On the drive to home Mom asked, "So, you two, how was your stay?"
"Productive and enjoyable," answered Daina.
"We obtained super powers from our Plasma Energy!" I said excitedly.
"That sound both amazing and scary," she replied.
"Oh don't worry, Mrs. Punjabé. We can keep our abilities in check," assured Daina. "We can be as normal as normal applies."
"That way, nobody can find out about us! We can be safe in school and out in public!" I added.
"Oh, well that's wonderful! I'm glad. I should really thank the Willikys more."
"Not just them, you also have to thank Sir Arthur Midian."
"That's really kind of amazing. Did you meet him?"
"He is just like us, a veteran actually," said Daina. "He explained a lot of things and helped with our training."
"Wow." The rest of the trip was quiet after that.
11:23 AM.
At home, Ameera crushed us in hugs as soon as we were through the front door.
"Brother! Sister Daina! You're finally back! I really missed you!"
"I missed you too!" replied Daina.
"Ease up on the gas, sis! We were only gone for fifteen days, and you got to see us that one Sunday!"
"What! That was a really long time!" she replied. "It felt like an eternity."
I laughed. "I suppose it was pretty long."
"Bill, Miss Daina, how was it?" asked Dad's voice. I broke free from Ameera and went over to him.
"It was great. We finally got a handle of our Plasma Energy. We'll tell you about the second week of training over lunch!"
"Wait! I want to see a demonstration!" exclaimed Ameera. Daina and I exchanged glances. "Please! Please!"
I turned to her. "Now, now, Sis, I don't think it's such a good idea..."
Ameera gave me her special "I-want-you-to-do-me-a-favor-and-you-can't-refuse" puppy dog face, her brown eyes gleaming like stars. "Pleeeease!?"
"Ah, I hate it when you do that!" I exclaimed. She showed no sign of taking no for an answer. "Alright, already! Sheesh!" I held up my right hand before my face and focused. She smiled. I coated my thumb and first finger in made a continuous weak, yellow bolt of static exchange between them.
"Cooool!" she cooed. She began to draw closer for a better look, but I quickly stopped the static
"Whoa there, Sis! Just because I have control doesn't mean it's not dangerous." Ameera pouted.
"Here, watch this," said Daina. I observed as she held her hands cupped to her mouth. "Item Creation." Daina began releasing a small amount of her special bondless metal soup into her hands. She then began to play with it like clay until it took shape. To my surprise, Daina had made a stainless steel kitchen knife.
"AWESOME!" Ameera exclaimed.
"Wow! Let me see that!" Dad came closer and Daina handed the knife that was previously nothing but the energy inside her body to him. He turned it this way and that. "This is truly amazing."
"I wouldn't recommend keeping and using that. My technique isn't finished. The items I make are not permanent and will eventually turn back into the fluid I spat out." Daina held out her hand and Dad gave her the knife back. Daina turned the knife back into metal paste before reabsorbing it.
"Daina, when did you discover this? I never noticed you practicing this."
"On Thursday while I was working with William, while Arthur was helping you with your Light Boost. The first thing I made was a shield… which didn't last long. The bigger the object I make, the shorter it lasts."
"How very interesting," I commented. "I hope you perfect your technique some day." Daina nodded with a smile.
On Monday, October 31st, Daina and I hitched a ride with Samuel and Samantha to school. They had been totally surprised to find out that we were still alive.
At school, Lauren and Joseph had almost practically pounced on us! They were more than happy to know that we were alive. Our class was also glad to have their homeroom teacher back. Everyone was curious about our mysterious survival, but we told them that we were simply lucky to be alive. I assumed they all took it with a grain of salt... a hill sized one. We were obviously not going to tell them that we should be dead but we were not because of forces beyond their understanding.
Daina and I had discussion with Mr. Tanaka. Apparently, he when he first came to Santa Pyre he used to work for SP Plasma Corp in the Vermillion Resource Mines east inland of West Flame City. There was an incident and he fell into an underground pool of hot Pyrium LRT. Like us, after recovering, he trained with William and Arthur. His Power Specialty involved what Arthur told us about heat energy manipulation to control the very air, known as Air Flow Control. He had used it to further boost his natural speed by reducing the drag effect and rushed in to save me from Angelina's punch that was sure to send the cartilage in my nose up into my brain and kill me. Since air cannot be seen, no one who saw him ran suspected anything. They probably simply thought he was very athletic, but I knew I had felt the unnatural displacement of warm wind. To our surprise, the last time he checked his max energy he clocked in at nine Giga Joules, making him more of a powerhouse than Arthur himself. He fittingly gave Japanese names to most of his techniques.
Anyway, I kept up my studies, and by the time examinations in early December were around, I just knew that the laptop was sure to be mine. I was smart enough to win it three times over. As expected, I had a lot of make-up work for the week of school Daina and I missed before the midterm break. My grades were 3 A-pluses: English, Integrated Science, ICT; 3 'A's: Math, Social Studies, Physical Ed; and one B-plus: you guessed it. Oh, joyous History!
December 14th, 2043.
To say I was happy when Daina and I entered the house that Wednesday afternoon would have been an understatement. "Dad! Look at what I got!" I shouted with excitement, flashing my grades slip in front of me. Father shot up from his newspaper.
"From your behavior, I can guess you have brought good news," he analyzed. "Well, let us have a lookie!" I bounded up to him and handed the slip over. He smiled approvingly as he scanned through it. He only frowned for a short second seeing the B in History, but he did not say anything about it. "Hmm, hmm, hmm... Well done, my son." With his free hand, he patted my head, an action which had not been done since I was nine. "I'm proud of you." He really was. I sensed it.
"So...?" I dared, holding my breath.
"A deal is a deal." I was about to shout for joy, but his next words murdered my heart, "You lose."
"Eh?" I crashed right then and there. Oh no. All my hard work wasted. All over a single lousy C in a subject that's not even all that useful. My head fell, because whenever Dad set his mind to something, there was no hope of stopping him. I sighed in defeat as I turned away.
At this, Dad just laughed heartily. "FOOLED YOU, SON! You should have seen the look on your face!"
I turned to look at him in shock. Since when does Dad make play-with-your-emotions jokes like this!? I am ready to start crying here!
"It is all yours, my son." His cheery face soon took up a stern, authoritative look. "But do not let it foil your upcoming terms. Have fun, yes, but do not lapse from your studies and research." With that, he gave me back my grades slip and went back to his newspaper. "It is in my room, in its box on the bed.
I was off like a gunshot as soon as I heard 'box'. I focused as I ran, guiding the electricity to strengthen my muscles. "Light Boost!" I shot up the stairs like a horse, past big bro Enrique's room that Daina was using, past mine and Ameera's, past the bathroom and halted in front of my parent's room's door. I relaxed and allowed my muscles to return to my just-above-normal teenage boy strength. There was no need to rip the doorknob and possibly the very door frame with it right off, no? I opened the door and stepped inside. My sharp eyes spotted the box in the middle of the queen-sized bed. I smiled widely.
When I entered Ameera's and my room, I found new additions: a computer desk complete with speakers, a mouse, and a rolling chair, all on my side of the line. Oh, Dad! You shouldn't have! I went on right over and placed the box on the seat. I took out the laptop and placed it between the speakers on the table top. Next came the charger, with a note taped on containing the Wi-Fi password. After a bit of setting up, I was ready for business.
My first order of business was to set up a Google account. ' was what I came up with. ' was already my Microsoft account. After that, I went to the Microsoft Store and downloaded Office 365. I entered the verification key to my Dad previously bought for the family desktop and was in. I opened Microsoft Excel 2035 and began creating a spreadsheet that I would use to document various things concerning Plasma Energy moving forward. I entered my name, Daina, Tanaka and Arthur, and our various Specialties. I entered my current techniques: Light Boost, Thunder Fist, Lightning Bolt, and Shocking Touch. Then I added Daina's: Form Coat, Form Change, Item Creation, Mercury Bullet, Mercury Splash, Lead Fist, and Steel Earth Splitter. After that, I began to surf the web for ideas to come up with new techniques
At 4 o'clock I shut down and got up to put off the wall outlet. I exited the room and walked to the edge of the stairs. I noticed Ameera coming up. She was all sweaty, just in from soccer practice. "Hey Ameera, How was practice?"
"It was alright. That meanie Georgia wasn't too bad today." She continued on walking and went right past me.
"That's great."
"Finally detached yourself?" remarked Daina as I stepped onto the floor.
"Uh, yeah," I replied sheepishly. She just chuckled as I moved to the table for my lunch... which was now most likely cold. Darn it. At least there was supper to look forward to in three hours or so.
December 17th. 8:30 AM
That Saturday, Mom had a day off from work. After breakfast, while Dad was doing dishes, she approached me. "Bill, how do you feel about running an errand for me?"
"Do you want me to go down to Mr. Goodwill's?" I perceived.
Mom smiled and nodded. "Yes. As you know, our family tradition is coming up. So I need you to get you-know-what."
"Sure thing, Mom!" I answered. I then added, "Say, can Daina come with me?"
"Come with you where?" asked Daina in confusion as she stepped onto the scene.
I turned to her with a characteristic smile. "Oh, what perfect timing, Sister Daina! How do you feel about running an errand with me? I could use some extra hands. This'll let you see more of the neighborhood."
"Hmm, that sounds like fun, but I was about to start the laundry."
"No, let me take care of it," said Mom quickly. "Please, you can go with him if you really want to."
"Okay, since you insist!" Daina beamed a divine smile at her and I could have sworn I saw my Mom looking a bit envious of it.
Within a minute saw Daina and I embarking on our way. This would be the first time since she began to live with us that she would see more of Brown Hills than our house. The sky was clear and the morning was cool, perfect for a walk. I waved to the neighbors as we passed. There was a skip in my step, for I was in high spirits today. When I was younger, I used to complain about running these errands. But now, with my wellspring of energy, it did not feel like such a chore anymore.
I glanced at Daina, catching her deep-in-thought look. "Daina, is something the matter?" I asked, concerned.
"No, not really," she replied. "OK. I was just wondering about Mr. Tanaka. Something he said bugs me."
"Huh? What is it?" I prodded further.
"He said it felt good to have "more" family. It makes me wonder what happened to his family and if he was feeling lonely for a long time on the inside."
"Hmmm, but he seems to get on well with everyone at school," I brought up a point. "He also has spent a lot of time with William and Julie, so he at least had them." I looked to my armbands. "Hey, come to think of it, I never saw his band before."
"That is because you are new to the school. His was primarily white." I looked at her in shock. "He has had it up until this past school term. I never paid much attention then because I had my own worries."
I nodded before looking back to the road ahead of me. The store was coming into view. And that was when I saw Sammy entering in with his big sister Samantha.
I dug out the shopping list from my pocket. Mom and Dad wanted to cook a feast for the upcoming Christmas Dinner and as always, she wanted to have their ingredients secured well early before the rush. Even the neighbors we had passed by had already started setting up their decorations.
"Hi, Mr. Goodwill!" I greeted as Daina and I entered the building.
"Good morning, Bill," replied an old man in a smart purple suit. The owner of Goodwill General and I were good friends. Sometimes we would talk a little before I carried out my errand. Sometimes, he would give me free chocolate. "Oh, who is this? A friend?"
"Yes; this is Daina Scotland." I nudged her arm and whispered, "Say hi, Daina."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Goodwill," she greeted as politely as she could.
Mr. Goodwill offered her a hand, which she accepted. "Same to you, Missus Scotland," he replied carefully, always knowing how to behave around women. His venture awarded him one of Daina's divine smiles, catching him off guard by the sheer radiance of it. It made me a little jealous when I remembered that I had to work for it before, and he was receiving it so easily.