Electric Storm

Chapter 9.1: The Last Chance

I take a deep breath as I knock on the door. This is the next thing that needs to be fixed. "Hey, Wanda." I smile meekly. "Do you want to watch a movie tonight?"

The redhead beams back at me. "Sure."

I've heard Wanda is excellent at cooking but I want to make it special for her, to make up for being so rude. I cook a chilli and serve with it tacos, a recipe I learnt when I was grounded, and, as she's never seen a Disney movie before, I pick out a few of my favourite classics. 

"Katy, this looks lovely." Wanda smiles. I see she is starting to lose her Sokovia accent. 

We start with the Lion King, my childhood favourite, and move to Tangled. Wanda likes the food and the movies, but the conversation is stilted. 

"So, how's it been at the facility?" I try to ask. 

"Good. I've learnt a lot about my powers." She nods. "Are you enjoying your time here?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's been good to take a break from the tower."

We both stare at the screen. I want to be friends, I really do. But I know it requires me to make the first move. What if this doesn't work out?

I debate the issue in my head. I'm not good at making friends. I push them away, or it's with the wrong people. I worry so much that, by the end of the second movie, I haven't said anything. 

"Thanks for this evening, it was nice." She says politely. 

She's only saying that because she has too. I mean, did you see the food you made? And you can't even speak. How do you expect to be friends if you can't even-

Enough. 

I push the darkness from my head, take a deep breath, and I try to swallow my fear. My fear of honesty. I've been taught to lie so well that it's hard to say the truth. 

Just say what you feel. 

"The tower can feel isolated."

She stops in her tracks.  

"Unless one of you visits." I fidget with my fingers. "New York is so big and lively and at school I was surrounded by people but, I'd never felt more alone. Sometimes, I long to be back in Malibu, back when things were simple. Is that terrible?"

"No." She shakes her head, sitting back down. "I wish I could go back before my parents died. But most of all, I wish I had my brother here with me now. Being here is the safest I've felt in a long time."

"But do you ever wish you could run away from it all? Like in the Disney movies?"

"What? Like Hakuna Matata?'"

I laugh at her attempt to sing the song. She's not bad. "I'd love to be able to travel one day."

Wanda stares ahead at the wall. "I've never been to New York, not properly. I've never really been anywhere." She whispers it like it's a secret. My head perks up. I have an idea. 

"Maybe I can show you around some time? We can go in disguise."

"I'd like that." She smiles. "Katy, can I ask something?"

"Ok..."

"You scream, in your sleep."

My face drops. "Oh. Sorry."