Super Powers, Not That Great

Chapter 4-Nico

CJ Adams as Nico Herm

I can barely wait until Science Prep, I barely look where I'm sitting and soon hear a girl talking to me. I shake my head to get out of my daze after thinking about Jenny. She's soooo pretty, and the way she talks and the way she's interested about everything I talk about. The girl clears her throat.

"You like her don't you?" I snap at her, but then feel bad, I guess I was still kind of in Jenny dream world. I apologize and tell her the truth and introduce myself, she says her name is Maddy.

"Why does it smell like the ocean in here?" It didn't until she leaned over, her hair is wavy and she smells like the ocean. She crinkles her eyes and laughs.

"Because I'm the daughter of the sea." She giggles and I must have a very confused look because she quickly explains her dad's a fishermen and she loves to surf and lives very close to the ocean. We talk some more, but then class starts. We quickly turn our attention to the board to learn all the teacher has for us. She has barely passed out the assignments when the secretary knocks on the door.

"Excuse me, but I need Nico Herm." I glance around and push back my chair and grab the paper and walk to the door. She walks me down the hall to the office where my dad stands pacing. I walk over, but am almost pushed to the ground when someone shuffles in, holding a boy that must have passed out. They quickly put him in the nurses station and I look towards my dad.

"What's up?" He comes over and engulfs me in a hug and ruffles my hair.

"It's your mom and sister." Oh no, they were training for the next bike race they were going to participate in, I wonder what happened, hopefully nothing bad, they were biking up a mountain. 

"Can this not wait three more hours?" I feel really bad for asking, but I wanted to ask Jenny on a date. "I mean, not to be hurtful, but there was this girl, and she was really pretty and..." I stop when my dad gives me the look.  

"I'm sorry bud, but this is really important." He checks me out officially and leads me out to the car. I get in, and stare out the window longingly. I miss Jenny already and I barely know her. And then there was that Maddy girl, we could all be friends. There was probably a boy she had her eye on. We could all go to the Tea shack, the hottest place for teens to go.

When we get to the hospital we quickly ask the nurses where Hazel and Carra Herm are. She directs us to their room and we rush in their as fast as we could go. Mom is sitting up in bed with her arm in a splint, crying turned towards Hazel's bed. Hazel lays in the bed with her head wrapped in a bandage. Her eyes are closed and her body looks cold. Her legs are both in casts and the heart monitor is beeping lazily. She's alive, but barely.

"Mom!" I run over to her and hug her none injured side. "What happened?" She cries into my shoulder while dad strokes her hair calmly. 

"We...we were, we were biking up a mountain in Colorado. And...and she fainted. I kept asking her before if she was doing okay. She was slowing down a bit, but she said she was fine. I shouldn't...I shouldn't have believed her." She sobs and I hug her again and I hold on tight. A doctor comes in and takes dad into the hall. 

"No! She's my little girl!" I hear him punch the wall, and I hug mom even tighter, I stroke her hair just like dad did. Soon he comes in with the doctor, his face is red and I can practically see steam raising from his body. 

"She's in a coma, and we don't know if she'll wake up. But we're doing everything we can, we assure you." I can't breathe, my lungs fill nothing and my arms slack around mom.

"There's more. While looking over her CT scan, we found a small tumor, that may have been the reason for her fainting, but we won't know. Because of the thin air around the mountain, we may never know." No, this is too much, I can't take it. Not Hazel, who I could always, always go to when I had a problem. Not the big sister who was my babysitter, without complaint, who had dance parties. Who I walked in on when she was crying about her first boyfriend who broke up with her, then demanding mom take me to the store to get her Chips Ahoy which always made her smile. Not Hazel who wins every race she enters. Not Hazel who is supposed to get married in six months. That is not my sister laying on the bed looking helpless, my sister would never look like that.

I run out the door down to the waiting room, no one comes after me. I blindly sit down, and eventually my dad sits next to me.

"It's going to be oka..." He breaks down before he finishes and I cry too. I try not to think about how I would have gone to Hazel, but she won't leave me mind and I cry harder. I remember how when she got a puppy for her thirteenth birthday, but then it bite me and I had to get stitches, she didn't hesitate to tell mom to take him back to the shelter. How when I was scared to go to boy scout camp when I was twelve and I cried and she drove four hours to come get me. I can't stop thinking about my older sister who was my best friends and always believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.

Before I know it, I jolt awake, I must have cried myself to sleep. My dad shakes me again and I look up.

"We're taking Hazel into surgery now, and your wife is sleeping,  and her fiance already went home to get his stuff so he can stay an extended time with her. You should go home, get some rest." I glance at dad, expecting him to refuse but instead he nods and reluctantly gets up.

"We've called a cab to insure you'll get home safely." I glance at my watch, 1:36 AM. Definitely not going to preps today, but I'll go tomorrow. I'll drive myself crazy staying at home all day.

The Next Day

Hazel is still alive, thank god. But she still hasn't woken up. Dad drives me to Jupiter, then goes to the hospital where mom was discharged, but stays with Hazel twenty-four/seven. I walk into the school, head down, eyes bloodshot.

"Ahh, if it isn't Nicholas Herm, the mathematics genius himself." I glance up quickly, Jacob, dang it. I'm not up for this today, not with everything going on. I try and walk away, but he blocks me.

"What's the matter? Cat's got your tongue?" He snidely snickers and pushes me against the wall. "Let's make this easy, you can give me our math prep homework, or I'll beat you up." Crap, math prep homework, I'll just explain what happened to the teacher and hand it end later today, I have a break after Science Prep.

"Honest to god, I didn't do it. Sorry Jacob." I keep my head down, hoping he doesn't see my eyes. He's much stronger then me, so I don't even try to struggle.

"What is going on here?" Two girls I know from my school, Serendipity and Opal come up and Jacob backs away. I look and smile (or try to) in thanks and Opal blushes. Oh jeez, I forgot about her crush on me. Serendipity takes Jacob by the arm around the corner, leaving Opal and I alone. Crap. But I have the perfect excuse.

"I'm sorry, Opal, I really have to go talk to the teacher, see you later." I quickly walk away and almost burst into tears as I remember the first time Hazel told me about how long Opal has liked me.