The Crazy Adventures of Aqua Girl

Chapter 17 - Back To Life, Back To Reality

After the long fast-walk/jog back home, and fighting my way through crowds of people, I slumped on the sofa, feeling a mixture of pride and confusion. I was seriously craving ice cream, and the news reporter's question had me thinking.

What were these superheroes doing, killing and injuring civilians? 

Could it be something to do with ElectroNite (aka my padre)?

Something wasn't right. The heroes in question so far (Ice Woman, Frostbite and Fairy Fly) were all legends in San Fran. I was a MEGA fan of Ice Woman, shown by my vast merchandise collection, but now I was seriously debating whether it was a good idea to have those posters on my wall. Frostbite had shown a few demonic traits in the past (in 2008 she "accidentally" killed a woman by firing an icicle at her) but it was nothing major. As for Fairy Fly, she used to be an earth-loving superhero, who would plant flowers in the dodgier parts of the city and use her powers to prevent evil. 

A loud clang echoed around my apartment, jolting me out of my thoughts. My heart was pounding, but I soon relaxed as I heard my mother swearing in the hallway under her breath.

"Why is this hallway so untidy? Cascade!" I gulped, suddenly aware that I had left my suit in a plastic bag, and my other shoes messily around the hallway, like I would have done in my room. Hence the piles of clothes in my room. But my mother liked things clean and tidy in other parts of the house. As I entered the hallway, I dashed to pick up the plastic bag that was holding my precious suit, and looked up at my mother, who looked tired after a long day of work. Her hair was messy (like mine), and there were dark circles under her eyes. She was loaded with bags of files and paperwork, along with her handbag and large sketchpad, which she took around everywhere.

"Hi, Mom." I said, tucking the plastic bag behind my back and tucking the blue Converse towards me with my bare foot.

"You should really keep the hallway tidy. It's bad enough with your room, never mind the rest of the house." Mom muttered, dumping her bags in the corner and slipping out of her black pumps.

"How was your day?" I asked, trying to keep my calm.

"Fine. Have you started dinner? I gave you instructions in the kitchen." Uh oh. Because I hadn't been home all day, and only just got back home 10 minutes ago, at about 5pm, I hadn't been in the house at all. Mom thought I had been at school and then plodded home like a good girl, but I had actually just saved a school bus of students, been interviewed by San Fran's media, and ran into a Japanese fan club of mine.

"Oh...sorry, Mom. I...was doing homework." I stuttered, watching my mother roll her eyes. She walked past me into the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing ingredients for dinner.

"Cascade, seriously. You need to get organised with your life." She declared, turning on the radio as she began chopping a tomato. The song 'Back To Life' by Soul II Soul boomed around the kitchen, and I couldn't relate more. I looked down at the plastic bag with my suit in and sighed, trudging to the comfort of my room. 

After I dumped my suit and blue Converse under my bed, hidden by old Ice Woman figurines and childhood junk, I laid on my bed, debating whether to compose a text to Rachael or not. Why not? You're already a reckless idiot, Cass. What harm can one text do?

Sent at 18:05PM from Cass's Phone:

Heya Rach! I hope ur ok and feeling better. You can come to swim practice 2night if you wanna chat! xx

I tapped send and looked up at my bedroom ceiling, where the glow-in-the-dark stars were staring back at me.

"Dinner!" I heard Mom yell. I groaned and located myself. I knew Mom would be grilling me about my day at school and my 'homework', so as I slowly opened my door and shuffled to the kitchen, where we ate dinner, I figured up a story.

I had gone to school as usual, and then the bus was a little late home. I got home at about 4ish and then was really tired so then I took a quick nap then did some online maths homework, which was set every Tuesday (which was true, actually).

I took a seat at our small table as Mom plonked a full bowl of spaghetti bolognese in front of me, before taking a seat opposite. To be honest, I was starving. After not eating anything all day and almost taking out an incredibly strong superhero, I was knackered. I began eating quickly, slurping the spaghetti and making an awful lot of noise. Opposite me, Mom just stared at her plate before picking up her fork and tucking in.

"So, how was your day?" She asked, looking across the table at me. I gulped and kept to me usual, after-school attitude.

"Fine."

"Anything exciting happen?"

"Nah." At this remark, Mom leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Uh oh. This was never a good sign.

"Well, Rachael's Mom phoned me, and began raving about a superhero fight right beneath your school bus this morning. She said that Rachael said you managed to escape out of the bus way before anyone else, and then you just disappeared. Would you like to tell me what's going on, Cascade?"

Shoot.

Stupid Rachael.

"I...ran straight home. It was terrifying, Mom. I just stayed in my room all day, I was scared to try and get back to school." I stammered, trying to sound convincing. For a moment, Mom just stared at me, but then she began eating again, signifying my answer was satisfying.

"Well, I hope you're ok. Rachael's Mom said Rachael will be back at school tomorrow, and so will you."

I slurped the rest of my spaghetti in silence.