Huntington Avenue | ✓ [PV REWRITE]

Part I: Chapter 20

༻✺༺

Chapter 20 | ❝ Any idea why these goons are here? ❞

Friday, October 5th, 2018 - 4:38 p.m.

THE ROUGH TEXTURE of the weathered volleyball ricocheted off of Harper's conjoined hands positioned in front of him. The burn from the old sports ball with each serve and return was beginning to rough up his hands and turn them into a glistening pink hue.

Harper was able to feel the sweat on his brow due to over an hour of nonstop playing with his friends on the beach of Kitty Hawk. While the ball was on the other side of the net, he used the mere two seconds to wipe the droplets off of his forehead before they were to get into his brown eyes. Harper shifted his position as the volleyball, passed by Mason, flew across the net so he would have been able to hit it back.

It was a one-versus-one match between Harper and Mason with August as the "referee." Despite August's disinterest in the sport, he sometimes played with the two of them, but this time, he chose to stick to the sidelines. Instead of his leather notebook, August had his laptop on his lap connected to a hotspot while he worked on his Physics homework.

The blond boy spiked the ball with one hand over the net, causing his opponent to dive and accidentally fall into the sand with the effort. Mason's tanned hand barely missed the volleyball as it began to roll across the sand and away from the trio.

"Nice shot," Mason complimented his friend before scrambling to his feet and grabbing the runaway ball.

Harper smiled at Mason's remark. "Thanks, Mason. I've been working on my spike."

"Looks like it," he acknowledged him before taking a look at August, who was silent except for the vigorous typing on his laptop. "August, how's the Physics work going?"

August glanced upward, fixing his glasses after he heard his name being called. "It's going just fine, thank you."

"Why don't you put the laptop down and play a game with us?" Harper offered. "It's not like your homework will grow legs and walk away before you turn it in."

"It might if I procrastinate, but thank you for the offer," countered August. He returned to typing on his petite laptop a moment later.

Harper sighed while holding back a chuckle. "Alright. I hope your work goes well."

"Thank you."

The blond turned to Mason, who had the volleyball underneath his right arm and shrugged. "Another game? Best two out of three?"

"Sure. You serve," Mason responded, tossing the ball over the net to him.

Harper responded by serving the volleyball clear over the net in an almost perfect shot. He watched as Mason returned it with ease and the two of them created a volley between each other. Harper and Mason were skilled volleyball players-- Harper more so since he practiced at the sport quite a lot. It was one of his major passions.