Sleight of Hand

Chapter 13

When Monday morning came around, Tom and Sierra were ready. They'd woken up early, dressed, eaten breakfast, and packed their bags before their mom was even awake. She came down the stairs in her pajamas, her fine auburn hair tangled and knotted. She rubbed her eyes, and stopped in the doorway when she saw Tom and Sierra sit­ting at the table.

"Well, aren't you two up early?" she said, starting up the coffee maker.

"We get to go back to Kurtis's today!" Tom exclaimed, practically jumping out of his seat with anticipa­tion.

Their mom chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad. I have a meeting tonight at work, so you all will be able to stay a little longer."

Tom and Sierra beamed at each other. They couldn't wait to witness the Superhumans training.

A car horn sounded outside, and Tom and Sierra leapt to their feet.

"Well, see ya later, Mom!" Tom called as they pushed their way to the door.

"Bye kids! Be careful!" she called back.

Tom and Sierra bounded out the door and rushed to the car parked in their driveway, but stopped in their tracks when the window was rolled down.

"Trebor?!" Tom asked, leaning in the passenger's side door. "What're you doing here?"

Trebor cocked an eyebrow. "Picking you guys up," he responded with a tone that conveyed, Why else would I be here?

Sierra climbed into the backseat.

"You can drive?" she asked. Trebor's green eyes peered at her through the rearview mirror.

"Of course. I am eighteen."

Then he amended, "Well, technically, I'm like... forty-three years old, but..."

He shuddered.

"Let's not think about that. Ready to go?"

Tom nodded enthusiastically from the passenger seat. They pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road.

"Wait... didn't Kurtis say you guys shouldn't be around humans?" Sierra asked. "What if you get caught?"

Trebor smirked. "I think I'll be okay. I look normal enough, and I can't use my abilities, so right now I'm just as human as you guys are."

Sierra studied him. He definitely looked like a normal teenager, except for maybe his piercing green eyes. He wore jeans and a graphic t-shirt, and high-top shoes. He had his earring in his ear, though Sierra noticed he wasn't wearing his biker gloves. She said as much to him. He crinkled his nose as he drove.

"Yeah... I have them with me, but I figured it would take away from the look. It's weird not having them on, though."

Tom asked, "How did you learn to drive?"

Trebor replied, "Superhuman kids have a similar way of learning as regular humans. But instead of just sitting in a classroom all day, we did training. That was a big part of our learning. Of course, we had normal things like math, too, but we were either taught that at home or we had a schedule so we learned for part of the day and then went to training for the rest. Learning to drive was optional, but I know a lot of Superhumans preferred to."

"So, are you training today?"

Trebor's eyes turned a little steely.

"No. Kurtis put up a schedule on the refrigerator. I only train on Wednesdays and Saturdays."

Tom asked, "Why didn't Kurtis come pick us up?"

Trebor answered, "His first training sessions start at nine every morning. He didn't think he'd be able to pick you guys up and get to training on time. He was going to send Alyakim since she's his assistant, but he decided she'd be more help at home. She's taking care of the Superhumans that were released after us—Lassos and Rae mostly—and just generally keeping the peace." He rolled his eyes. "I'm glad I didn't have to stay there."