The author, scriptboy, has received expressed written permission from Misha, the creator of this series, to include his own characters in this chapter of “Mr. Mendes and the Book of Transformations”. The characters of Peter and Salvador are created and owned by scriptboy.------------------------------------------------------------------------
Only and hour after Marco and the boys got to the water park, big rain clouds passed overhead, and they were caught in the middle of a rain shower which brought cold wind. The boys were freezing, so they decided to quickly shower and get dressed so that they could go somewhere else.
Marco decided to take the boys, Ric and Josh, to the gym which was located near a large park. It had just been built It was a large recreation center, which was owned by a church, and it had an indoor pool, indoor gym, a game room and a weight room. The gym was located near a large high school, so Marco figured there would be a lot of kids there. He asked the boys if they wanted to go there and hang out, with the hope they could meet some other kids there and make some new friends at the same time.
Once there the boys decided to go ahead and to watch an ongoing game of basketball from the bleachers while Marco went to the indoor pool and Jacuzzi. They sat down at the lowest seats, right on the court. Ric thought he wanted to sit there so that he could easily walk on to the court so he could also play.
While Ric and Josh were watching the game, another boy who was Ric’s age, sat down next to him. He was about 5’7”; he had brown eyes, black hair and light brown skin. He spoke with a Spanish accent, he was skinny and he wore basketball shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. The kid was cheering on his friends, and he was very excited about his team. As a matter of fact, the boy was so excited, that he forgot to finish his hotdog and allowed it to cool off.
When the match was over, the boy took another bite out of his hotdog, and immediately looked at it with an expression of deep disappointment. Ric kept on looking at the restless boy, who kept on moving around in the bleachers. At one point he noticed that the kid was doing something very unusual. He held his plastic plate with the cold hotdog on it before his face, with the bun spread wide open, exposing the meat. Ric watched as the boy began to stare intently at his hotdog, making Ric wonder about his unusual behavior.
Suddenly, the hotdog caught on fire!
“AAAHH!!!” he said, just not loud enough for others to hear.
The boy gasped and immediately began to blow on the flame, extinguishing the fire on his bun! Josh and Ric were in shock, for they could not understand how the boy was able to set his hotdog on fire by simply staring at it!
“I guess the hot dog should be well done by now!” the boy said with a grin, while he was looking over at Ric and Josh, who had their jaws dropped wide open of amazement.
“Holy cow! What was that? How did you do that?” Ric asked him. The boy just grinned while he took a bite out of his hotdog and chewed on it for awhile.
“Que delicioso!” the boy said. Josh and Ric laughed at the fact that the boy could also speak Spanish, just like them!
“Wow, that was a cool trick! How did you do that? Por fabor! Tell us!” Ric said.
“It was magic!” the boy answered, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“Oh cool! We got a book of magic at home! We can cast spells on you and make you shrink and grow!” Josh said excitedly, much to Ric’s annoyance.
“Josh! Hablas demasiado! Callate, hermano!” Ric shouted back at his little brother. But the boy who was sitting next to Ric wasn’t impressed with Josh’s remark.
“A book? I know a guy who is a Wizard who can do that too, without using any book…” he responded in a very matter-of-factly tone of voice, like it was no big deal. Once again, Ric and Josh were the ones who were astonished.
“What? He can make you shrink or grow, without using a book at all?” Ric wondered out loud.
“Oh yeah”, the boy responded, “As a matter of fact, he’s on the court, shooting baskets right now! His name is Peter!”
“He’s a Wizard? No way! Isn’t a Wizard supposed to look like a really old guy with a white beard and a blue pointy hat?” Josh wondered out loud.
“No way!” the boy replied, pointing with his finger at a tall boy with short, brown hair, who was running up and down the court while dribbling a basketball. “This Wizard is a big kid, he’s a basketball player!”
“Wow! Can you introduce us to him? By the way, I’m Ric, and this is my little brother Joshua!” Ric said, extending the hand to the boy.
“Encantado! I’m Salvador, pleased to meet you!” the boy replied, as he took turns shaking Ric’s and then Josh’s hand.
“Wait till you get to meet Peter! You guys will love to talk to him about your book… Wait, I’ll call him for you and I’ll ask him to come and sit here with us…” Salvador said. Then Salvador closed his eyes and appeared to concentrate for a moment. A few moments later, another boy came walking up to the bleachers, where they were sitting.
“Look over there, that’s him. He’s coming this way!” Salvador said, pointing with his finger at a tall, muscular kid with light brown spiky hair, blue eyes, and light skin. The boy was 16, although he looked like he was 18 already. He was about 6’3” tall, about 200 pounds of solid muscle. He was built like a football player, and he had big hands and big feet. He wore basketball high tops, a jersey, shorts, and athletic socks.
When he sat down next to Salvador, his face was all red and his jersey, his arms and shoulders were all sweaty, and drops of sweat were rolling from his forehead.
“Que esta pasando, amigo?” the big kid asked Salvador, as he wiped the seat from his forehead with a towel that was lying on the empty chair next to Salvador.
“Hey Peter, these two guys have a book with magical spells of transformations! I told them about your powers, and they wanted to meet you in person” Salvador said, while pointing at Josh and Ric.
“Salvador! What’s the idea of you telling everybody about my powers? You know that I hate it when…” Peter began to protest, with an angry look on his face.
“Oh come on, Peter! The whole school knows who you are, okay? They have this book that you may want to look at…” Salvador fired back, cutting him off in the middle of the sentence. Peter leaned forward and introduced himself to Josh and Ric by shaking their hands.
“So, are you a real Wizard? Can you change people for real?” Ric asked Peter as he shook his hand.
“Well, right this moment I’m more of a basketball player than a Wizard. But I would love to take a look at your book, if that’s alright with you! We’re going to play one more quick game before we need to leave the gym so that another team can practice in here. I think we have about twenty minutes left…” Peter replied, while looking at his watch. Then Peter stood up and was about to walk on to the court.
“Hey Peter, do you think they would allow me to play with you guys?” Ric asked him, giving him a sad look in his eyes.
“I don’t see why not! Stand up, Ric, and we’ll ask Jarrod, the captain of the team.” Peter replied, with a smile on his face. Ric immediately stood up and walked besides Peter. He felt like he immediately started to like the tall teen basketball player, and he wanted to take every opportunity to get to know him better.
Ric didn’t realize it, but Peter had already probed his mind just to be certain that Ric was indeed able to play basketball. Peter realized that Ric was an average player, so he quietly wished for Ric to have a perfect shot at the hoop and that all his baskets would go in. He wanted Ric, as the youngest player in the group, to be the hero of the short game they were about to play.
“No way! He’s not even in High School! No, I don’t want him to play on our team!” Jarrod sneered back at Peter.
“Oh come on, Jarrod! Give the kid a chance! It’s going to be a quick, friendly game among our friends, so who cares who plays on our team? I promise you he’ll do great!” Peter said, pleading for Ric to get to play anyway. But Jarrod had already made up his mind.
“Peter, I said No! I don’t want him playing on our team!” he replied with a stern tone of voice.
“Look, I’ll sit on the bench so that he can play. Just give the kid a chance!” Peter asked him again. But Jarrod shook his head.
“No way, Peter! I need you on my team…” was the reply.
“Oh come on, Jarrod! Why don’t you and Peter hold a shootout? The one who wins determines whether Ric gets to play or not!” Salvador shouted from the bleachers.
“Alright, then…” Jarrod said, as he picked up the ball from the court, giving Salvador an angry look. “The one, who shoots the basket, shoots it farthest from the hoop and makes it, wins!”
Jarrod walked over to the center line of the basketball court, dribbling the ball a few times while he walked. He stopped right on the line, and he then took another step back. He then looked over and saw that all three, Salvador, Ric and Josh gasped at the same time, when they realized that he was going to attempt a half-court shot. Peter was just standing on the sideline and just stared at Jarrod with a serious look on his face.
Jarrod took a deep breath, dribbled the orange ball three times, then he swung his right arm behind his head, holding the ball in his right hand, as he hurled the ball straight at the hoop, which was on the end of the court where the other players were standing while they were waiting for Ric and Peter to decide who their new teammate would be.
Everyone gasped as the ball soared through the air, hitting the backboard of the suspended fiberglass basketball hoop, before it bounced off the glass and flew through the hoop, bouncing hard on the wooden court below the hoop.
“Alright! I made it! He can’t play! Top THAT, Peter! You can’t shoot like that!” Jarrod said out loud, as he turned around and began to walk towards the hoop.
“Hold it! I haven’t made my shot yet!” Peter shouted back at him.
Suddenly everyone froze and turned towards Peter, who was calmly walking on the court towards the center line.
Peter then extended both of his arms in front of him, as the basketball suddenly began to roll over the hardwood court on its own. The ball rolled from behind the hoop all the way towards Peter, it bounced and ended up caught right in his hands, as if it had a life of its own! Everyone gasped when they saw the ball jump in his hands!
Peter then turned around and continued to walk towards the other end of the basketball court, dribbling the ball as he made his way across the wooden floor in the gym. Every person who was there began to wonder what Peter was going to do. They were all amazed when they realized that Peter was quietly making his way to the opposite end of the court!
Instead of standing under the hoop on the opposite side, Peter then continued to walk down the baseline of the court towards the far right corner.
“What’s he doing?” Josh whispered at Salvador.
“I don’t know! I seems like he’s going to attempt a basket from the other end of the court!” Salvador replied.
Ric was still standing on the sideline, but he was utterly amazed by Peter. He realized that Peter was about to do something incredible, just for him, just so that he could play. He was feeling very grateful for having met someone like Peter, who seemed to be the kind of person who was extremely loyal towards his friends.
Peter planted his feet right on the corner of the opposite side of the basketball court. He turned towards the hoop where the other players were, dribbling the ball three times. Then he held on to the ball, closed his eyes, and remained frozen for a few seconds, as if he were saying a silent prayer. Then he opened his eyes and stared intensely at the hoop on the other end of the court, estimating the distance to the hoop from where he was standing. Everyone held their breath as it became clear that he was going to attempt the most difficult shot in basketball.
Then Peter took a deep breath, he held the ball in his right hand as he extended his arm behind his head. He then hurled the ball straight for the hoop on the other end, using every ounce of strength he could muster.
Ric’s jaw dropped wide open as he looked up and saw the ball soaring over his head at a very high arc, almost touching the beams which gave support to the high ceiling of the gym.
And everyone gasped when the ball traveled straight through the hoop without touching the rim or the backboard, only brushing against the white net which was attached to the bottom of the hoop. When the ball came down and made its first bounce on the wooden court, everyone immediately realized that they had witnessed Peter’s full-court basket.
“Yes! He did it! He made it!” Salvador cheered out loud, raising his arms above his head.
Ric couldn’t help but smile. At the same time, he felt almost feeling overwhelmed with joy. How was it possible that this teen basketball player was willing to risk everything just to make a full-court basket, so that Ric could play? To him, Peter had suddenly become an incredible friend, and Ric would make sure he would never forget this incredible moment.
The teammates suddenly felt an incredible sense of awe and respect towards Peter, for they were very well aware of the extreme level of difficulty in making such a basket. Everyone cheered but Jarrod, who shook his head in disbelief. Then Jarrod turned towards Peter, who was still standing at the other end of the court.
Everyone expected Peter to say something to Jarrod. Peter had every right to brag and boast right now, for he was King of the court. But he remained silent, and only continued to stare at Jarrod with a serious look on his face.
“I’m out…” Jarrod said, as he bowed his head while he gracefully walked off the court. He couldn’t compete with this kind of power, and he knew it. He quietly walked over to his bench and sat down, grabbing his towel to wipe the sweat from his mouth.
“Ric, you’re in…” Peter said calmly, as he walked back towards the other end of the court. Ric just couldn’t hold in how he felt, and he immediately ran up to the teen basketball player.
“Peter! That was incredible! I have never seen anyone do that before! You’re awesome! Thank you so much…” Ric said to him, as they both walked past the center line. Peter just remained silent, while looking back at Ric with a smile.
“Wait here, I need to take care of something first!” Peter said, as he suddenly stopped, standing right before the place where Jarrod was sitting on the bench.
“Oh oh…. Now he’s going to let him have it…” one of the players said.
Peter extended his arms again, and the basketball magically rolled towards him one more time, bouncing right into his hands while he stood before Jarrod. Then Peter walked towards the bench and offered the ball to Jarrod.
“Here’s the ball. I’ll sit on the bench, so that you can play.”
Jarrod’s jaw dropped open wide, when Peter offered him the chance to play. He had expected Peter to brag about his full-court basket; instead Peter humbly offered to sit on the bench and to give his teammate the opportunity to play after all.
“But… why?” Jarrod wondered out loud.
“I just wanted to give Ric the chance to play, that’s all. I’ll go ahead and sit on the bench, so that you can play in my place. All I really care about is that the kid gets a chance to play basketball with us, nothing more” Peter replied. Jarrod thought about it and shook his head.
“No, Peter. You go play this last game with your friend. You deserve it…”
“Alright, then. No hard feelings?” Peter asked Jarrod. Jarrod looked up to him and realized that Peter was seriously going to allow Jarrod to take his place.
“No hard feelings.”
Peter stared at Jarrod and just smiled back.
“Thank you, Jarrod. I just want to apologize to you for making you feel bad. Thanks for allowing the kid to play anyway, I really appreciate it…” Peter said, as he turned towards Ric and the other teammates.
“Let’s play! Ric, you’re on my team!” Peter shouted, as he tossed the ball at Ric.
Peter stepped outside, as Ric threw the ball back. Then Peter hurled the ball at one of the other teammates, and the game could begin. Ric loved playing with Peter, who was completely selfless and passed the ball to him every single time he had the ball. And Ric made every shot he attempted, much to his own amazement! Peter did not score a single basket, but he continued to pass the ball to Ric every single time. When the time was up and the coach ordered them to leave the gym, Peter’s team was winning by a wide margin!
Josh and Salvador were cheering the whole time, and they couldn’t help but feel immensely proud of Peter and Ric when they returned to the bleachers after the game was over. Ric was determined to make Peter his best friend ever, and Josh and Salvador were feeling the same about their friendship as well!
The four boys were talking and laughing for a few minutes, when Marco suddenly appeared, still wearing his purple Speedo from the pool. He had walked through the big, steel doors, looking for Ric and Josh. He smiled when he saw them sitting in the bleachers, talking to two other boys. He began to walk towards them.
“Hey Josh, Ric! Come on, it’s time to go!” Marco shouted at them.
“Hey Marco, I would like you to meet Peter and Salvador! They’re both Wizards! Isn’t that cool?” Ric said to Marco, with a big smile on his face.
“Yeah, yeah, sure…” Marco laughingly said, expressing his disbelief. “I’m going to change in the locker room, and then we’re heading home. Hopefully Francisco will have returned from the Summer School session by that time.
“Can Peter and Salvador come with us? We wanted to show them something we got at home…” Ric asked him.
“No, I don’t think so. We’re going to wait for Francisco to get home and then we’ll make you guys’ dinner. Then I want you two to go to bed early tonight, because we have a big day planned for tomorrow!” Marco replied as he headed toward the locker room.
Both Josh and Ric were very disappointed. Then Josh pulled Ric towards him, and whispered something in his ear. Ric at his turn walked up to Peter, and pulled his arm.
“What’s up?” Peter asked him.
“Let’s follow Marco into the locker room… I want to ask you to use your magic on him, okay?” Ric asked Peter. The four boys then walked into the locker room after Marco. Marco had already stripped off his Speedo and was in the showers.