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then I’ll leave.”
    I stand there a moment and weigh my options. I can grab her and force her out, call the cops, or listen to what she has to say. But I don’t like the idea of getting rough with her. And if I call the cops, she might blab about me saving the family. Even if she can’t prove it, I don’t need any unnecessary attention. I slide into the booth across from her. “Two minutes,” I say. “That’s it.”
    She reaches across the table and takes my hands in hers. “The Core has decided to let you try out for the team.”
    I rip my hands out of hers as if she’s contagious, and, who knows, maybe she is. “Who are you?!” I say, my voice going up two octaves.
    She leans back in her seat and says, “I’m Roisin.”
    A revelation of this magnitude would normally be earth-shattering. But the way she flippantly offers this tidbit of information—as if she were commenting on something inconsequential like the weather—leaves me feeling like I just received the “answer” but didn’t know the question. She’s just claimed to be Roisin, the youngest hero to ever join the Core.
    After a moment of me just staring at her, she laughs and asks, “You heard me, right?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œAnd?”
    I don’t say anything.
    â€œYou’re strange. I like strange. And it helps you’re kinda cute too,” she says.
    I tend to trust people until they give me reason not to, but this, I don’t know. It’s a whole lot to take on face value. “Prove it,” I say.
    â€œHow?”
    â€œChange into your costume.”
    â€œI didn’t bring it.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œWasn’t planning on wearing it tonight.”
    â€œUm, okay,” I mumble. “So, why all white?”
    â€œExcuse me?”
    â€œWhy an all-white costume?”
    She extends a hand and inspects her fingernails, which are painted with a sparkly silver polish. Tilting her head to the side, she says, “I like that people see me coming.”
    â€œDo that light-from-the-eyes thingy.”
    â€œIn here? That’s not a good idea. This place’ll get torched. It’s hot enough to burn concrete.”
    â€œOkay, then walk on air. You do that, right?”
    She shakes her head and says, “I can walk on anything that’s denser than air, like water or something like that.”
    â€œThen how’re you gonna prove you’re Roisin? Isn’t that all you can do?”
    Leaning across the table, she whispers, “Can you keep a secret?” I nod my head. “I can boil water with the touch of my finger.”
    â€œYou can?”
    â€œAs sure as I’m sitting here.”
    â€œI’ve never heard that about Roisin,” I say.
    â€œIt’s a secret.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œOur PR people worried that it was too insignificant.”
    â€œPR people?”
    â€œPublic relations,” she says. “Go get me a cup of water.”
    I slide out of the booth, go behind the counter, and grab a coffee cup, which I fill with tap water. I spill a little as I walk back to the table. “Is this enough?”
    â€œThis’ll do,” she says, sticking her finger into the water and twirling it around like she’s mixing creamer into coffee. “Ta-da!”
    Steam rises from the cup. I stick my finger in the liquid and it burns. “Yep. It’s hot.”
    â€œDo you believe me now?” she asks.
    â€œYou’ve got powers. That’s for sure.”
    â€œSo how about it? You wanna try out for the Core?”

SEVEN
    As we stand outside Midtown Café, Eliza says, “You can’t tell anyone about this.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œThe members of the Core live under constant scrutiny. We can’t go out for ice cream without everyone talking about it. We need to know that you can be trusted to keep this quiet,” she says.