Chapter 2
I walked into the hallway and headed toward my grandpa's apartment. When I walked past Room C7 I knew Jessie was about to be home alone with her devil of a big sister Amber. She was screaming and begging her mom to let her stay the day in town. “Jessie…” Her mother warned.
"PLEASE!" Jessie pleaded, but I knew she would get what she wanted. Jessie had such persuading abilities it could have driven you insane.
"Alright! But see if one of your friends will go with you first." I heard her mom mutter. I kept walking, knowing Jessie would find us eventually. I pushed the elevator button with my thumb and waited to see Jessica's door fly open. Nothing. I stood there for a few seconds. Oh, there it is. She shot out her front door.
She turned in the direction of my apartment and ran. "Jessie! Over here!" I called and hoped that wasn’t too loud. The guy next to the elevator always screamed at me for being too loud, well, me and every other person who breathes.
Jessie Garrett turned around and walked calmly to the elevator. It arrived and an old couple that I think live in C2 got out. Jess and I got in and I hit the D button. "So umm…were you going to my place?" I asked. I didn’t really want Jessie to know she had been so loud I could hear her from the hall.
"Yup." She nodded and rummaged through her backpack. She pulled out a brush and a hair clip. Jessie was like that. She couldn’t remember if she put her homework in her backpack or in her binder, but she sure could be prepared if a clothes crisis happened.
" You need to borrow something?" I asked trying to get her to ask me. I needed some girlfriend time.
"Oh, right! You want to spend the day in town with me?" She asked, while brushing her dirty blond, almost brown hair. She put a pink hairclip in and stared at me like if I said no, she’d curl up and die.
“Yeah sure! Just me and you?" I asked hoping so. I loved spending time with Jessie. Mallory too, but I'm with her WAY too much. In the middle of last semester I even started making the weird faces she does.
"That sounds nice." She answered and smiled. Jessie put her brush back in her bag and took out a pack of gum. "Strawberry or Extra?"
"Strawberry." I answered and popped a piece in my mouth. My small tote bag only had my cell phone, a pack of gum, fifty bucks, a comb, two hair clips, and a stick of eyeliner, lip-gloss, and my membership cards for the shops. Jessie's had that, a hair brush, a change of clothes, blush and eye shadow, a Percy Jackson book, a bag of Fruit Loops, an additional pack of gum, and some nail polish.
So basically she was ready for anything. If anything had anything to do with looks. She was wearing every type of makeup, where as I was only wearing lip-gloss and eyeliner.
The elevator sank down to the lobby and we exited the building. "Haley's?" I asked which ironically was the name of our ice cream shop. One of I should say.
"Later ok? I want to go to the jewelry shop in 42nd street.” She answered, heading in that direction. I nodded and followed her. We had to walk across a crosswalk, and down two blocks, but we made it there in one piece. That was when I realized Jessie might have been the prettiest Powera ever.
She was a Firea. They could touch you and set you aflame. Or give you burns, their choice. Their favorite color was automatically red. And yes, Jessie's one of them, but I’m not. I'm called an Aqua.
An Aqua has the ability to not drown in water. We can breathe in real water, meaning salt water. Our favorite color is blue, because it’s the color of the water. I forgot to mention this before, but our eyes are the color of our favorite color. Because red is un-natural Jessie has to wear contacts. Anyway, we can drown other people with a flick of our fingers.
I'll inform you of the rest later.
“Umm Jess?” I asked as we walked over to the rings.
"Yes?" She answered, eyeing a red one. "So pretty," she murmured.
“You brought money right? I know you're prone to forgetting, but...." I asked her cautiously, wandering if she would chew me out.
"Oh, yeah I brought a few extra. Mom said to spend the day in town." Jessica replied turning back to the ring.
I looked at a light blue ring with wave looking design on it. I grabbed it from the shelf and walked to the counter. I placed it gently on the glass and gave the lady a five. She handed me back three ones and gave me the ring.
I walked back over to Jessie as I put my new ring on. I smiled at her and looked at a bracelet she had started looking at. She picked it up and put it on, testing the size.
The room burst into flames.
The fire spread around the room. I screamed so loud I could have sworn people in China could have heard it. I felt some one's hands on me.
A right hand was on my right arm right below my shoulder, along with the same on my left arm. The man I barely knew picked me up and carried me out of the store, with me screaming the whole time. Dylan's dad was Strength. He could have put an arm around me and carried me, but that would be a bit awkward. I'm not going to say I was expecting him to rescue me, because I wasn’t. I looked through the shop window as I was carried down the street.
Jessie was standing right in the middle of the flames. Not caring that if she were human she would have third degree burns, or if she were I she would be dead as soon as the flames touched her. I tried to reach for my necklace. If you call a blue rock on a ribbon a necklace. If I wasn’t wearing that thing at all times then I would be in mortal danger.
Jessie's red and my friends the color of their power. I reached for my necklace again, and Mr. Ross shook his head and tightened the grip on my arms. I didn't blame him for thinking I was trying to yank it off. I closed my eyes.
Mr. Ross nodded and murmured, "Yes, yes." I tried to make water shoot from my necklace, but that would just choke me. I remembered that there were water fountains in the shop, and visualized them in my mind. I commanded the water to put out the fire and then opened my eyes. I quieted as Mr. Ross toted me to Dylan’s house.
He sat me down on Dylan's couch. I stopped screaming and clutched my necklace. Dylan walked in the room and jumped backward. Mr. Ross looked at his son and burst out laughing. "Son, I'm sure this is the one young lady that could scare you out of your socks.” He laughed again and went in the kitchen.
“So, you’re in my house, no scratch that, you're sitting on my couch why?" Dylan asked setting down his iPad and taking a seat on the other end of the couch.
“Jessie and I were buying some jewelry. I know, weird. But anyway, Jessie put on a bracelet and the room…kind of burst into flames. So um… when your Dad got there, I was screaming my lungs out. And he ca-" I started.
"And he carried you here.” Dylan finished for me. I nodded and smiled. My hand left my necklace and rested on my lap. “You want root beer or Coke?" Dylan asked and walked toward the kitchen. I shot up and followed him.
"A&W. " I answered and leaned against the counter. "And then I'm going. I want to see if the fire went out.” I informed him.
"Alright. Here’s your root beer. It okay if I come with you? I want to know if Jessie is mad enough to burn you," he told me.
"Dylan!” I protested and hit him on the back of the head. He did that half laugh/half grin and sipped on some A&W. I drank about half of mine and got to wonder. “So are you really going? Cause I don’t think your dad is going to let me go alone," I told Dylan.
"Dang right I'm not.” Mr. Ross said, walking into the kitchen. I laughed and looked up at him.
"So, umm it OK if Emo comes?" I asked and almost choked on my drink.
"Yes it’s Ok if Emo goes," His dad said and chuckled. I waved and made my way out the door, turning towards Dylan." You still drink?" I joked.
“Yeah.” He grinned. “You?"
"NO! I don’t.” I replied, laughing. I shoved his shoulder and walked next to him around the corner. “Hey, we're almost there." I pointed at the ashen building.
We strolled over and saw Jessie wandering out of the store. I broke into a run. "Jessie!" we screamed. She t
urned with a flip of her flaxen tresses as I neared her.
" Yes?" She asked.
"Did you kill anyone?" I demanded.
“Nah, just burned a few people.... by getting mad when the fire was going out." She replied.
"Jessie! You could have killed them!" I half whispered.
“Come on relax! To the people nearby it just looked like the fire growing in a spot. You can’t blame me!” She cried, the fiery red of her eyes burning through her contacts.
Dylan motioned for us to go in one of the empty stores nearby. I nodded and followed him. "You are going to get caught one day, Jessie. And I don’t want to hear any bitching." He said as soon as we were near the building.
“We should get out of here. People are noticing.” I replied and pushed them through the door.