Phase Two

“Get out of the way,” a voice snarled behind me. Stronger than average arms swung out from behind me and pushed me into the lockers on my right. I collided with a smack, followed by laughter. I held myself pressed against the lockers, my eyes slammed shut, and waited for the telltale signs that Becky had started walking away. When I didn’t hear any footsteps, I pried open one eye to see Becky’s face inches from mine.

             “Shit,” I muttered, take a step backward and opening my other eye.

             “Shit is right, little sis,” she replied, slamming her hand into the locker closest to my face with a smirk. It dented under her superhuman strength. Becky was everything I wasn’t. Her perfectly crafted face was beautiful and framed with golden curls. She had brilliant blue eyes that matched our mother’s shade of royal blue. Her skin was the perfect shade of tan with long-lean muscles. And of course, like our parents, she was gifted with superhuman strength. It was the family traits, it all was. I just wasn’t lucky enough to get any of it. My dull brown hair and murky brown eyes, as well as my short frame and slight pudge, came from our average father.

             Dad wasn’t a superhero, just an average joe our mother happened to fall in love with. Maybe it was his sweet nature or his tendency to get into trouble she had to save him from. Whatever it was, it had been twenty years, and they were still so deeply in love I had to choke back vomit at the dinner table. Pulling myself from my thoughts, I focused back on my sister.

             “What do you want? The rang for class 5 minutes ago.”

             “I have places to be tonight, and I expect you to cover for me,” she sneered, shoving a finger into my chest. I bit my lip to avoid moaning in pain. That was going to bruise.

             “Fine, whatever. Just let me go,” I said, attempting to walk around her. She let me pass and walk a few feet down the hall before calling after me.

             “Don’t forget what happened last time you failed.” I nodded, refusing to turn around. I absentmindedly rubbed the spot where she broke my arm last time she snuck out of the house, and I didn’t keep her secret. I felt my cheeks flush, thinking about how easily her mother had believed Becky’s story about how I had fallen down the stairs. I hadn’t even fallen learning to walk as a baby, the doctors had said I had near-perfect balance.

             “Ms. Nova, thank you for finally joining us. Please take your seat quickly so we may get started on our lecture.” I nodded and shuffled to the back of the room. Under his breath, Mr. Harris added, “Not that you need any of this.” The classroom stifled laughter as I sat down in the back row and ducked my head. I didn’t need anyone seeing my reddened cheeks.

             I tuned out Mr. Harris’ lecture on how to determine your superhero name. I turned my attention to the sketch I was drawing in my notebook. No one would care if I paid attention anyway. I was only in this school as a favor to my mom. It was clear I wasn’t born with the family traits. Dad tried to convince my mom to send me to a regular public school. Still, she insisted, and now I was stuck in a private school filled with potential superheroes as one of the two anomalies. The other, a lanky, unabashedly awkward boy with hair the color of fire, was the illegitimate child of a superhero with Telekinesis.

             As the two rejects of the school, all of our classes were the same. I think the school wanted us to be friends, and we were, but neither of us were willing to tell the school that. The school was convinced that we were powerless, and we liked it that way. I peeked at Russ from under my curtain of brown hair to see he placed a note under his shoe. He was sitting two rows away from me, but since no one really paid us much attention, it was easy for him to brush his shoe back just enough to get the note under my backpack.

             I reached down and shuffled my bag for good measure before pulling it off the floor and spreading it across my notebook.

Gym. 3 pm. Phase 2.

            His handwriting, as always, was small, quick lines scribbled together. I nodded, hoping he saw the slight movement, before crumbling the note into a ball and shoving it in my shoe.

***

The note was burning a hole in my shoe by the time the last bell rang, and we were released for the day. Russ was in my last class as well, but I walked past him without looking and stormed off in the direction of my locker. I dropped my books off, along with my backpack, before circling the building to enter the empty gym. It was the middle of the spring sports season, and everyone was out on the practice field honing their physical prowess.

Russ joined me a few minutes later. “Always early,” he said with a chuckle as he lifted me in a bear hug.

I laughed. “Always late,” I replied back, pushing myself out of his arms and back on the ground. “So, phase 2? Are you sure?”

“I saw you and Becky this morning,” he replied, giving me a pointed look. I put my hands on my hips but didn’t respond. “That’s what I thought. Come on, Violet. We’ve been practicing for a year. You know what we are both capable of.”

I sighed. “Easy for you to say when we’re starting with my family. I don’t know if I’m ready to admit it to myself, let alone my family.”

“And that, my dear love, is why we are starting with your dad.” Russ shot me the charming smile he saved for me, and I melted.

“Fine! Fine! You’re right. But what am I supposed to say? Hey dad – remember how you thought we were both plain? Turns out, I can walk on any surface without falling. Oh yeah, and I made friends with that geeky kid at school,” I stuck my tongue out at Russ as he rolled his eyes. “Turns out he can control people’s minds. Isn’t that cool?” Russ just watched me, not amused with my antics.

“Babe,” he finally said as he grabbed my hands. “If we don’t show people that we’re more powerful than they believe, we’re going to get crushed on their race to the top.”

“Or get this? We could run away and live happily without them,” I countered.

“We’re 17,” he replied flatly.

“And? We’re perfectly capable of surviving. I have my job at the coffee shop, and you have yours at the electronics store. I found a cute little town a few states from here where we can start over.” I pouted as Russ just watched me.

“Come here,” he replied, ignoring my words. I let him drag me over to and up the bleachers on one side of the gym. Standing up there, the floor looked miles away. “Ready?” He asked, looking up to the ceiling. I shrugged but started my climb up the wall and onto the ceiling until I could dangle my hands over his head.

Russ grabbed my hands and held on as I started walking out into the middle of the ceiling. He laughed, looking up at my face. “Your concentration face is adorable.”

“Shut up, or I’ll drop you,” I mumbled, biting my lip as his weight started to pull at my arms. We stayed like that for a few minutes until I heard the door open. I began to shuffle back to the bleachers as quickly as I could, but a cold voice below me stopped me in my tracks.

“What. The. Hell,” Becky gritted out. I looked down, overwhelmed by her cocked stance, Russ’ weight, and my fear of heights, and promptly dropped Russ right into Becky. She didn’t have superhuman reflexes, just strength, so while she managed to not be crushed by Russ, she was knocked to the ground with a thud. I stared, from my place on the ceiling, at her crumpled body until I saw her take a shallow breath.

Russ, by some miracle, was staring at me from his place on the floor. When I made eye contact, he mouthed something. I closed my eyes and resigned myself to his unspoken words. “Phase 2, for better or worse, here we come.”