The movie was about some college kids traveling on a train through Europe. They get kidnapped and tortured in increasingly gruesome ways for about an hour and a half. At home I wasn’t allowed to watch those types of movies and about twenty minutes into it, I realized why.
I couldn’t get the images out of my head. I couldn’t sleep for days. After a week, my parents were ready to take me to a doctor because I wasn’t eating, sleeping, or speaking much. And I had a look on my face that said I’d seen too much and I didn’t know how to process it.
That’s exactly the way Audrey looked after I told her my secret. I explained the whole thing to her from the beginning—how I had that dream about the bus and how my dad told me about being a Super and how I never had another vision again until I had the one about her.
She sat down the stairs outside her parents’ house and didn’t say anything for a full ten minutes. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Well? Are you gonna say something?”
“Don’t do this,” Audrey blurted out. “I’ve worked with Miss Fine before and she was this close to taking my Super license from me. She’s not gonna let you slide. Her name is Elphaba for God’s sake!”
That confused me. “What does her name have to do with it?”
“She’s had to walk around here being called that all of her life. She’s got a chip on her shoulder. She’s not doing anyone any favors, Penny!” Audrey’s voice had gotten higher and more hysterical.
But I didn’t care. “Just help me. Please!”
“What makes you think I can help you?”
“You’re my Big Super. I need a role model,” I stammered. “And I need to figure out how to get my powers working.”
“Well, you just told me about two visions you had. It sounds more like you’re just behind where you should be. Like, you need some remedial classes or something.”
I ignored that. “So you think I’ll develop powers as I get older?”
“I don’t know! Visions aren’t what I do. I know about super fast healing. I get hit by a car at least six times a year. But that’s not going to help you!” Audrey finished by opening my container of cake and starting to eat it.
“Hey! That’s mine.”
“I stress eat! And you are stressing me the hell out right now.”
I patiently waited for Audrey to eat my cake before I spoke again. “Well? What are we gonna do?”
Audrey took a deep breath. “I don’t know, man. I think you might be really screwed.”
Chapter 11
“Where exactly are we going?”
Audrey and I walked along Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. When we had gone our separate ways on Monday night she was still pretty shocked. She said she needed time to think about the whole thing but she’d be in touch. I was doubtful, but true to her word she texted me the next day and told me to meet her in Cadman Plaza Park at 6:30 because she had an idea.
“My district meeting,” Audrey huffed.
I couldn’t tell if she didn’t want to talk or if she was just out of breath from walking so much. In fact, it seemed like she was out of breath a lot. That didn’t seem very Super-y to me but what did I know about it? “District meeting?”
“When you graduate the Academy, you’ll get your Super license and a district assignment. That’s where you’ll be working. I talked to my district lead about you and your test. Since I don’t have any mind powers, I don’t know what will be on your entrance test. But there will be someone at the meeting who does.”
I nodded as I took it all in. “What district do you have?”
“Brooklyn. There are a lot of Supers working Brooklyn but for the most part we all work alone. District meetings give you a chance to see everyone.”
“What’s the Academy like?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Like high school. Like a really weird high school. It’s basically a bunch of kids with overactive hormones running around except instead of gym class, you learn to control your