“Wakey-wakey, Kazama” Shelly, Kazama’s mother, whispered as she put an ear to his door.           

Hearing no movement inside, Shelly broke into a mischievous grin. She’d woken him up every day during middle school, but now Kazama insisted on using an alarm. Shelly carefully turned the knob and opened his door. This was the first time Kazama had failed to set his clock and Shelly intended to make good use of it.           

However, her plans to spook Kazama fell apart the instant she peered into his bedroom. Kazama’s room was fairly bland. The two largest objects were his wooden dresser and a desk where he did homework. Empty wall space was filled with posters of the latest video games and, oddly enough, infographics on fish and fishing lures. The most interesting object in the room was a black chest hidden under Kazama’s bed. It contained miscellaneous artifacts that Shelly knew were better left locked away.           

When she saw that chest out in the open, Shelly realized something was wrong. However, it took a few seconds for her mind to process why. The chest was under the bed, like it had always been. Meanwhile, Kazama’s bed was one meter off the ground. Shelly gazed around the room and realized that everything was floating.           

“KAZAMA!” Shelly’s distressed cry woke Kazama up with a jolt.           

As if a spell had been broken, everything suddenly fell back down. A familiar ringing sound grew louder until it abruptly stopped. Shelly peered outside Kazama’s window to see the remains of his alarm clock.           

“What happened?” Kazama mumbled while rubbing his eyes. “It looks like a tornado went through here.”           

Shelly dove into his chest and hugged him tightly. “Everything was floating, Kazama! It…It…”           

Kazama awkwardly returned the hug.           

“Sorry, did I scare you?”           

“It…was SO COOL!” Shelly yelled. She jumped up and nearly flung Kazama off his bed. “I think that was telekinesis! You’re like Psy Key from High School Psychic, or that alien who threw rocks at the protagonist of One Kick Man!”           

Kazama pushed himself away from a ranting Shelly and then lifted one hand. His desk flew into the ceiling, crushing his homework.           

“…Great.”           

“Your father is going to FREAK OUT when I tell him about this!” Shelly announced as she dashed out of the room.           

On her way downstairs, Shelly ran into her husband, Adam, just as he was leaving Belle’s room.           

“Adam!” She squealed. “You’re not going to believe this! Kazama woke up with telekinetic powers!”           

Shelly’s excited run broke down into a slow trot as she got a better look at Adam. His dress shirt was now sleeveless and a thin trail of smoke wafted up from the rips. Her husband’s long pants were now shorts and his tan shoes had been charred black. Worst of all, his thinning brown hair had gained a couple of new bald spots. Adam’s eyebrows, or what was left of them, lay flat above his eyes. His lips mirrored them, painting an ambivalent expression.           

“I think I’ll believe it.” He replied.

~          ~          ~           

“Telekinesis and pyrokinesis!” Adam laughed heartily at the family table.           

Kazama and Belle ate quietly while Adam drummed out his excitement figuratively and literally.           

“I’m freaking out! This is amazing!”           

“Sorry about your clothes, and…hair.” Belle muttered.           

“Water under the bridge, sweetie.” Adam patted her head.           

“Kazama, can you help me reach these plates?” Shelly asked, grinning from ear-to-ear. “I can’t reach the top shelf.”           

Kazama watched his mother’s terrible acting for a few seconds before standing up with a sigh. He lifted one hand and then slowly dragged it forward. Every plate on the top shelf suddenly flung itself across the kitchen. The Noh family winced as the plates shattered.           

“Woah.” Kazama exclaimed. “Sorry, this is pretty hard to control.”           

“Growing pains.” Adam reassured him. “I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it s-”

*Poff*           

The man of the house sprung out of his chair the instant the toaster went off. He threw the toast on a plate and carried it over to Belle.           

“Belle, I think I accidentally under-toasted these.” Adam winked and the twins cringed. “Could you help me out?”           

Belle extended a hand and then closed her eyes. A jet of orange flames reduced the toast to dust in under a second. The plate holding them melted like butter and began to fuse with the table. As for the table itself, a vigorous pat-down was enough to save most of it from going up in flames. Though, the oak-brown wood had been charred to a dirty black.           

“Ok, family meeting time.” Adam clapped twice. “Now, I know it may be tempting to test these powers, but you need to have restraint. If you can do something normally, then hold back. Don’t use your powers frivolously.”          

“You two are the ones making us use them frivolously!” Kazama and Belle retorted in unison.           

Their parents simply shrugged.           

“Dad, please don’t make us go to school like this.” Belle pleaded.           

“Call sick and let us wait this out.” Kazama followed up. “Superpowers are like colds with us, you know that. Every time we get powers like these, they fade away after a week or so.”           

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I’m not letting you miss a week of school.” Adam shook his head. “Are you going to hide in your rooms every time you develop super strength or laser-eyes? What about when you’re adults? That excuse won’t fly in the real world.”           

“But-”            

“-But nothing. There’s a time when all of us have to take a stand. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe in, life isn’t easy enough to let you hide forever.”           

Kazama and Belle opened their mouths and then closed them. They had nothing to say to that. Their mother however…           

“Nice! Episode twelve of Space Mec and Larger Space Mec.”           

Adam snapped his fingers and pointed at Shelly.

~          ~          ~           

“Guess wh-!”

Tammy had almost finished wrapping her hands around Belle’s eyes before the pink-haired girl dropped to her knees and dove away. Belle hit the ground in a perfect roll that would make any martial arts instructor cry. In one fluid motion, she spun around, rose to a standing position and raised her arms defensively.

“-who…” Tammy let her hands fall by her side.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Belle lowered her hands as well.

“No, I should, like, apologize.” Tammy said, raising a wary smile. “Some people just don’t like being touched.”

“It’s not that!” Belle stepped forward and then paused, choosing her words carefully. “Normally I’d be happy. But sometimes…like this week…I can’t really handle it.”

Tammy put a hand to her chin.

“This week?”

Belle wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Ah, I get it. Like, I get it.” Tammy nodded seriously. “Us girls have it rough, don’t we?”           

Belle raised an eyebrow, but decided to let the topic die. The pair started walking together in silence.           

“Is your brother, like, in a club or something? I figured you two would walk to school together.”           

“Normally we walk together. He’s taking a different route today. We’re both feeling under the weather and there are some people he wants to avoid.”           

“Avoid? Like bullies?” Worry flashed across Tammy’s face for an instant. “Then again, if he’s anything like you…”           

As they passed by an alley, Belle noticed a pair of feminine silhouettes duck behind a trash bin.           

“I guess you could call them bullies.”           

“Yikes.”             

After they passed a few more blocks, Belle began to slow down. Eventually, she stopped completely. Tammy watched with concern as her friend panted heavily while resting her hands on her knees. A few drops of sweat slid off Belle’s forehead and fell onto the sidewalk.           

“Are you ok?” Tammy asked, putting a hand on Belle’s shoulder. Instinct took over and Tammy immediately removed her hand. It was like touching a pot of boiling water.           

“I’m…ok.” Belle spoke between heavy breaths.           

“No way, you’re burning up!”           

“It’s hot. I’m just overheating.”           

“But it’s January. You shouldn’t-” Tammy paused and looked around. “Huh, did it suddenly get hotter? Like, a LOT hotter?”           

Belle brought a hand to her forehead and slowly curled it into a fist. She closed her eyes and quietly breathed in and out. With every breath, she regained some control over her powers.           

Meanwhile, Tammy rubbed her hands on her shirt and then checked the air again.           

“No, now it feels normal.” Tammy said, glancing at Belle. She noticed something was off and then quickly looked away. “Maybe we passed by a store with crazy heating or something?”           

“Yea, I feel cooler as well.” Belle nodded. She started walking away before Tammy could make another comment.           

Tammy looked at the concrete that Belle had been standing on. There were two thin depressions, each the size of a shoe. It was as if someone had stepped in the concrete while it was still drying.           

“Geez, and I thought cramps were bad.” Tammy muttered.

~          ~          ~           

Sometime after Belle and Tammy made it to school, Kazama found himself stuck at the gates. He’d wasted a considerable amount of time taking detours, but it had all been a waste. Amidst the students flowing into Pritchard’s, there was a pair standing off to the side. They seemed to be in no hurry to cross through the school’s only entrance. If anyone had bothered to look closely, they would have noticed that the pair lacked the Pritchard’s uniform. A pair of high school girls waiting by the gates of a different school would normally turn some heads. Fortunately, the remaining students were only worried about being late for class. Unfortunately, Kazama would have the same worries if he didn’t step out soon.           

With a heavy sigh, the blue-haired boy rounded a corner and walked towards the gates.           

“Kazama~” A lofty voice made Kazama freeze in place. Some would describe the voice as heavenly, but to Kazama, it was like the whisper of a demon.           

One of the loitering girls stepped forward. She stood straight as a pin with her hands clasped together at her waist. A radiant, yet reserved, smile touched her lips. The young woman’s eyes narrowed like a cat before it pounces.           

“What a coincidence.”           

“Hmm, yea.” Kazama returned her smile with a deadpan stare. “Coincidence.”           

The young woman chuckled, brushing strands of her silky golden hair aside. This gesture revealed a face that could have been painted onto a porcelain doll.           

“This may be a trifling coincidence for you…” The young woman gracefully retrieved a slip of paper from her purse. “But if you would consider my offer, I’d be very pleased.”           

Kazama took the paper and unfolded it. It was a brochure for a haunted house. Besides being set inside an antiquated dungeon, it seemed like an average date spot. Although, it was a bit out of season.           

“Remira, I assume you don’t want to go during business hours.”            

“I don’t think they’d let us use the equipment willingly, no.”           

“Then you have your answer.”           

“But just think about it!” Remira raised her voice as she stepped forward. Her breathing became ragged and her cheeks flushed. “Imagine hoisting me onto one of those racks, tearing my clothes away and -mgh!”           

“-That’s enough for now.” The second girl stepped in to put a hand over Remira’s mouth.           

“Lin! Unhand me this instant!” Remira raised a muffled cry.           

“I could, Princess.” Lin replied, mimicking her haughty tone. “But then the only memorable part of your character introduction would be vulgarities.”           

Remira stopped struggling, but Lin did not remove her hand. The second girl’s unblemished face strained as she continued to stand on her toes. Even though the three of them shared an age, Lin could barely hold her balance as she covered Remira’s mouth.           

If Daniel had been there, Kazama was sure that he’d call her a loli. Kazama was also sure that he’d receive a kick in the balls for his trouble.           

“I have a much easier request for you.” Lin announced with a taut grin.           

“All requests are easy when you reject them.”           

“I need some of your hair.”           

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Kazama said, walking past the duo.           

“If I keep recycling DNA, then the clones won’t come out right!”           

“I’m really going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”           

“Saliva, sweat…pretty much anything would work!” Lin called out as Kazama passed the threshold. “Of course, my preferred material would be your-!”           

Kazama extended his index finger and twirled it in a circular motion. A gust of wind spun Lin and Remira around until they could no longer stand. It was a successful use of his powers, if the surrounding area was ignored. Shutters clamored, trash flew like bullets and nearby animals received the scare of their lives. Kazama grimaced as he saw his wind rip the shingles off a nearby house.           

“It’s going to be a long week.” Kazama muttered as he stepped into the school building.