Natalie Kent

Impossible

"Good morning!"

My mom greeted me with a smile.  My mom has always been a morning person.

"Morning," came the reply from myself and my brothers. We were not morning people.  Breakfast was usually very quiet from our end of the table.

Jordan dove right in this morning, "How do we go to school after everything that's happened? Pretend like everything is fine?"

My dad walked into the kitchen at that moment. "I know it's weird, but you'll get back into the swing of things. Get back to being normal teenagers."

"Normal? A twin with heat vision, a crazy uncle from another planet, and a Natalie 2.0. I don't think we can be normal again," Jonathan said, his frustration evident in his voice.

Natalie 2.0. It was so weird having her here. She was me in another world. Except she lost her mom and I still have mine. Yeah, totally normal.

"I know it'll be an adjustment, but hopefully we can all get back to normal life. That's what me and your dad want for you. Jordan will still work on his powers with dad, but apart from that, it'll be business as usual." Mom spoke up reassuringly.

"Bus is pulling up," dad said as he held up our lunch bags.

School was better than expected. Mr. Brown assigned an "About Me" essay and my friends invited me to a sleepover Friday night.
Starting at a new school in 8th grade was difficult. Everyone knew everyone by that point. Everyone had been in this school for years.  Thankfully, I found a group of friends that I clicked with. 
Kaitlyn, Ashley, and Hannah were nice to me from the start, inviting me to sit at their lunch table my first day here.  Kaitlyn is quiet, but nice. She made sure to invite everyone to her birthday parties and brought extra food for kids who couldn't afford to buy lunch. Ashley is the party girl of our group. She wears makeup and seemingly hit puberty ways before the rest of us. Hannah is the smartest, always making A's and helps the rest of us with our homework. And then there's me. I'm not sure how I fit in this group, but I do. Being with them makes me feel the most normal I've ever felt, apart from when we lived in Metropolis and I just thought my family was normal.

After school, I sent my mom a text letting her know we went to get milkshakes at the diner.
Hannah helped us with our math homework, then Ashley invited us over for a makeover.

"So did you see the way Eric was looking at you at the diner?" Ashley asked me.
"Eric? No?" I was so confused. Eric was a football player in 9th grade, in high school with my brothers. I know him from their practices and games. "Girl he was giving you the look. I definitely think he's interested."

My phone went off just then, Jon was calling. "Dinner's almost ready. Mom told me to see if you needed a ride home."

"I'm at Ashley's, so I can just walk home," I started shoving books into my backpack as I spoke.

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"Don't forget to let me know where you're at, Natalie. I didn't know you left the diner," mom always worried too much.
"Sure mom. Sorry. Where's dad?" I asked, looking around the kitchen.

"Out saving the world, per usual." Came Jordan's irritated reply. "He was supposed to train with me today, but he never showed."

Mom spoke up then, "Jordan, I know it's disappointing, but I'm sure your dad will train with you tomorrow. You know he hates missing time with you guys, too."

"Hey, I'm so sorry I'm late," dad said as he walked through the back door, "How was school?"

"Better than I thought," I replied cheerfully.