La Sombra [Ben Hargreeves]

Intruder Alert

It was another day of practicing the alarm drill. We had ten minutes to be ready and in the car. Dad wanted us to be in the car, ready, before our ten minutes is up before we can start our first mission. And so far, we failed to be ready by the ten minute mark.

The alarms blared throughout the hallway. Everyone was scrambling around to get ready. Klaus was running down the hall half dressed in his hero uniform and his umbrella academy button up and sweater vest.

"Coming through! Come on, Luther!" Allison yelled as she ran passed my room.

"How will the Umbrella Academy ever become an effective crime deterrent if we can't even leave the house on time for missions?" Dad yelled.

"Behind!" Luther warned Dad as he passed by him.

"Come along, children! Come along!" Dad clapped his hands together.

I was struggling to zip up my hero uniform. The material of my sports bra was caught in it. Frustrated, I kicked my bed. Taking a deep breath in, I yanked the zipper down.

"Where's my knives!" Diego yelled.

Finally, the material was out of the zipper. Sighing, I carefully zipped up the zipper. I smoothed out my uniform and adjusted my domino mask. I grabbed my hair tie and put my hair into a high ponytail with loose strands framing my face.

"All ready?" Mom stepped into my room.

"Mom," I hesitantly looked at her.

"What's the matter?" Mom tilted her head with a frown.

"What will people think of me when they discover what my powers are?" I asked. "People are scared of the dark. Will they be afraid of me? Especially when they find out that I can control their shadows?"

"Do you know why I named you Tamela?" Mom questioned. She walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head. "The meaning of Tamela is one who is dark in a sweet way. Tamela, just because you have a power most might fear, it does not mean that you yourself are dark. Remember that."

"I'll try everything to show the world that I'm not evil and that they should never be afraid of me." A grin spread across my lips. "Unless they're bad guys."

"That's the spirit." Mom patted my shoulder. "Now, I got to go check on the rest of your brothers. I think I saw Klaus playing with fire."

〰️

I ran my fingers along the doodles on my wall. The day after Mom has explained the meaning behind my name, I got yellow sharpies and paint. I spent an hour doodling on the wall.