Robert

Chapter One: Jessica

"Come on. What's the secret?"

"Follow us, then," Harry whispered grinning. His glasses were broken again. No doubt some bully had decided they needed redecorating. The other two boys were already leaving the store. Jess stared at Harry uncertainty.

"Are you going to show me that loose tile beneath the old fountain, because Heidi and Abella showed me that last Wednesday."

"What?No, its much cooler, I promise," Harry said

Jess took off her apron and followed the skinny boy into the burning glare of the sun. It was hot today, hotter than it had been all week. Her shirt clung to her body, soaked with sweat. Harry was worse off she noticed. His forehead was a literal waterfall broken only by his glasses, which, ironically, were broken, held together by some tape. Even Trevor had abandoned his signature motocross jacket. She stole a glance in his direction. He was staring at the sky, lost in thought. 

Jessica looked at them expectantly. Trevors face was an expressionless mask as usual, Harry was excited and Robb was nervous, glancing up the street every few seconds.

"So...."

Harry looked around. The street was deserted.

"Robb, do the thing," he said. Robb looked at Harry nervously. Robb may have been a year older but Harry was already much taller even though he walked with a slight stoop. His lanky frame made him look comical. The two boys stared at each other for a moment.

"What if someone sees."

"No ones here but us."

With a sideways glance at the grocery store where, Jessica's brother was tending the counter, Robb walked towards a van parked nearby and gave it a shove.

And it moved. Not by a large distance, but just a few feet, far enough to make a marked distance. Jess stared at it, arms crossed frowning.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Harry said grinning.

Jessica walked up to the van and gave it a shove. It didn't so much as sway. She turned to Robb who had crept back to the side walk as if to run away from the blame of moving the van.

"How did you do that?" Jess asked.

"He's got superpowers," Harry said grinning.

"We're twelve, and we'll be in high school next year, we all know no one has superpowers."

"I dunno," Robb said. "I just woke up and I could lift my bed. I can do other stuff too."

"Come to the old tree house later and we'll show you," Harry said. "Might be Robb can fly."

"Do you really think I'm going to fall for this?" Jess said. This was probably some kind of joke. They had been pranking each other since they understood what a prank was. They started out simple, but as they got older, the pranks got smarter till in the fifth grade all hell broke loose and Robb ended up with a broken arm. Mrs Craven had never forgiven her for that, and she often mummered about civil threats when Jess came to visit. Jess had been the best at their pranks but she couldn't puzzle out this one.

"Just come. It'll be worth it," Harry said.

Jess gave him a doubtful look. She looked into the shop. Marcus was motioning at her to come back inside.

"Alright. I be there," she said glancing at Trevor. Harry grinned at that. No doubt he was imagining this as the beginning of some comic book.

She went back into the store to her task of tending to the shelves. The van had been what it seemed, a normal van. How had Robert pushed it? All her answers sounded absurd but always came back to the same place, but that was impossible. No way Robb could have been strong enough to move that damn thing. She had known Robb all her life, and she had proven to be stronger on several occasions. Perhaps the was some trick behind it? A visual misinterpretation? Try as she might, Jessica  could not puzzle out how that van had moved. It had moved alright, that wasn't up for debate. The were tire marks on the tar to prove it.