Fire in Frost

by Alicia Rades

  “And you thought you could help her,” I finished. “Mom, don’t feel bad. I think it is your place because of what you can do. You have a responsibility to help people in these kinds of situations.”

  “I don’t know, though,” my mom said. “I can’t even see ghosts.”

  “Well, if you don’t have a responsibility to Olivia, then I do. She asked me for help, and I can see ghosts.”

  10

  “This isn’t working,” I complained.

  Mom and I had cleared a space in the break room and were sitting cross legged on the floor. It had been nearly 20 minutes of dead silence and darkness, all while focusing on my fingers to clear my mind. I didn’t feel anything. My mom was trying to get me to open my mind so that I could better use my abilities, but I didn’t feel any shift in energy or divine enlightenment.

  “How’s this supposed to help me become a better psychic?”

  My mother didn’t move from her meditative position and spoke in a calm voice. “The best way to contact the other side is to clear your mind.”

  This was a horrible first lesson. I had done all I could to relax my body, but I didn’t feel any more psychic than when I entered the room.

  “It takes time,” she informed me.

  Meditation gave my mind too much time to wander. “Mom, how can all of you—Sophie, Diane, and you—be psychic? Isn’t it super rare?”

  She finally shifted and pulled herself up from the floor, flipping the light on. She took a seat next to me. “Yes, it is very rare, but we found each other.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “At college. Somehow we just ended up together and eventually shared our secrets.” She smiled at the memories. “It was like fate. We even called our little group ‘The Sensitive Society’ because we all had abilities. Together we learned how to use them.”

  “So that’s why you moved here and started this shop? Because you were all psychic?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “But why Peyton Springs?”

  “Well, Sophie grew up here. We thought it’d be a great place to raise kids. Plus, it’s a good place for business.”

  “Why?”

  “Sophie’s family moved here a long time ago, so there’s a lot of psychic blood in the area. Lots of people come in for our more ‘special products.’”

  “Special products?” I asked warily.

  “Yeah, like the real deal. Things that real psychics would use.”

  Suddenly their extra back room full of herbs made sense.

  “Mom, if you’re psychic and I’m psychic, was Grandma psychic?”

  She scoffed. “No, your grandma wasn’t psychic. My grandma was psychic, but it skipped a generation with my mom.”

  “And you thought it skipped a generation with me? Does it always do that?”

  “Not always,” she answered. “Sometimes it skips a generation. With some generations, abilities can manifest more powerfully than normal.” She pressed her lips together in thought.

  I didn’t care to ask more questions because I already had enough to think about. I had sat in this room on the hard floor long enough. I shifted and stood. “Can we have a break, Mom? Maybe we can do this some other time this week.”

  ***

  We returned home, my crystal ball in my hands, and decided to have macaroni and cheese for lunch. “I’ll stand here and make sure you don’t burn the water, and you can make sure I don’t add any salt to the noodles,” I teased as we prepared our lunch.

  We both moved around the kitchen in sync. For some reason, I felt a deeper connection to my mother. Perhaps it was the bond that we now shared with our abilities, even if I wasn’t sure what I was capable of yet. Our macaroni wasn’t terrible.

  Mom and I spent some time surfing the Internet for wedding ideas, and then I took the rest of the day to finish cleaning my room. When I felt confident in my new pristine space, I crossed my legs and tried meditating again, plopping myself down at the foot of my bed. I attempted to open my mind, but I didn’t know what I was searching for. Should I try contacting Olivia? Is that a good idea to do on my own? Maybe I could look into my future. Yep. Fortune and fame for sure. I laughed at myself. I don’t even want fame. A good fortune would be nice, though.

  Once my mind started to wander too far, I gave up on my attempts to meditate. When I looked up, I noticed the crystal ball sitting on my desk. I pulled it down and placed it next to me on the floor and pretended to look into it, but since I didn’t know what to look for, I didn’t see anything, and it didn’t glow. How will I ever learn to use my abilities?

  I gave up, exhausted, and crawled under the covers. I twirled my owl pendant around in my fingers until I fell asleep.

  ***

  On Monday morning I met up with Emma straight on time. I expected her to ask about the engagement, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Emma, are you okay?”

  She didn’t answer but rather kept her head low as she watched her feet pound against the pavement.

  “Emma,” I prodded, concern thick in my voice.

  “What?” She looked up at me, dazed. “Yeah.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

  “Don’t you want to know about Mom and Teddy?”

  “Oh, is there something more to tell?”

  “No, I guess not,” I admitted, “but Teddy gave me this.” I held out my owl pendant to her.

  She glanced at it and then looked back at her feet. “Pretty.”

  What was going on with Emma? Something was clearly bothering her.

  I went through my day in a typical state of complete boredom. Having to do worksheets and read textbooks on my own did not interest me, so I took this opportunity to work on my abilities. I started out small, calming my body through meditation while focusing on different people in the classroom. Now that I knew what I was looking for, knowledge came easy to me.

  By the end of the day, I knew that Mr. Hall would win $500 at the casino this weekend but spend $1,000. I knew where Mrs. Graham had lost her good pair of reading glasses, which were behind the Lucky Charms in the cupboard. And I knew that Lori the Librarian lied to students about her age. She was actually 52, not 45.

  I thought a lot about Olivia, too. Would she try to contact me again? Would I be able to help her? What could she possibly want?

  When I found my seat next to Emma and Derek at lunch, Emma was the one sifting through her potatoes today.

  “You okay?” Derek asked Emma.

  I shook my head at him in warning when she didn’t hear him. I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but when Derek left to dump his tray, I opened my mind and relaxed my body, focusing on Emma. The noise in the cafeteria made it difficult to figure out what was bothering her. Even so, I knew exactly what had happened before Derek returned to his seat.

  I stared wide-eyed at Emma, unable to believe what I’d just seen. She didn’t notice me staring. When Derek started talking, I returned to the present and continued our conversation.

  “Uh,” Derek started nervously, changing the subject. “What are you dressing up as for the Halloween festival?”

  I almost didn’t want to deal with this because I was too focused on Emma, but I didn’t want to get too far into her business. I needed to give her time until she was ready to tell me herself. I tore my mind off her and looked into Derek’s bright blue eyes as an anchor.

  I shrugged. “I don’t have any ideas yet. My mom has a box of costumes, so I guess I’ll find something in there. What are you going as?”

  “Well, I was kind of thinking . . .” he glanced down at his tray, avoiding my gaze. “Maybe if you didn’t have a costume idea, we could do a type of duo thing or something.” He paused. “I don’t know, I thought it’d be creative.”

  “What about Emma?” I asked, glancing at her, yet she was still in a daze.

  “Uh, yeah, sure. We could do some sort of trio thing.”

  “We could go to my mom’s shop befo
re the game tomorrow and pick something out,” I suggested.

  Derek dropped his shoulders. “I have to babysit my twin sisters before the game tomorrow because my mom has an appointment and my dad will be working. How about we check out the costumes before the game on Thursday?”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Emma,” Derek tried, attempting to get her attention.

  “Huh, what?” she replied, looking up.

  “Want to go pick out costumes for the festival on Thursday night?”

  “Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds like fun.”

  Emma was not at the top of her game at volleyball practice. I knew exactly why, but I didn’t want to say anything. Emma needed her space, and how would she react if I told her I was psychic? I thought she’d believe me, but I didn’t think she needed that right now. Maybe I’d tell her tomorrow when the weight of the world wasn’t hanging on her shoulders.

  “Call the ball, girls,” Coach Amy yelled when Emma made another mistake. It was certainly not her day.

  When I arrived home, I immediately went to my mother.

  “Do you think I should say something?”

  “Crystal, I think if Emma wanted you to know, she would have told you.”

  “But she’s so down about it, Mom. I want to help.”

  “Just give her some time.” I knew my mom was right. “You shouldn’t have been snooping around anyway.”

  “I just wanted to know what was bothering her!” I defend.

  “If you do stuff like that, she’s going to have a hard time trusting you.”

  “Do you know that for a fact?” I challenged.

  “I know that if Emma wanted you to know, she would have told you. That’s all I’m saying.”

  I crawled into bed cursing my mother for being right. I curled up into a small ball, feeling guilty for using my talents to figure out why Emma was upset. My mom was right. That was private. I had abused my abilities.

  11

  When I met up with Emma on Tuesday, she seemed to be feeling better. I knew she wasn’t over the issue—she wouldn’t be for a long time—but I knew she was going to have a better day than she had yesterday.

  “Won’t it be weird that Teddy will be your dad?” Emma asked on our walk to school.

  “I guess I hadn’t really thought of it like that. I mean, he’ll still be Teddy. I won’t call him Dad.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “It’s still going to be weird with him living there and everything.”

  “I don’t know. I think it will be cool having Teddy live with us. I like him. Plus, he makes really good food.”

  Emma nodded her head in agreement.

  We met up with Derek before the final bell rang and all walked to class together. Emma was still on the topic of my mother’s marriage when we entered the classroom and took our seats.

  “Yeah, that’s got to be a big change,” Derek agreed.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Teddy spends a lot of time with us anyway. He just doesn’t sleep at our house.”

  “When are they getting married?” Derek asked. “And am I invited?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “They haven’t set a date, and I’m sure you’ll be invited, Derek. If you’re not, you can be my date, but I’ll be sure you’re on the guest list.”

  He smiled at that.

  “And me,” Emma chimed in. “Make sure I’m on the guest list, too. Then we can triple date.” She shot Derek a glance that I couldn’t quite read.

  “Yes, you’ll both be invited. I’m sure your parents will be, too.” When I said this, I immediately regretted it, but when I looked at Emma, she didn’t seem fazed by it. She just smiled and opened her textbook.

  ***

  When I got to our table at lunch, Derek and Emma were arguing again.

  “Wait, Dustin is dating Haley . . . or Rachel?” Derek asked.

  “Actually,” I intervened, ready to set the record straight, “Dustin broke up with Haley to date Rachel, and Rachel broke up with Brandon to date Dustin, but now Rachel is cheating on Dustin with Brandon, and Haley hates Rachel for taking her boyfriend.”

  They both stared at me with wide eyes. Crap. How did I even know all that? It just came out.

  Emma grabbed for me, her nails digging into my arm. “We need to talk.” Emma forced me to abandon my food as she dragged me to the bathroom and quickly checked the stalls to make sure they were empty.

  “How did you know all that?” she hissed.

  I honestly wasn’t entirely sure. Should I just tell her I heard it through the grape vine, or is this my chance to tell her about my abilities? I thought.

  “I—I just said it so you guys would stop arguing,” I lied.

  She shook her head. “No, you didn’t. I know, but how did you know?”

  Honestly, I didn’t care who was dating who, but Emma was more into the social politics of high school.

  “Wait, how did you know?” I accused.

  “Becca told me at practice. Oh, the perks of being on Varsity,” she mused.

  “Look, Emma, it doesn’t matter how I know about Dustin and Rachel.” I stalled, unsure if this was the right time to admit about my abilities.

  “Yes, it does,” she said, digging her fingernails deeper into my arm. “Becca told me that in the strictest confidence. If people know you know, they’re going to think I told you because we’re best friends.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone that I know about it,” I promised, and I really meant it, mostly because I didn’t care who was dating who.

  “Are you not telling me because you’re mad that I didn’t spill the beans to you? I didn’t think you cared. But seriously, who told you?”

  I sighed. “I don’t care, and no, I’m not mad at you for not telling me. You can keep your gossip to yourself.”

  “Tell me,” she begged.

  I wanted to tell her I was psychic so badly, but I didn’t think it was the time or the place. I took the next few moments to weigh the costs and benefits of telling her. I thought about my mother’s bravery when she had told Teddy, and I tried to muster up the same level of courage.

  “Fine.” I caved. Even if this wasn’t the time, my need to confide in her overruled that logic. I lowered my voice even though no one was around. “I’m psychic.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Seriously. Just tell me.”

  “I am serious.”

  Emma narrowed her eyes at me.

  “I don’t know how I know. I just do. Now will you please let go of my arm?” I pulled away from her, happy to have my arm back.

  She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “Come on. I know you probably promised someone not to tell, but I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”

  “Emma,” I looked her dead in the eyes. “I’m being serious. I just know things, okay?”

  “Prove it,” she challenged. “Either prove you’re psychic or tell me how you knew about Dustin and Rachel.” She stuck her hand behind her back. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

  “Two,” I answered automatically.

  “Lucky guess.”

  “No. I can see your fingers in the mirror.”

  She glanced over at the mirror, embarrassed. I let out a giggle. Emma joined in until we were engaged in a full on laughing fit.

  I finally composed myself. “Look, Emma. I couldn’t care less about who’s dating who at this school, but I care about you. If you don’t believe I’m psychic, then how do I know that your parents are getting divorced when you refused to open up to me yesterday?”

  Emma’s face fell and she gawked at me. Tears threatened her eyes. Should I have said that, or did I make a mistake?

  “I—I’m sorry,” she said quietly, her eyes still fixed on mine. “I just found out.”

  I pulled Emma into a hug. She didn’t struggle away from me. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I used my abilities to figure out what was bothering you. I won’t do it again, okay?”

  I felt as Emma trembled to hold back he
r sobs. A tear fell gently from her eye, and she wiped it away quickly.

  “How did you know that? My parents wouldn’t have said anything.”

  “I told you. I’m psychic.”

  Emma gave a half-hearted smile. “You sound crazy, you know that?”

  I shrugged like it didn’t bother me. “As long as you believe me.”

  She glared at me again in skepticism. “I’m not sure.”

  “Remember your copy of Charlotte’s Web you lent to Derek a while back?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Only my favorite book of all time!”

  “It’s in his pencil case in his locker, shoved in the back behind his books.” Derek’s locker was such a mess, I didn’t know how he found anything in there. “Even Derek doesn’t know he has it, so how would I know that if I wasn’t psychic?”

  “That little—I knew he didn’t give it back to me. I have to get him to open his locker. If it’s not there . . .” She didn’t finish. I suspected it was because she couldn’t think of a good enough threat.

  “It’ll be there, Emma, but I have to go to the bathroom.” I turned to the stall and then back to her. “And Emma, please don’t tell anyone. Not even Derek.”

  Emma rushed off as I entered one of the stalls.

  When I was done and at the sink washing my hands, I noticed motion in the mirror. I looked up to see one of the stall doors opening. I swung around to find Justine Hanson standing in front of me, her dark hair perfect and jeans skin-tight. I hadn’t heard her come in. Did she come in the same time Emma left, or had she been there all along? How much had she heard?

  She stared at me and crossed her arms across her body as she leaned against the stall.

  “Um . . . hi,” I said, hoping to relieve the tension in the air. Her intense glare made me very uncomfortable.