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Thump... Thump... Thump...

Kayden lay on her bed in her pajamas-just a pair of cotton shorts and a thin white camisole. She grimaced as she threw a tennis ball against the wall over and over again, finding the simple motion somewhat soothing. The resounding banging sound was the perfect accompaniment to the boredom that plagued her.

She had tried to play guitar earlier; usually playing a few of her favorite riffs helped to calm her mind. But her fingers had tripped over the simplest of chords, and the longer she had struggled, the more she had desired to smash her acoustic against the wall. So instead of ruining a $300 instrument, she had switched to a tennis ball.

A flash of white lightning drew her attention to the window. The panes were splattered with water; a storm was raging on outside, the sky black and bruised with purple. Rain formed puddles on the asphalt streets, and the yard bled brown dirt where Blaze had landed after jumping off the roof.

Blaze. The wizard. Kayden pulled her knees to her chest. The knowledge that magic existed in a world that seemed so dull was wonderful in its own right, and yet that wasn't enough; she wanted to remember every detail from the day before. But she couldn't. She couldn't remember exactly how the magic had felt on her skin or the precise symbols sketched onto her floor. Even Blaze was becoming more and more indistinct in her mind. It was as if her brain was purposely trying to block out the event, categorizing it as impossible and therefore forgettable.

I don't want to forget, she thought. I won. I got to keep my memories.

But the more she thought about it, the more she questioned whether she had actually won.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

She resumed her activity of tossing the ball against the wall. Throw, bounce, catch. Throw, bounce, catch.

There was a soft knock on the door. Kayden ignored it.

It swung open anyway a moment later. Lexi stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame cautiously. "What are you doing?"

"Throwing a ball. Catching it. Repeating."

"Your mom sent me up here to tell you to stop. She can hear it downstairs and she thinks you're going to break something."

Thump...Thump...Thump

"Tell her I don't care what she thinks," Kayden muttered, continuing on.

Lexi bit her lip and then walked into the room, sitting on the edge of the bed like a concerned parent. "Kay, why don't you come shopping with me? I'm sure your mom won't mind me borrowing her car. We can go to the mall, get some cute clothes... or maybe we can go to the movies if you want?"

"There's a storm outside. We shouldn't be driving."

"But the forecast says it'll end in an hour or so," Lexi pleaded. She tried to make eye contact, but failed miserably.

Kayden waited for her cousin to go away, but Lexi stayed at her side, staring at the blurry window splattered with rain.

"Kay," she finally murmured, "do you not like having me around? Am I ruining your summer?"

Kayden caught the ball and looked over at her cousin. Lexi looked genuinely upset; it made her feel guilty.

She sighed. "No, Lexi, it's not you. It's... complicated."

"Maybe if you leave the house you'll feel better?" Lexi suggested, the hope of a smile on her face. "Or we can call some of your friends and do something all together inside if you don't want to spend time with just me. We can bake cupcakes, or play board games, or do something on the Wii?"

Friends? Kayden thought to herself, feeling the weight of her silent phone in her pajama shorts. You mean the three guys who've barely had the time to send me a single text?

"If I wanted my friends over, I would have invited them already," Kayden answered grimly. "So thanks, but no thanks."

Lexi frowned. She twisted a lock of her hair around her finger, tugging on the curl. "I just feel like something is... something will..."

"Something will what?" Kayden asked, trying to keep the frustration out her voice.

Lexi didn't answer. Instead she lingered on the bed for a few more seconds as if she was on the verge of saying something, but a sudden rumble of thunder forced her to her feet and she scurried out of the room without saying goodbye.

Kayden sighed, turned her eyes back to the wall, and resumed her game. She was so engrossed in her task that she didn't feel her skin start to vibrate, nor hear the way the air hummed in anticipation. She was stuck in the calm before the storm, oblivious to the world about to crash down around her.