Thicker than Water

[Annamarie]

August 2nd, 2008

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.... I swear I was gonna lose it.

"Mom, ease up! Its not like they're gonna come in here and tell me I have a week to live or somethin', geez...."

My mom stopped her pacing for a moment and looked at me in a really weird way; her eyes looked kinda red. I guess neither of us got much sleep last night, though for different reasons I bet. Then her pacing started back up, but quicker. I mean, I get that she was worried, but c'mon, what's the worst they could say?

"How could you have any idea what they're going to say, Annie..." she said as she read over some of my charts, hanging on the back of the door of the doctor's office; the same ones she's read, oh, probably nearly a dozen times now. We'd been in here way too long. "We don't.... what was that that you...." she gave up trying to word her question right, instead going quiet again, pacing back and forth...

I just sighed and laid down on the examination table. Her stressing out wasn't making any of this any easier and it wasn't gonna make the doctors come any quicker. I guess I get where she was coming from though; after all that testing, all those CAT scan things.... I think we both just wanted to know what they'd found out. And that weird water test..... what the hell was up with that? Did these tests turn me into a sponge or something?

But then I heard some hushed talking come from the hall; I guess my mom did too, since she froze in place before moving closer to the door. My mom was a classy lady, sure, but she wasn't above eavesdropping; I wasn't either, though, so I can't be too critical. We glanced at each other a few times as we listened.

The first voice I recognized was Dr. Rinaldo's; nasally, high pitched, kinda annoying. She's the one that asked me and my mom to come here in the first place. "I know that, but what are we supposed to do? We can't very well send them back home empty handed and unprepared. Its only fair we tell them."

Next I heard Dr. Serra, the man who'd administered most of the tests. "And what then? You stimulated those genes, didn't you? Can't you put them back in submission to the normal genes again? You're not giving this girl many options, otherwise! She'll be doomed to a life that revolves around these abilities."

"Even if I did, whose to say that the abnormal genes wouldn't surface again at some point in her life? And then what would she do? For all we know she'd end up flooding all of Hawaii."

"Its best to make sure she's at least familiar enough with these sort of abilities to make sure that that sort of thing does not happen. For all we know, that may only take a few months; but its best that we provide her with the option of attending Saint Joseph's anyway, even if just for a few months."

I.... didn't recognize that last one. I could tell it was a woman's voice, but other than that.... nothing. And attend where?

But then the door opened, and all three walked in: Dr. Rinaldo, Dr. Serra, and.... mystery lady. Yeah, definitely didn't recognize her. She had a nice beret though.

Dr. Rinaldo sighed, setting down a stack of files on a table in the room. She hesitated before hanging up several graphs with double helices on them. I couldn't read them from here, but I guess they were pictures of my DNA and stuff. She turned around to face us; she looked kinda grim. Uh-oh....

"Hello, ladies. You've met Dr. Serra, and this is Ms. Janine Sinclair. She'll be helping us explain all of this. Now, Anna...you're sure you've had no signs of dehydration over the past few days?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been drinking normal amounts of water 'n' everything. Its been nice."

Dr. Rinaldo nodded, rubbing her forehead a bit. She turned to my mom.

"Mrs. Knight, you're daughter... she's got several abnormalities in her DNA."

Great. Because my mom wasn't nervous enough, they had to put it like that. 'You're daughter is special!' would have gotten the job done and put my mom in a better mood. Instead, it looked like she was about to faint. "What... w-what does that mean?! Is she going to be ok?!"

Dr. Serra spoke next. He was holding a bowl of water, like the one they'd used to do that water test the other day. "Yes, she'll be fine; in fact, these abnormalities have helped to cure her of her chronic dehydration. But.... they come with some ....additional effects. You see...."

He walked over to me, holding the bowl out. "Anna, would you hold your hand over this bowl?"

Would I what? Whatever. I shrugged and stuck my left hand out over the bowl.

"Now concentrate. Try to..... try to lift the water, without touching it."

I laughed out of instinct, "What?". I could see mom growing frustrated behind the doctor. "Is this some sort of game to you people?! What do you mean, 'move the water'?"

I wanted to tell my mom to calm down, and to stop flipping out at the doctors. I wanted to, but I was a bit speechless. I was busy staring at my hand, which was somehow wrapped in water. But it wasn't in the bowl. The water just lifted up and encased my hand. My mom had trouble saying what she wanted to say too, apparently. "W-what...how is she doing t-that?!"

All three people who had walked into the room nodded. While Dr. Serra asked me to 'let go' of the water (I didn't really know how he expected me to do that, but he managed to brush it off me somehow) and put it back in the bowl, Dr. Rinaldo spoke.

"Mrs. Knight.... those abilities are a result of your daughters gene abnormalities."

Those abilities?! I perked up, grinning ear to ear. "Does that mean I'm one of those mutants!? Get out!"

The doctor shook her head. "Not exactly. You see, mutants are human beings, just with.... odd variations in their genes that cause them to have the abilities that they do. You...", she sighed, preparing herself for her next comment. "You're not... human, Anna. You're genes are very similar to those typical of human beings, but there are enough differences that, technically.... you're something different entirely."

I think my mom and I were both speechless. Only for a moment, though; they don't get to call me another species and get away without some questions...

"Then.... what am I?"

Dr. Serra spoke, shaking her head. "We're not sure. We've never seen a genetic makeup that resembles yours before. As far as we can tell, nobody has; there are no records of similar gene patterns anywhere, from what we can gather."

I felt like I should be shocked, or angry, or crying on the floor in the fetal position. But I wasn't, really. So, ok, I wasn't human. Bummer. But at the same time, I had these neat water tricks! I mean, c'mon, it's totally a fair trade.

"So... how can I do that stuff with water?"

Now the beret lady spoke for the first time. "Its a result of whatever.... species you are, Anna. Its a direct result of your genetic makeup."

"From what we can tell, you're capable of doing much more than simply lifting water out of a bowl. That's why Dr. Rinaldo called me."

"What for?", I asked.

Ms. Sinclair took a deep breath. "Well, I'm a recruiter for a local school. We're a school specifically meant for children like you; ones that are 'different' in this sort of way."

That seemed to give my mom her voice back; she was very quiet, and her voice sounded a bit hoarse. "What school is it?"

Ms. Sinclair smiled. "Saint Joseph School. Located right here in Paragon."

"We called Ms. Sinclair in because we knew what these genes could do... we figured we'd provide you with the best option possible. We agree that.... attending Saint Joseph School is your best option.", Dr. Rinaldo said solemnly.

Ya know, for all the shit I give my mom, ya gotta love her. I imagine most people'd be going out of their minds if this type of thing happened to their kid. Not my mom, though. She tried her best to look collected and in control, and I respect her for that; I can read her like a book though. She was on the verge of tears, and I could only guess why; she was afraid I would have to leave her to attend this school, and leave her all alone...

"We are a boarding school, so Anna could live at the school while you stayed in Hawaii, Mrs. Knight.", Ms. Sinclair stated. My mom bit her lip, and Ms. Sinclair spoke again. "Or, if you would like, you could move to Paragon, Mrs. Knight; we have many day students that attend our school as well."

My mom nodded, thinking about the situation herself. "I.... I think I'm going to have to talk this over with my daughter, and the rest of my family. Thank you, Dr. Rinaldo, Dr. Serra, Ms. Sinclair."

All three nodded, with the two doctors leaving the room. Before she left, Ms. Sinclair handed me a full binder. "This contains information about the school and what it can do for you, Anna. I hope that you and your mom decide to enroll you at our school soon; the sooner we can get started on teaching you how to control your abilities, the better."

She left, and both of us were quiet for a while, before my mom spoke. She rubbed the back of her head and took a deep breath before speaking. In 'Lana Knight' speak, that meant 'This is really painful for me and you'd damn well be grateful.'

"Well Annie.... what do ya think?"

I looked up from the binder, which I'd been riffling through a bit. It looked too cool. I could swear I saw a girl made of ice in one of those pictures... anyway. I just grinned in response, raising my brow. She got it.

"I guess we should start looking for apartments, then?"

[Annamarie]

I opened my eyes slowly... damn that sun was bright. Wait, sun? Oh shit. Not again. I knew mom was gonna freak this time. I had enough trouble convincing her I slept over at the dorms last time I'd dozed off on the water, and I knew she wasn't goin' for it this time. Great. Reluctant to go home and be scolded but kinda hungry and bored, I stood up, opening my eyes slowly, so as to not be blinded. Looking around, I expected to see Talos' boardwalk, it's shops, maybe a few people staring... but, no. This wasn't familiar. There weren't any buildings, people, cars, ships.... nothing. Just water, sand, some rocks along the shore. Maybe I'd washed up on one of Talos' smaller islands...great. That just meant it was gonna take me even longer to get home! Today was not startin' off good for me.

Steadying my apparently sore legs (how the hell did that happen?), I took in my surroundings before heading off, walking along the shore. I didn't really know why; it would have made more sense to just dive right back into the water and start swimming. But I was curious for some reason; plus, it couldn't hurt to take a look around, right? And it was so pretty here.... I wasn't in any rush to get back to the dirty, industrialized shores of Paragon. The air was so much fresher here too.... it was relaxing. Plus, I was already gonna be late; not like an extra 30 minutes would kill me.

I had to make a map from Talos to this little island, man. It was beautiful. I wanted to see the other side of the shore though, so I climbed up onto some of the jagged rocks; they jutted out from most of the island, and I figured from here I'd get a great view of what was on the other side of the coast. Stepping out onto the furthest-out rock, I put my hands over my brow, blocking the sun while I looked around the shoreline. More sand, a nice bit of trees and other plants, more beautiful water, some cliffs.... wait a second.

Peering closer, I was certain I saw something on top of that cliff. Was that.... a building?

"Ms. Knight, are we boring you?"

.... Uh-oh. Suddenly it doesn't feel so warm out here. It feels more like..... biology class. Woops. I awoke to the snickers of some of the other students. Lifting my head, I looked around, saddened to see that I was not, in fact, on a beach, but instead, I was in my biology class. And Mr. Brayder was not as amused as my fellow students were by my mid-class snooze.

"Uhh, s-sorry, Mr. B..... didn't get much sleep last night." I said, rubbing my eyes and blushing a bit at all the snickers. Jerks. We'll see if I give them any help with the homework when they ask for it. Looking around, I caught Damian chuckling with the others, giving me a thumbs up. Well, ok, D was cool. I stuck my tongue out at him a bit, smiling.

"Nice of you to join us, Anna. I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from dozing off in the middle of my class in the future. Try going to bed earlier, perhaps?" Mr Brayder said, smiling a bit. I smiled back, giving a small nod before going back to my notes; there was a reason Mr. B was my favorite teacher.

-------------------------

I followed along closely as Mr. B talked the rest of the period. He was explaining to us what a haploid number was when the bell rang.

"Ok, class is dismissed. Have a good day, everyone! And Anna, may I speak to you for a minute?"

I sighed, giving Damian a nod to go on without me before gathering my things and walking up to talk to Mr. B. He waited for the class to empty out before he spoke.

"Is everything ok Anna? You've seemed more tired in class than usual. Everything ok at home?"

I nodded sleepily, still a bit out of it. "Oh, yeah, everything's fine. Just having trouble getting to sleep lately...."

Mr. B nodded. "Ah, ok then. Take it easy, try to get more sleep, ok? And don't fall asleep in my class again. I'd prefer to not have to give a good student like yourself a detention for something so silly."

I smiled. "I'll try. Have a good day, Mr. B!"

"Have a good one!"

I walked out of the room with a bit of bounce in my step, in a good mood all of a sudden.

"Hey, wait up!"

I stopped and turned, smiling at Damian. He must have been waiting outside the room while I talked to Mr. B.

"Heya! You didn't have to wait."

Damian shrugged, grinning. "Ehh, I needed someone to walk to class with. So, what was that about you not getting sleep? You're not still having those dreams, are you?"

I sighed, nodding as I rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, I'm gettin' them more 'n' more now. Happened when I dozed off in Mr. B's class, too...."

Damian nodded. "Do you remember what happened in it? I'm no psychologist, but maybe I can analyze your dream and pretend to be?"

I chuckled, shaking my head, "Nope. Nothin' significant anyways. In this last one I woke up on the beach of one of Talos' smaller islands I think. I was just walkin' around a bit, and then Mr. B woke me up..."

Damian chuckled, "Damn, sounds like a rude awakening. One minute, you're walking along the beaches in Talos, the next, you've got Mr. Brayder callin' you out in front of the class."

I shrugged, snickering as we reached our next class: English with Sister Moltar. If it takes a special kind of person to ruin what was normally my favorite subject, then Sister Mary Moltar must have been really special. Sighing, I leaned against the wall outside the classroom, smiling weakly at Damian.

"Promise you'll fight Mary off if she goes after me for dozing off in her class?"

"I don't know, Moltar's pretty scary. I think she works out, too.... you might be on your own with this one." Damian said, grinning.

I smirked, elbowing Damian. "Good to know I can count on you, D."

"Hey, I'm here to help!"

[Annamarie]

I guess everybody has those things that they always say they'll never do. Some people who're afraid of heights say they'll never go bungee jumping, some people who're picky eaters will never try certain foods, et cetera et cetera. I guess that thing for me was that I'd never see a shrink. No matter how crazy I thought I was, its just one of those things I'd never let myself do. My mom says its because I have a problem admitting that I have problems, and that I need help sometimes, but I think its just because I don't like the idea of talking to someone, knowing that every little thing I say is being analyzed and nitpicked and criticized. I mean, I've gotta at least trust the person I'm telling my deepest, darkest secrets and such to. And shrinks seem like they're always creepy old guys, and, c'mon, who trusts those guys?

So here I am outside Valerie the shrink's office. Well, ok, technically she's a school counselor, but, c'mon, she's a shrink. I'm gonna go in there, and she's gonna pry me for whatever she wants to hear, until she can make up some inaccurate diagnosis hoping that I'll be amazed at how well she can read me, just so I'll start coming back every week and feeding that little power hunger they all have. Oh well, I did promise him I'd do this. And at least she's not creepy and old.

I hesitated just one more second before knocking on the office door, which was promptly answered by my hostess for the next hour. She smiled as she greeted me, flipping threw a stack of papers in her hands; she was looking for something. We exchanged the usual formalities, though I really wasn't much in the mood. Nevertheless, I smiled and nodded a little to emphatically, trying my best to seem happy to be there. I mean, just because I'd rather stick a water-wrapped finger in an electrical socket than sit here for the next hour didn't mean I wanted to make her feel bad. S'not her fault she chose a profession that left the kids she talked to feeling drained and hopeless. She motioned for me to follow her, somehow maintaining that big grin she'd had on her face when she first opened the door. She led me to her desk, and I sat opposite her as she shuffled through some more papers on her desk. After, like, 10 awkward minutes of her riffling through her drawers and papers, and me just sitting there, it looked like she finally got herself together.

"So, Anna, what is it you're here for?"

I told her how Bran recommended I talk to her. He said she had a knack for helping people discover things about themselves, or something like that, and her smile grew a little bigger; I'm sure she liked hearing that she'd had some effect on students in the past. She leaned back in her shrink chair, getting comfortable with a pencil in one hand and a sketchpad in the other, poised to draw. I've heard about this; how she can kinda tell you things about yourself through the crazy stuff she draws. I'm half-expecting to see some poorly drawn fish and a sailboat on there. Maybe a pineapple too, if she wants to get really cliche.

"Oh, alright. Well, why did he tell you to come here? Do you have anything you'd like to talk about?"

I just shrugged at that, shaking my head. I didn't mean to give her a hard time, but I was being honest; there wasn't anything I'd like to talk about. She dealt with it well enough though. She just nodded and smiled. I sighed, running my hand through my hair.... ok. So I wasn't trying that hard to look like I wanted to be here. Sue me.

"Well, alright then. How about you start by telling me a little about yourself? Anything you'd like."

I gave her the usual stuff. I'm originally from Hawaii. My mom and I moved here at the start of the school year, after my powers had developed. I haven't seen my dad since I was 7. I love the beach, I love to play most sports. My favorite school subjects are English and History.... and I shrugged as if to end my short backstory, unsure of what else she wanted.

"How about we talk about your dad. Why haven't you seen him in so long?"

Let the prying begin. I really hate telling all this. It always ends with 'aww's, or 'oh my god, I'm so sorry's. I don't tell it for pity. He went out with his fellow crew on their cargo ship in May a few years back. It never returned to port, and hasn't been seen since. There's not much to it, he's gone, nothing to dwell over, let's move on, eh?

She nodded sympathetically, expression becoming serious and grim; I'm used to that look. Her hand was moving back and forth on that pad of hers, but I couldn't see what she was doing.

"You said you haven't seen him since you were 7, like he just up and left you. Do you think its possible he's still alive somewhere?"

I shook my head. I felt like it should have been accompanied by a 'don't be stupid' expression, but she hadn't proven to be anything worse than a shrink yet, so I'm not sure she'd earned it. Nah, I accept that he's gone. But I don't like to talk about it like that. He was always a positive person, so I'm not sure he'd want me to dwell on it so much.

She smiled brightly, nodding. "That's a great attitude to take. It always helps to stay positive."

Her hand moved a bit more frantically as she drew. She wasn't even looking at what she was drawing; she just stared at me, eyes big and kinda vacant, but her hand kept moving. I wanted to see...

"Tell me about your powers, Anna. I mean, do you like them, hate them... where they come from, et cetera...."

Well, that was a weird question. I guess I like them? I mean, if I had to choose what powers I had, these would totally be close to the top of the list. They're just never something that took a lot of growing into on my part, I guess. Once I had them, and that whole dehydration ting was gone.... it just felt kinda right? I still can't use 'em right all the time. I still don't even really know my own limits. But it still feels great when I actually use them; its like, the most relieving thing to me. Whatever stress I'm feeling that day, if I can just get to the beach or something...yeah. But I didn't tell her all that. Just enough to answer her question. She nodded, thinking I guess. She didn't look at her sketchpad though. And her hand just kept moving..... I wanted to see. I leaned forward, trying to peer around her, accompanying all this with a quiet, curious statement of intent. She didn't like all that too much, I guess. She pressed the pad to her chest, smirking and nodding for me to sit back down.

"No, you're gonna see it when I and the rest of the students get to see their drawings. When they're finished. We've still got a good half hour before we're done here...."

Great.

To be continued...