by Gracie Dix
“MOM!” Oliver and Jessica shouted. Oliver threw the bed sheets back and jumped out of bed to help his mom, but he didn’t make it very far. He would have collapsed to the floor if Jessica hadn’t put an arm around his waist to support him.
Another doctor walked by, saw what was happening and sighed, “Drama, drama, drama. This hospital is full of it,” while quickly coming into the room to get Oliver back into his bed. Meanwhile, Oliver's doctor helped Mrs. Fletcher sit down in the chair.
“I’ll go get an IV,” the other doctor declared, racing out.
4.2
Three days later, both Mrs. Fletcher and Oliver Fletcher were out of the hospital. It was the middle of the school year and, after Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher had a long talk, they both agreed that it was time to look for a new school for the kids. They thought part of Jessica and Oliver’s actions were because they didn't seem to have any good friends at their middle school, which made Oliver and Jessica realize that their parents might never be able to understand what they were truly going through.
It was hard hiding their Powers, which made making friends hard, too. They knew they had been in danger at their mom's work when it was on fire, but how could they NOT try and help their mom and all those people? They understood, also, that parents aren’t perfect—and that’s perfectly all right.
Luckily, their mom's friends at work were so grateful for their help, that they kept Oliver's secret. None of them had even seen Jess, so her secret was safe as well. The fire rescue squad just assumed she had been visiting her mom at work when the fire broke out.
The school year continued to pass by, with no new friends and, as far as they knew, no new ideas for a new school. Oliver and Jessica began getting used to using their Powers more and more each day, using them only in secret when they were home. For Oliver, it wasn’t enough, and for Jessica, it was just boring.
One week before the twins’ thirteenth birthday, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher had an announcement that would change everything. An announcement that would end up being the start of a new life for Oliver and Jessica.
Chapter 5
A week before their big day . . .
Oliver and Jessica were asleep in their room early one Saturday morning when Jessica woke up. She glanced at the alarm clock on Oliver’s bedside table and sighed quietly. It read 4:36 a.m.
Both Jessica and Oliver started having trouble sleeping as the school year went on. The closer they had gotten to their birthday, the more Jessica had been telling herself that it was just birthday jitters, but she knew the truth. She knew it was them. She and Oliver had been getting restless with their Powers lately. It was as if their Powers just wanted to burst out of them. School had been more of a drag than ever before and the twins didn’t know how to handle it. The more Jessica thought about their predicament, the more she felt her eyes water.
Oliver sat up quickly from the bunk below. “Geez, Jess. Could you chill with the sad vibes please? All I can Sense is your puppy-killing sadness. I already have plenty of that myself. I don’t need yours,” he whispered grumpily.
Jessica went silent for a minute. It had been a while since Oliver had scolded her like that. She thought they were in this together. “O-Okay,” she stuttered, putting her head face-down in her pillow.
“Aw, man. I’m sorry, Jess. It’s just . . . I just woke up because I Sensed your sadness. It was so sudden . . . I just didn’t expect it. That was just outright mean of me. I’m sorry, sis,” he sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fists.
“It’s fine. You can just go back to sleep, Oliver,” she mumbled through her pillow.
Oliver didn’t say anything for a second which made Jessica think he actually had gone back to sleep. Her shoulders began to shake. Suddenly, she felt a comforting hand on her back. When Jessica looked up, she saw that Oliver had climbed into her bunk and had his hand on her back. She sat up and quickly dried her eyes, not wanting to show “weakness.” Even in the dark, Jessica could see Oliver’s sad, but supportive, smile. She moved to lean against the wall of her bunk bed as did Oliver. He put an arm around her shoulders.
“Tell me about it,” he whispered softly, with his baby blue eyes trained on her.
“I’m lonely, Ollie,” she said, bowing her head. She went silent and looked at her brother once more. He really wanted to know what was wrong. He wasn’t pretending, so she wouldn’t either. She closed her eyes in preparation to let it all out. Oliver squeezed her shoulder caringly.
“We’re lonely. We STILL haven’t made any real friends! We’re almost 13!” Jessica cried quietly, choking down sobs.
“Jess, you still have Marcy, even though I know you don't get to see her very often. And, we have each other,” Oliver exclaimed. Then he thought for a second. “Although, I feel like it’s not enough. You know what I mean? I mean, I love you, Jess, but . . . we need more than each other. Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“Exactly,” she muttered. “Even though Mom and Dad have been looking at new schools for us, I don’t think I can last another week at our stupid school! I know I should be grateful for what we have, but it’s hard.”
“Jess, you and I, we are grateful. It’s just . . . everybody needs friends. Even grateful people. And it's really hard that we feel like we can't let anyone know about our Powers. They're such a big part of us. But at least we have each other,” Oliver assured her. “We can do this, sis. I know we can!”
“Yeah,” she agreed, sniffing. Jessica glanced at Oliver’s face. He wore a distant expression, almost as if he were thinking of a better life. “Are you okay, Ollie?”
“No. I will be, though,” he responded, throwing her another sad smile.
“Promise?” she asked, scooting closer to her brother. She put her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah,” he answered, ruffling her hair. Jessica let him get away with it and closed her eyes sleepily. She felt Oliver fix her hair using his unoccupied hand and giggled slightly. She could practically feel Oliver smiling at her. “I love you so much, sis.”
“I love me, too,” she laughed, lifting her head from his shoulder. Oliver began to join her in laughter.
After a minute of good laughter, the kids heard a voice from downstairs, “Go back to bed, kids!” Mr. Fletcher growled in the tone he usually used when he’s woken from his hibernation.
Oliver and Jessica began to quiet down, still in good spirits. They felt very tired. “I really do love you, Ollie,” she whispered.
Oliver smiled and pulled his sister into a hug. “I know,” he whispered back. “I’ve always known.”
Once they said goodnight, and Oliver went back down to his bunk, he waited until he heard the soft gentle sound of Jessica’s light snoring before going to sleep himself. He glanced over at his clock for the last time before he closed his eyes and sighed wearily. It read 5:02 a.m.
5.2
“So, how did you sleep?” Mrs. Fletcher asked as she was preparing breakfast.
Oliver and Jessica shared a glance. “I slept all right,” Oliver answered, looking down at the kitchen table with his hands in his lap.
“Same,” Jessica mumbled quietly, followed by a short silence.
“Mom?” Oliver sighed sadly, “Why do you continue to send us to that stupid school?”
“We send you to that school to learn! For a boy with some kind of super intelligence, you sure are dense,” Mr. Fletcher grumbled. He had just finished getting ready for work and was cranky. Oliver held it together since he knew that comment was one of the symptoms of his dad's morning tiredness.
“Honey! No!” Mrs. Fletcher scolded. “Your son is trying to make sense of things, and you are being very insensitive to him!”
“Analytical and Processing Intelligence,” Oliver said in a confident tone.
“What?” Mr. Fletcher snapped, sitting across from Oliver with his morning cup of coffee in hand.
“Analytical and Processing Intelligence,” Oliver repeated. “That’s what I’m calling my ‘super intelli
gence.’”
“Well, all right then,” Mr. Fletcher grumbled, sipping from his coffee.
“Sooooo . . . About that stupid school . . . ” Jessica prompted, eager to get back on the topic.
“Right!” Oliver yipped with determination. “Why do we STILL go there? I’m not trying to force our problems on you guys, but we need a change! You realize we have NO friends, right? That’s not healthy! Mom, Dad, we hate it there!”
“Yeah, guys!” Jessica echoed, crossing her arms. “Don’t make me run away from home!”
“Whoa, kids!” Mrs. Fletcher gasped. “Look, if you want to go to a different school, that’s fine with me, but you do NOT take that tone with me or your father! You understand?” Both Oliver and Jessica nodded, but wisely stayed silent. “We're looking at school options for you. You just have to tough it out for the short period of time until the school year is over. I’m sorry you feel like you don’t have any friends though. You’ve got to have some, right? You kids have been going to that school for a while now.”
“We don’t, not really. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I can FLY, Jess can produce a blue, GLOWING FORCE FIELD, and I am smarter than your average COLLEGE STUDENT!” Oliver yelled, standing up.
“And apparently a super temper,” Mr. Fletcher added under his breath
“Dad!” Jessica muttered, “Not helping!”
“Geez, dad! Couldn’t you at least PRETEND that you love me?!” Oliver exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
“Stop being so dramatic, son. I think we both know that I love you,” Mr. Fletcher countered, standing up to match Oliver’s stance.
“Boys! Settle down, now,” Mrs. Fletcher said nervously.
“Dad, you don’t know what it’s like to be us—to be so different. No one does,” Jessica said, standing up to put her hand on Oliver’s shoulder.
“Stay out of this, Jessica!” Mr. Fletcher demanded.
“Don’t talk to her like that!” Oliver screamed protectively.
“BOYS!” Mrs. Fletcher yelled. Once everyone was quiet, she sighed and continued. “If I EVER have to raise my voice like that again, you BOTH are grounded. Yes, I WILL ground my husband if I need to! Oliver, Jess, get to school!”
“Of course,” Jessica squeaked respectfully.
“I hate you, dad!” Oliver shouted, pointing at his father. Oliver Flew up and shot out the door at full speed.
“Ollie!” Jessica yelled after him. She raced out the door on foot, hoping Oliver was still close to the house.
5.3
A few hours later, Mrs. Fletcher was pacing the kitchen while attempting to figure out how to help her kids with their school issue. Mr. Fletcher decided to take a sick day from work, so he was relaxing in their shared bedroom.
“Honey!” Mr. Fletcher called, “When did I go wrong?”
Mrs. Fletcher sighed and put her hand to her forehead. “When you said, ‘stop being so dramatic’ after you pulled the line ‘a super temper’ out of your back pocket,” she responded, sticking her head in the bedroom door.
“Well . . . he was being dramatic,” Mr. Fletcher huffed stubbornly.
“Of course, he was. You shouldn’t have told him that though. It wasn't very helpful,” She sighed, flopping on the bed.
“He knows I love him, right?” Mr. Fletcher whispered, digging his face into his pillow.
“Well, obviously,” Mrs. Fletcher answered as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “He’s just riled up.”
“Yes, but we were kids once, too. If we were siblings and our parents had said that to us, we’d deny it,” Mr. Fletcher mentioned while raising his head from the pillow.
“Yes, you’re correct. Eventually, Oliver will remember that you are a big part of his life. You raised him, helped feed him, clothed him, and loved him his entire life. You still DO love him! Once he cools off, he’ll come to realize that,” Mrs. Fletcher explained.
“You’re so right! I did do that for him!” Mr. Fletcher agreed, quickly sitting up in bed. He crossed his arms with a stubborn expression on his face.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Fletcher mumbled under her breath.
Mr. Fletcher’s stubborn grin subsided, and he suddenly uncrossed his arms. Now, he wore a pout on his face. “I . . . I still feel bad for yelling at him,” he muttered weakly.
Mrs. Fletcher smiled sincerely. “That’s good. It means you care. Don’t let it eat you up though. When he comes home, you both need to apologize to each other. Remember, it doesn’t matter who apologizes first, just don’t force it from him,” she explained carefully.
“You’re so good at this. At making people feel better and resolving relationships and such,” Mr. Fletcher sighed, now relaxed again.
“Now you know where sweet Jessi gets it from,” Mrs. Fletcher replied with a smile forming on her face. She got up from the bed and began walking back toward the kitchen. Before she left the bedroom, she said, “You should take a nap. After all, you are taking a sick day from work.” She then turned off the lights and shut the door, knowing he would do just that.
5.4
It was lunch time and, like usual, Oliver and Jessica were sitting by themselves. They still hadn’t talked about what had happened that morning, but Jessica could tell that Oliver needed to talk about it. He was being very pouty.
“Hey, how are you doing after the whole . . . morning situation?” she asked cautiously.
“How do you think I’m doing, sis?” he responded angrily. He gave Jessica a painless, but abrupt shove. “Just leave it alone, Jess.”
“No. You need to talk about this! Especially before we get home!” she pushed stubbornly.
“Dad hates me! We have no friends! Life SUCKS! What more is there to talk about!?” he yelled harshly.
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “That,” she said pointedly. “We are going to talk about this RIGHT NOW. No exceptions.”
“No,” Oliver growled.
“Yes!” Jessica insisted firmly. “Just . . . not here.” She grabbed her twin’s arm and pulled him into the empty hallway outside the dining hall. Once there, she plopped Oliver down against the wall and slid down next to him. They were both silent for several minutes until Jessica whispered softly, “You know Dad doesn’t actually hate you, right?”
Oliver sighed with the realization that his sister wouldn’t let this go until he talked about it. “I guess,” he replied quietly.
Jessica put her arm around his shoulder and smiled. “See, I knew it,” she said. “You don’t hate him either though, do you?”
“Well . . . no. It’s just . . . why would he do that?” Oliver asked pulling his knees up to his chest. “Why would he say those things to me while I am in THAT PARTICULAR mood?”
His sister chuckled a bit. “I’m not sure, but boy were you mad!” Jessica laughed, messing up HIS hair now.
Oliver let a sliver of a smile show on his face. “Yeah, all right. Ha ha,” he said, playfully punching Jessica in the shoulder.
“Anyway,” she continued, “you know you WERE being just a bit over the top, right?”
“Yeah. Man, Jess. You’re always right!” Oliver exclaimed.
“I know! Why do you think we’re twins, huh? I was born a few minutes after you because the world knew you would need me eventually!” Jessica joked.
Oliver laughed and then went silent for a couple seconds. He broke the silence with, “I feel a lot better now. Thanks, Jess.”
“Are you ready to face Dad when you get back home?” she questioned, standing up.
“Uh . . . yeah. Absolutely. I think I should apologize, too. I was kind of a jerk,” Oliver answered as he stood up.
“Oh, yeah! A total jerk,” Jessica laughed again.
“Wow, shut up, sis,” Oliver joked, pushing his sister.
“Yeah, you need me,” she stated, grabbing his hand and walking back into the dining hall.
Chapter 6
Their BIG DAY . . .
Oliver and Jessica were lying in bed
sound asleep at 3:32 in the morning, dreaming of their big day. Meanwhile, Mrs. Fletcher was up extra early and working in the kitchen, preparing the largest birthday cake in the world. She was at peace, as well. Since Oliver and his father had made up, everyone had been in high spirits, and she thought they seemed anxious for a happy surprise. Therefore, Mrs. Fletcher decided to prepare that surprise. No one was expecting a GIANT cake! She was almost two-fifths of the way done when she got a phone call.
"Hmm, that's weird. It's not even four o'clock in the morning," Mrs. Fletcher thought. She glanced at her phone and saw it was a number not in her contact list. “At least it doesn’t say ‘unknown number,’” she murmured. “That would be creepy.”
She thought about letting it go to voice mail. Who would be calling this early? But after it rang a few times she decided to pick up the phone. “Hello? Who is this?” she asked.
“Hello ma’am!” someone said, “Are you Mrs. Fletcher, mother of Oliver and Jessica Fletcher?”
“Um. Yes, that would be me,” she replied cautiously.
“Since it’s quite early in the morning, and I am calling at an inconvenient time, I’ll get straight to the point,” the voice said. “My name is Mrs. Macintosh. I am a teacher at Superhero School. My days are quite busy . . . well, you probably cannot even imagine. I'm so happy you 'happened' to be up for my call," she said mysteriously. "I’d like to know if your kids are interested in attending Superhero School for next year?”
Mrs. Fletcher blinked in surprise. “I have no clue what you’re talking about! It's four o'clock in the morning! Who do you think you are?” she responded angrily.
“Please relax, Mrs. Fletcher,” Mrs. Macintosh exclaimed. “I saw your kids rescue several employees, including me, from that burning building earlier this year. Somehow, I always manage to be in the right place at the right time," she chuckled. "They are very finely tuned for kids with Powers. We will have an opening in both seventh and eighth grades next year. I think Oliver and Jessica would excel at our school.”
