The following Wednesday, swim practice was cut short because, at lunch, some genius threw pure potassium into the pool and blew it up. After a punishing dry land work out full of push-ups and duck walks, Emma and her friends clustered outside the locker rooms.

“Why don’t you come with me to rehearsal?” Ollie asked. She had a small part at the end of the play and rehearsal was after swim practice.

“I’m grounded, remember? I’m supposed to go straight home.” And it wasn’t like she was getting anywhere on the project with Ms. Ngo. She’d been reading all these books about people with autism. As much as she hated to admit it, she could see herself in them.

“We’ve got a half hour before practice is even supposed to be over and it’s Wednesday. Your Nan plays Bingo Wednesdays, right? She won’t even know you’re gone.”

“She might call me or ping my phone.”

“Why would she do that when you’re supposed to be swimming?” Ollie asked.

Somehow Emma let Ollie her into the musty costume room over the auditorium lobby. Better than to get singled out by Mr. Attwood in front of the play’s cast. Ollie claimed he was totally cool with the drama kids and would let them borrow costumes to wear for the spring semi-formal. Instead of prom at the snazzy Capitol Convention Center, the underclassmen had the semi-formal masquerade in the sweaty school gym.

Semi-formal meant ties were okay, but no tuxes for the guys and the girls got to wear dresses that weren’t too formal, whatever that meant. Hannah had gone in a full sexy vampire costume last year, this year she already had a designer prom dress for prom.

“This dress is perfect for you!” Ollie held up a ridiculous, Elizabethan, ruffled monstrosity.

“Yeah, right. Besides, it’s not like Nan will let me go to spring formal anyway.” Emma pushed away the dress.

“It’s not really your fault.” Ollie continued down the rack of costume dresses and pushed a green, flapper dress at her. “Try this one.”

“Nan doesn’t see it that way.” Emma sighed but accepted the dress. If she didn’t try it on, Ollie would keep at it. She pulled off her shirt and slipped it on over her swimsuit top. “I’m supposed to always do my best, but I didn’t even do anything. She’s not going to unground me because I’m working on the project now.”

“That’s dumb. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s your Nan’s. You said she admitted that your parents had you tested as a little kid, before you even started school. If that’s true, then it’s your Nan’s fault for not telling the school district you were autistic—especially when your third grade teacher said you should be tested.”

“You seem pretty sure of that,” Emma said, pulling off her shorts from under the dress. How could anyone dare blame her failing English on Nan? Nan was always so sure of herself and so angry at the world. She was even more closed off than Emma sometimes.

But Emma was afraid that Nan wouldn’t love her anymore if she discovered who she really was.

Ollie wolf whistled. “That looks great on you. Everyone will want to dance with you.”

Emma’s cheeks burned.

“And I’m sure,” Ollie said, leaning in, “I told you I’m ADHD, right?”

“What?” Emma gasped. When had Ollie told her that?

“Yeah… oh, you were kind of freaking out and made a fireball right afterwards.” Ollie stood on her tiptoes to pull a box of masquerade masks off the top of the rack. “Any more of that stuff?”

“What stuff?” Emma asked absently.

Her reflection at the end of the aisle looked ridiculous. The neckline plunged much too low for her taste. Her swim top stuck out blue past the green flapper dress. Fringe bounced with her tiniest movements. The hem hit her mid-thigh, but the material was so slinky she might as well be wearing just her swimsuit. She’d never worn anything like it. Never would again either, if she had any say.

“Fireballs. Flying?”

Emma shook her head. She might have caught herself drifting out of bed once, but it might have been a bad dream.

“Too bad. It’d be cool if my bestie was a superhero.” Ollie dug around in the box. “We’ve got to get you a mask for the ball, too.”

“You have ADD?” Emma asked again.

“ADHD. That’s probably why we get along so well. We both struggle with executive function.” Ollie slid a Phantom Of the Opera type mask onto her own face. “What do you think?”

“That’s—” Oh no! Emma had said all those things about having a disorder meant people’d think she was defective, broken, and dumb. “Ollie, I didn’t mean to—I don’t think you’re dumb at all.”

“Dude, no offense taken. Now put this on.” Ollie shoved a lacy, black mask at Emma. It looked like a butterfly drawn by a toddler, then copied by a grown up who’d never seen a real one. And the antennae—if that’s what they were supposed to be had small hooks on the end like moths and skippers, not the simple balls real butterfly antenna ended in.

“You know I can’t wear this thing, right?” Emma held up the mask.

“Uh, why not?” Ollie asked, lifting the Phantom mask to stare at Emma.

“I wear glasses. How am I supposed to see?”

“Just put it on then slide them over it.”

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Frowning, Emma took off her glasses and hung them from her shirt collar. Then, with the mask on, she put them back on over the mask. Emma squinted. Trying to see through the mask was like looking through two black toilet paper rolls someone had taped together and called binoculars.

“See, I’m a genius and, unlike you, I’m genius enough not to take honors English or else I’m too dumb to get in. One or the other.” Ollie smirked. “That class seems like way too much busy work for me, but that’s not what I was talking about. This mask—is it me or is it me?” Ollie pulled on a tuxedo jacket that fit like it was made for her. It tapered down to her slim waist. Admiring herself in the mirror, she snapped a picture with the fancy camera she always wore around her neck.

“No tuxes,” Emma said. “They’re not allowed.”

“For dudes. Besides, I can’t be the phantom of the opera without a—”

Screech! Tires squealed outside.

The girls ran to the small attic window. Ollie reached up and unhooked the window to peek outside. Both girls stood on their tiptoes, trying to see through the narrow opening.

A bright red sports car spun in tight donuts, in the main part of the parking lot. Some idiot upperclassman. Only a handful of athletes’ cars were left near the track, including Hannah’s pink Escalade. Emma’s nose tickled.

“Dumbass,” Ollie said. “That’s so dangerous.”

“Everyone's going to be crossing the lot soon!” Emma said. The dumbass might be doing donuts, which was dangerous enough to him, but the school wasn’t cleared out yet. Soon, student athletes would leave through that parking lot. On normal days, Emma zipped through there on her bike.

“What does he think he’s doing?” Ollie asked.

If only she could reach the window better. Her feet left the ground, making her gasp. She floated high enough to stare out the window.

“No fair,” Ollie said. “I thought you said you didn’t have any more powers.”

“I didn’t think I could. I’m kind of stuck now.”

Below her, the driver didn’t stop his donuts as the first people hit the edge of the parking lot. They stayed back behind the yellow, metal posts that kept cars from driving into the school. The track team, including Hannah and Summer, emerged through the gate by the football field bathrooms.

Summer waved at the car and blew a kiss. That meant it was her spoiled boyfriend, Hunter.

Hannah shook her perfect head and stepped out past the yellow posts that kept cars in the parking lot. She walked towards her car along the back of the history and social science trailers.

The sports car’s tire popped. The car spun towards Hannah and the social sciences classrooms.

Hannah froze.

Even though her cousin was a bully, Emma still loved her. Emma shoved the window open. She scissor-kicked to sail up through the narrow window. Somehow, coming out of the narrow window, she knocked the mask back over her eyes. She barely caught her glasses and slid them into place.

Emma willed herself to move as fast as she could, pumping her legs now like a flutter kick.

Out of control, the car zoomed toward Hannah. No way she’d be able to snatch Hannah out of the way. Her only chance was another gleek-sneeze fireball. Could she do it on purpose?

The mask blocked her vision, so Emma focused on the shrinking space between the car and Hannah. Aiming for the car so she wouldn’t hit her cousin, Emma lifted her tongue to force the gleek stuff out.

Snot flew out of Emma’s nose. The fireball hit the ground right in front of Hannah.

The force smashed Hannah against one of the trailer classrooms. Scorched dirt and asphalt flew through the air, making a crater lined by a jagged ridge. Windows shattered.

Tires squealed. Screaming. Emma and Hannah both.

The car careened into the pit.

Emma half floated and half swam through the air to her cousin’s side.

“Are you okay?” Still floating, Emma lifted Hannah to her feet. Glass crunched.

Hannah stood hunched, blinking at Emma. She seemed confused. She rubbed her back and tried to stand straighter, but still stooped like an old woman.

“Are you okay?” Emma shouted. She wanted to take off the stupid mask under her glasses, but what if Hannah told Nan she had powers?

“I can’t hear you,” Hannah shouted in Emma’s face while pointing at her ears.

“You trashed my car!” a guy yelled.

Emma blinked trying to clear the stinging smoke from her eyes. The sports car lay on its passenger side. Hunter glared at her as he struggled to climb out of the shattered driver's window.

Emma turned to flee, but dozens of people clustered around the edges of the lot. Oh, no. What would happen to her now that all these people had seen her use her powers?

Summer approached the edge of the pit, encouraging Hunter to climb out. Emma winced as Hunter cut his hand on the broken window. For sure he’d burn himself on the scorched asphalt surrounding the hole, too.

Panic clear on his face, Blake Brewer shoved Hunter from behind to get out of the car. Hunter wobbled and nearly fell into the smoking hole.

A big, glass bottle stuck through the spiderwebbed windshield. Had they been drinking?

The pit stood next to the backside of the social sciences classrooms. Ms. Range and a handful of teachers had joined the crowd, along with the whole cast of the play, including Ollie who was not-too-subtly giving a thumbs-up, but no one else was looking at the crowd.

Everyone was staring at Emma.

Emma stared back. She blinked as if she could will them away. She hadn’t meant to use her powers again. But she couldn’t let Hannah get hit by a car.

“No way! A super just saved you!” Kyle ran up to Hannah and put his arm around her shoulders.

“A real super! Here at Pueblo Lindo High!” someone else called.

What should Emma say to that? She floated a little bit higher, staring down at the crowd. She wanted to bounce on her feet, but only managed to shift awkwardly in the wind.

“Are you going to protect us all?” asked another.

Emma swallowed. Was she a superhero now? She didn’t want to be. She didn’t want to do anything but fit in.

“What’s it like being a super?”

“What do we call you?”

“How’d you get here so fast?”

More and more people asked her questions and made non-question comments that Emma didn’t know how to respond to. She floated upwards a bit more, her fingers digging into her fists. She didn’t know what to do. If she didn’t get home soon, Nan would find out for sure that it was her. How could she change into her warm sweats and hurry home with no one seeing her?

“Thank you for saving her!” Kyle said, then turned to Hannah. “I—I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you.”

Hannah collapsed against him. She might have internal injuries or cuts they couldn’t see.

“Call 911,” Emma said. “She should get checked out by a doctor. All three of you should.”

Emma swam through the air towards the costume room, but she couldn’t go there because they’d all see her go in. Everyone on campus had run to the explosion and had seen her, but maybe the stupid dress and the mask would keep them from recognizing her. Maybe, if she slunk home, everyone would think she’d already been there, and maybe—maybe everything would go back to almost normal.

Ollie could get Emma’s stuff out of the costume room, and Emma wouldn’t have to do any superhero things ever again. Emma touched down on the far side of campus near the locker room. She darted in, then slipped into her PE uniform.

She tossed the whole costume into her duffel bag and ran to her bike. Her hands shook so bad she could barely unlock it.

No way she'd do that again.

What if she’d hit Hannah? What if she’d hit someone else? No. No. She couldn’t do that again.