I close my eyes and enjoy my soak.
Behind my eyelids, images begin to flash through my mind. I see the image of Miss Wheeler being shot on that small television screen, then that poor man having his head blown away. I remember the look of horror in their eyes just before the trigger was pulled.
I open my eyes. The floodgates open. I crack.
Great heaving sobs threaten to take away my very breath with their ferocity.
I lose track of time. When the tears eventually stop, I take some deep breaths and then climb out. I’m still shaking when I wrap a large pink towel around my torso and wipe away the condensation from the mirror.
My face looks quite pink now. My new pale blue eyes glimmer. What did they do to us? And why? It didn’t make sense. Why give us these powers? Unless of course, they didn’t know what the outcome would be. And who is behind it all? Why is he doing this, what’s his agenda?
There’s a knock on the bathroom door.
“Just a second.” I call out.
I grab my contact case and slip my colored contacts back in. I walk to the door and open it. Jessica is standing in her dark blue pajamas. She’s holding a mug of hot chocolate.
“You want to sleep in my room tonight?” she asks timidly.
“Thanks. That would be great.” I say and switch off the bathroom light and follow her to her room down the hall.
As I sit on her spare bed sipping the hot chocolate, Jessica sits on her bed. Her blue eyes look troubled.
“Are you okay?” I ask as I take another sip.
“Me? Yeah, I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“Britney, how can you be so calm about what happened? They could have killed you.” Jessica says and stands up with clenched fists.
“But they didn’t. And they can’t hurt me now, can they?” I say.
“Don’t you want to see whoever’s responsible for it all, behind bars?” Jessica asks.
“Jess, of course I do. But what can I do?”
She throws her hands in the air and storms about the room.
“I don’t know, do I? But there must be something. What if the Feds don’t catch them, and they do this again, to someone else?”
I hadn’t thought about that. No! Jessica’s right. I can’t just stand by and do nothing.
“Try not to worry about this, please. I’ve had a very stressful time. I just want to rest now. Okay?”
She stops and looks at me, then she comes over and kneels down and puts her arms around me.
“I’m sorry.” She says as she hugs me tight.
I rub her back with my free hand and kiss her cheek. “Don’t worry, sis.”
That night, I lie awake thinking about it all. Oh, and the bed feels so good. And the pillow, oh my god. I’m in heaven.
I lie staring up at the ceiling, processing all of the information I had gathered so far. Before I close my eyes, a plan was forming in my tired mind.
Ten
“Daddy, can I borrow your credit card for a second?” I call out as I sit in front of my laptop.
He enters my room with a confused expression. “What for?”
I nod to the screen. He walks over and peers over my shoulder.
“You want a copy of your death certificate?” He asks and frowns at me.
“A souvenir. A reminder of what I went through.”
“Why the hell would you want to be reminded?”
“Come on, Daddy, please?” I give him my puppy-dog-eyes.
He hesitates for a few seconds, then reaches into his wallet and pulls out his Visa.
I smile and take it.
“Thanks, Daddy. You’re the best.”
He stands and watches until I’m finished, then I hand him his card back. The website states that it can take up to two weeks to arrive. Well, at least it’s a start.
Oh, yeah, one other thing.
“Daddy, I need a new cell phone.” I said. “Oh, and a new backpack.”
He checks his wallet and sighs.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
I head downstairs and eat breakfast as Dad gets ready for work.
“See you later.” Dad says as he waves and closes the front door behind him.
I finish my cereal as Jessica comes in wearing her work uniform. It’s a black and white waitress uniform, but it looks more like a French maid’s outfit.
“Where are you working now?” I ask as I get up from the table.
“Don’t ask. Oh, here.” Jessica says and passes me a black grubby satchel.
“What’s this?” I ask as I hold it at arms-length.
“My old schoolbag. I heard you asking Dad for one. You can have my old one. I don’t use it anymore.”
No wonder. There are some stains on it that I can’t quite place. On the side in Jessica’s unique handwriting are the words, Metallica Rule! in red paint, which is now faded to a dirty brown. I won’t mention the smell.
“Umm, thanks.” I say.
I put my bowl in the dishwasher, then hang the black smelly thing from my right shoulder.
“Well, see you later.” I say and head for the door.
“Good luck.” Jessica calls out as I close the door behind me.
When I get outside, I find Mitchell waiting on the paved sidewalk. He’s wearing his green and white letterman jacket. His brown hair is styled up and wavy. He looks thin as well. His face is gaunt, but I can see the old spark in his eyes as he smiles up at me.
“Good morning.” I say as I walk down the steps.
“Hi. You know, I’m still getting used to it.” He says and points at my legs.
“Me too.” I say as I stand and look up at him. “Hey. Have you always been this tall?”
“You noticed, huh? I’m going through a growth spurt.” He says and grins.
“Nice to be home, huh?” I say and begin walking.
“It feels great. But, kind of weird. Like what happened was just a bad dream.” Mitchell says as he walks in-step with me.
“I know what you mean.”
We take our time as we walk the tree-lined streets. It’s only a few blocks to our school, Hackberry High.
School feels weird. It’s like there’s an oppressive spirit hanging over the place. People are quiet and well behaved. What’s going on?
Where are the fights, the arguing, the teasing, or the laughter for that matter?
When lunch break arrives, I head to the canteen. People are just as solemn and quiet here as well. I notice some of the others who had been with us in San Francisco and wave at them. They look at me confused for a second, then in their eyes I see a memory stirring.
Then, as if remembering some long forgotten dream, some of them gasp and point at me. Some wave, while others actually come over and give me a hug.
“Thanks for saving us.” One girl says quietly, then runs back to her friends.
It’s sweet.
I head to our usual table in the corner by the picture window, which looks out on to the grassy area at the rear of the building. The trees outside are swaying in the breeze as I sit down next to Mitchell.
“People are acting kind of weird.” I say.
“That’s because we’re back from the dead. They’re confused.” Beth says.
I look at the other kids, then turn to Beth.
“You sure?”
‘Absolutely. I read a few minds as we came in.’ Beth’s husky voice says inside my head.
“Man, that’s going to take some getting used to.” I say and chuckle.
“What? What happened?” Paul says as he finishes chewing.
I nudge Beth with my elbow. Then I see Paul and Stuart’s eyes grow wide and they both turn and look at Beth.
“Sick.” Paul murmurs and grins.
“Okay, so who’s up for some practice?” I ask and take a bite of my tuna-fish sandwich.
“Practice? What kind of practice?” Stuart asks.
“The special kind.” Mitchell replies and winks.
&nbs
p; “Oh.” Stuart says, then looks at Paul and shrugs.
“Yeah, okay. We’re in. Where?” Paul says.
Mitchell looks at me. I swallow my food and then take a sip of my water.
“Meet me in Lincoln Park, in the parking lot of the Nature Reserve.” I reply.
“When?” Mitchell asks.
“3:00 a.m.” I say, emphasizing the a.m.
“Aww, man. Getting up early is against my religion.” Paul complains.
“Get an early night, guys.” I say and finish the last of my sandwich.
Beth smiles as she looks at me and gives me a weird look.
“What?” I ask.
‘You’ve changed.’ I hear her voice say inside my head.
It wasn’t an accusation, she sounded happy about it.
Once school’s over, I walk to Clark Street and head towards my favorite comic book store. After a block, I smile when I see the sign above the store, Cosmic Comics.
The bell rings as I open the door and walk inside. I hear a gasp from the counter. Charlie, the store clerk, is staring at me in shock.
“You’re alive? You’re walking?” Charlie stammers.
“Yeah. It’s a long story.” I say. “How are you, Charlie?” I ask.
“Better for seeing you. I thought you were dead.”
“Those rumors were greatly exaggerated, as you can see.”
He laughs and waves me over.
“You’ve missed some great stuff.” Charlie says and points to my old haunt, the DC and Marvel section.
“You got any new Superman stuff?” I ask.
“Go see.” He says.
I turn and hurry over and start to flick through. I grab two Superman issues that I haven’t read yet. I spy a new Avengers comic that looks cool and take them to Charlie.
“Thanks. Enjoy.” Charlie says as I pay.
He puts the comic books into a yellow plastic bag, along with the receipt and hands it to me.
“See you again, Charlie.” I say
I wave goodbye as I leave.
As I walk home, I am amazed at my legs. They’re feeling stronger each day. But the power within me is unsettling. My whole body feels charged and restless. As I walk, I can almost hear the power within me, purring quietly like an engine.
As I reach my street, I see Mitchell leaning against the tree outside my house. Then I notice all of the cars parked along the street. More than normal.
“Hey.” I say as I get closer.
“Hey.” Mitchell replies.
He looks amused about something, then as he looks at me, his eyes become sad. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I’m confused, Britney.”
“What about?”
“Us. What are we?”
“I think the comic book term would be, Metahuman.” I reply happily.
He smiles. “No. Not that. I mean, us.” He says and places his hand against my cheek.
“Oh.” I giggle and then blush. “We’ve always been friends.” I say. Which is true.
“Friends? Is that all you want?” He asks.
Oh, no. What’s happening?
“What do you mean?” I ask quickly.
“You’re happy with us just being friends?” He asks.
“Yeah, I love being your friend. What’s wrong?” I ask.
He takes my hand gently and pulls me after him.
“Come on.” He says sadly, and leads me towards the house.
Dad opens the door and we walk quietly past and enter the house.
“What the…” I blurt out, as I notice a Christmas garland running up the stairs.
I hear a bunch of voices coming from the living room, so head in with Mitchell close behind me.
“Oh…my…god.” I gush.
“Surprise.” Mitchell whispers in my ear.
There’s a big Christmas tree in the corner, with lots of wrapped presents underneath. All my friends and their parents are pointing party poppers in my direction.
“Merry Christmas!” They all say in unison, before letting off their party poppers, showering the room with confetti.
Dad comes in and stands by my side. I feel his big arm around my shoulders.
“Merry Christmas, Pumpkin.”
Tears spring from my eyes. I turn and hug him fiercely.
“Thank you, so much.”
“We didn’t have a Christmas.” Dad says in my ear as I hug him. “Now, we can.”
I release him, then Jessica takes my hand and pulls me over to the tree. It looks beautiful. Brimming with red and gold baubles and sparkling with white star-shaped fairy lights. Jessica hugs me, then thrusts a red and white striped rectangular package at me.
“Merry Christmas, sis.”
I open the package carefully. Inside is some pepper spray and some brass knuckles.
“Jess!” I say in shock and close the box.
Jessica chuckles darkly, then scoops a purple package up and reads the name.
“This one’s mine.” She says and tears open the package.
She pulls out an ornate pink bottle.
“Perfume? What are you trying to say?”
I shrug and nod to Dad. I didn’t buy it. She wanders off as Beth appears next to me. Beth leans down and picks up a present, then hands it to me.
“This one’s from me.” Beth says as she passes me the silver-white package.
I tear the wrapping off in microseconds.
“Easy, Britney. Control yourself, girl.” Beth chuckles.
“Oops.” I say and grin as I hold a yellow book.
I check the title. Body Language For Dummies. I look at Beth confused.
“Trust me, girl. You need this book.” Beth says and nods in Mitchell’s direction as he stands awkwardly near Dad.
“If I’d known about this, I would have got you something.” I say in apology.
“But, Pumpkin, you did.” Dad says as he walks over.
He leans down, grabs a small square purple package and hands it to me.
“Oh.” I say and take it from him. “Here. Merry Christmas.” I say and give the mystery gift to Beth.
I hope it’s something she likes. Beth eyes my dad suspiciously as she opens the gift with more restraint than I showed.
“Oh, yeah, baby.” Beth says as she holds a CD case in her hands.
I try to see what’s on the case, but she just wraps her arms around me and plants a small kiss on my cheek. Then she saunters off to show Stuart.
“I think she likes it.” Dad says, smiles, then scoops a large purple package up.
“Here.” Dad says and hands me the bulky gift.
It’s a large square box. It’s hard to tell if it’s heavy, as nothing feels heavy to me anymore. I shake it experimentally.
“Just open it, Pumpkin.” Dad chuckles.
I grin up at him as I tear the paper off. Hmm, it’s a plain brown box. It’s sealed so tightly, I can’t see a way in.
“Do you need a knife?” Dad says, then chuckles as I tear the top of the box off with one hand.
Oops. I look inside and my heart melts.
“Daddy, it’s SO cute!” I say and pull the white object free.
It’s a plush white cat with its right paw in the air, like its saluting. There’s some gold Chinese lettering on its belly.
“It’s a Chinese lucky cat.” Dad says proudly.
“Lucky, huh?” I ask.
“I thought you could use some.” Dad says.
I look up into his proud smiling face. His eyes are misting up and I notice his shoulders are trembling.
“Oh, Daddy.” I say and hug him.
He leans down and kisses the top of my head.
“Look inside.” He says.
Huh, inside? I turn the cat over and notice two black straps. Oh, it’s a backpack.
I check the cat again and notice a zip underneath the cat’s chin. I unzip it. The cat’s head flops back. Eww, that’s kinda weird. I look inside and see another package. I pull out a small rectangular box
. Inside that, I find a new cell phone. Not anything fancy like Beth’s, but it’s still pretty great.
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.” I say, then I look under the tree for something to give to Dad.
But the other presents have other people’s names on them.
“I don’t have a gift for you, Daddy.” I moan.
He strokes my cheek, and a small tear trickles from his left eye.
“I have the best gift of all, Pumpkin.” He smiles, then walks over to Mitchell and pats him on the shoulder.
Mitchell walks over as I stare after my dad. My heart feels too big for my chest as I fight back the tears. Not now. Not in front of Mitchell.
“Body Language…” Mitchell reads before I hide the book behind me.
“From Beth.” I say quickly and try to smile, but my muscles respond too quickly and it becomes a grimace.
“Oh, right.” Mitchell says and looks at me while trying not to laugh.
Cosmic Girl Rising Up Page 7
