Upside Down Tendrils

Chapter Six

     The clock was ticking slower than I thought possible. It was 4:40, but Queen Park was a 5 minute bike ride, so I was planning to leave at 4:50, to be a little early but not too early.
     I had texted my mom earlier asking if I could go. She had responded with a yes and to be home by 6. I was glad she didn't ask questions because I didn't want to lie, but I knew I would if it came down to it. Oh, I was a bad, bad kid.
     Slowly, the clock ticked away, and it was 4:50. I headed downstairs to the garage to grab my bike. Shoving my helmet over my head, I swung a leg over the bike and hurried away.
     Since Jordan and I lived so close, we would occasionally see each other around town, so I wasn't surprised when I caught him exiting his neighborhood. I pedaled a little faster to catch up with him. Sidling up to him, I panted out a quick, "hi," and hoped I didn't smell bad.
     "Oh," he jumped a bit, "hey! I wasn't expecting to see you, but it is a delightful surprise!"
     "Why, thank you!" I laughed. "So, my mom says I need to be home by 6."
     He smiled. "We can make that work." We rode into the park, chaining our bikes up at the entrance. Jordan took the lead, and I followed him towards the back of the park.  "So, today I think our plan is to brainstorm about what we know concerning superhuman abilities."
     "Okay," I nodded. "Would you mind re-explaining what we are doing and why?"
     He nodded. "So, I have read a lot about superhuman abilities, and I feel as though there is a lot of vagueness on the subject but I believe they could be real." He paused. "I would like to find out more about it. I have overheard conversations regarding the SACG and wanted to look into that, too."
     "What does that stand for?" I asked, suddenly very curious.
     He smiled. "I knew you'd get into this. The SACG stands for the Superhuman Ability Conservation Group, but I don't know much else."
     "Oh. Cool." I whistled. "Sounds like there is a lot of unknowns."
     He nodded. "That's what we are here to solve."
     "Okay."
     "First," he pulled a notebook and pen from his bag, "I think we should keep a list of all the superhuman abilities we can think of."
     I nodded. "Teleporting, telepathy, invisibility, whatever it is called when you move stuff through the air, singing,"
     "Woah, slow down a sec. I need to make two columns. I will put the names, if we know them, on the left, and the description on the right," he explained, sketching it out clearly for me. He quickly scribbled in what we had and then halted after writing singing. "What's singing?"
     "Oh. That's from the book Red Queen when you like make people do stuff for you. There is also nymph which is when you can move water and use it to help you. Also, there is being able to use fire and lightening and weld metal, all different stuff like that."
     "Oh. Well, I guess I should read that book."
     I nodded, then looked at my watch. "Well, it is 5:50. I better get going."
     He nodded. "I will read the book, and what do you say to same place, same time tomorrow?"
     "Sure." I nodded as I jogged to the park entrance.