That day I had to walk home because, of course, my bus broke down and I didn’t feel like waiting half an hour for another bus to show up. As I was walking I was thinking and going over what had happened that day. All of it seemed impossible but I know for fact it was real.
After we had all left class you could hear the ambulance from the halls and so I knew what had just happened was the real deal and for some reason, Jimmy wasn’t waking up. I don’t know though, what I said or did that made him pass out which is the part that really scared me.
As I’m thinking this all through I come across the memory of my conversation with Alana that afternoon two years ago. It happened so long ago that I didn’t remember all the details, but I remembered her exact last words and that’s what freaked me out the most. I go over them in my head, “Don’t believe me all you want, but you should know that on your thirteenth birthday you will gain all your powers fully and unless you learn how to embrace and control them you won’t be able to control them and might hurt the people around you. I can train you but only if you want me two and until then, good luck.”
“Was this what she meant? Was she really not going crazy? Have I been ignoring her all these past two years for nothing?” I started to put all the pieces together and I didn’t like the results. I needed to find Alana, apologize, and hope she didn’t hold grudges.
It turned out she had moved again and it was to Pittsburg, PA; seven hours away from Schenectady, NY. Great, just Great. It seemed hopeless to even try and make it work because either way one of us would have to leave home and school and I wasn’t going to do that to her.
Eventually I decided I would take a plane there and hopefully stay with her. (Don’t even ask about how I had enough money to do it) I figured the people I loved and cared about would be safer without me around and so it wasn’t a hard decision to make. I left a note to my parents that explained everything. I was hoping they would understand. Maybe one day I will see them again but for now, I needed to go my own way.
When I arrived in Pittsburgh I texted Alana to make sure everything was still okay and that I didn’t come all the way out for nothing. Thankfully she didn’t get a new phone number and I still had her old one. Her house was too far away from the airport to walk so I had to catch a cab and lucky for I had just enough money left to do just that.
I got to her house to find her standing outside awaiting my arrival. When I noticed her I immediately knew something was wrong just by the expression on her face. “What’s wrong? Are you still mad at me? did I do something wrong again?”
“No, no, everything is fine, well between us at least, but you’re right about something being wrong. When I asked my parents if you could stay with us just for a little while, they said no. I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you wouldn’t come and I couldn’t let that happen. You need to be trained and you need to get you home quickly. Time is running out. Luckily for you I know just how to do it.”
“Wait, that’s great and all but if your parents said no then where am I staying? And what do you mean time is running out?”
“You will be staying in my basement. I’m the only one who ever goes down there so it won’t be a problem and you will only be sleeping there. We will train somewhere else. As for questions, there is a lot to explain and little time. I will fill you in tomorrow but for now you have had a long day and you need to get some sleep. We have a very busy day tomorrow and you should be well rested.”
I decided it was best not to argue with her. She seemed to know what she was doing. So I brought in the only bag that came with me on the trip and settled in for the night.
