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“Hey, over here!”
Toman grinned, a basketball held tightly in his hands. He dashed across the concrete of the playground, arms positioned in front of him in preparation of a throw. Any kid he would get near would run in the opposite direction, but that didn’t matter to him. His target wasn’t even looking his way, instead still focused on finding a hiding place.
He pushed his foot into the ground to stop himself, gaze focused on the girl on the other side of the blacktop. Using the momentum from his run, he pushed more force into his arm, his foot lifting off the ground as he reared the ball back.
A pause, one only present to him, made it seem as if the entire world itself slowed down. It was just him and the girl as he sprung forward, launching the basketball out of his hand. It shot across the playground and beelined for his target. The plants springing out from cracks in the concrete ruffled wildly from the sheer force of the throw. Some kids swore it made gusts of wind that reached miles away, and others would say they even heard the clap of thunder.
The kid looked in his direction in the knick of time, shock evident in her face as she let out a shriek. She hurriedly and ungracefully leaped out of the way of the ball's path, and it hit the rickety chain link fence behind her instead, crashing into the metal with a loud bang.
Toman laughed, one arm wrapped around his stomach as he leaned back. “O-Oh shit, you okay?” He asked, holding back more laughter and dramatically wiping a fake tear from his eye. Kelsey lay sprawled on the ground like a starfish, head turned to glare up at him with an annoyed expression, one that her bird seemed to mirror.
She opened her mouth to speak, but her friend beat her to it. “No swearing.” Craig scolded, butting into their conversation. He was sat by the spring riders with JP, where they were watching Kelsey and the other kids play ball tag. Toman rolled his eyes, approaching where the ball had landed only to see it had collapsed in on itself. They must’ve worn it down enough from the constant use that it deflated. He frowned at the sight, picking it up and squishing it a bit. Yep, it was useless now.
“Yeah! And try throwing less hard, you could’ve hurt Mortimer!” Kelsey yelled, her sword held tightly in her hand as she pointed it at him accusingly. Toman scoffed, she says that as if she hadn’t just dive bombed head first into the dirt a second ago.
“The bird would’ve been fine, you three really need to chill out sometimes.” He said with a wave of his hand, slinging the damaged basketball under his arm. “This thing’s way too flat for us to keep using. Do you guys have another one?”
Craig sputtered indignantly, rising from his position on the ground. “What? You did that, go and get your own ball.” He said, crossing his arms. He furrowed his brows and his mouth pressed into a thin line. It took Toman a second to realize he was trying to look stern.
Toman groaned, placing his free hand on his hip as he glared at the other, “How am I supposed to get another ball? Stop being a baby about it and give me one of yours, Peanuthead!” He huffed.
“You could ask someone else.” Craig said, voice strained and clearly holding himself back from saying something far ruder. He leaned forward, a challenge for him to argue.
“Or go to Kit.” Kelsey suggested.
“Oh! You can go to the junkpile.” JP added cheerfully. The other two turned to stare at him with twin expressions of bewilderment. “What?”
Craig lit up, an idea coming to mind. He turned fully to Jp, a devious smirk on his face. “Oh yeah! You can ask Junklord. He’ll be happy to lend you a ball.” He said.
Kelsey looked at them and a look of realization crossed her face, she nodded along. “Yeah! That kid loves sharing! Just tell him the 10 Speeds sent you.” She said, waving her hand dismissively.
Toman looked at the three, clearly he was missing something here. He decided to shrug it off, instead choosing to humor them “Where's the Junkpile?”
Craig pulled out his map, pushing it into his face. He pointed at a drawing that looked like it was supposed to represent the blacktop. “You just go from here—“ he moved his finger to the other side of the map, to an area that looked extremelyfar away, “—to here.”
Toman bristled, shoving the map away from his face. “No way! That’s past the other Duckmart, it’ll take me all day to get there and back!” He protested, already ready to go and find other kids to hang out with.
“Fine, but it doesn’t even take us that long to get there. If you think we’ll be faster we can go get it..” Craig said, stuffing his map back into his bag. He began to walk away, the other two following behind him.
Toman grit his teeth, “Whatever! I’ll just go get it.” He said, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “I could get it way faster than all 3 of you. They call me Toman, aka The Speed Demon, aka The Flash, aka-“
“Ok we get it.” Kelsey interrupted, stopping her stride to turn back to him. “We’ll wait here so we can keep playing when you get back with the ball.” She says with a grin.
“Oh you should probably take that old ball with you. You can throw it out over there.” Jp said, pointing at the semi-deflated ball under Tomans arm.
Toman nodded at him, his own signature grin on his face. “Just you watch, I’ll be back before you can blink!” He says, making his way to the exit of the blacktop.
“Good luck!” Craig yells from behind him, a sing-song lilt to his voice.
-
He approaches the large wooden gate that is the entrance of the junkpile. The helmets on pikes weren’t exactly a warm and welcoming entrance, but looks can be deceiving.
It was eerily quiet as he entered, and he made his way around to try and find this Junklord the others were talking about. No way was he touching any of the trash that was littering the place.
“Who are you?” A voice suddenly yelled. Toman yelped and turned to the source. A figure was facing away from him, sat on some sort of toilet-contraption on top of a pile of trash. It kind of resembled a throne.
“I’m Toman, are you Junklord?” He asked, hand pressed against his face to try and make his voice louder.
“Who’s asking?” The kid shouted back, shadowed head turning slightly to acknowledge him. Toman still couldn’t make out his face.
“..Me?” He tried to say, though it came out as more of a question than he wanted. “I wanted to ask if you had a ball I could have?”
Junklord pushed the lever at his side, turning his chair around fully. Which.. wow, did he make that? He stood up, looming over Toman as he leveled him with a questioning gaze.
Now that Toman could actually see the other kid, he could tell exactly why people called him Junklord. His entire outfit seemed to be made from the trash littering the place. His headpiece was some sort of circular metal container that had long since broken, creating sharp spikes resembling a crown. He had an old floatie around his neck, and tattered fabric acted as a cape around his shoulders. His pants looked like it was made from a trash bag, and his shoes— or even feet— were covered in duct tape. All his accessories looked like (literal) trash too.
Toman tried to remember what Kelsey wanted him to say once he got here, “The uh..” He knocked his finger against his head, digging deep in his memory to recall the name. “The.. The 10 Speeds! They sent me.” He exclaimed, turning back towards the trash throne.
It seemed like Junklords entire demeanor changed, and a scowl formed on his face. Toman stepped back as he jumped down from the top of the pile. “I told you 10 thieves to stay away! I don’t care if you’re asking now, I’m not giving you anything!” He yelled, approaching Toman with a quick pace.
Toman threw his arms up placatingly, careful not to drop the old ball. “Wait, I didn’t mean that! That’s what Kelsey told me to say!” He tried, backing up as the other kept up his beeline. Tomans back finally hit something, and he didn’t need to look to know it was a huge pile of trash.
Junklord stopped his stride about half a foot away. He looked up at him, glare searching his face for traces of a lie. Toman tried to put up his charming smile, but he was far too nervous for it to be effective.
“Fine.” Junklord said, averting his gaze. Toman let out a quiet sigh of relief, relaxing his shoulders from their tense state. He felt a wave of annoyance hit him as he realized why the stump kids were so adamant he come to this place, and he swore he’d get them back one day.
He followed the other kid as he walked further into the trash, side eying some of the grosser looking parts. They finally made a stop around a weirdly assembled pile of trash.
Junklord pushed a soccer ball into his chest, though it felt a little deflated. Less so than the one under his arm, but still too much. “Do you have anything more.. full of air?”
The kid groaned, snatching it back. “You seriously need it completely aired up? Just kick it harder or something.” He said. Toman smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders.
Junklord averted his gaze again before digging further into the trash. He was mumbling under his breath, but Toman couldn’t catch exactly what was being said.
He suddenly jumped up from his perched position, pushing the same ball into his chest again. This time there was the addition of another object. Toman dropped the old ball in his haste to latch onto the items. “What’s this?”
Junklord tilted his head slightly, “A needle pump?” He said, face scrunched in confusion. Toman looked at the thing in his hand and then back at Junklord. “Do you seriously not know what it is?” He asked, surprise evident on his face. When Toman reluctantly shook his head he sighed, gesturing for him to put them on the ground.
He turned the soccer ball around until he found a little hole. Picking up the pump, he gestures to it. “You just sort of stick this needle part in, then start pushing the air in. Be careful not to add much. It explodes.” Toman watched as he used the pump, holding himself back from saying he kind of wanted to see that happen.
Once Junklord deemed it full enough he pulled the needle out, picking up the ball to assess if it actually did need more air. He nodded to himself, shoving the ball into Tomans chest. “Here. Tell Craig and his friends to not send people over here.” He said with a scowl, getting up and walking back the way they came.
Toman looked down at the soccer ball and pump. He would ask for a different ball, but he’s a little afraid he might already be on thin ice. This one would just have to do for now.
He picked up his old ball, throwing it into the pile Junklord had gotten the new one from. He then picked up the pump and new ball, making his way out the same way the other kid had gone.
“Thanks for the stuff, I’ll let them know what you said!” He yelled towards where Junklord was standing. His mouth was set into a thin line, like he was displeased by something. He didn’t say anything though, so Toman decided not to question it.
Toman left the Junkpile. The sun was still decently high in the sky, so he had enough of the day left. He made his way back to the blacktop with the new (..or old, I guess) items in hand.
Craig, Kelsey, and Jp were all still on the playground like they said they’d be, chatting while hanging out on the jungle gym.
“Hey guys!” Toman exclaimed. The group turned to look at him. Shock covered their faces as they looked at the items he brought back. Toman smirked smugly, “Told you I’d get a ball, and I got this thing too.” He said, jostling the pump around a little in emphasis.
“H-how?!” The three yelled out at the same time.
Toman tucked his chin in his hand, basking in their shock. “Because I’m Toman, aka the Charismatic King, aka the Sweet Talking Tyrant, aka Better Than You!” He exclaimed, a smug expression on his face as he said the last words.
“He gave you both of those things? Even after you said you were sent by the 10 Speeds?” Kelsey said, hand gripping the bars tightly.
“No thanks to you.” Toman said, narrowing his eyes at the girl to show his annoyance.
“I had to teach him a whole life lesson to give me one bike tire! He gave you two things for free?!” Craig yelled, offense written all over his face. Did they really leave that bad of an impression at their first meeting?
“You better believe it, Peanuthead. Also he wanted me to tell you not to send people over there.”
Jp looked down at the palms of his hands, “maybe I can go get the rest of those dominos.” He said with wonder in his voice.
Toman had no idea what that one was about, but he didn’t care as he basked in the glory of his win. Just another day of him proving his superiority to the creek.