Program: Superhuman *ON HOLD*

Chapter 12: Horseplay

The next day, I woke up with an unsure disposition. I felt like there was a huge weight on my shoulders, put there by Uncle Forge. Sitting up in bed tiredly, with my legs dangling off the side, I rubbed my head with a sigh. We had another holiday from school, so there were no worries about getting there on time, but I had other things to be concerned about.

Looking down at my hands, I gazed at my palms and pictured those light blue, glowing symbols on them. I guess I had forgotten to ask Gale and Uncle Forge what they meant when I had the chance. Maybe it was for the best - if I had absorbed just one more piece of information, I felt like I would've exploded.

Standing up, I stretched and let out a large yawn. I glanced around at my room, still full of cardboard boxes. Gosh, I really needed to organize this place. If Mom found out that I still hadn't unpacked, she would go ballistic.

Walking over to my dresser, I picked out some peach-colored pants, and a white T-shirt that had black sleeves. After changing, I threw my pajamas back where they belonged and slipped on my glasses. Then I made my way to the living room. Arden watched TV, lying down on the couch as Sammy lay on the floor next to him.

"Did Mom leave for work?" I asked.

He grunted a yes. Sammy jumped to his feet and, walking over to me with a lolling tongue and wagging tail, nudged me in the knee.

"Hey, boy," I said.

Leaning down and grasping the dog by the ears, I scratched his head tenderly. After giving him a kiss on the forehead, I walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl, cereal, milk, and a spoon. Once my breakfast was ready, I put everything away, and made my way to the living room, where I sat on the second couch. Arden didn't pay any attention.

"You okay?" I asked.

For a moment, he didn't answer. Then, he muted Disney Channel and seemed to be processing what he was going to say next. I could nearly see the gears working in his head as he worked his jaw.

"Why did Mom keep this from us this entire time?" he asked.

I took a bite of my cereal. "You're asking like I know."

"I just... can't believe that she's raised us in a lie. What did we ever do to her?"

I stared at the crinkling cereal in my bowl for a while. Guilt rose in me like a flare of fire. Finally, I said, "I was born."

He glanced to me. "Willow... please tell me you're not blaming this on yourself."

"If Mom and Dad had never adopted me, none of this would have happened," I responded, looking at him with hurt eyes.

"That doesn't excuse Mom from not telling us."

I sighed, slouching in the couch and taking another bite. "Well, you heard Uncle Forge. They didn't tell us because my powers might never have surfaced."

He thought for a moment. "Can you imagine if we had never moved here? If you had never blown a hole in that ceiling? We might've continued living like this for the rest of our lives. Uncle Forge and Mom would never have told us. We would've had no idea everything we knew was a lie."

My brother let out a harsh laugh. "Well, at least now it all makes sense. Why we always move and never stay in one place. Why Mom never even cared that we were losing all our friends over and over and over."

I sniffed, remembering the faces of Karen and Alex, my two friends in our previous house. I missed them so much.

"Why do you think moving all the time has to do with Program: Superhuman?" I asked, trying to keep my voice straight.