by Holly Hook
* * * * *
Janelle woke up swaddled in thick blankets.
Ugly brown curtains hung down to one side of her. Her father, Mr. Deville, and Gary sat on the edge of another bed, facing a television with the volume so low that she could only hear the high pitched whine. They’d tilted it away from her.
“She’s awake,” Gary said, tapping her father on the shoulder.
Her father took the remote and clicked off the television. “How you feeling, honey?”
Janelle moved her arms and legs, flexing the joints. It felt so strange to have them again, like she’d been crammed into a body she hadn’t learned how to control yet. “Weird.”
“That’s normal.” Her dad walked over and sat on the side of her bed. “You’ll feel fine tomorrow and we’ll get a flight out of here.”
She looked around at the motel room. “Where are we?”
“Rhode Island.”
Janelle groaned and sank back into the pillow. A queasy feeling filled her stomach. The past week felt like the strangest dream ever. Perhaps, it was. She couldn’t believe she had enjoyed the transformation. But--
“How bad?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” Her father opened the curtains.
Every muscle in her body tightened at his words. “How bad was I? You know what I’m talking about.” She’d find out sooner or later, so it might as well get it over with now. Her heart raced as she waited for his answer.
“Nothing catastrophic as far as we go. You calmed down enough when the time came.” He parted the curtains to peek outside. “You worried everyone for a few days, though.”
“Worried everyone? It was the biggest evacuation in this country’s history,” Gary said.
“Gary!” he snapped, pulling the curtains together.
“Well, she wanted the truth,” he said.
Janelle sat bolt upright as his words sank in. Leave it to Gary to be blunt. “He’s kidding, right?”
“Actually, no, he’s not,” Mr. Deville said. “You, uh, inherited both Andrina’s and my mom’s power, all right. Broke some records, too. It was pretty scary for a little while.”
“But it worked out all right,” her father said with a force that made them both go silent. “People got a good scare, but maybe that’s a blessing in case someone like Andrina comes along again. But they also breathed a big sigh of relief when you calmed down.” He lowered his voice and faced her. “Do you want the details?”
Janelle shook her head, speechless. Details. They could wait. She needed her head to stop spinning first.
“That’s fine,” her father said. “You can always seek them out when you’re ready. Now, what do you want from Burger Planet?”
