by Sybil Nelson
The party was a huge success. Though snow surrounded us, we were all perfectly toasty in the steaming hot pool. I even started a bonfire where we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores. Then we played a game that I named Super Cannon Ball Tag. It was a cross between Freeze Tag and Cannon Ball. Basically, we ran around tagging each other, and if you got caught, Pi or Rho would fly to you, pick you up, and drop you into the pool like a cannon ball.
It was so stupid yet so fun at the same time. That was until Marco got caught. Pi, whose chosen name was Peter, picked him up and dropped him in the pool. No problem, right? Wrong. When Marco climbed out of the water, his wet t-shirt clung to every delicious muscle of his chest. And then it got worse. He whipped his shirt off and shook his long glorious hair. I swear it happened in slow motion.
And then something really strange happened. I started crying. Not a few stray tears; I’m talking shoulder-sagging, stomach-clutching, boo-hoo sobbing. I ran to my room and shut the door. After flopping on the bed, I continued with the mysterious crying. Why was it that the sight of Marco reduced me to tears? And then it hit me. When I first left River’s Bend, I thought about Kyle constantly. I cried every night because I missed him so much. But in the last few days, I hadn’t thought about him at all. And then I found myself attracted, I mean really attracted, to Marco. What did that say about me?
Why couldn’t things just be the way they were? I missed Kyle. I missed Tai even though I secretly spoke to her every night on the brush phone. I missed the annual Winter Ice Festival in River’s Bend. I even missed losing to the eighth grade in the obligatory snowball fight after the first snow of the season.
“You okay in there, Prissy?” my mom asked through the door. The old me would have told her to go away, but in the past few months, my mom and I had gotten really close. Now the thought of talking to her about my problems didn’t repulse me. I kinda looked forward to spending time with her.
“No, I’m not okay. Nothing’s okay. I hate my life.”
My mom came into my room and wrapped a towel around me as she sat next to me on the bed.
“I know you’re in a lot of pain and you miss your friends and your life in River’s Bend,” she said, rubbing my back.
Suddenly, I felt very selfish. Sure there were a ton of things I missed, but I didn’t even consider how my mother might be feeling. Her entire existence was different.
“Mom, do you miss your powers?”
“Not as much as I’ve missed you over the past four years.”
I started crying even harder as I hugged her tight. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too,” she said. “And I hate to see you so upset. How about I make you a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” I asked, wiping my tears and looking at her. She looked a different kind of beautiful. Instead of a white cat suit with a superhero utility belt, she wore a white apron and a belt that held a spatula and a soup ladle.
“How about I let you see Kyle and Tai again. Not just once, but on a regular basis. Maybe every other weekend or something.”
“What’s the catch?”
“Well, I don’t mind that Tai knows everything. I completely trust her. After what she went through with us, I consider her an honorary Sumner. But Kyle is a problem. We just can’t afford to let someone else know about us.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“You’ve met Kappa, haven’t you? Or Katya as she prefers to be called.” I nodded. “Well, do you know what her ability is?” I shook my head. “She can erase short-term memory.”
“Are you suggesting that we erase Kyle’s memory after every time I see him?”
“Not his entire memory. Just the part that reveals our location.”
I thought about this for a second. I really wanted to see Kyle, but erasing his memory all the time just didn’t sound safe. What if we caused permanent brain damage?
“I don’t know, Mom. Will it hurt him?”
“I assure you, it’s perfectly safe. Katya and I have been practicing.”
I started thinking of the possibilities. I might be able to have a normal relationship with Kyle. Well, normal for me. That’ll have to do.
“Okay, let’s do it,” I said, so excited I thought I’d burst. I couldn’t wait to plan their first visit. Oh, a trip to the mall was definitely in order. I needed a new dress if I was going to see Kyle for the first time in two months.
“I thought you’d say that,” she said with a grin. “So, Katya and I flew to River’s Bend this morning and picked up your present. Come on in, guys,” my mother called into the hallway. Then in walked my two best friends.
“Surprise!” Kyle and Tai yelled in unison.
I jumped off the bed and screamed while tackling them both with a hug. We jumped around my room crying and laughing and hugging. I think I even saw a few tears from Kyle.
I spent the next couple of hours showing Kyle and Tai around my new home. I even introduced them to the Selliwood kids, who tried their best to be normal for Kyle’s sake.
“I am Marco. It is nice to meet some of Priscilla’s friends. She has told me a lot about you,” he said, shaking hands with Kyle.
“That’s a cool accent. Where is it from?” Kyle asked.
“France. I speak French as well as sixteen other languages.”
I stared at Marco. Why had he never told me that? I’d known him for over two months and we’d spent a lot of time together. Granted, I always did most of the talking. “Seventeen languages? I didn’t know that. I can’t even name seventeen languages!” I said a little too enthusiastically.
Kyle’s demeanor changed. He put on his angry face, the face he wears whenever he’s about to lose at something. He looked back and forth between Marco and me a couple of times before saying, “I can. I can name seventeen languages. English, Spanish, French, German … Canadian—”
“Canadians speak English or French. Either way, it doesn’t count. You’re still at four,” Marco said, crossing his arms.
Uh oh. This isn’t good.
Kyle glared at him. “Fine. Italian, Russian, Portuguese … Brazilian.”
“Nope. Sorry. Brazilian is not a language. They speak Portuguese in Brazil.”
“I knew that,” Kyle said, taking a step toward Marco. That’s when I noticed Marco’s fingers turning into metal and curving into a fist. Definitely, not good.
“I’ll give you seven. Only ten more to go. Or can you count that high?”
I wasn’t sure why Marco was being so crabby, but I knew it was time for me to end this before someone got hurt, namely Kyle.
“Uh, Tai, come here,” I called to Tai who was talking to Josh on the other side of the room. “Tai, Marco. Marco, Tai,” I introduced them as if they’d never met before. “Tai is going to Copenhagen soon, so she’s learning Danish. Why don’t you two go off and talk about … languages or something,” I said, pleading with Tai with my eyes. She picked up on my cue and led Marco toward the pool. Then I grabbed Kyle and led him out of the house.
“I don’t like that guy, Priss. Is he at your house a lot?” Kyle said when we started walking along the wooden gate around our farm.
“No, not that often,” I lied. Truth was Marco had been coming over a lot. Even more often than the weekly “family” dinners. But I wasn’t about to tell Kyle that.
We fell into a warm, cozy silence as Kyle finally started to calm down. After a few minutes, he grabbed my hand and we kept walking toward the sunset.
Finally he said, “I like you, Priss. I really, really like you. I’ve liked you since the third grade, unfortunate hair and all.” He tugged his big North Face jacket closed with his free hand to fight off the cold. I wonder if he’d notice if I warmed his hand up a little. On second thought, I’d better not risk it.
“I like you, too, Kyle.”
“Nothing’s been the same since you left. I know there’s some big important reason why you had to move away, but I really miss you and I still really want to be a part of
your life.”
“I miss you, too, Kyle.” What the heck was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I think of anything more original to say? I guess I just couldn’t get my mind off the fact that this might be it. My first kiss might happen any second. The more I thought about kissing him, though, the guiltier I felt. It would be unfair to him. If he knew the truth about me and my family, he’d probably run away screaming and not look back. It would be best if we were just friends.
“Well, I’ve been thinking,” he added, just as snowflakes began to fall. It was beyond romantic. “Just because we don’t live in the same town anymore doesn’t mean we can’t be together. Why don’t we try a long-distance relationship? We can make it work.” He stopped walking and stood in front of me, melting my resolve with his fiery blue eyes. I’d forgotten how completely gorgeous he was. I had to turn away. Staring at the ground, I sighed. Poor Kyle. He had no idea what he was asking. I could never be a normal girlfriend.
Shaking my head, I said, “Kyle, I don’t think—” Before I could finish my thought, he grabbed me by the waist, pulled me close, and placed his lips on mine. A thousand butterflies cart wheeled in my stomach. I seriously think I saw stars.
That kiss changed everything. Being in his arms felt too good to pass up. There was no way I could let him go.
So what if we couldn’t have a normal relationship. What was normal, anyway? Who got to decide that? So what if my closest friends could read minds, turn into metal, or fly? So what if I’d have to erase my boyfriend’s memory every once in a while? So what if, to my parents, grounding meant taking away the keys to an invisible jet? I loved them all, and they loved me. That was as normal as I needed to be.
Chapter 33: The Shooter
My mind wouldn’t turn off. Having super hearing is really annoying sometimes. I mean, I could hear Charlie and Chester arguing over who was the bigger boogerhead even though their room was on the other side of the house. I felt like running over there and reminding them that they were identical twins. If one of them was a boogerhead, so was the other. Idiots.
I sighed. Even if I could fall asleep, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to. Selliwood happened almost three months ago, I’d just had an awesome pool party and gotten my first kiss, and yet I still had nightmares. Amazingly, the only thing that helped was Josh. He was able to calm me the same way Mom used to.
“Can’t sleep?” Josh asked as soon as I poked my head into his room. I didn’t even have to say anything. He knew I was there. He was getting really good at the psychic thing.
I pushed open the door and stepped through. “I hate my photographic memory. I can’t get the images out of my head.”
“Try being psychic,” he said, swinging his feet over the side of his bed. Then he sent me that calm feeling. I finally felt relaxed. “I can’t sleep either. How about I beat you in a couple of games of Street Mania to get our minds off of things?”
“You’re on.” I sat down in front of Josh’s TV and clicked it on while he pulled out the controllers from under his bed.
Josh was even easier to beat than usual. Normally, he can hang with me for at least halfway through a course. That night I was basically blowing him away right after the starting gun. I could tell something was on his mind.
“I’m having the vision again,” he said after I’d beaten him seven or eight times.
“What vision?”
“Your death.”
I hadn’t thought about his vision of my death in three months. When it didn’t come true at Selliwood, I just figured he’d made a mistake.
I paused the game. “Tell me about it. What did you see?”
He closed his eyes. “You were shot in the chest at point-blank range.”
“So, it’s the same as before? It didn’t come true, Josh. You were wrong.”
Josh shook his head, eyes still closed. “No. It’s not the same. One thing is different. This time I can see who shoots you.”
“Who is it? Is it Xi? I knew she’d come back for revenge.” I stood up and pounded my fist into my hand. If it’s a fight she wants, she can have it.
“No, it’s not Xi.”
“Then who? Tell me. Who’s the shooter?”
“It’s Tai.”
Book One Study Guide
1. Why did Priscilla not want to tell her parents about her powers?
2. Why did Priscilla and Tai have a fight?
3. Who do you think is the most powerful Sumner? Why?
4. Do you think the twins will have powers? If so, what will they be?
5. Why did Josh keep his powers a secret? Did he have the same reasons as Priss?
6. Provide specific examples that show how much the Sumners love each other.
Priscilla
the Great
The Kiss of Life
Sybil Nelson
Chapter 1: Letters
Dear Priss,
It's me Kyle. How are you? I’m okay. I’d be much better if you were still here in River's Bend. I really miss you. Max misses you too. I tried to explain to him why you had to leave but I don’t think he understood. That’s probably because he’s a dog. Honestly, though, I don’t really understand either. I just know there was a reason and it had to be big. I know you wouldn't leave me if it wasn't. I'm just glad you still agreed to be my girlfriend even though we can't see each other or talk to each other every day. The letter writing thing is cool. I can live with it. It feels like we're in some old movie from an ancient time like before they invented computers and internet and cell phones. You know, like the 80's.
Anyway, things in River's Bend are just about the same. That creepy math teacher Mr. Witherall is gone though. I don't really know what happened to him now that I think about it. We got a new teacher now Mrs. Abernathy. But she's so mean we all call her Mrs. Uber-Nasty. Apparently, she doesn't realize that math class is supposed to be my time for catching up on old school games of Tetris on my iPhone. She actually called on me in class for like three days in a row. And when she handed back a test that I had failed, she actually stapled a Burger King application to the front of it. Yeah, right. Like I would ever work at Burger King. Chick-Fil-a maybe. Burger King never. Their french fries are terrible!
Who needs math anyway? I'm gonna be a famous actor one day. The only math I'm gonna need is addition to count up my millions.
After the embarrassing test thing, I decided to sit behind Susie Chambers just like you used to. Now she doesn't even know I'm there because she can't see me behind Susie's big head.
Tai's doing okay. I know she misses you too, especially since the eighth graders are so mean to her. Yesterday, Jimmy Vee took her favorite calculator, froze it in a block of ice and then set it on her desk this morning. Eighth graders stink! Next year when I'm an eighth grader I'm not gonna be like them. I'm gonna treat the seventh graders with a little respect.
I couldn’t let him get away with treating Tai like that so during lunch Spencer and I took care of him. We filled his bicycle seat with ketchup. When he sat on it he flipped out. He thought he was bleeding to death or something. It was priceless.
Tai thinks the real reason they don't like her is because she's black. I think it's because she's smart and the rest of them are morons. Anyway, I know she's your best friend so I'll keep looking out for her.
I can't wait to see you next weekend. I'm sorry it can't be this weekend, but you know I'm in the school play. I wish you could come, but I understand if you can't. Well, I guess I understand. It still isn’t fair though. Anyway, I thought for our date, we could see a movie, and then go for a walk around your town. Where is your town again? For some reason, I can never remember. I always have to give the letters I write to you to Tai and she mails them for me.
Anyway, write back soon, okay?
Kyle
P.S.
I can't wait to kiss you again
Dear Kyle,
It's me Priss. I'm fine and I miss you too. I really wish my family didn't have to move away from River's Bend,
but it was just too dangerous to stay. You see, our old math teacher Mr. Witherall wasn't really a Mister, he was a doctor, a geneticist to be exact. And he worked at a place called the Selliwood Institute where my mother was born. They performed all kinds of genetic experiments on her and turned her into a super weapon. When she was 17, my father went to work there as a guard. They fell in love and my dad helped her escape. They moved to River's Bend and lived in hiding while starting a family. Neither of them knew that I would inherit a lot of my mother's DNA and start some genetic mutations of my own. Josh has powers too. We don't know about the twins yet, they're still too young.
