Summer was almost over. Most people would have reacted to this news with disappointment, perhaps even annoyance. Alex, on the other hand, was actually glad. Summer had its charm, there was no doubt about that — not having to wake as early as he normally would have, no longer weighed down on evenings and weekends by the truckloads of homework that their teachers normally prepared, and of course the freedom to spend his days doing whatever he liked. It was all a well-needed and much-appreciated change of pace from the everyday life he had grown accustomed to at Bluecrest High.
But this summer in particular had been a bit of a letdown. Alex’s hometown of Indigo Creek was never what one would call “interesting,” but at the very least he would have his friends to tide the days through with. Or at least, that was usually the case.
His best friend Dustin Hayes, or Dusty as he preferred to be called, had had to find employment this summer, severely limiting the time the duo would spend together. Alex didn’t resent the decision; in fact, he was glad that Dusty was taking such a mature step, but he couldn’t deny the dampener it had put on his spirits. Especially since he too had been trying to find a summer job to occupy him, yet had failed so far. His other friends Mikaila and Orlando had also had their own plans throughout the holiday: Mikaila had gone off with her family on a trip to Paris they had been planning for years, and Orlando to another state as a Counselor at Camp Okatawa. Even his own sister, who was off at boarding school, had failed to turn up this year, despite assuring them months in advance that she would absolutely make it back.
What could have happened to hold her back throughout almost the entire summer, Alex could never understand. He had asked but had never actually gotten a straight answer. Perhaps she had failed to do any form of coursework throughout the term and had been held back to complete it over summer. It wouldn’t have been entirely out of the question, knowing his sister.
All in all, it had been quite a lonely summer. Which was precisely why he wanted it to end. Friends would be back from their trips abroad and summer employment would come to an end. Though he would have a massive workload waiting for him when he resumed school, at least he would be back with the people whose company he enjoyed. Not that it had been a completely unrewarding summer. Earlier in July, his family had gotten to visit a carnival close to where his father’s work had taken him, where actual superhumans had been performing.
Until that point in his life, Alex had only ever seen the extraordinary men and women on TV, or scrawled in the pages of comic books. The fact that he had seen them up close, actually spoken with them, seen live demonstrations of their incredible powers…
It was all he could think about for around a month and a half. They had been so confident, so creative, so in control of their abilities, that the displays they had put on had been burned into his mind, replaying so vividly and so frequently it was as if a videotape had been pasted behind his eyelids.
But eventually, even that spark too had faded. The dry, unexciting air of summer had wiped away even the enthusiasm he had gotten from seeing their astounding performances. All he had left was the motionless comics, and after seeing the real display, even they had started to lose a bit of their luster. The still, rather poorly drawn images simply couldn’t live up to the thrill of seeing them in person, the way they completely captivated your attention with the most astonishing techniques, which for them were as easy as breathing.
The last thing he wanted was to come across as ungrateful: he had a good life, even though there could be some dark splotches occasionally. But were people not allowed to want more?
The question weighed on his mind as he walked up the steps leading towards his front door, loosely clutching the leash on his golden retriever, Coco, who was snuffling away at the line of begonias his mother had planted in her small garden.
“Come on, girl. I bet you’re starving,” Alex said, jerking the leash up. She perked up almost instantly at his words, almost heaving him over as she bounded up the steps, prompting a laugh from him.
Alex pushed open the door and entered, and Coco pulled the leash from his grasp and hurried away into the kitchen, where her bowl lay about halfway full with her favourite doggy treats.
“We’re home,” he called. In the room beyond, he thought he heard voices conversing in hushed tones, but the instant he spoke quiet fell. Alex frowned, approaching the living room, but he was cut off by the appearance of his mother. She was smiling in the way she usually did when Alex stumbled upon her and his father having a serious conversation, which usually involved a less than ideal situation they kept trying to hide away from him.
“Oh you’re back already?”
“Mom, I was gone for three hours.”
“Has it really been that long?” she said, looking genuinely surprised. “Time really got away from us, huh? Did you get everything?”
Alex handed over the bag he had been holding in his other hand, stocked with the items that had been scrawled onto the grocery list. Well, almost all of them.
“They’re fresh out of butter, milk and eggs. Oh and Coco’s not allowed near the store anymore, she broke the old leash and went crazy in the Canned Foods Aisle,” he said casually.
“Alex!”
“What, I cleaned it up,” he said defensively.
“That dog is almost as brainless as you are.”
A new voice, but familiar. Behind his mother, who was still looking at him disapprovingly, was a face that looked very similar to his own. The girl was older than he was, but she had the same bright brown eyes, the same oolong-shaped face, and the same wavy, chocolate-brown hair, which she currently had tied up in a ponytail that hung to the small of her back. Her arms were folded and she was wearing a crooked smirk, leaning against the door frame.
“Cora? What are you doing here, I thought you couldn’t make it this summer.”
“Ah, or maybe that’s just what the Government wanted you to think,” she said mysteriously.
Alex rolled his eyes. Though he would never have admitted it, he had missed his sister this last year. It was incredible how quickly that feeling had vanished upon actually seeing her again.
“I see you’re still as dorky as ever. I kinda hoped that fancy boarding school of yours would have done something about that.”
“Don’t start, you two,” their mother said wearily.
“Don’t worry, mom. This is just regular old sibling banter, you know how much we love each other. Come on, give me a hug, Lexy.”
“Ugh, get off!”
The doorbell rang just as Alex managed to successfully wrestle himself from her oddly firm grasp and push her away. Their mother, rolling her eyes, went to answer it, just as their father finally emerged from the living room. The door opened, revealing a boy with bright blue eyes and a shock of untidy black hair.
“Dusty?” said Alex, with much more enthusiasm.
“Hey Alex!” he said brightly. “I was hoping you’d be here. Nice to see you, Mrs. Michaelson. Mr. Michaelson. And — Oh.”
Dusty suddenly fell dumbstruck. His eyes had landed on Cora, who was digging into her ear with her pinky, yet Dusty looked as if he was witnessing the birth of an angel.
“Hi Cora,” he said, his voice rather squeaky, and he nearly tripped over his feet stumbling inside. “Alex said you wouldn’t be home this summer. It’s good to see you.”
“Hi Justin,” she said with complete disinterest.
“It’s Dustin, actually. But Justin’s fine too, if you think. It’s super close anyway.”
Mrs. Michaelson was shaking with silent giggles. Mr. Michaelson had his arms folded and was smirking in a way very similar to Cora’s. Alex, who had experienced this very situation an infuriating number of times before, intervened before Dusty could say another word.
“Uh, you wanted to see me?”
“Hmm?” Dusty looked for a moment as if he didn’t even know where he was. “Oh right. Yeah. I wanted to tell you that I got the rest of the afternoon free. My boss is out getting more supplies, turns out my coworker was supposed to handle restocking and she completely blew it off. So, you want to go grab a burger tonight?”
“Uh…” Alex looked around, wordlessly requesting permission. His father shrugged, while his mother said, “I don’t see why not. But be back by ten.”
“Yeah. Yeah that sounds great.”
“Okay. You can come too, if you want,” Dusty added to Cora. Both Alex and Cora burst into a storm of protest at once, but their father made his deep, imposing voice heard over the noise.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” he said, clutching the two of them by their shoulders. “It’s extremely important that you two spend quality sibling time together, especially since Cora’s going back to Ravenwood in a few days. Right, Cora?” He gave her a pointed look. She still looked as if she wanted to say no, but under his oddly intense stare she eventually relented.
“Oh all right.”
“Excellent! I’m heading out to the office in a few hours, I’ll drop you both off then. Now, what do you say we watch a movie in the time being?”
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“Just so you know, I’m ditching you two losers after the one hour mark.”
“Why wait? Dad’s gone, you can scurry back off into the wild right now.”
Cora scoffed. “And pass up a chance to try the new Meat-Blaster Burger Quake Combo? Yeah right.”
Their father had dropped them off at the new space-themed burger joint that had opened up downtown, Galaxy Grill, little more than fifteen minutes ago. It was a quaint little place with a bright yellow and blue exterior, though the inside walls were painted black, dotted with white bubbles and little celestial bodies to represent the void of space. The effect was rather calming, especially with the lambent blue light shining from the overhead bulbs.
They had opted to take a table while they waited for Dusty, who had said he might be a bit late but didn’t elaborate on why, and they began to peruse the menu in the meantime.
“Fish and Spinach Whopper?” Alex read in disgust, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. “There’s no way anyone would ever eat that.”
As if the universe itself was replying directly to his statement, a bubbly waitress wearing the baby blue and grey uniform of Galaxy Grill positively bounced past a few minutes later and came to a halt at a table two seats away, saying, “Here you are, Fish and Spinach Whopper with a Coke and Medium Fries!”
Cora gave a loud, brawling laugh. “Aren’t you ever tired of being wrong?”
She fanned down another waitress, gave her order for the Meat Blaster combo, and Alex provided his own order when she turned to him, a regular number 1 combo with a cup of clear soda and accompanying fries.
“Even your meals are boring,” said Cora.
Alex ignored her comment. “So, when are you going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“Why you’re back in town all of a sudden when you said you weren’t sure if you could make it back? Or before that, when you said you were certain you’d be here and then didn’t turn up.”
“School business.” She spoke in a way that indicated that she would not be elaborating any further, but Alex refused to accept that answer.
“What kind of business could you be doing all summer?”
Cora sighed dramatically. “Why do you even care?”
“Because as your younger sibling I have a deeply vested interest in your life.”
“Really?” Cora asked, staring at him with an eyebrow raised.
“Of course not. But just tell me anyway. Come on, what’s the harm?”
“Fine,” she said with a huff. “I can’t give you the details, but a group of us stayed behind to take care of an important school function. It’s supposed to take place in the first week before the new term starts and it’s absolutely essential that it was done properly. We thought it was going to take a bit longer, but luckily we managed to finish a week early, so here I am, enjoying what remains of my summer.”
“What kind of function?”
“If you want to keep your nose, I suggest you keep it out of other people’s business,” she said, tapping his nose with a plastic spoon. He brushed the spoon away, but he didn’t press the matter, realizing that that was probably the most he was going to get out of her. He didn’t completely buy her story, but it sounded plausible enough.
“Ah, and here’s Rusty.”
Alex looked around. Their third dinnermate was approaching the restaurant at a swift run, patting down his hair.
“You know his name’s Dusty,” Alex said.
It was Cora’s turn to ignore him. She waved Dusty over as he entered, and his face broke into a wide, dopey grin the instant he set eyes on her. He was wearing a dark green, long-sleeved, button-down shirt and jeans, which seemed more or less his style, but it seemed he had taken it a step further and tried to gel down his usually unruly hair. The result was he had somehow made it even worse than it usually was, although it didn’t take a genius to see why he had attempted a hopeless battle with his hair.
“Hi,” he said breathlessly as he sat down, his eyes entirely on Cora. “Sorry I’m late.”
“No worries, we were just catching up,” said Cora, and she gave him a warm, flattering smile. She often acted this way, one moment completely ignoring him, the other pretending that she actually considered him a human being as a way of messing with him. Alex had pointed this out before, but Dusty was completely enraptured. It was almost sad to watch.
Alex took a drink of the water they had been supplied on entrance, barely suppressing the urge to groan. He hoped Cora was going to keep her promise of leaving after the first hour, otherwise he was going to spend the entire night being a third wheel. The same waitress who had taken their orders earlier passed their row again, stopping to take Dusty’s order this time. It took nearly ten seconds for him to realize what was happening, because his eyes were still glued on Alex’s sister.
Flushed with embarrassment, he gave the waitress his order for the same Meat Blaster Combo, two slices of pie, and some cookies, then shifted uncomfortably when he noticed the siblings staring at him.
“What?”
“I know you’re a walking stomach, but don’t you think that’s overkill even for you?”
“Not really, it’s not like it’s going anywhere useful anyway,” said Dusty, indicating his skinny arms.
Alex shrugged, then the trio lapsed into a few minutes of small talk as they waited for their meals to arrive. It was rather awkward at first, but it gradually became more comfortable as the conversation flipped to easier topics, including their summer exploits, which Cora was noticeably reluctant to expand on. Eventually the waitress reappeared alongside two more men dressed in a similar fashion, bringing their orders.
“Finally,” Alex said under his breath, as another rumble tore from his stomach. But the relief was short-lived, replaced by yet another bout of disgust. The Meat Blaster combos were somehow even worse than they had appeared on the page, massive stacks of a collection of various meats, held together by a few flimsy buns, slathered in a thick brown sauce and topped with pickles, radish and mayonnaise.
Dusty and Cora didn’t share his sentiment, however. They were both staring at their meals as if they were treats sent from the Divine. Dusty took up the plastic fork he had received and made to tear off a piece of the giant meat wall, but stopped halfway as he watched Cora dig into it with her bare hands, ripping off a slab of what looked like chicken and stuffing it into her mouth, glazing her lips with sauce. She let out a huge groan of content.
“Das da stuff,” she said, her mouth full to bursting. Dusty cracked a huge grin at the sight, threw away his fork and followed her lead, making the same noises of satisfaction.
“Good right?”
“Sho good,” said Dusty, who also hadn’t swallowed yet.
Alex looked around. All over the restaurant the duo were receiving horrified glances, but neither had an iota of concern to spare. They simply continued to dig into their meat castles, positively swimming in gravy. Alex sank back a little lower in his chair as he seized his own burger, wishing he could just dissolve into the ground. After almost fifteen minutes, the duo finished their combos. Dusty was patting his belly, while Cora wiped her mouth with her napkin in almost normal manner, then ruined the illusion of decency by giving a huge, unfiltered belch.
She and Dusty both laughed while Alex, who was thoroughly regretting most of his life choices by now, took to staring outside.
“You know, I could go for another,” Dusty said.
“You’re telling me. That last one felt like it didn’t even go anywhere.”
“Remind me never to go anywhere with you two ever again.”
“Oh cheer up, it’s not that bad,” said Dusty, grinning as he slapped him on the shoulder.
Cora crumpled up her napkin and threw it away, rising from her seat as she did. “Excuse me a minute, boys. The lady needs to find a bathroom.”
“Is the lady here with us now?” Alex asked.
Cora smacked him on the side of his head, then headed off into the corner of the room towards the restrooms.
“You all right, man?”
Alex, who was still staring outside, said, “Fine.”
“You sure? You seem like you want to be anywhere but here.”
Alex sighed and wheeled to face him, then put on a genuine smile. “Yeah, I’m sure. Aside from the two of you burping the alphabet together, tonight was actually pretty good.”
“Happy to hear,” said Dusty, clapping his hands together. “So, we didn’t really get the chance to talk much this summer. How’s it been?”
Alex sighed again. “Honestly? It sucked.”
“About as best as I could describe it too. Work was a nightmare. I don’t know how the grown-ups do it.”
“Maybe that’s why they’re so grumpy all the time.”
They laughed again, louder this time.
“Kinda like my boss, she was always —” Dusty stopped speaking very abruptly.
“Something wrong?”
His cornflower-blue eyes were fixed on a spot outside, his brow furrowed as he squinted through the window. “Yeah… I’m no pyrotechnics expert, but fire doesn’t usually move like that, does it?”
Bewildered, Alex turned to follow his gaze. It didn’t take long to notice what he was talking about. Outside, balls of fire were soaring through the air, briefly illuminating the park with a brilliant flare of orange light as they whipped back and forth, almost as if someone was juggling them. It was an almost beautiful sight, but there was something strange about their movements — erratic, almost menacing.
“Maybe the Carnival came to town?” Alex said, although he didn’t really believe it. “Or it’s just some kids — get down!”
He threw himself to the floor, hauling Dusty along with him. A second later, the windows exploded as a fireball the size of a pillow smashed into them, sending glass flying everywhere. Screams erupted all throughout the restaurant.
“What the hell was that?” Dusty demanded.
Alex raised himself up, very tentatively, to look outside. Two men were standing a good distance away from the restaurant, inching closer every few seconds. One of them was dressed in a formfitting suit of bright red and gold, with a flaming insignia slashed across the front. The other was dressed in sleek, light grey spandex, shouting incoherently at the other. The man in gold seemed to be responsible for the destruction, as another plume of fire blossomed in his hands as Alex watched. He hurled it at the man in the dark suit, who, to Alex’s shock, exploded into a cloud of black smoke.
Smoky tendrils shot from the floating black cloud; the other man ducked, launching yet more fireballs that passed right through the dark haze and came soaring straight towards the window again. Alex dropped back to the floor, pulling Dusty with him, who had also stood up to follow the incredible exchange.
More fireballs crashed into the walls, with such explosive force that dust and chips of rock flew like shrapnel across the room. Tables were upended, people were on the floor screaming and crying, blood peppered the white and blue tiles, and small fires were erupting on the solar system-themed tablecloths, which some people were desperately trying to put out. Then a particularly nasty blow hit the leftmost wall. The explosive force knocked the juice machine into the air and it came hurtling straight towards them. Alex and Dusty gasped, scurrying to find cover, but with all the destruction and chaos around them, there was nowhere to go.
They threw up their hands as if to cushion the blow, but there was nothing to be done. The flaming appliance soared straight for them and they closed their eyes, bracing for impact… But it never came.
Dusty’s hand suddenly grabbed his own, shaking him violently. Alex’s eyes flew open and he looked up, then gasped again. The juice machine had frozen in midair, as if invisible strings had latched onto it as it flew. But that wasn’t what Dusty was looking at. His eyes were fixed behind them; Alex followed his line of sight and saw Cora, her hand outstretched in the direction of the machine. She lowered her hand ever so slightly and the machine followed its movements, then she jerked it to the left, and the juice machine flew into the corner of the room.
The two boys looked from it to Cora, who laughed nervously. “So, you uh, remember that school business I was telling you about? Yeah… guess we have a lot to talk about, huh?"