“It’s an illusion. When you’re king of Verdugo Hills Academy, everyone’s afraid to cross you.”
“He used to be so sweet,” I mumbled, peeking over the mirror.
“They’re all nice in the beginning,” Maya said as she examined her eyeliner.
“Sometimes they stay that way,” I said, thinking how much my parents adored each other, even after nearly twenty years together. “But you’ll never have that if you don’t put yourself out there.” I waited a beat, but she didn’t comment. “So, what do you think?”
“Interesting.” She turned her face from side-to-side, examining my work from every angle. “The eyeliner’s thicker than I usually do, but you balanced it with the clear lip gloss. I look nice.”
“You look phenomenal.” I mentally patted myself on the back for impressing Maya, my makeup guru. “Hey, what if you flirted with Trevor? You know, be receptive?”
She blinked. “I’m not receptive?”
“You’re the queen of casual. We hung out for weeks before I stopped wondering if you liked me. He probably has no clue.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “Just flash him a smile. You don’t even have to use words.”
Maya frowned as she processed that. I almost grinned at my matchmaking attempt, then remembered my own disastrous love life.
CHAPTER FIVE
While my parents went out for their run Sunday evening, I cleaned and organized my room. With arms full of dirty clothes, I shot out of the hallway and nearly crashed into the wall. I leaned an elbow against the doorjamb for balance as the world shifted around me, blurred for an instant, then sharpened.
What the hell?
I proceeded with caution, moving slower to keep track of the hallway in relation to myself. Taking the stairs went smoothly enough, but as I took a step through the doorway of the laundry room, tingles of energy snaked through my stomach, chest and limbs. When the heel of my foot landed on a nearly invisible puddle of water, I overcompensated by pulling back. My other foot skidded across the floor and I hydroplaned. My free hand shot out to break the fall and the fleshy part of my thumb caught on a loose screw in the threshold. Blood pooled in my palm.
I stared at my hand, feeling queasy. Then, right before my eyes, the opening slowly closed. Within moments, there was no sign of even a scratch.
Whoa.
As if to demonstrate my power, another swell of energy moved through my hands.
Okay, I would not freak. I would calmly and systematically figure out what the hell was happening to me. Had I been exposed to a chemical or radiation? My new intermittent abilities couldn’t be hereditary. Aside from their hovering, my parents were totally normal. And if they knew anything, they would’ve told me.
I couldn’t confide in them or they’d probably worry that an aneurysm was bringing on freakish abilities and would lead to death or something. Sorting out what was going on was enough without adding their neuroses into the mix.
Maybe I should see a doctor. Except the only way to keep it from my parents would be to see someone I didn’t know and pay cash from my car savings. That was a last resort. Besides, they’d have to document the case and what if someone evil found out about me who wanted to use my powers to rule the world? Yeah, my imagination was running wild. Still, I didn’t want to become someone’s experiment.
Sneakers pattered outside and I realized I’d sat there scrutinizing my hand for several minutes. I jumped up, rinsed off my hand and straightened my clothing.
Breathe… Breathe.
I strolled into the living room just as the front door swung open. “How was your run?”
“Great,” my mom answered, hanging her keys on a hook by the door. “We’re going to rent a movie. Would you like to join us?” She pulled a cigarette from her pack and fished in her pocket for a lighter.
“Not tonight, thanks. I have some research to do.” I couldn’t possibly concentrate on anything other than figuring out what was going on with me.
† † †
As I drove to school Monday morning, to prevent getting into a car crash or something and miraculously healing in front of someone, I kept the radio off and ignored anything else that might distract me. I’d have to remember to be careful of my movements at school too, so I wouldn’t accidentally leap a tall building in a single bound, or some such crap, and draw attention to my newly developed weirdness.
I’d researched again last night, using all the words and phrases I could think of. I’d even checked diseases, but nothing about superpowers and accelerated healing popped up. There were all sorts of websites on herbs and acupuncture to promote healing. Not helpful.