Supernova

by Mia Rodriguez

Chapter 21: Discovery

  “What?” is echoed from all over the group.

  Meggy nods enthusiastically. “It’s her!”

  “It can’t be,” Tino insists.

  “It is!”

  “How can you be sure?” asks Tino.

  “I know because I know.”

  “But Meggy—”

  “Don’t you dare doubt in Meggy, Papi,” Pilar spurts. ”My godmother is a special seer, and you know it.”

  Meggy taps my hand. “I dreamt about you, my dear.”

  “But this girl could look like the Supernova and not be her,” insists a tall man.

  “It is her,” Royce assures.

  “Yes, she’s the Supernova,” Peter chimes in.

  “But—”

  “Shut up, Tino,” someone snaps.

  “We’re sorry about everything,” Meggy tells me. “It’s just that we don’t know who to trust, and we thought you were testing our loyalty. The leaders have done that before.”

  “They have?” I ask, disgust in my voice.

  “Yep,” growls Pilar.

  “But everything is about to change!” Meggy gushes excitedly.

  As Royce, Peter, and I sit in Meggy’s modest home—an old shack with as many personal touches as possible like children’s drawings and colorful rocks, we are unsure about accepting her hospitable offer of staying the night.

  “You can’t leave tonight,” insists Meggy. “It’ll be like committing suicide.”

  Peter’s face is scrunched in concern and doubt. “Wouldn’t it be better to travel in the darkness?”

  “Not with wild animals on your tail. Besides, you have to really know your way around to travel in the dark. You need to know that soldiers have been training all week. Tonight is the last night they’ll be doing it.”

  “I scoured the woods earlier,” says Royce,” and didn’t see any military.”

  “That’s because the first group left, but the second is coming about now and will be training all night.”

  Royce nods absentmindedly. “It’s lucky then that you found us.”

  “On the contrary,” blurts Meggy, “we’re lucky we found you.”

  We eat the bear meat in silence over mats on the dirt floors. Meggy doesn’t own any furniture. I hardly taste the food, but I have to keep up my strength. Food may be hard to come by for what’s ahead of us. What is very disconcerting are all the eyes on me.

  “Are you really her?” asks Sonny, his child’s voice excited. “The Supernova?”

  “Í don’t know,” I mumble, “That’s what they tell me.”

  “I bet you are the Supernova,” Sonny announces, sure of himself.

  Royce smiles fondly at him. “You’re a smart kid.”

  “I can see it in her eyes,” declares Sonny.

  “What can you see in her eyes?” Peter asks curiously.

  “The stars.”

  “The stars?” asks Tino, amused.

  “Her eyes sparkle,” states Sonny.

  I smile at him, at his youthful exaggerations. “Thank you, Sonny, but my eyes are pretty average.”

  “You’re wrong,” Peter interjects. “Everything about you is special.”

  “You’re really gone for her, right?” asks Pilar.

  “I’d rather not talk to you,” Peter retorts.

  Pilar lets out a heavy sigh. “Don’t tell me that you’re still angry with me? I had to keep all three of you captive because I didn’t know who you were.”

  “I understand, Pilar,” Royce says, smiling.

  “What about you, Supernova, do you forgive me?”

  “Everything’s cool, Pilar.”

  “I’m the one you insulted,” Peter retorts.

  “You’re still angry over that little thing?”

  “Little thing? You called me a wuss—how can I forgive you?”

  Pilar shrugs her shoulders with a smirk on her face. “I guess the truth hurts.”

  “The truth!” Peter explodes. “I’ll have you know I’m every bit as brave as Royce is!”

  “You really believe that?”

  “How dare you insult me!”

  “I’m only trying to clear things up.”

  “Can we cool down,” I interject. “Peter, I’m sure Pilar is only teasing you.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  Peter springs up off the floor. “I’m not going to put up with this! I’ll be outside—getting some fresh air—it stinks in here.”

  “Don’t go far, Peter,” Royce warns, his voice steel.

  “Stay close to our shacks,” demands Meggy. “Remember that soldiers are all over the woods, and the forest can be very dangerous at this hour.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Peter grunts.

  “Peter,” Royce says with a menacing tone, “do what she says.”

  “Yes, Peter, please be careful,” I ask of him.

  “Be careful,” Pilar interjects, rolling her eyes.

  Peter smirks as he steps out the door. I let out a worried sigh.

  “Maybe I should go with him,” I offer.

  “If you go with him, he’ll try to prove his manliness to you,” declares Pilar with disgust in her voice. “It’ll make everything worse.”

  “But—”

  “Unfortunately,” Royce states dryly, “Pilar is right.”

  Pilar’s face turns smug. “Of course I’m right.”

  “But he can get himself into a whole lot of trouble,” I assert, standing up.

  “I’ll go after him,” Royce announces, jumping up. “I think we’re due for another talk.”

  As Royce hurries out the door, Pilar pats the ground next to her for me to sit back down. I do so with trepidation. I worry about Peter and Royce.

  “You don’t know what an honor it is having you in my home, Supernova,” states Meggy. All eyes are on me. I cringe.

  “Please call me Nova.” Royce had warned me about not using my real name since it’s all over the airwaves. We had agreed on the name I would use. In Spanish no va means doesn’t go—like I was for many years under my fake parents with the drugs they were feeding me.

  “When did you find out that you were the Supernova?” Pilar asks with curiosity.

  Everybody in that tiny hut—about ten people—seem to be holding their breath till I answer.

  “Just a few days ago but—”

  “But what?” Meggy asks.

  “I’m not sure I’m her.”

  “That’s what I would expect the Supernova to say,” bursts Meggy happily.

  “Yeah, I’d hate an arrogant hero,” Pilar declares. “Arrogant like your friend, Peter.”

  “Peter’s not arrogant,” I’m quick to point out. “He’s just confused.”

  “Confused?” Pilar retorts. “Listen, I know you’re the Great One we’ve been waiting for and all, but I have to set you straight.”

  “Set me straight?”

  “Pilar,” chides Meggy, “careful with your words.”

  “What do you mean?” asks an insulted Pilar. “I’m always careful with my words.”

  “Right!” Sonny blurts with a sarcastic tone.

  “What does that mean?” asks Pilar, hurt.

  “You can be abrupt,” explains Tino.

  Pilar’s face contorts in surprise. “Me abrupt?”

  “Yes, you,” Tino states.

  “I’m a nice person—I am.”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Well, somebody has to set things straight. Es verdad o no?”

  Tino starts translating what his daughter said, but I stop him. “I understand Spanish,” I blurt, surprised that I do. “She said, ‘Is that true or not?”

  “Wow, you actually did understand me!” Pilar expresses.

  My real parents had taught me Spanish but after the United World order took over, only one language was allowed—English. Since it was considered the universal language and many people of the world already knew it, it was ruled to be
the official language while other tongues were strictly prohibited. I’m thrilled that Spanish is still inside of me, that I don’t just remember a few stray words.

  I smile admiringly at Pilar. Most people would be terrified of defying one of the government’s strictest laws. “Your Spanish is very good.”

  “My papi taught me—in secret of course. Now I can set people straight in two languages,” she laughs.

  “What do you want to set straight?” I ask.

  “The mission you’re on is very important—very, very important. You don’t need anyone messing it up!”

  “Are you talking about Peter?”

  “I’m sure not talking about Royce.”

  “Peter was selected for this mission for a reason.”

  “Nova, wake up and smell the stinky ego!”

  “Pilar,” chides Meggy, “more respect towards Supernova.”

  “With all due respect, Meggy, she doesn’t need someone to worship her right now. She needs someone with the guts to shake up her naiveté and that person is me.”

  “Naiveté?” I ask.

  “If you don’t stop with this misplaced loyalty, you’ll jeopardize the mission!”

  “Jeopardize the mission?” I say, my voice tight.

  “Yes, completely mess it up.”

  “Pilar,” scolds Meggy, “stop your insolence. I’m sure Supernova knows what she’s doing.”

  “Hey, everybody needs help sometimes—even stars!”

  “What are you saying about misplaced loyalty?” I ask.

  “I don’t know what’s between you and Peter, but he’s nothing but a huge stumbling block to both you and Royce. It’s easy to see, even after just meeting you.”

  “But—”

  “Wake up, girl!”

  “I’m awake,” I mumble.

  “Nova,” Pilar says impatiently, “what happened with the bear?”

  “I . . . uh. . .”

  “I saw the tracks! My guess is that you were trying to protect Peter when Royce stepped in and killed it. Am I right?”

  I nod disconcertedly. “Yes.”

  “I knew it!”

  “Peter’s human,” I comment. “He makes mistakes.”

  “He can’t follow orders, he’s egotistical, and he’s in love with you. That’s a very bad combination.”

  I try to absorb what she’s saying. “But Pilar—”

  “If Peter goes with you, he could ruin the whole mission. Just think about it.”

  “I—” The door swings wide open and the tall man from earlier rushes in, almost ramming into us on the floor. Frantic and hyperventilating, he tries unsuccessfully to tell us something.

  “What’s wrong?” Meggy questions, her voice in a high pitch.

  He keeps trying to catch his breath. “It’s . . .” His breathing is very heavy. “It’s . . . it’s . . .”

  “For goodness sakes, tell us what happened,” demands Pilar.

  “Royce . . .”

  “What happened to Royce?” I snap, jumping to my feet.

  “Peter . . .”

  “Peter?” I question, my head swirling with the confusion of what the tall man is trying to say.

  “Dead!”