Mr. Forgettable #Wattys2016

15

By some stroke of luck, Larkin convinced her aunt to let her stay home from school on the grounds that it would give her "time to recover from the traumatizing events of the past day."

Larkin would take anything she was offered. After all, she had left school after vomiting out her lunch in the cafeteria. I wonder when my friends will let me live that one down.

After texting Greta that she wouldn't be walking with her, Larkin settled into her aunt's leather couch for a marathon of Chopped. Aunt Libby was at work for the day, leaving the house to Larkin. She sunk into the col leather and scoffed at the ridiculous ingredients the competitors had to use in their dishes.

She watched two episodes of Chopped, only taking a break to get more food out of the refrigerator. Two cups of orange juice and three chocolate chip muffins later, Larkin stopped raiding her aunt's fridge and decided to get up and be productive.

Larkin pulled herself up off the couch. She walked through the white walls of her aunt's home. When she passed the first guestroom, she paused. Tentatively, she reached out for the doorknob. It didn't budge. Nonplussed, Larkin moved on to her room. She hadn't really expected it to be unlocked, but one could hope. If she really wanted to, she could have got in. The secret behind the door was something she would find out before she left. She knew that it couldn't have been simply untidy.

Gathering her backpack and other school supplies, she walked back to the living room and plopped down on the couch. She went through her homework agenda book, hoping to complete as much as she could so that she didn't have as much make-up work when she went back to school.

When she came upon her chemistry homework, the only thing listed was the partner project with Jacob. Groaning, she fell back on the couch. Larkin stared at the little dots on the ceiling, wondering how their next conversation with Jacob would go.

So, you tried to kill me. I've been good. Yeah, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine and dandy. The gold you put in my food wore off—assuming it was you who did that. And now we have to do a chemistry project together.

She grimaced, hoping to prolong the day as long as possible. For a moment, she imagined never going back. She imagined leaving herself behind, becoming Coalescence. It would be so much simpler, she thought. I could be like Black Lightning.

And for a moment, Larkin thought she might like that.

()()()

She strained to hear it, but knew instantly what it meant. Even with her advanced hearing, the rumbles of distress were still present. The call for help was different than usual, however. There were no screams of terror or blaring alarms. She heard low murmurs. The disturbance seemed to sit in the air like a morning fog.

She rolled her ankles and threw her hair up before leaving her aunt's house through the front door. Walking at a brisk pace, she located the nearest entrance to her base. Feeling the tension in the air thicken, Larkin began to jog. Even though the situation required her to be unassuming, she wouldn't risk innocent lives being lost in the process.

She dropped through to her base and changed into her suit. Without wasting another second, she followed the distress call back to the surface.

Once she reached the streets of Markusville, she couldn't exactly pinpoint where she needed to go. Over on 25th Street, she could hear the blaring of car horns mixed with anxious yelling. On Maple Street, the murmurs of distress were quieter, but still evident.

Whatever the issue was, it was everywhere.

Larkin chose the loudest destination. In downtown Markusville, there was a large intersection close to the library, across from a local café. That's where Larkin felt the biggest disturbance.