Chapter 3

The Next Day

The next day I came into the school and when I looked up I saw them. I walked up to the table and sat down. Right when I sat down they all stood up and left. My shoulders fell as I watched them go. I could feel the tears coming to my eyes again.

Then, I heard someone say my name. I turned around and saw Mary. I looked at her with wondering eyes.

"I'm always there for you. I'm your friend; I should be there for you no matter what, and if I wasn't, then I wouldn't be a very good friend, now would I?" She said.

"No." My voice was shaky. I got up and gave her a hug. I let the tears fall, happy tears, glad to find that I do have a good friend. "Thanks, Mary, I don't know what will happen or anything about it, but, even if this goes horribly wrong, I'm glad you're going to be right beside me."

"Did you find anything else out?"

"No, I was too busy crying most of the time."

"Sorry about that. I was just scared at first, but then I realized that it's still you. Even if you do have…" She paused to look around and whispered, "Super strength."

"Why did you whisper that?"

"Well you don't want others to know, do you?"

"Well, no, I guess not."

"Ok then, I won't tell anyone."

"I figured it might be more than… super strength. It might be more, but I don't know what. I can just feel it, inside me. How 'bout you come over tonight and we work on it?"

"Yeah, and I'm really sorry about not trusting you right away."

"It's Ok, all I can ask for I that you're beside me now." I embraced her again and we started walking to class.

"What is Mary doing?" Vacia asked. Mary had just turned around and started walking towards Vanica.

"Hmm. Maybe she forgot something. She'll be right over." Anica suggested.

Vacia looked back one more time before turning and following the rest. Maybe I should go support Vanica. I mean, she is, like, my best friend. I should always support her. Vacia said to herself. She turned around to walk back to Vanica, but she saw her and Mary walking off to class, so she turned around and walked to class herself. I can talk to her at lunch.

"Come on Vacia! Are you coming?" Her sister asked from behind her.

"Yeah, I'm coming. I'll be right there," Vacia answered.

"Mary, let's sit over here, since we can't sit at our usual table." Vacia heard Vanica say. She looked back and saw Mary and Vanica sit at an empty table two away from them. She looked back at her sister desperately looking for eye contact. I hope she'll understand. She got up, taking her tray, and walked over to Vanica and Mary.

"What do you want?" Vanica asked.

"Well, I was wondering if I could sit and talk."

"Why? Are you coming to ask if you can be my friend again? 'Cause if you aren't I don't care for what you have to say," Vanica said.

"Yes, I am, I'm sorry, but I was scared. I didn't really realize, until Mary came to talk to you, that you are still the same. I just hope you can forgive me." She looked at Vanica, not knowing what to expect. She didn't sit down, she didn't know if she was welcome to yet.

She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't frowning. "Of course you can be my friend again! Why not? I'm going to need all the help I can get, to figure this out. Mary is going to come over later, to help. You want to, also?" Vanica was now happier than she was before.

"Yeah! I'd love to. I'll come at six, Ok?" Vacia asked.

"Ok, Mary, what time are you coming? If you can, I'd like you to come at six, too, Ok?" I asked.

"I'll try, I can't make any promises, though," Mary answered.

"Well, try, Ok? And if you can't then call me," Vanica said.

"Will do," Mary said as she went to dump her tray. Vanica and Vacia went to dump their trays as well.

Lunch period was over so they stopped talking and had to go to class.

"Hey, Mom, can I have Mary and Vacia over tonight?" I asked.

"What about Vacia's sister? Don't you want to have her over?" Mom asked.

"Um, she's busy tonight. She can't make it. So can I, at six?" I asked.

"Yeah, hunn. You can have them over. At six, was it?" She asked.

"Yes, at six."

"Ok, you can."

"Thanks, Mom."

"No problem." I gave her a thank-you-kiss and walked to my room. I picked up the phone on my way, to call Vacia and Mary.

I called Mary first.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Hello?" Someone asked on the other side. I thought it was Max, Mary's little brother.

"Is Mary there?" I asked.

"Yeah, wait a minute." It took about three minutes, and then Mary picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She said.

"Mary? This is Vanica."

"Oh, hi."

"Did you ask?"

"Yes."

"So…?"

"I can go, but I have to be back by eight."

"Ok, I think that could work. Well, I have to call Vacia and see if she can come. Kay? Bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone, and then called Vacia.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Hello?" Oh no, it was her sister. She was never going to let me talk to Vacia. I tried to disguise my voice.

"Is Vacia there?" I said in a high voice.

"Who is this?"

"Um, this is her uh…" I thought fast. She played volleyball, and went to camp every summer. "volleyball friend. Can you give her the phone, please?"

"Fine, here." She handed the phone to her sister.

"Hello?"

"Vacia?" I said, still in my high-pitched voice, just in case it was still Anica.

"Yeah, who is this?" She answered.

"Whew, this is Vanica. I had to disguise my voice so Anica would give you the phone. If I didn't she might have hung up on me. Did you ask yet?"

"Yeah, I can come."

"Good, until eight?"

"Kay, why not later?"

"Well, can you stay later?"

"Yeah, my mom is letting me spend the night, even."

"Oh, Mary could only stay 'till eight. Well, I guess you can bring your sleeping bag."

"Yeah, just, don't scare me with lifting the bed again, please."

"I'll try, but we are gathering to practice with my new found power, and learn anything new."

"Yeah, I know, that was just so scary."

"Well, you have no reason to be scared now."

"Well, see you later, bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone and ran downstairs to tell mom that Vacia was spending the night.

"Mom, is it Ok if Vacia spends the night?"

"Um, yeah hunn, only if you help me lift this. So I can vacuum under it." My eyes widened, scared of what mom's reaction might be.

"Well?"

"Um, I guess, but you have to promise me something."

"What?"

"You have to promise not to be scared."

"Ok, hunn. I won't get scared, but what makes you think I'll get scared?" I looked at her, worried to do this, but I had to tell her sometime, this just has to be that time.

I took the couch in one hand and lifted the whole thing with no effort at all.

She gasped.

"Mom, you promised not to get scared."

"I'm not scared, hunn, just astonished. How did you do that? Is there strings or something on it?"

"No, Mom. You don't get it. I have super strength."

"No, no, no, you can't have super strength, it's not possible."

"Then how am I holding this with no effort or sweat at all?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

"I told you, you wouldn't listen."

"We can talk about this later, young lady. Now, I'm going to vacuum."

"Whatever, Mom." I looked down at the floor while she started to vacuum. The next things happened so fast.

She was vacuuming, and asked me to move. I was sort of daydreaming of how to tell her that it wasn't a trick. Then I came back and the vacuum was coming straight at me. I jumped out of the way, but never came back down.

I looked around wondering what just happened. Then I looked down and found that my feet weren't touching the ground. I screamed.

"What?" I heard mom ask. She looked around, looking for me.

"Um, Mom. I'm up here." She looked up and gasped.

"Young lady! Stop this or I'll have to ground you!"

"Mom, I'm not trying to do anything. Can you help me? I can't get down." She grabbed my foot and pulled me down. I touched the ground and she let me go. I paused, to make sure I wasn't going to float back up. I wasn't, so I went on. "Are you done vacuuming? I need to call Vacia and Mary."

"Yeah, you can go call them. Um, what time are they coming again?" She asked yet again.

"Six, and Mary will leave at eight, but Vacia's spending the night."

"Ok." I ran to my room. Boy, do I have something to tell them.

This time I called Vacia first, to get it over and done with, I didn't like lying to Anica. Anica picked up again.

"Hello, is this Vanica? 'Cause I really want to talk to her."

I paused for a minute. "Um, that depends. Are you going to be her friend again?"

"Well, that's what I was going to talk to her about."

"Fine, yes this is Vanica."

"Ok, I want to be your friend again, please. I can't live like this. My sister always going to your house, leaving me behind, wishing I could go too. I really want to be your friend. The only thing that I'm worried about now is, Asvica and Honnah. They're the only ones left in the group that haven't come back. What will they do?"

"Ok, first of all, you can be my friend again. Second, you need to come with Vacia to my house tonight. Third, tell your sister I have something to show you both when you come. And fourth, Asvica and Honnah will come back, sooner or later. They won't last long sitting at their own table with no one else. They'll come back."

"Thanks, Vanica, I'll tell her, and I'll be there."

"Good." I hung up. Then I called Mary and told her the same news, and that Anica was back.

Ding-dong. I walked to the door and found Mary had finally come. Vacia and Anica had arrived earlier. I took her arm and dragged her upstairs.

"Ok, we're all here, Vanica. What's the 'so exciting' news?" Vacia asked.

"Ok, watch this." I jumped, just like I had in the living room, and never came back down.

"Cool!" They all said together.

"How did you do that?" Anica asked.

"How did you figure it out? Is a better question," Mary thought.

"Well, this is what happened." I told them the story of how my mom wanted to vacuum under the couch, and told me to lift it, and of how she thought it was a trick. and how she almost ran my over with the vacuum, and how I jumped into the air and never came down. "So that's how I found out I could fly." They just stared at me, eyes wide, mouths open, and looking up. (I was still flying, since I still didn't know how to get down on my own.

"So your mom sort of knows that you have superpowers?" Mary asked.

"Um, yeah, I figured I would have to tell them sometime, so why not then?" I said.

"Well, maybe you don't have to tell them, at all. Couldn't you keep it a secret, from everyone? I mean, wouldn't it be cool to have a secret identity?" Vacia finally spoke up.

"Well, I guess it would be, but my mom has already seen everything that I know."

"But she thinks it's all a joke. That could work out."

"Yeah, but, you guys, I don't think I can actually be a superhero. There is not much crime."

"Sure there is!" A voice yelled from outside my window. I looked back at my friends, then to the window.

"Um, who's out there?" As I said this I walked closer. I knew I shouldn't have been scared, since I had superpowers, but I couldn't help it.

Once I got to the window I looked down. What I saw was not what I wanted to see, well, I didn't really want to see anything, but this was especially what I didn't want to see. It was a boy, maybe my age, with short brown hair, light, just about the same color as his eyes. He was sitting outside, just under the window, listening to us talk. His hands were over his mouth, and his eyes were closed. He obviously didn't mean to say anything.

I looked at him. "How much of that did you hear?"

He opened his eyes, and took his hands off of his mouth. Once he realized I was talking to him, he stood and said, "Um, maybe all of it." He had a sheepish grin.

"Get in here, or I'll make you get in here."

His eyes grew wide as he realized that he didn't want her to 'make' him come in.

He pulled himself up over the windowsill and into the room. When he got back to his feet, he looked up and saw the room, filled with girls.

I rolled my eyes. "How long have you been spying on me?"

"Um…"

"How long?"

"I can see that you're angry."

"I'll be even angrier if you don't tell me, right now!"

"Ok, I've been spying on you since I found out where you lived."

"Which was?"

"A couple of weeks after school started."

"Do you go to my school?"

"Yes, but you've never noticed me before."

"Why have you been spying on me? Do I owe you some money or what?"

"No, nothing like that, I just thought I'd check up on you now and again."

"Right, I know why."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"Ok, Vanica, we should tell him what he has to do since he found out about our little secret," Mary suggested.

"Oh, you mean the superpowers," he said.

"Shhhhhhh!" I said. "My family doesn't actually know I have superpowers, if you haven't noticed."

"Right, you probably want me to keep this quiet, don't you?"

"Yeah," Anica said.

"Well, what if I don't? What's in it for me?"

"Well, what do you want?" I asked.

He looked at me.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," I said shaking my head.

"Just one date, or else I'll tell all my friends, who have friends who have friends, that you have superpowers."

I was silent for a minute, thinking it through. "Fine, but no where public, you can't tell anyone, and I'm not kissing you."

"Deal, but I also get to help figure this out with all of you."

"Fine."

"By the way, that was harsh what you all did to Vanica at her party. I mean I know you were scared, but you didn't need to be so harsh."

My mouth dropped. "You were spying on me during my party?"

"Sorry."

"Why I otta." I sneered at him.

"Never mind. What do you mean? You want to help train her?" Vacia asked.

"What? No. You can't. You don't know anything about this. Plus, my parents don't like the idea of me actually having boys over for parties," I said.

"I know just as much as you do. But the parent problem, yeah, I can't fix that. But I could sneak through your window again," he answered.

"Ok, how do you get up here, and how many times have you gotten up here?" I asked.

"Well, there's sort of a ladder in your backyard that leads to the roof. The only thing you have to do is sneak past your brother's room without being seen, then you just walk to your room and I hide under the window. I've been up here every day since I found this out."

"Great, I'm going on a date with a boy who's been stalking me." I looked at my friends.

"I'm not a stalker, I'm a someone who spies. I don't watch you all the time." He said casually.

I stared at him. "If you had the chance you would!"

"No I wouldn't! I'm not like that."

"Luckily I'm smart and close the blinds so no one sees me."

"I'm not that kind of person!" He answered.

The whole time my friends were just sitting there.

"Maybe we should say something," Anica whispered to Vacia.

"I don't know, its kind of fun to watch. Have you noticed that they fight just like a couple would? He's also kind of cute."

Mary stared at her, along with Anica.

"What? Come on, you have to agree with me, at least about the couple thing."

Anica shrugged, agreeing, but Mary still just stared at them like it was the worst possible thing you could say.

"Ok, he said he's not like that. Now can we move on? We now know how he can get in every time. Just remember, we have to hide him anytime someone wants to come in," Mary said, turning back to Vanica and the mysterious boy.

"What? Mary, we can't let him come in here anytime he wants. I'm already going to suffer enough, going out with him."

Mary stared at her with a look that would break anyone off his or her decision on anything.

There was an awkward silence.

"Fine," Vanica said, finally. "But remember my conditions on the date, or everything's off."

He nodded.

"I just realized. I'm going to go out with a guy that I know nothing about. Not even his name."

"Oh, my name is Davin," he answered.

"Davin? How come that rings a bell?" I asked wondering where I had heard it before.

"My name sounds familiar to you? I have no idea where you could have heard it before, except at school," Davin said.

"No, it wasn't school. Oh well, just forget about it. I'll remember later."

The rest of the night we trained. I learned that all I had to do was concentrate on the ground to stop flying, but I look down and concentrate, I found out that that makes me land flat on my butt. I also learned that I could lift anything that is two thousand times my weight.

We didn't learn much more because Mary left and she's the one who found all that out.

An hour after that Davin went home, and Vacia, Anica, and I were tired so we went to bed.