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gripped me tightly and pushed the frying pan into my hands. I held on to it as if it were a lifesaver in a thrashing sea, feeling the comfort of the nothingness it gave me. Here, there was no pain, no energy, and no emotion. The cold, black metal tuned out the whole world. I vaguely heard Cat saying that she was going to get my copper wire, and when she stood up, I passed out.
    Steel was one of the most draining of metals. I don’t know if Cat knew that, but the frying pan saved her life. Probably mine too.
    When I woke, my nose had stopped bleeding, and it didn’t seem broken. Cat had removed the frying pan from my hands while I was asleep, and only after I woke did she hand me the wire.
    “I was afraid if I put it on you, you might not wake up,” said Cat.
    “Maybe I shouldn’t have,” I replied wretchedly, wrapping the copper around my wrist.
    “Don’t say that, Adrian! Come on, you’re all bloody.”
    Wearing the wire wasn’t so bad since I had just slept. I felt dazed, and my legs were a bit wobbly, but otherwise I could walk. I wiped my face and changed my shirt. When I came back to the living room, Cat was waiting for me. She looked pleadingly into my eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but I already knew exactly what she was going to say.
    “I know, Cat,” I said. “I will.”
    “Today, Adrian.”
    “I will. Today. I promise.”
    Mom and Dad wouldn’t be back until past six. Cat sat beside me on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. Neither of us said anything for a while. We just sat there trying to restore some normalcy to our day.
    Cat broke the silence first. “Adrian, what are you going to say to them?”
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    “Well, are you going to tell them everything, or...”
    “Wouldn’t be much point telling them at all if I didn’t tell them everything, don’t you think?”
    “I guess so. But Adrian, there’s just so much we don’t know.”
    I gaped at her. “You’re telling me!”
    Cat laughed, and suddenly so did I, though rather nervously. What exactly was I going to say to our parents? I had no idea. But it was just good to sit there and laugh a bit. For all the annoyances a little sister can often be, that was the one thing I really loved about Cat: She always had a smile tucked away somewhere. Even when her big brother had almost tried to kill her... again.
    After dinner that evening, we were all watching TV together. Actually, Dad might have been the only one watching. Dad, Cat and I were on the sofa while Mom sat in the easy chair knitting something purplish. Cat, who was in her usual spot between Dad and me, had curled up into a ball and was resting her head on Dad’s arm. She kept throwing me furtive looks. I still had no idea how to go about this, but I had promised.
    “Dad,” I said hesitantly, “can I ask you a question?”
    Dad looked over at me, a little surprised. Usually, when I ask a question, I just ask it, so he probably knew it was something serious.
    “Sure, what is it?” he asked.
    “Can you... I mean, do you think it’s possible... I mean, there’s something different about me, and...” my voice faltered.
    Dad gave me an understanding smile and said, “Adrian, you’re going on thirteen soon, and a lot of things are going to change in your life.”
    “Yeah, no kidding,” I deadpanned. For a crazy instant, I thought he was going to say that he knew about my power and that every adult had it.
    “If there’s something worrying you, it’s okay, you can tell me. But maybe you want to talk about this privately?” asked Dad, nodding toward Cat. Mom stopped her knitting to listen in as well.
    “It’s okay,” I said. “Cat knows.”
    “She does?” Dad looked surprised, but then he calmly asked again, “What is it, Adrian? If you told Cat, you can certainly tell me.”
    “It’s just... Well, I was wondering...”
    “Yes?”
    “Can you make things move without touching them?” I blurted out, and I knew it sounded utterly