Overload

Chapter Two - An Opportunity

The electricity hadn’t been restored until later that day and it was then that June felt most at peace.

Until the doorbell rang.

The last person she expected to see at the door was her father, the man who’d been away for the past six years of her life helping to run some unheard of private school all the way across the country.

June plastered on a tight smile and bowed customarily to her father, welcoming him home through clenched teeth. A small charge pricked her hands.

“Oh honey, you’re home,” June’s mother called in Korean from somewhere in the living room.

June’s father shut the door behind him and with a big smile, enveloped June into his arms. “Manhi keottne,” he commented on her height.

What had he expected? The last six years had been the crucial period of her growth spurt. Surely he hadn’t expected to see his little ten year old at the door?

Yet despite herself, her initial hostility melted at being embraced by her father again. She gave in completely and fought back the grateful tears in her eyes.

“Dad,” June choked out. “Why – why are you here?”

“Mum told me about your problem,” he explained, back to English like June preferred.

Much to her surprise, he seemed unfazed by the news or whatever her mother had told him to butter up the truth. In fact, he seemed almost . . . pleased, if June wasn’t mistaken.

“Junie, why didn’t you tell me?” he asked with wonder, dragging her into the living room.

June frowned at him in confusion. “What? What did Mum tell you?”

“Electricity, I should have known.” He shook his head with a laugh. “All that power drainage in one area in such a short amount of time . . . another one of us, I suspected but you?” He grinned broadly at her which confused her further. “I always thought the gene had skipped you. You showed no signs of abilities but now . . . that changes everything.”

“What – I’m confused.” June bit her lip and sat down next to her mother who gave a great big sigh.

“You should have told me,” her father spoke sharply to his wife with a narrow-eyed stare. “You should have told me straightaway when she started showing signs.”

“Dad, what’s going on?” June asked impatiently. She hated being left out of the conversation right in front of her.

“I thought it would pass, like the symptoms of a cold,” her mother argued. “It’s dangerous, these abilities.”

“I’ll have an eye on her the entire time!”

June jumped at the sudden exclamation in her father’s tone.

“It’s more dangerous to let her power manifest uncontrolled.”

June’s mother stopped before she let out another word. An expression of conflict crossed her face and by this point, June had grown restless at the mystery that obviously surrounded her.

“What’s going on?” June demanded. “Powers? Abilities? Dangerous? What are you on about?”

Yet as these questions left her lips, June had an idea of exactly what her father was implying. It was crazy, unheard of, just pure myths and stories.

And yet the proof existed within her, proof which showed through every time she felt an emotion so raw and powerful, it couldn’t be normal.

“The way you manipulate electricity around you,” he explained with a beaming grin. “Your mother described it to me. It sounds like you can generate and manipulate electricity. Oh, how exciting!”