My First Story

Freedom. That’s what it’s called…freedom, right? Running away from home, ditching school, refusing phone calls, and escaping the hawk like eyes of my friends and family, who-by the way-are hunting me down, is freedom, affirmative? Well…this is the mess I got myself into and for whom? Myself? No, ha, I chose do this because of him. I wouldn’t do it for anyone else but for him. Maybe I should start from the beginning…to explain a few things…


“Hey, Aqua, don’t forget PAT after school,” my sister, Ember, told me six months ago.

“Do I ever forget, Em?” I answered rhetorically. Every week Em and I have Personal Ability Training, or PAT for short, with our parents in our trillion dollar sparring arena. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention, my parents are extra ordinary, extremely prosperous human beings, or, as everyone calls them, super villains. What did you think I was going to say? Heroes? Ha, don’t make me laugh, seriously, because I can’t even giggle at the moment. Anyways, my mom is this super genius that by shear chance met a half-crazed military mastermind, wedded, and had twin girls. The younger one was gifted with the power of fire; fiery orange eyes, spiked haired with singed ends, and always clouded with a film of smoke enticed Em’s hot-head personality. The older twin, by FIVE minutes, was cursed for enterity with the direct opposite of her sister. I have a watered-down, easy going quality. Not a problem in my opinion, but the source of many others.

“I’m just warning you, Aqua, that stunt you pulled last time was not fun on my part. They punished me with twice the amount of training thanks to you,” growled Em. I decided that I was going to have a real life and go hang out with some people after school, special villain school to be precise, that afternoon. I would have been fine if the people I chose to interact with weren’t the three most famous orphans in the heroic world. Yes, one of those three heroes was him. I know ironic right? Curly, pitch black hair with dark brown eyes, small smile, and a quality that has me drawn to him counter his electrical powers.

“I’ll be there. Promise.” I lied. I don’t lie a lot or at all for that matter, but I never thought I could lie so easily and have someone, least of all my sister, believe me. I lied and instead took the sewer-it’s not as bad as it sounds-into downtown Topeka, Kansas to go bowling with-whom else?-my new friends.

Liquefying myself into the sewer water was well…let’s face it, the most disgusting thing I have ever done, but I enjoyed the peace and quiet. I made sure no one saw me as I pulled myself out of the sewer, and I walked north down Fillmore Street until I ran into 6th Street. From there I strolled across the four-lane road and peered though the door of an old, rundown bowling alley called Sunflower State Lanes. He smiled a rare smile and motioned foot me to come inside. I waited until I started breathing again, then I casually opened the grimy door to join my friends. I hadn't known then that they could have killed me on the spot, least of all that they were super. I don't think that they knew that about me either because, like I said, they might have killed me as soon as I stepped through the threshold.

“Maria!” screeched Cyrene, who believe it or not does not have the power of sonic shriek. Her name actually means strength, and she has a lot of it.

“Hey,” I greeted. Word of warning: Don’t underestimate Cyrene! She stands about four feet six inches tall, but what she lacks in size she makes up with her ambiguous personality alone. Strength just gives her the edge to be a heroine.
Cyrene always wears this jet-black toboggan, and until just recently, I never knew why. Cyrene was born with bleach blonde hair. But because of her ever changing disposition and some strange genetic defect, Cyrene’s short cropped hair can transform into every shade in the rainbow, depending on her mood specifically.

“Sup, Maria,” said Lance, Cyrene’s other half a.k.a. her boyfriend. Every time I look at Lance I think ‘Thank the Lord she has him!’ Because without Lance, Cyrene would be a complete mess. I don’t see how she got through 16 years by herself. Lance is the most tranquil person I know. Exactly six feet tall, pulled back shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and fairly muscled compliment his telepathic abilities. Lance moves objects with his mind and is a message service, meaning that he can send and receive thoughts.

“Glad you could make it, Maria,” smiled the guy who still makes my heart stop. If you’re thinking that I don’t know his name, then you’re wrong. I presume it’s useless trying to protect his identity now since we are all on the run. Voltage. That’s his name. He’s six feet four inches tall, slightly tanned complexion, and also fairly muscled. Sigh, I miss him every moment I don’t see his handsome face. I wish I could see him as I lie here-

“I’m pleased to be here. I need time away from my crazy family,” I confessed, “They are driving me up the wall.” Little did they know, at the time, that I was serious.

“Okay! Now that the formalities are over, let’s bowl!” Cyrene pressed. And so we bowled. The only weird part was when we were leaving the lanes. Volt was telling me about this really cool restaurant down the road.

“I am completely serious. They have the best food there, and none of the ingredients have preservatives in them. They even have vegetarian choices, too.”
“Really? I might have to take you up on that offer, but I can’t tonight. I’m already going to be late getting home.”

“Oh, I hope you’re not in to much trouble. Do you want me to walk you home?” And such a tempting offer…

“No! I mean, I’ll be alright. Plus, it’s like way across town, and I’d feel responsible if I dragged you into dilemma with me.”

“Nah…my parents are cool about letting me stay out late. Are you sure you’ll be fine because I can always call a cab…”

I smiled widely, “I’m positive. And if I should come by some misfortune on the way, I won’t hold you accountable.”

He caught the joke and grinned, “If you should come by some miscreant on your peril less journey home, then let me depart you with this…” And to my surprise Volt gave me a quick kiss on the lips leaving me in a temporary state of shock and delight. The weird part? Well, in that moment of pure guilt free happiness I felt electricity. Literally, it felt like Volt zapped me with his lips. I didn’t give much thought to it, though, until the next morning.

Do you ever get that feeling that something just doesn’t seem right? Like when you left you favorite necklace at home and ever time you reach up to place your hand on it, it’s not there? Well, that’s the feeling I had as I awoke to the rising sun. I squinted at the bright light, and as soon as I started to part my lips to yawn, a sharp, stabbing pain sent me flying, figuratively, off the bed and into the bathroom. My face lingered six inches from the mirror and ever so gently stroked the top of my burned mouth only to be rewarded with the same throbbing pain. Panic never crossed me first; suspicion did. Like a crawling bug the light hairs on my arms stood on their ends. I diverted my attention from the red worms on my face to stare at the hairs. I hovered one of my fingers over them, felt the slight jolt of static electricity, and watched several hairs drift down to rest back on my arm. Although I like to think that I never learned anything from my parents or that trap infested prison called school, I will admit this maybe one of the few times that I appreciate the endless hours of my training. Electricity. Volt. Could he be…? I shook my head and laughed to myself about my suspicions, but I didn’t forget them.

Now I will take the time to describe to you a typical day at my school. Well, maybe not as typical because Em didn’t talk to me the whole day which didn’t bother me at all; on the contrary, I knew it was killing her on the inside, again figuratively speaking. I had to take the sewer because Em’s persistence to refrain from speaking to me left me with the option of walking or the sewer. I would have taken the bus; however, no bus service wanted to drive roughly 45 miles from our house to the school. Yes, we live that far out of town surround by the miles and miles of wheat. Nevertheless, I got to the school. Similar to my other trip in the quiet depths of disgust I rid myself of the sewage waste and smell before I entered Hayden High School the world renowned high school for villains. That is to say it is famous to the ones who know about it.

To attend this high school you have to have swagger, you need to hold power, you must…have money…Basically every moral right I abide by is shattered by every high school student on a daily basis. Food fights during lunch are encouraged, to be the lowest ranked in the class is treasured, fist fights are allowed because if you can’t stand to take a punch from a peer then you won’t hold your own in a battle against your arch enemy, and so on. You get the picture; villains break “rules” in school.

Arms crossed I walked down the locker lined halls swarmed with the future super villains. I found my locker in the midst of the morning chaos, wrenched open the archaic and decrepit locker door, and jumped feet first into the cavity below. Did you actually think the fragile classrooms would host the intense, destructive training super villains require for survival? However, due to the school wide requirement that every student must take an oath to conceal the secrets of the school, I cannot tell you what happens in the brightly lit depths that exceeded fifty feet below Hayden High’s basement.

Lunch at Hayden High School…hmmm…It’s like feeding time at the zoo. Super powered zoo so to speak. I swear I was perhaps the only civilized person in the room; even the lunch ladies couldn’t get out of the line of attack in time. I’m stifling a laugh just thinking about it. I didn’t eat lunch since my lips still ached. Thank the Lord that the burn didn’t scar; it just looked like my mouth was badly chapped. So instead I left school early; our school hours are fairly short, from 7 a.m. to noon, but extremely intense.

I regret leaving now. As I remember prancing out the double-door entrance, I fail to recall Ember trying to stop or catch up with me because skipping lunch is a tradition I do at least once a week. Em, no matter how much she denies, is completely jealous of me. I figured the daily dose of jealousy combined with the new anger from the broken promise kept her away. Again I wish I had departed the building later, but…sigh…love conquers all thoughts.

Despite the strong urge to run like a madman with a rabid bear after him, I strolled at an even pace down the sidewalk towards the bowling alley. I hadn’t really planned going there today; however, my mind was driving me crazy and my heart did nothing but long to see his face, to touch his skin. I started to second guess myself, thinking the whole idea was stupid and drastic, when coincidentally a stray, bright yellow taxi cab came around the corner. Stray taxi? In a school zone? I made a mental note of it; luck couldn’t always be on my side.

Though it appeared to be a potential trap, I hailed the taxi and told the driver the address of the lanes. I didn’t really know what to expect; I ran through the possibilities of danger and the numerous ways to counter them in the five minutes the cab took to arrive at Sunflower State Lanes. I peered through the window, and to my disappoint he wasn’t there. So feeling hunger start to creep up, I walked inside and ordered a fruit smoothie to-go. I barely stepped on the sidewalk when I heard the sound of a…well…a fire ball smashing into a building, glass shattering and falling on the ground, and of course who could forget the people shrieking.