Sidekick Returns

by Auralee Wallace

  The caption beneath the video read St. James Industries announces breakthrough treatment. My eyes jumped around the screen looking for a LIVE tag, but found none. It had to have been taped earlier in the day. There had been a time, just a short while ago, when I knew everything she was thinking almost the same instant she did, and vice versa. It was pretty surreal looking at her face now, my face, and feeling like I was looking at a stranger. The heel of my hand automatically went to my chest to rub away the feeling that I was collapsing in upon myself.

  I stood, eyes transfixed on the screen. I didn’t move … couldn’t move … at least, I couldn’t until I felt something scamper across my feet.

  Panic shot me into the air as my eyes dropped to the ground.

  Rat!

  I stumbled backwards until I bumped into a fire hydrant. I grabbed the cool metal to steady myself. Ew, greasy. I took another look at the rat, who had stopped running to plant himself by the corner of the building. Huh, he wasn’t so bad. Actually, he was kind of cute, cleaning his pointed furry face with swipes of his little rat hands. Suddenly, he stopped his ablutions and looked up at me.

  ‘Hello.’

  He didn’t say anything, but there was something in the way he was regarding me. It was almost like he was trying to tell me something.

  ‘What’s going on, little man?’

  He cocked his head.

  Then it hit me.

  ‘Oh my God!’ I shouted, startling a poor woman walking past. ‘I know what you are! You’re like a Destiny Rat!’

  I knew it was crazy. Totally crazy. Maybe it was a bad bit of mustard from the sandwiches I had eaten earlier. But my sister being on TV? The rat looking at me like he was waiting for me to do something? Suddenly it was all so clear. I knew what I had to do. I strode over to the store’s glass door and swung it open.

  I spared no time looking around, but marched right up to the counter where two teenaged boys in matching navy polos were stationed, staring at me, looking mildly concerned. One of them took in my wet appearance and craned his neck to look outside, I suppose to check the weather. The other one recovered more quickly and started to say, ‘Can I help y—’

  I whipped my hand across the counter, palm up, fingers spread. ‘I need to use your phone.’

  The boy’s eyes widened, and he shot a questioning glance at his co-worker.

  ‘Don’t look at him,’ I said sharply. ‘You don’t need his permission. He’s always telling you what to do.’ The boy’s eyebrows furrowed slightly in question as his friend started to protest. I shot one finger toward the other boy’s lips. ‘Quiet. Now’s not the time. He doesn’t want to hear it.’ I moved my gaze back to my main target. ‘Phone. Please.’

  The kid grabbed a phone from its base near the cash register and slowly passed it in my direction. I snatched it from his slightly clammy fingers.

  ‘Miss, is this a local call? Because my boss—’

  ‘Hush!’ I said in staccato burst, already dialling. ‘I’m on the phone.’

  I leaned my lower back against the counter as the electronic ring sounded in my ear. This was perfect. My burner phone was almost out of minutes, and Jenny had stopped answering when I called. I guess she knew I was now going by Unknown Caller.

  Enough was enough. Right or wrong, probably wrong given that most everything my father did was rooted in evil, Jenny was healed … if that was the right word. I didn’t have to worry about the cost of her care anymore. I could tell her the truth about our father, and she could come live with me in my hole of an apartment. Hey, maybe we could get a bigger hole if we were both working at it. It rang. I closed my eyes and took a breath. I needed to handle this carefully. I had hurt her. Things had gotten out of control. I needed to take the higher ground here and not get emotional. I had to take ownership of the damage I had done to our relationship—not get wrapped up in her rejection of me. I needed to be apologetic—

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Why are you being such a douche!’

  Chapter 22

  I slapped my forehead. Bad mouth. Bad, bad mouth.

  She only paused half a second before she fired back. ‘Me? Me? I’m being the douche!’ I ignored the cool rush of shock running through my body. It was still bizarre hearing Jenny’s voice. My voice.

  ‘Yes, you,’ I said, ploughing on. Now, all my hot, bubbly emotions were getting away from me. ‘Okay, I get it. I hurt you. But I’ve said sorry half a billion times.’ At least, I had in my head, but she knew. ‘When are you going to forgive me?’

  Silence.

  Suddenly it felt like someone had stuck a pin in my water balloon of confidence. I inhaled sharply. Nope. This nonsense needed to end. The Destiny Rat had practically said as much. ‘We need to talk.’ I could take whatever hurt she needed to dish out. We had to get past this.

  ‘I agree. Come home.’

  ‘That’s not going to happen,’ I said with a pained laugh. ‘And I can finally tell you why.’

  ‘Oh, you can! That’s great.’ Something in her voice covered my skin with ice crystals. ‘Forget all those times I begged you to tell me what was going on. I’m glad you’ve finally decided to fill me in on your life … our lives.’

  God, it’s true what they say about hearing your own voice. It was grating—especially when it was saying things you really didn’t want to hear. ‘We’re getting off topic. Our father … he’s not a good person. And I don’t just mean in an emotionally cold way. He’s done things. Terrible things.’ I cast a quick glance over my shoulder. The teenaged clerks were looking at least ten percent more alarmed. ‘Once I knew the truth. I had to leave. I had—’

  ‘To leave me behind.’

  ‘I had good reason! I couldn’t take care of you! And I didn’t want you to have to live with Dad knowing the truth about him.’

  ‘Oh, well, thank you for making these life decisions for me,’ she said, voice taut. ‘Being disabled, I have no idea what that’s like.’

  ‘Oh … my … God!’ I shouted. ‘You did not just say that to me!’

  ‘Truth hurts.’

  A few customers around the store were now looking at me. I brought my mouth into a tight pinch and angrily muttered, ‘If you were here right now, I would beat your newly abled ass!’ Given the shocked expression on an older gentleman’s face standing a few feet off, the volume of that last part may have gotten away from me a little bit.

  ‘I’d like to see you t—’ she stopped herself and took a breath. ‘This is going nowhere. Look. I know what you’re going to say about Dad.’

  I chuckled unpleasantly. ‘Oh, I don’t think you do.’

  ‘He told me about Mom. He told me about her problems with alcohol.’

  ‘Brought on by him!’

  ‘No one can make you drink.’

  ‘Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod! Would you stop talking like some freaking counsellor! He let her commit suicide with a biological weapon he invented!’ Shoot. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. I looked back over my shoulder at the boys. Oh yeah, they had gone from alarmed to borderline terrified. ‘Video game,’ I said quickly. ‘You should try it. It’s called, um, Evil Dad.’

  ‘He told me about the drugs, Bremy.’

  My mouth dropped. It felt like something was exploding deep in my head. ‘And you believed him! Come on, you know that is practically the number one go-to to shut people up.’

  ‘And he told me that you’ve been struggling with the delusion that you’re a superhero.’

  My voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. ‘What?’

  ‘That you’ve been roaming the streets trying to stop crime, getting into fights with criminals.’

  I opened my mouth, but nothing would come out.

  ‘Is it true?’

  ‘No … not like he’s making it seem.’ I struggled to find more words. ‘I’m doing good … I mean, well, I’m—’

  ‘Believe it or not. All I want is for you to be safe.’ She stopped, but I could tell she wasn’t done. ‘Dad can hel
p you, if that’s what you want. It’s amazing the things he can do.’

  ‘Oh, wow … just, wow.’ I rubbed my forehead. This was going all wrong. I had to change the course of this. ‘Jenny, it’s still me. It’s still us.’

  Nothing.

  ‘You can’t stay with Dad,’ I said, squeezing my eyes shut. ‘He’s … he’s dangerous. I know he’s helped you. And I’m happy about that, so happy. But the things he’s done …’

  ‘Oh, Bremy,’ she said sadly.

  ‘Oh, Bremy what?’

  ‘Nothing.’ She paused. ‘It’s nothing.’

  ‘No, what? What were you going to say?’

  She sighed. ‘You … it’s just … you always had a thing for drama.’

  ‘Drama! Drama? When have I ever been dramatic!’ I saw the boys looking at me sceptically. ‘Oh, shut up. The both of you.’

  ‘Come home, Bremy. Just come home.’ A beep sounded on the other end, and she was gone.

  Tears stung my eyes.

  I slowly turned around and handed the phone back to the kid behind the counter.

  Both boys studied my face and mirrored an expression of pity mixed with horror.

  ‘What?’ I said, quickly wiping my nose with the back of my hand. ‘You’ve never seen a girl lied to by a Destiny Rat before?’

  ***

  I shambled my way over the city streets on my way back home. The rain had stopped, and the outskirts of the downtown core was once again bustling, but I couldn’t feel any of the night’s electricity. Stupid Jenny … and her stupid, hurtful words.

  I’d show her delusional … wait, that wasn’t right. Whatever.

  I kicked an empty tin can, enjoying the racket it made skipping over the concrete. In a strange way, maybe it made sense that Jenny didn’t understand what I was trying to do. According to Bart, every hero needed an origin story, and those stories were usually filled with a lot of pain. Maybe this was all part of a grander plan. My resolve was being tested.

  I turned a corner a few streets away from my own, leaving some of the hustle and bustle of the city behind. Actually, most of the hustle and bustle. I looked around the familiar surroundings with new eyes. Hmm, maybe Pierce was right to be concerned about my neighbourhood. I stepped around a tipped over garbage can, trying not to focus on the sound my footsteps made echoing off the brick walls that lined the maze of side streets. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something in the air tonight … something expectant … just like the day of the flash mob.

  I shook my head and quickened my pace. I was overtired, that’s all. And maybe my father was getting to me. I had walked these streets a hundred times. Granted, this was the only time the hair on the back of my neck had decided to stand up, but there was no reason to be on edge. Everything was f—

  A scream tore through the night.

  I froze and listened.

  My eyes darted to the mouth of the alley just in front of me. It had come from there. I was almost sure of it.

  I waited a moment longer, not moving.

  ‘Somebody! Help!’

  I jolted hard. Eyes glued to the opening in the street. Definitely there.

  Oh God, what was I supposed to do? This was exactly the type of thing I had been wanting to happen, but I didn’t want to be responsible for someone getting killed while I practised my crime-fighting skills! I curled my hands into fists and took a few steps forwards before I thought, The police!

  I snatched my phone from my pocket as I scuttled closer to the mouth of the alley.

  ‘911, what is your emergency?’

  I quickly licked my lips before saying, ‘Um, hi, there’s a woman screaming for help in an alley.’

  ‘What is your location?’

  Uh-oh. I looked around at the streets. You’d think I’d know the names of the side streets by my apartment! If they even had names …

  ‘Um.’ I edged closer to the corner of the building. ‘It’s the street I turn onto with the store with the cardboard-covered windows, to get to the other street, with the store with all the dead birds hanging in the window, to get to the street that leads to my apartment, which is on West, wait, no yeah, West 32nd.’

  ‘Ma’am, can you be more specific as to the street you are currently on?’

  Finally a question I could answer. ‘No, I cannot.’

  ‘What is your name ma’am?’

  ‘Bremy St. James.’ D’oh!

  ‘Bremy St. James … Ma’am, are you aware that the misuse of emergency services is a criminal offence?’

  This was not going well. I snatched my mask from the back pocket of my last pair of designer jeans and fumbled to get it around my face. ‘Look, you just need to send someone out to the area quick.’ I peeked around the corner. Shoot! I spotted a tiny woman struggling with a behemoth in a ski mask. ‘I’m going in.’

  ‘Ma’am? What? Where are you going in?’

  A tiny moan escaped my lips.

  ‘Ma’am? Ma’am? Are you still there? Where exactly are you going in?’

  I leaned against the gritty brick wall, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. ‘The fray. I’m going into the fray.’

  Chapter 23

  ‘Ma’am, do not go into the fray. I repeat—’

  ‘Nope. I’m going in. Any minute now, I’m going in.’

  ‘Ma’am—’

  I hung up.

  I panted quickly three times, and then turned the corner.

  ‘Hey!’

  The struggling pair froze and looked at me.

  Wait a minute! I knew that girl being attacked. That was my new librarian neighbour … whose name I totally couldn’t recall. ‘Get away from her!’

  The man turned back to my neighbour and yanked at something in her hands. A purse! This was a purse snatching! Relief washed over me like a cucumber body scrub. This was good news! I could handle a purse snatching. But how?

  I quickly scanned the ground and its garbage-y contents. There! Of course! It was worth a shot. I picked up what looked to be a can of beans that had petrified into stone. I juggled it in my hand, testing its weight. Now, if every action movie from the eighties was right, all I had to do was wind up and toss this can right at the bad guy’s head … and he would drop like a bag of rocks. Or at least he might be distracted enough to give my neighbour a chance to run away.

  I took on what I thought might be a good throwing stance, leaned back, and let her fly.

  The can rocketed into the air.

  The potential consequences of my actions became instantly clear.

  ‘Library Girl! Duck!’ I screamed.

  She covered her head while the behemoth man stared into the air, looking slightly confused. As the can began its descent, I thought maybe it had a chance. My aim was surprisingly true, but just as the can was about to connect with the bad guy’s head, he batted it out of the way, smacking it into a dumpster, sending some mice scurrying.

  I sighed. Once again, eighties’ cinematic art forms had lied to me. I was even starting to doubt that interracial cop buddy movies could solve the problem of racism.

  ‘Help!’ Neighbour Girl screeched again, shaking me from my thoughts. Well, I had tried the easy way. Now for the hard.

  I strutted down the alleyway, ignoring my heart that was screaming, Let me out of here! As I neared the pair, though, the most peculiar thing happened. The giant skier looked at me again and … and he froze. His hands then dropped Library Girl’s purse. Then he actually took a couple of steps back …

  I stopped and cocked my head.

  ‘Look, I don’t want any trouble.’

  What the heck was going on here? ‘Um, good?’ I said, before tagging on, ‘I mean, good, because you can’t handle this kind of trouble.’ I briefly wondered if that sounded scary or pornish, but it was too late to take it back now.

  ‘You’re … you’re The Sidekick, aren’t you?’

  My eyes widened to epic proportions. ‘You’ve heard of me?’ I should have said it as a statement, but it c
ame out as a question. I cleared my throat. ‘I mean, you’ve heard of me.’ Much better. I couldn’t believe this was happening! Maybe I had made more of an impression on the city than I realised. Oh! Even better, maybe I was turning into some sort of urban legend! Dammit, why couldn’t I have been wearing my whole outfit and not just the mask? My shirt had a glitter underlay. Glitter wasn’t scary.

  The man lifted his hands up and said, ‘I’m … I’m leaving.’

  I planted my fists on my hips. ‘And I think it would be wise if you never returned!’

  ‘Right. Of course. Thank you.’

  I could barely breathe. This was it! Time for my catchphrase. I cleared my throat. ‘You’re welcome. The Sidekick.’ Okay, that sounded a bit awkward, but it was my catchphrase! I had to say my catchphrase. I stood deathly still as the behemoth lumbered off into the shadows, but inside, there was a party going on. Thankfully, I still had enough sense left to remember my duties. I ran over to Library Girl who was standing all wide-eyed, clutching her purse. Her eyes slowly swivelled from the figure departing into the belly of the alley to me.

  ‘You … you … saved me.’

  Oh God, I had to keep it together. I wanted to be cool, Ryder cool, but I was squirming like a piglet getting a belly rub. I should probably make this quick. ‘Are you alright, ma’am?’

  ‘That was … you’re amazing!’

  Well, maybe I had a little time. ‘All in a day’s work.’ I so loved it when I got to talk in cliché … and Bart wasn’t around to laugh at me.

  ‘I can’t thank you enough,’ she said. ‘Let me call the police, the media! People need to know how you saved me!’

  Oh, now that was tempting. Maybe nobody would recognise me … and I could really use the morale boost.

  ‘You know,’ she said, cocking her head, ‘you look kind of familiar.’

  Or not. I had to keep my identity a secret … at least, I thought I did. Library Girl’s hand rummaged around in her purse. This was all happening too fast. Could I come out of the superhero closet? Could I be Bremy St. James, and claim my sidekick identity? On the one hand, my father couldn’t just nab me and throw me away if I went public. On the other hand, there were so many other considerations. Like the paparazzi! How could I get to the scene of any crime with all of them in the way? Library Girl poked the screen of her phone. Argh!