PhantomEnder-7’s left leg was bent in a way that made him look less like a hero and more like a mangled joke. Jasper tried to flatten the collectible card as best he could, but no matter how much he smoothed it out, the crease remained. 

“Dang…” He tossed it back into the bag and pulled out the poster tucked neatly between the magazine’s pages. He unfolded it twice over and held it wide in front of him.

PhantomEnder-9, perfect as ever. She was leaning, gun in hand, against a pile of broken machines. There was no emotion in her artificial eyes, but that didn’t stop her from looking lonely.

“I did it!” Ralf yelled, shaking the handheld he was playing.

“You got lucky,” Roy said, chewing on a mouthful of potato chips.

“No way,” Ralf replied. “That was skill.”

Roy poked a greasy finger at the screen. “Then do it again.”

“I will!” Ralf slammed away at the buttons.

“When you die, it’s my turn,” Luke said, sitting idly by.

“I’m not gonna die,” Ralf said.

His brother laughed. “You’re dying right now!” 

Jasper was tired of all three of them. He folded up the poster, put it back with the magazine, and shoved them both into his plastic bag before standing up to get away.

“Where you going?” Luke asked him.

“Gotta pee.” He headed down the slope of the canal toward the water’s edge. Quick, little waves hurried down the man-made river. Jasper walked alongside them, staring at the deep grays and greens of the mossy stone riverbed.

He soon came to the concrete underside of the Third Street Bridge, a favorite hangout for many of the kids his age. It was a quiet place, cool and shadowed from the sun. 

Jasper stepped into the tunnel and looked around. No one was there. He unzipped his pants and tried to decide if he should piss into the water or go on the wall. He chose the latter, since it seemed the right thing to do.

He relieved himself on the wall, watching as his pee turned the concrete dark. He was halfway done when a voice rang out from the other side of the canal.

“You gonna do that here?” a girl asked.

“Sorry!” Jasper reeled from the sudden interruption. He slapped his underwear back on. “I didn’t know anyone was there.” 

“Well, you do now,” she said, as he turned to face her.

She had rainbow-colored hair cut short above her shoulders. It was the first and only thing Jasper noticed before she stepped into the water with her shoes still on. 

“What are you doing?” he asked her. 

“I’m coming over,” she said, already halfway across.

“Wait!” Jasper quickly zipped up his pants. 

“You seem awfully nervous.” She stepped out of the water with ease. Her shoes were soaking wet, but she didn’t seem to care. 

“Sorry,” Jasper said, “I, uh, was just…”

“Pissing all over that wall?” She nodded toward the wet concrete. “I know. I saw you do it, remember?”

Jasper got choked up by an unexpected lump in his throat.

“Yeah…” he said, coughing it away.

“So, what’s your name?” the girl asked him.

“Me?” he replied. “I’m Jasper.”

“Nice to meet you, Jasper.” She took a step closer. Her skin was pale and bright, like the moon out on a sunny day. Her features were sharp, softened only by the playful mischief hiding behind her smile.

“I’m Stoyanna,” she said, “but my friends call me Stoya.” Her eyes lit up with a bright spectrum of colors that perfectly matched her rainbow hair. “What would you like to call me, Jasper?”

“W-w-what should I?” Jasper stuttered.

“Hmm…” She eyed him up and down. “You can call me Juno.”

“Juno?” he repeated.

She leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “It’s my real name.”

“Real name?” Jasper was lost in the nearness of her body.

“That’s right,” she said, standing tall. “The name’s Juno Sixteen.”

She was taller than him by a few inches, and Jasper had to look up to meet her eyes. 

“Sixteen?” he replied.

“Is that all you can do? Repeat what I say?”

“No,” he said, breaking the spell.

She studied him carefully, her arms crossed and her eyes cutting him to pieces.

“Good,” Juno said. “What’s your real name then?”

“My what?” he replied.

“Your real name, Jasper. Let’s hear it.” 

“Oh, I only have one name,” he said.

“Just one? Then what is it?” she asked.

“Oaks,” Jasper answered, an urge to play it cool suddenly coming over him. He leaned against the wall and nearly stepped in his own piss. “Jasper Oaks. That’s my real name.”

Juno grinned. “I like it.”

“You do?” Jasper leaned off the wall.

Juno turned and walked back to the shore. She knelt beside the water and ran her hand through the current.

“Tomorrow’s my birthday,” she said, a shadow crossing her face. “I’ll be sixteen.”

“No kidding?” Jasper crouched beside her. “Juno Sixteen, turning sixteen years old.” 

“Isn’t it ridiculous?” she said, her fingers playing in the water. 

“I think it’s kind of cool,” he said.

“Thanks.” Juno stood up. “I’ve got to go now, Jasper.”

“Go?” He followed her. “Why?”

“Can we meet again?” she asked, stepping into the canal.

“Of course,” Jasper replied, watching the sway of her rainbow hair as she made her way across the water. His gaze drifted downward to her body, where her slim waist moved beneath the fabric of her white t-shirt. Her pale blue jeans, soaked at the cuffs, fit snug against her long legs. 

Juno leapt out of the water and onto the opposite shore. She turned around to face Jasper, her eyes no longer shining bright.

"See you tomorrow,” she said with a wave of her hand. 

“Wait!” he called after her. “Where can I find you!?”

“Wherever!” Juno said, heading up the slope of the canal.

“When!?” He didn’t want to let her go.

“Whenever!” she shouted, disappearing out of sight.

Jasper stood alone in the shadows of the Third Street Bridge.

“I’ll be there,” he said, already waiting for tomorrow.