The cat drew back and hissed at me. Scratching my arm. She then wailed. Loudly.
Crazy Cat Man shot up out of his seat and pulled out his gun. He aimed at me and told me to put my hands in the air.
I had no intention of doing that, and instead ran out of the house, his yelling, but a background noise, as I was now safely in my bedroom.
My bedroom with Jane sitting on my bed.
The bedroom in which her mouth was wide open.
She looked at me in absolute terror.
“Let me explain.” I told her.
And I opened my mouth and relayed everything.
Everything since the sodas.
Carly
XV
I would meet Harrison as usual on Mt. Baker.
Despite us having mastered the rock technique, we still met here. We both found it relaxing and peaceful.
But not today.
As I waited for him to show up, I noticed some small explosions of gases. I accidentally walked right into one and inhaled the toxic fumes. It was volcanic gas.
Quickly, I condensed the water vapor that was being released and sprayed it on the top of the volcano.
But it wasn’t enough.
I quickly did the harder task of drawing water out of thin air. I made a lot of water and quenched the lava. But right as it seemed like the match was going in my favor, volcanic gases erupted right in my face.
I lost control of the water and found myself losing consciousness. I fought with myself to stay awake. But it was a losing battle. The lava bubbled and spat.
Just as I thought it was over, a person, dressed in black came swooping down. After that there was only darkness.
I awoke with the sun shining in my face.
I got up, wondering why I was feeling so achy and tired. Then it all came back to me. The lava battle, the inhalation of the toxic fumes, the flash of blue. And most of all I remembered the cold, uninviting darkness that followed. I shivered as if cold.
“Carly? Are you alright?” asked the caring voice of Hilde.
“I’m fine just tired.”
“Go back to bed then.”
“I can’t! My mind’s awake, so I’m awake!”
“Oh. Okay then, if you say so.”
“I do.”
“Okay. I’m going out for breakfast so...um...bye?”
“Bye Hilde!”
“Bye Carls!”
I got out my phone and texted Harrison as soon as she had left. My mind was bubbling with ideas. And it wouldn’t settle down.
Me: Harrison?
Harrison: Yeah
Me: Can I go over 2 ur house?
Harrison: Y
Me: We need to talk!
Harrison: OK! B there in 10 mins.
Me: K! C ya there!
Harrison: Bye
I went into the kitchen searching for food. I found some bacon and eggs and fried them up. I put some bread in the toaster and was waiting for it to pop out, when papa appeared out of nowhere.
He observed my meal. “Bacon. Sunny side-up eggs. And slightly buttered toast.”
I nodded.
“But one thing is missing.” He said.
I knew what he meant, but decided to play around a bit. “You know I was just thinking that, Papa!”
“You were?” He smiled, his eyes twinkling.
“Yeah! Where’s the hot chocolate?” I asked, using my best acting skills. “I’ve searched high and brøle!”
“Well you haven’t looked low enough you cheeky little gjøre klovnestreker!”
“Papa! I’m not a monkey!” I complained.
Papa laughed. He opened the bottom cupboard and pulled out some white-hot chocolate. My favorite.
But instead of handing it over, he waved over my head in a mocking manner.
“What’s the magic word?”
“Please!!! Papa! Give it!”
Papa smiled and handed it over. I scooped two teaspoons of the cocoa powder and stirred it into a milky mixture.
I hated cocoa with water. It either made it tasteless or too watery.
It was ironic that I could control water, but didn’t like water in my most favorite drink.
“Yum… Smakfull! Delicious!”
I settled back eating and drinking my breakfast, while watching ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’ I sighed with content, enjoying the thick richness of the milky chocolate. Harrison could wait a few extra minutes, if it meant savoring this delicious, one-of-a-kind flavor. The whole world could wait for all I care!
I walked into Harrison’s driveway and nodded to the guards. I had come here for almost five years, so the guards knew me pretty well.
I rung the doorbell and patiently waited for someone to answer.
Harrison’s Mum answered.
“Hi Carly!”
“Hi Mrs. White!”
“Well, come on in! It’s pretty chilly today.”
I hadn’t felt the cold, but I realized that even before I had my powers, Mrs. White always seemed to feel the cold.
I found this amusing.
“Is Harrison here?”
“He’s upstairs getting dressed.” She told me. “You could wait here if you like.”
“Thanks!”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want a drink?” She asked hopeful that I would announce my quest to quench this thirst that had haunted me for generations to past.
“Umm...yes please!”
“What would you like?” She asked. “We have tea, coffee, juice, hot chocolate, mil-”
I interrupted her. “Hot chocolate! Uhh...I meant hot chocolate would be great thanks!” Mrs. White made the best hot chocolate ever! And she put water in her hot chocolate! And it was still perfect!
Mrs. White left to go and make the hot chocolate.
Just as Harrison came downstairs.
“So why the special occasion?” He asked. getting straight to the point.
“I wanted to thank you for yesterday.” I told him, shyly.
“What for?” He asked stupidly.
I looked around. “For saving my life! What else?”
“Umm...Carls, I didn’t save your life.”
“What!” I said, struggling to keep my voice down.
But just as he was about to respond, Mrs. White came in.
“Harrison sit on the couch or not at all!” She reprimanded him. I loved the way that she didn’t pretend to be a perfect little family in front of everyone.
Harrison sighed, getting off the arm of the couch and sitting on the couch.
“There! That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
“No mum.”
“Good! Now I’ll leave you to alone.”
“Thanks for the hot chocolate Mrs. White!” I called, as she left the room.
“Anytime Carly!” She flashed me a perfect white smile, which looked stunning against her dark skin.
I sipped the hot chocolate and for one moment I was in heaven. “Smakfull!” I said.
“What was that?” Asked Harrison.
“Oh. It was just delicious in Norwegian.” I told him, half-heartedly.
“I thought my mum’s hot chocolate was delicious worldwide not just in Norway!” He said, attempting a joke.
“Har. Har. You’re hilarious.” I told him sarcastically.
“Thank you very much!” He said, bowing. “Now anyways Carls, I didn’t save you last night. I was exhausted and fell asleep before everyone else. I’m really sorry!”
“It’s OK.” I told him.
I finished my hot chocolate in silence.
I walked home, pondering over my mysterious savior, who, apparently, could fly!
It was a mystery straight from Nancy Drew!
Darryl
XVI
I was in my room reading a book, when Sanjit walked in.
“Hey Darryl!” He said. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I said.
“It doesn’t
look like nothing to me!” He responded, annoyingly.
“Well,” I told him, “If you’re as smart as they say, you would probably know that I’m reading!”
“Which book?” He asked.
I raised the cover to show him.
He frowned at the words. “Well, there’s an ‘I’ and umm...I think that’s an ‘s’. And...um...a ‘j’. And a-”
“You can’t read!” I exclaimed, shocked.
He shook his head.
“But...you’re so smart!”
‘I know, but I never learnt to read!” He spoke with his eyes shining. “You see, I just memorize stuff. Besides, I’m dyslexic!” He looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“So how are you in eighth grade?” I asked, still dealing with the shock.
“I’m a special needs kid.” He said sadly. “I don’t go to a fancy school like yours, I just...go to public school. The teachers don’t bother trying to teach me how to read, they just ask me questions and make me perform my essay aloud.”
“But...that’s terrible!”
“I know!”
“Hey! If you want I can teach you how to read!”
“Really?” He asked, surprised. “You would do that for me?”
“Of course!” I replied. “We’re best friends!”
“Thanks Darryl! I owe you big time!”
“It’s fine.”
“So when do we begin?”
“Right now!”
I spent the next few days trying to teach Sanjit to read. We studied from five am to seven am, and at night we studied from seven to ten pm.
Despite being a genius, Sanjit found it really hard to learn.
“That’s an ‘m’...no an ‘n’!” He said, struggling over the word ‘wanted’. He said something in Hindi.
He always forgot that I didn’t know Hindi. I caught the words ‘oh man!’ But after that I was lost.
“What did you say?”
He looks up, as if he forgot I was there.
“Huh? Oh, I said, ‘Oh man! This is so hard!’ ” He said, talking in a bored tone- he was very focused on the ‘troubling’ word in front of him.
“You’ll get there!” I said, as reassuring as possible.
“No I won’t!” He screams, standing up. “I can read Hindi and speak it, I’m fluent at Spanish! But I can’t read simple English? I’ll never be able to read! Or get into Yale!”
He kicks the bedpost, in an attempt to feel better. Judging by the contorted look on his face, I guessed that it didn’t help in the least.
“You’ll get there eventually!” I said. “You’re too old! The older you are the harder it is to read a new language. Or even understand it!”
“You’re right.” He said, as if it just occurred to him. “I’m sorry for losing my temper Darryl. Please forgive me!”
“It’s fine.” I smiled. “Now let’s continue!”
I arrived at the tree house as the sun was setting, turning everything to a brilliant gold. I usually loved these rare moments.
But I couldn’t focus.
So much had happened in the past two weeks, that it gave me a headache.
Mum had been arrested, I went to a social home, my best friend gave knocked me out, and now I’m teaching my best friend to read.
I doubt that happens to normal nearly-fourteen-years-old people.
I stretched my body to about sixteen feet, and climbed over the wall.
Once inside, I returned to my normal height of five foot, three inches. Before I got my powers, I was five foot, but since then I had mysteriously grown three inches. Most people tagged it off as a growth spurt, but I knew that that was a little far from the truth.
Smiling, I made my way to the latest edition. The tree of powers. At least that’s what I’m calling it. It seems cool.
I sat down under the tree, closed my eyes and prayed.
I prayed for wisdom.
I was feeling so conflicted!
Ms. Kidd said I could visit Mum in prison, but I didn’t have the courage to face her. She was always a tyrant, but now she was in jail.
She would be Godzilla’s bad side.
Also, I left the hospital last week, on the day of Harrison and Carly’s little exhibition, but I still got painful headaches every now and then.
I wasn’t sure whether to go to the nurse or not. I saw the nurse picking her nose and...eating it!
I was certain that the levels of hygiene in doing so, were very, very low.
Also, I prayed that Sanjit would be able to grip the english language reading skills, and be able to go to Yale like he’s always wanted.
I prayed and prayed. I had no idea how long I was under that tree. But I knew it was long.
The sky was a deep blue by the time I got back to FTK.
The moon looked like a giant blot of white paint, on a sheet of navy paper. The sun shone brightly from behind the moon. It lit up the floor better than any streetlamp.
It was then that I realized how powerful the people who control the elements were.
With fire you could both warm someone and blind them.
With water you could both make life and end it.
With air you could make an abundance of oxygen. Or take it away.
With earth you could create a truckload of precious stones. As well as an army of destruct bots.
I wished I had fire or water like Harrison or Carly.
They were so powerful!
And infinitely more popular and easier to talk to.
Especially Carly.
And it wasn’t all because of her enormous kindness. For most people it was because she was so beautiful!
But what was wrong with me?
I had golden eyes! Shiny white teeth! I’m pretty sure I was handsome! So why was I so unapproachable?
Could it be my brain size?
Could they be jealous?
People were so weird! I preferred machines who did exactly what you wanted them to.
If you built a human friend, they would do anything and everything they were programmed to.
Why couldn’t I program humans?
That would make life so much easier.
But the sad truth was life was unfair!
I sighed as I opened the door.
I muttered a hello to pink-haired reception lady, Francesca.
She smiled at me and waved.
I waved back.
I climbed the stairs to my dorm room. An excited Sanjit was waiting for me as soon as I opened the door.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I got it!” He said. “The word was wanted!”
“Well done!” I congratulated him. “I told you you’d get it!”
“Thanks Darryl!”
“It’s okay.”
He was like the brother I never had.
Harrison
XVII
“Thank you very much!” I said, bowing. “Now anyways Carls, I didn’t save you last night. I was exhausted and fell asleep before everyone else. I’m really sorry!”
“It’s okay.” She told me.
I sat down in the living room for longer than necessary.
My brain was having the workout that it hadn’t had for longer than I could remember.
Wasn’t I the only flier in town?
Heck, wasn’t I the only flier in North America?
So who was this mysterious person?
Maybe I was sleepwalking. I thought. But I quickly dismissed the thought, as even if I had been sleepwalking I wouldn’t of been able to carry Carly to her room.
Or save her at all.
I walked to Jake’s house in silence, my brain spinning with possible thoughts.
Could Jake have bounced along on his force fields?
But then Carly would notice, after all his force fields are a light blue.
I walked up to Jake’s door without even looking up.
I was staring at the ground. Something I usually did when concentrating hard.
&nb
sp; Jane opened the door.
“Hi Harrison.” She said, dryly. She no longer cared for my visits, as she had when I first became Jake’s best friend.
“JAKE!!” She yelled over her shoulder. With her excitement, gone too had her show of politeness. “HARRISON IS HERE FOR YOU!!!”
“COMING!!” He yelled back.
One of the reasons I liked Jake was his inability to treat me like royalty.
Suddenly Jake’s head popped into the doorway.
“Wow!” Jane said, taken aback from his sudden appearance. “Where’d you come from?”
“You know me.” He said smugly. “Quicker than lightning!”
“Dude!” I said, laughing. “The phrase is ‘quick as lightning!’ not quicker than!”
Jane and I- finding the whole scene hilarious- laughed our heads off.
“Pff.” He says, fuming. “I knew that! I was just testing your knowledge!”
“Right...” She says under her breath.
“Remember ‘Bullet’?” He asks, making a quick glance at me.
I realized the connection a few seconds later.
“Harrison?” He said. “You might want to come down to my room.”
“Sure…” I said uncertainly as he led me to his soundproof lair.
He sat me down on his bed, while pacing around anxiously around the room. No doubt thinking of how to explain.
“Jake.” I told him, getting straight to the point. “Would you kindly explain how Jane managed to find out about your powers?” I asked, with a great deal of difficulty. My anger was making it hard to keep my voice at a level tone.
It was also making me speak fancy talk.
“Well,” He began. “It happened like this..”
And then the whole truth was revealed.
How the crazy guy practically shoved a gun in his face: told.
How Jane came down to his room to look for a hairbrush: spoken.
How Jane had saw him use his powers and was told everything: That too, unfortunately, was said.
I felt like bashing his head into his neck.
An uncomfortable image of a headless Jake filled my mind.
The Super 4 : Dark Death Page 8