You Call This a Gift?

by Sabrina Dugan

  “Well, someone was hungry, I can see,” he said still laughing between words.

  I pushed his shoulder and said, “Don’t judge me because I like food.”

  Then, we both broke out in laughter as everyone looked at us wondering what we found so funny. I met his eyes when the laughing stopped, and for a moment, I thought he might lean forward and kiss me, but he didn’t. Rather, he turned his head away and looked at his phone.

  “Oh crap, I need to go,” he said as he jumped up and ran out the door leaving his tray behind. I sighed and stared down at the tray he had been using.

  I pushed open the cabin door and plopped down on the couch. The girls were in the kitchen playing canasta. I lay back and dozed off. In my dream, I was in the dining hall again and Jonah marched up, swung me around, and just as he was about to kiss me, Sable shook me awake.

  “Time to go,” she said and then ran out the door.

  I met Miss Humai at the bench again and we started the exercises again. I told her about yesterday and the new power I discovered.

  “I suspected that when I heard about your ‘hot flashes,’” she said. “That’s the number on indicator of a shapeshifter. Your body heats up as it attempts to take the shape of another. The more you practice shifting, the easier it gets. Once you have a handle on it, you will only feel the heat for a second, but at first it can be quite painful. Have you told your mother yet?” she asked.

  “I completely forgot,” I said remembering my plan to call her this morning.

  “Give her a call later and let her know. She will be so excited!” she replied smiling. “Well, now that I know that, let’s take a turn working on that power,” she said. “Close your eyes and pretend you’re a bunny. How does it feel? Imagine the feeling of little legs and fur all over your skin. Imagine how it feels to hop. Play it all in your mind,” she added.

  I did as she said; I pictured it all; I pretended I was a bunny hopping through a field grass pushing down beneath my feet, dandelions blowing in the breeze. I felt the heat hit my body and pain surged through me. I opened my eyes and shook my head. “I was still me,” I thought looking at my ten fingers. “It didn’t work. I felt the heat, but it didn’t work,” I said annoyed.

  “It didn’t work because you let the pain distract you and overtake you. You must ignore the pain and stay focused on being a bunny and the way that it feels,” she said with encouragement.

  I tried three more times before lunch and every time I was still me. Same old lame me. “You call this a gift?” I asked annoyed with my failed attempts.

  “It is a gift, and once you learn how to use it, you will appreciate it… it only gets easier from here you will get it…but let’s get lunch and then start again,” she said motioning for me to follow her to the dining hall.

  I dropped two slices of sausage pizza on my tray, grabbed a bottle of Snapple and made my way to the table. Kenna, Sable, and Lorraine sat talking about the success of their day, while I sat moping about my failures of the day.

  “What’s wrong, cupcake?” I heard Jonah say with concern in his voice as he sat down next to me.

  “Nothing, just can’t do anything right today,” I said with an attitude.

  “I bet I know something you could do right,” he said with a wink.

  “Eww!” I said pushing him over with my shoulder.

  He started laughing and I couldn’t help but smile when I heard him laugh. He looked into my eyes smiling back, and just like in my dream, he leaned closer as if he were to kiss me. All was interrupted when he brushed his hand over my cheek.

  “You have tomato sauce on your face,” he said laughing again.

  I pulled away in embarrassment and looked in my phone camera to wipe it away. “How could I be so stupid to think he would kiss me?” I thought to myself feeling stupider than ever. I finished my food and went back outside to meet Miss Humai.

  Chapter 22: Jonah

  I leaned in to kiss Anna. I realize now how stupid that was. When I leaned in to kiss her, I felt the eyes of everyone at the table staring at us and got nervous, so I told her there was sauce on her face. She looked embarrassed and it hurt to see her that way. She should never be embarrassed. She is beautiful; even if her entire face was covered in sauce, her beauty would still overpower it.

  I watched as she left the dining hall sadder than when she came in. It verified to me how stupid I was to attempt that; clearly, she didn’t like it. I heard Lorraine talking about some boy named Davis that Anna apparently has a crush on and it made my whole body ache. I was falling for a girl who had already fallen for someone else. All I cared about anymore was her. Seeing her smile, hearing her laugh. Seeing her was the best part of my day…every day. Well, I would just have to get over it, move on, and forget.

  I walked outside to meet my guardian Michael. He was a broad set tall dude.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  I nodded my head and followed him through the woods to practice my power. I didn’t need any practice. I had perfected it before I came here. I found my power somewhat annoying and didn’t want anyone to know what it was. I didn’t want them to only like me because of my power. I wanted them to like me for me.

  When we finished “practicing,” he left and I moved to sit on a rock near the lake. I watched as two geese swam across the lake. They looked so peaceful and graceful. I wished I could just jump in and float away on the water with them. The sun was sending sparkles all along the water and the waves were slow and small breaking against the dirt.

  I ran through the woods as fast as I could trying to get back to camp to meet my friends so we could go play some video games. Call of Duty WW11, to be exact. I heard my name called out and slowed to a stop almost tripping over a tree root. I glanced over and saw her. Anna lying on the grass, her elbows propping her up, head tilted back slightly, hair dangling behind making a small pile on the grass. The sun danced along her like it was her own personal spotlight singling her out from the lesser attractions around. I looked around to see if her guardian had left quickly realizing she was all alone. I sat down near her and focused on how beautiful she looked in this setting.

  Chapter 23: Annalisia

  I followed Miss Humai away from the bench and into the woods. She thought it would help me to shift if I was in the location the animal was most seen in. I sat and tried again. When the heat surged through me, I tried to ignore it. I looked at my hands and saw fur appearing and my nails getting longer. I got excited and looked to Miss Humai then looked back at my hands which were now my own.

  “Ugh, I’m never going to get this,” I said angrily as I pulled some grass from the earth. The dirt clung to the bottom of the grass as I tossed it to the side.

  “You will just need to practice not distracting yourself,” she said calmly with a faint smile. “Our day is done. I will see you next week… keep practicing,” she said waving goodbye as she climbed through the brush out of the woods.

  I lay back in the grass staring at the blue sky that peeked through the overhead branches. Sunbeams peeked through and danced in various spots, one moving across my hand I felt the warmth it caused on my palm and closed my hand trying to trap it inside. The warmth vanished just as it had when I tried shifting. I continued watching the sun beams dance for over an hour.

  I heard footsteps running from farther back in the woods. I propped myself up glancing in that general direction and saw Jonah come running through the branches smacking them away from his face in the process. I called out his name and he came to a stop almost tripping over a tree root.

  “Oh… hey,” he said looking around to see if we were alone. He then made his way closer and sat on the grass near me.

  I sat up meeting my eyes with his. “So how was your day?” I asked.

  “It was okay, I guess; practice makes perfect, they say,” he said smirking.

  “Yea, sure, it does” I said frowning.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked curiously.

  “
Nothing at all, just too stupid to get my own power to work, that’s all,” I said placing my head in my hands.

  “What do you mean? I’ve seen you use your power many times you have it down pat,” he replied smiling.

  “Not that power,” I said and then explained my new power and my failed attempts of the day.

  “Oh that’s awesome, two powers!” he said quickly followed by, “You will get the hang of it, I promise! I can even help you if you want.”

  I pondered the idea of spending time with him and practicing. “Okay, if you want to,” I replied.

  I ran back to the cabin to meet the girls we were supposed to go swimming today. I walked in the door and they were ready in their bathing suits sitting on the couch waiting patiently.

  I joined them in the living room bathing suit on, towel and sunscreen in hand.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  They all said yes and jumped up and began to head to the lake. We walked past the dining hall and down the dirt road to the lake. There were only four or five others swimming today and two sitting on the sand. I shook my towel and dropped it down flat in front of me. The girls did the same. Kenna and Sable took off running into the water letting it splash all over as they dove in. I sat down on the towel next to Lorraine who was already sitting. I squished a dollop of sunscreen onto my palm.

  I talked with Lorraine for over twenty minutes about everything there is to talk about.

  “Shall we swim?” she asked while holding her hand over her eyes to block the sun. I glanced out at the girls swimming circles and splashing each other.

  “Kenna and Sable have become such great friends,” I thought to myself realizing I haven’t spent much time with Kenna since we got here. “Yea, let’s go,” I replied while standing up to go that way. We joined the girls splashing back and swimming all around.

  “Hey, guys, I invited Bradley, Jonah, Kevin, and Josh to come to our cabin for a movie night,” Lorraine said while drying her hair off with her towel. The girls were excited and started digging through the kitchen cabinets looking for snacks to put out for everyone.

  Chapter 24: Jonah

  After talking with Anna, I ran back to my cabin to meet the guys. I pushed open the cabin door and they all sat controllers in hand playing already. I grabbed one and started playing the next round with them. We played for a few hours. When we finished, I went to my room for some alone time. I sat on my bed and grabbed my phone to see if I had any texts or missed calls. Text from Mom, “Hope you’re having fun! Love you! Miss you!” and the same exact text from Dad as if Mom sent them both. A text from my friend Joe from school, “Dude, where have you disappeared to all summer, bored out of my mind over here?” And finally a text from Lorraine, “Hey, we’re having a movie night. Come over at seven… maybe we will even let you sit by Anna *wink, wink, wink*.” I shook my head laughing and replied, “See ya later.”

  Seven couldn’t come quick enough. The thought of sitting close to her while watching a movie excited me. Would she hold my hand or lean in close? I knew she wouldn’t because she didn’t feel that way about me.

  I made my way to the girls’ cabin, bag of chips in hand. When I got there, Kenna was curled up at the end of the couch with Bradley, Lorraine snug with her boyfriend, Sable and Anna sitting together on the other end.

  “Hey, guys,” I said while placing the chips on the table.

  Everyone said “hi” and I caught a smile on Anna’s face. Sable jumped up and moved to the other side of Anna giving me the perfect place to sit.

  “Is this seat free?” I asked Anna with a wink.

  “All yours,” she replied.

  They picked a horror movie, Saw. I watched Anna’s face as the movie played hoping there would be a time when she got scared and reached out for me, but so far, nothing. I jumped at a few jump scares, but she never moved. It amazed me how strong she actually was. Seemed as though nothing in the world could scare her. Kenna sat with Bradley’s arm clutched close against her jumping or screaming every few minutes. Lorraine had turned her face in on her boyfriend’s arm so she was no longer watching. Sable sat knees to her chest balancing a bowl of popcorn on top. She watched eyes full anticipating anything that was to come. I looked back to Anna who seemed to be blinking to keep herself awake. I nudged her with my shoulder.

  “Are you awake?” I asked smirking.

  “Yea, I’m wide awake. What do you mean?” she asked nudging me back.

  “Just checking,” I replied while fixing my attention back on the TV.

  I opened my eyes to the play screen repeating its song begging you to press play. I moved to reach for the remote to turn it off and noticed Anna’s head leaning on my shoulder. I didn’t want to wake her, so I sat back slowly moving my arm to her back and letting her head fall onto my chest. I looked around and Lorraine and her boyfriend were gone, Sable was gone, and Kenna and Bradley were asleep on the other side of the couch. I looked back and noticed Bradley wasn’t actually asleep.

  “Hey, can you shut that off?” I whispered to him.

  “Uh, yea, sure, no problem!” he whispered back.

  He slid out from under Kenna letting her fall back in place on the couch. The repeating song finally stopped and my brain began to relax. I picked up my phone and looked at the time.

  “Dude, it’s 9:30! We missed curfew,” I whispered into the room again.

  “Oh crap! time to go,” he called out.

  I watched as he grabbed his things and shoved them into his pockets. He carefully picked up Kenna and carried her down the hall to her bed, I assumed. He tiptoed back down the hall to the door.

  “Are you coming, man?” he asked while holding the door open.

  “I’ll be out in a few minutes. I don’t want to move her yet,” I replied looking down at her peacefully sleeping face. I checked my phone and saw that it was now 10 pm. I’d be in so much trouble if I was caught here this late. Maybe I can stay and sneak out early before the counselors are awake.

  She yawned the cutest yawn I’d ever heard and moved her hand below her face. I felt shivers roll down my body like when you take a cold drink and feel it move throughout you. I fought the urge to sleep and continued watching her. She was so beautiful, so peaceful, so unaware of my urge to be with her.

  I opened my eyes and saw the light beaming through the window. I grabbed my phone scared to see the time. It was only 5 am; I still had time to go. I noticed that we were now lying flat on the couch side by side her head still on my chest and arm draped across me. My arm was on a pillow, but beneath her back. I carefully pulled my arm out and swiftly moved from beneath her. I was one foot out the door ready to go. I looked back at her lying there. I hoped she wouldn’t know that I stayed and that we were that close. I took one last look and closed the door behind me.

  Chapter 25: Annalisia

  Jonah came in the door chips in hand.

  “Hey, guys!” he said while placing the chips on the table. He glanced around looking at where everyone was sitting. Sable hoped up and moved to my other side to make room for him.

  “Thanks, girl!” I thought in my head knowing she was listening.

  She squeezed my hand and gave me a wink. Lorraine put the movie in and everyone got situated with their snacks. We were watching Saw. I hated horror movies. Scared the life out of me. I didn’t want Jonah to see me weak and scared of a stupid movie, so I fought every urge to jump and swallowed every scream. I noticed him looking at me a few times in the window reflection behind the TV. I smiled and felt warm inside knowing he was focused on me, not the TV. I wanted badly to reach out and grab his hand, or snuggle up to him like Lorraine did with her boyfriend, or hang on to his arm like Kenna did with Bradley.

  The movie was almost to its end and I noticed that everyone had fallen asleep. I looked over at Jonah who was asleep too. This is my chance to make a move and see how he reacts. I moved closer to him careful not to wake him up and placed my head on his shoulder. He smelled like pine, which I loved and th
e sound of his breathing lulled me.

  I woke up to Bradley and Jonah whispering to each other about curfew, but I didn’t open my eyes and I didn’t move. I hoped and prayed Jonah would stay and not leave me. I loved being this close to him and I didn’t want to give it up yet. I noticed that I had moved or been moved from on his shoulder to his chest. His arm was wrapped snug around my back. He was so warm and now I could hear his heart beating below me. It sounded a bit faster than a normal heart rate. Maybe he was as nervous as I was to be this close to each other. Or maybe it was his fear of missing curfew and he just didn’t want to wake me. Maybe he didn’t care at all.

  Bradley left and Jonah planned to stay for a few more minutes so I decided to enjoy this while it lasted. I yawned and swiftly moved my hand to his stomach just below my head hoping he would think it was just sleep movement.