"First week of summer vacation," Tommy sighed, lacing his fingers behind his head. Marlin and Lisa sprinted across the beach, chasing each other through the sand while Liz, Tommy, and Erin relaxed in their beach chairs.
"It's all downhill from here," Liz muttered behind her dark purple sunglasses.
Erin glanced over. "What does that mean?"
She shrugged. "The start of summer is fun, but eventually it starts to suck. No direction, no goal. In school, you're working toward something. Summer's just... floating."
"Debbie Downer alert," Tommy rolled his eyes. "That's the best part of summer—you make your own goals."
"That sounds exhausting," Liz slumped lower into her seat.
Erin grinned. "You literally got a hundred on every final. You worked your ass off."
"That's different. School gives me the goal. Making one myself is... harder."
"Well," Erin offered, "What if your goal this summer is to have as much fun as possible with your new friends?"
Liz thought about it. "I can do that."
Erin scanned the beach. No one was watching. He jabbed a finger into the sand and sent a bolt of electricity pulsing through it. Cranking the voltage, he kept the current steady for a few seconds, then pulled his hand free.
He unearthed a shimmering crystalline shape from the sand—glass formed by lightning.
"Dude, check this out!" He handed the jagged, lightning-bolt-shaped glass to Liz.
Her eyes widened behind her lenses. "These are so rare! And this one's solid. Most shatter instantly."
"You can keep it," Erin said, casually.
Liz beamed, brighter than he'd ever seen her. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Thank you so much!"
Erin froze, face burning red. Behind them, his mom chuckled from her beach chair.
He glanced back and shot her a subtle throat-cutting gesture. She winked, then put her sunglasses back on.
"Help!" Marlin cried from across the sand. Lisa was burying him in a hole, laughing like a maniac. The others jumped up to help. Liz raced after Lisa, tripping and falling into the surf. Marlin dug himself out and gave chase.
Erin sprinted toward the water—just in time to watch Tommy eat it, face-first into the sand.
"Dude, I've never seen you fall that hard!"
Tommy groaned, clutching his foot. "Yeah, didn't expect to hit something sharp."
Erin looked down and spotted the culprit: a large glassy crystal poking from the sand. He brushed it off—it was smooth, shiny, and unmistakably formed by electricity.
But not his.
He tracked the shape with his hand—ten feet. Twenty. Thirty...
Someone had run this path. At superspeed.
***
The group arrived at the motel hours later. Tommy and Liz's grandfather shared a room, while Erin and Marlin were bunking together. Much to Erin's disappointment, Liz was rooming with Lisa.
Erin's mom handed him a key and kissed his cheek. He and Marlin collapsed onto their beds.
"Your mom's goated for bringing us to the coast for a week," Marlin said.
YOU ARE READING
Acceleration
ActionThree weeks after being stuck by lightning and gaining supernatural abilities, Erin Evidrone decides to become his city's local Superhero. With his aunt and best friend backing him, Erin must navigate his last year and-a-half of high school while ke...
