A Diamond in My Pocket

  * * *

  Two weeks have passed since I arrived home. After saying goodbye to everyone except Chris, I rode to the airport with Clara where she put me on an airplane bound for Ohio.

  Everything’s back to normal around here. I take out the trash, scrub the toilet, and go to school. The school year is almost over, summer break is approaching, and I can still do almost everything I could when I carried the diamond. I’ve kept my abilities hush-hush, though. The last thing I want is for anyone to find out what I can do.

  Suz and I hang out a lot—at the mall of course—people-watching. However, I see everyone through different eyes after everything I’ve been through.

  I used my healing ability for the first time yesterday. My eighty-year-old next-door neighbor fell down his front steps and broke his hip. I called 911 and hurried over to him. I searched his body, found the broken bones, and determined they were not life threatening, so I mended him. He could tell I’d done something, but when the paramedics arrived at his house his excited ramblings about miracles went unheard under the oxygen mask they placed over his face. I smiled all the way back to my house.

  Last night I received an email from Beth telling me all the latest gossip about life at the Runners compound. It read:

  Calli,

  I hope things are going good for you. Things here have been a mess. Chris left the compound, but before he did, there was a big meeting with all the leaders of the compound. They basically kicked Justin out of the clan. Justin was going to leave anyway, so it was a wasted effort. I’m glad he left. Not sure what I ever saw in him.

  Guess what? We held a new time trial and I’m now the fastest of the clan! Isn’t that great?

  Maetha the Spellcaster made individual amulets from the broken pieces of the diamond you carried and gave one to each clan. They each look like a chandelier light bulb on a leather cord. The diamond shard magically floats inside the bulb to prevent accidental contact with its bearer, and the amulet gives small doses of each power to whomever wears it. Currently, Clara wears the Runners’ Clan amulet.

  Well, I hope everything is going well for you. Hope to hear from you soon.

  Beth

  I write Beth back and tell her how everyone here has forgotten I’d set a world record in track and everything is back to normal, just as I prefer. It’s a short email, but I don’t know what else to say.

  I suspect Maetha played a hand in making everyone forget my supernatural moment of fame. No matter. I used to be an ordinary girl who liked to fly under the radar, but then I was pushed out in front and was forced to take on the role of a superhero. Honestly, grandeur wasn’t everything I thought it would be. Being back to normal feels good.