn't. He sighed. "I don't know his name, but I do know that the guy suffers from a serious case of insomnia."

"Insomnia?" He took my interest as permission to sit down beside me. I didn't really mind. Apart from his stupid jokes, Sid was a good kid.

And okay. Maybe these stupid jokes had grown a little on me. But there was no way I was going to admit that, especially not to him.

"I've been up quite late for the past few nights, aiming my telescope here and there." Sid had a huge interest in astronomy. "And he's been roaming the streets, all night. Like a ghost."

I gave him a blank look. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"Yeah?" He gave an indignant look, "Tell that to the twelve-year-old who was the only one awake in the whole neighbourhood."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you're a kid now?"

He looked insulted for a moment but got over it after a second. "I thought he was really weird, but then he scared away two boys who were trying to break into the house in front of ours, and I realized he's just a superhero without a costume, which is cool."

"Right," I said sarcastically. Raees: a superhero. "I think your ghost theory was less ridiculous."

"I'm serious," he said with a frown when he realized I wasn't taking him seriously. "My friend who lives down the street said he walked his grandmother home when he saw her alone outside after dark. Even carried her bag." He looked at Raees thoughtfully. "I wonder what his origin story is. It's probably epic."

"Huh," I said. "Interesting." So not a puppy-kicker then.

We were both quiet for a while, but Sid had a hard time staying silent for more than a few seconds. "Did it hurt?"

I spared him a small glance. "Did what hurt?"

"When you fell from heaven."

"Are you calling me a dead bird now?"

He gaped at me, and I swear a saw a fly go into his mouth, but before I could mention it, his grin was back, "Knock, knock."

I sighed. "Can we do this later?"

His grin broadened, "It's a date!" Before I could protest, he was gone.

And then it was silent again. And boring.

Until a ball got thrown in Raees's direction, that is.

It should have hit him. According to all the laws of physics and common bad luck, it should have hit him. But it didn't. And not because of "good" luck either. He simply tilted his head to the side.

With his eyes still closed.

What the hell?

It had to be a coincidence; it just had to. No one can see with their eyes closed; it was impossible. Unless Sid was right and Raees was a closet superhero. No, no. My jerk of a neighbour couldn't be a superhero. He just couldn't.

But to prove that, I had to test it.

So I bribed the same group of kids to let me borrow their ball for a few minutes and threw it at him.

He caught it, before throwing it right back at me.

With his eyes still closed.

I was freaked out enough to run away before he could open them. Back to my spot behind the bushes that is. I wasn't done stalking him yet. But by the time I'd settled back and turned to face him, he was gone.

I looked around; he couldn't have gotten further than a few feet away. But I couldn't see him anywhere.

Impossible.

Or, obviously not.

I walked towards the empty bench, only to find that it wasn't empty at all.

A piece of paper was there, a rock holding it down, with a single word on it.

Boo.

Darn it.