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Chapter 7: The Freak

Thelma

There had to be a logical explanation for everything that had happened yesterday, right? A person can’t levitate…they just can’t.

The room is silent except for the sound of the ticking old analogue clock on the bedside table. I keep scrolling through social media on my phone, looking for anything that could explain about what transpired yesterday. Maybe something in the air? Maybe some crop circles were spotted somewhere? I hope so, because this is all like a horrible nightmare.

To make matters worse, Roy won’t even look me in the eye anymore. When I move close to him, he retreats and hides behind the nearest person or object. Ma has been trying to act as if nothing happened, but I can tell by the way she is distancing herself from me, that she is spooked merely by my presence.

However, Uncle Fernandez made a sound in his throat at the time everything had occurred, as if he’d been expecting this for some time now.

On the other hand, River’s eyes looked like saucers as she stared at me after I tumbled to the ground. If she hadn’t looked so stunned, I am sure she would have recorded the whole incident. That would have been the viral content she was so desperate for.

After searching for hours and failing to find anything that could explain why I levitated yesterday, I put my phone on my nightstand. All I got were some clips of phantom spirits from horror movies floating in the air. I’m not a spirit, right?

I bring my hand to my face and stare at it; it looks real enough. I pinch it and wince at the pain that is transmitted from the sting of my nails. If I were a spirit, I wouldn’t be able to touch anything physical, right? People wouldn’t be able to see me? I think that's how that all works. Because of all this craziness, I haven’t eaten anything today or slept either.

Getting out of my bed, I walk towards the bathroom to freshen up. I lean over the sink and splash some water on my face. The water feels cool against my burning skin. As I raise my head, I look at my reflection in the mirror above the sink.

My eyes appear puffy, probably from sleep deprivation and the constant weeping caused by my pure frustration. I inch my face closer to the mirror and frown. Last I checked, my eyes were hazel…granted, that meant they could appear as different shades depending on the lighting, but right now they looked like pure emeralds. Since everything happened, it seems they have been stuck on green…almost like there has been a glitch in the matrix.

Yes, that’s what all this was: simply a glitch. What else could it have been?

I walk out of the bathroom and debate whether to go downstairs or not. The house is void of all the noisy chatter it usually is filled with; It’s almost like it’s empty. Could everyone have been so spooked they ran away? Well, except for Roy and Ma, I wouldn’t miss any of them if they left. It would be a good riddance to bad rubbish.

Opening the door, I peer outside and see no signs of movement. I creep down the narrow corridor and towards the stairs. Making my way down, I can hear hushed voices coming from the kitchen. I stop to listen, but can’t make out what is being said.

My ears start ringing, and suddenly, the voices from the kitchen are as clear in my head as if they’re inside my brain.

What the hell was in that strawberry cream liquor from my birthday party? Or maybe there had been some radiation at that warehouse and I got superpowers? That’s the best possible explanation for all of this.

I stand still as I listen to what the voices are saying. I can tell right away that the voices belong to Ma and Uncle Fernandez.

“I asked you and George back then, but you lied. Now do you see what’s happening?” Uncle Fernandez asks, his tone violent.

“It was the right thing to do at that time,” Ma replies, defensively.

“The right thing? Did you see what she did to that poor man’s hand? And then she flew…she fucking soared! What else is going to happen next? Surely there will be news crews all over this fucking place to see the freak that torched a man,” Uncle Fernandez spits.

I shudder at his words. Had he just referred to me as a freak? Did everyone here think of me as some sort of psycho? Well, what else do you call a person who levitates? I guess at this point I couldn’t blame anyone for thinking I was an outsider.

I’m not going to take responsibility for burning that serviceman, though. I didn’t touch him, nor that wrench he was holding.

“So what do we do? I don’t want the media coming here to make a spectacle of her,” Ma says with concern laced in her voice.

“News reporters should be the least of your fears, Eunice. If the elders catch wind of this, we are all in trouble. Also, some perverted scientists might just want to cut her up and study her,” Uncle Fernandez adds menacingly.

I can hear my heartbeat accelerate. Whose elders? It’s just Ma, myself, and Roy. And why would anyone want to cut me up? I don’t want to be dissected like some frog in a Biology class. All I did was levitate…a simple glitch in the matrix…or at least I hope.That doesn’t warrant me being carved up and studied, does it?

“We can’t let the elders know,” Ma says hurriedly. I can hear the trepidation in her voice as she speaks.

“That might be too late. If those men from the power company tell reporters, and the word is spread, it will only be a matter of time before the elders send people after us,” Uncle Fernandez warns.

“What do we do, Fernandez?” Ma pleads.

“So now it’s ‘we’? When I tried to talk to you and George back then, you treated me like a meddling fool who was seeking to destroy your perfect family. Now, George is gone. He left you in this mess, remember? Not me. There’s only one option.” Uncle Fernandez pauses briefly. “We have to get rid of Thelma, Eunice.”

I jerk my head back. What does he mean by 'get rid of me?' Where does he want me to go? This is the only home I know. I don’t want to think of the other meaning of ‘get rid of her.’

“Get rid of her?” Ma resounds my very question.

“By any means necessary, Eunice. Do you want to put all of us in danger? Think about Roy,” Uncle Fernandez adds.

What did he mean by that? Did he think I was a danger to Roy? I would never do anything to harm my little brother. How dare he use Roy as a bargaining chip to ‘get rid' of me?

I walk down the stairs feverishly and barge straight into the kitchen. They both look stunned to see me.

“Hi, dear. We didn’t hear you come down. Do you want to have your food now?” Ma asks, pretending like that whole conversation didn’t just happen.

I want to tell her that I had just walked down a bunch of squeaky stairs and that my presence wasn’t nearly silent, but I decide to not point that out. Maybe I had levitated to the kitchen, since apparently I can fly now, or they were so preoccupied with discussions on how to get rid of me that they didn’t hear me coming.

“I am not hungry. Now, where is everyone?” I ask, trying to sound casual as if I hadn’t heard their whole discussion.

“They are in the barn. Mike took the television out there for them to all watch a movie,” Ma says as she moves toward the sink.

There aren’t any dishes in the sink and I wonder if she is just trying to put some distance between us. I have no doubt the others are huddled in the barn for the same reason: to get away from the ominous freak.

“I have to visit Ouma in Clermont. I need to talk to her about,” Uncle Fernandez pauses again, giving me a dirty stare before continuing, “the situation.”

Without glancing in my direction, my uncle leaves the kitchen.

I look over at Ma who is busy wringing a dish rag nervously in her hands. She clears her throat, glances at me, before quickly averting her eyes.

“I m…made some r..r...rotis. I made the butter ones, your favorite,” Ma stutters.

“Ma, what is going on with me? Why are you all suddenly treating me like I’m some sort of demon? Am I sick? Am I contagious? Just tell me what the hell is wrong with me!” I demand.

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