Puberty For Superheroes.

Chapter 8 - Jane Quintela

Jane didn't move from her spot on the couch. She was scarred for life, mortified and terrified. She was regretting her life choices now.

"Oh, don't forget that periods get messy too. Bleeding through clothing and the pads don't help that much. Also, the best thing in the world is the feeling of a great shower." Jackie pointed out. She played with her black hair, twisting it in her fingers and examining the strands.

"Yeah, true. But tampons are way easier to use," Carolena stated. She grinned and turn to her little sister. "But it's your very first time you started your period, so it will be a while until you can use a tampon."

Yup, Jackie and Carolena have been going back and forth about monthly cycles for the whole afternoon. Telling weird stories that they went through, the annoying moments when it started when waking up, and the symptoms. Oh, the symptoms. That's what got Jane ratted up like a cobra ready to strike.

"Ladies," Mr Quintela announced as he slid the back door open. "Jackie, are you staying for dinner?"

She took a moment to ponder. But in the end she shook her head no. She apologized and left.

"Carolena! Jane! Make the table, you know the routine." He barked. Both girls sighed and went to work.

Carolena set the table; china plates, glasses, silverware, and napkins. Jane helped with the food; bring each plate of steaming hot food to the dining room table.

Then a stabbing pain lightly knotted in Jane's lower stomach. She doubled over and leaned against the wall for support. But that didn't work because she fell through the wall. She let out a high pitched screech, half her body was visible while her other half hid. She looked like an ostrich sticking its head in the ground.

"Help!" Her voice muffled, closely sounding like she was under water.

"Jane? Oh my gosh! What happened?" Jane's father asked. He bolted to her side, trying to figure out a way to help and not hurt her. Carolena, on the other hand, was trying her hardest not to bust out laughing.

"I was looking for a penny," she snapped sarcastically, paused but continued. "What does it look like?! Get me out of here!" She yelled from within the wall.

"Carolena Belo Quintela! Stop laughing and help." Her father growled. He looked over his shoulder to glare at her, which made a cold shiver crawl through her spine.

She blankly stared ahead and calmly walked over to Jane's half end; aka, her ass end. "Jane? I need you to calm down. Okay? Just focus. Focus on one thing, okay well maybe two, but just listen to my voice and think about slipping out of the wall."

At that, Jane stopped squirming and remained still. She took a deep breath and focused on her sister's voice. In one way, the whole world around her went in slow motion and she felt like she could do anything she wanted.

"Jane? Can you hear me? Please tell me you're not dead. Jane?!" Carolina started to panic when her sister stopped moving. But she saw Jane's leg twitch. So she thought of something. "Jane I have some spicy Cheetos I hid from you."

At that, Jane flung herself backwards and she fell on her ass. She scanned the whole room for the snack but couldn't find it. Like the bag was invisible.

"Where's the Cheetos?" Jane asked.

"I lied so I could get you out of the wall." Carolina glanced at the wall where Jane was stuck in; no damage. At first, she was surprised that Jane didn't make a hole in the wall when she flung backwards. But on the other hand, she expected nothing less from her little sister who can somewhat walk through walls.

"Now that's resolved, how about dinner?" Jane's father said.

All three of them sat down at the table and ate silently. Tension drifted through the air, so thick that a knife couldn't cut it.

Jane chewed on a pork chop and silently pulled a couple of Cheetos from the pantry to eat with her dinner. She sprinkled a few chips all over her plate and she didn't mind where they ended up.

Carolena, on the other hand, barely ate. She ate a couple bits of her pork chop, and few nibbles of her rice cake and she didn't even touch her vegetables. Envy itched inside her gut, deep down where she hid it from the world but mainly her family.

And lastly, the father. He ate everything on his plate. He left no grease stain, gravy, or crumbs on the china surface. He glanced at his two daughters and frowned. He didn't approve of the silence that snuck in the dining room.

But after dinner, they cleaned up and neatly fixed the table, all of them retreated to their rooms without another word.