Saint Joseph School

"Ten seconds. You're not even trying." Coach Waters' voice was firm, and obviously disappointed.

Elizabeth gave him her best put-upon sigh. "Y'know, that's like... a kilometer in just over a minute and a half. Some people would be impressed by that."

He shook his head. "If that was as fast as you could go, I would be. But you know better. I know better."

She took a moment to catch her breath. Twenty tries was apparently not enough to make him give up. Then again, she was the one running. "I want to be done. Tell me how fast to go. Then let me leave. 'Kay?"

He sighed. "Look. I know you don't like it here. I know you don't like having a power. A lot of kids who come here are the same way. Some of them get over it, and some of them don't. I just want you to try your hardest. However you end up, you got there because you got wanted to get there."

She grumbled. She pouted. She argued. "Fiiine. I'll try. Once. Then can I go?"

Waters nodded. "If you're trying, this will be the last one." He clicked the stopwatch.

Elizabeth broke into a run. It felt sluggish at first. She'd taken a few minutes to rest, catch her breath. It felt like seconds before her first foot touched the ground after springing toward the opposite wall. The let out a quiet growl of irritation and slammed her foot against the floor, trying to build up as much speed as possible. Another step. Then another. Then everything snapped back, and she was at the other wall.

Beep

Coach waters chuckled. "That would've started the time, but nice work. Zero seconds is the time to beat next time."

Elizabeth stared at him. "W-what?"

He held up the stopwatch, which was running. It was a joke, obviously. He'd just clicked it over quick so he could hit it when she got to the wall. "See you tomorrow." And then he left. Just like that.

Elizabeth went to move, then paused. She was freezing. She looked herself over. There was frost on her skin. She brushed at it, and flakes of ice drifted to the ground, melting as she watched. For the briefest instant, she marveled at something she was almost certain she'd done all on her own. Then loathing set in.

Still...

She held out a hand, squinting at it, trying to slow everything down. Water droplets fell into her palm, pooled in the palm of her hand, then slowly froze over. She shivered at the cold, turning her hand over. A small, round block of ice fell to the ground, shattered, and melted rapidly, the water dissipating back into the air more quickly than it had any right to.

"Huh!" Then she sighed, realizing the coach had probably just won on some level, and left the bunker.

Thunk. The board shifted a bit as the blade of a slender knife sank home.

Elizabeth sighed, trying to alter her aim from a prone state. Stupid coach. Stupid powers. Stupid everything. It was afternoon. Apparently most of the school either had detention or did something else. Or were hiding. Thunk.

She looked at the board again. It was a flat, mostly-square piece of plywood she'd snagged at a hardware store. She'd thought about putting something on it, like a picture, but decided she didn't want to spend her afternoons in the counselors' office. That and she wasn't really sure what she'd put up there anyway.

She adjusted her aim a bit back the other way. Billi said I was a natural. Everybody else was really nice. Everybody else -is- really nice. Even the coach. And they'd seen her do things, and hadn't cared. Consciously, she'd figured that was about how it would go. They had powers too, after all. She'd hit Calvin on the head a few times, but he didn't seem to care. Thunk. He had that... coating of stuff to protect him anyway.

Maybe they'll think Billi did all of it. Or... most of it. Probably not when I was punching people, but maybe the rest of it. It wasn't like I could've gotten that much ice together without her making everything super-humid anyway. So in that way, it was way more her than it was me so I shouldn't feel so bad about actually doing anything with it. Her attempt to free herself from irritation at having acknowledged her condition as much as she had fell flat. She sighed, looking up at the board, adjusting her aim a little farther to the left.

Thunk. Knock-knock. Elizabeth looked at the door, then got out of bed.

"Hell...oh it's you." Coach Waters was out in the hallway, along with a nun Elizabeth didn't recognize.

Waters offered his usual smile. "You don't make yourself easy to get ahold of." She'd turned her phone to silent intentionally so no one could reach her, and left her communicator off.

"I wanted to be left alone." She tried to manage a stare, but there was a seriousness to the visit that left her feeling more than a little nervous.

He started to say something, then caught sight of the target and the knives. "Those are a problem. We can't allow weapons on campus." Elizabeth blinked at him, then followed his gaze.

"Um, those aren't weapons. They're for target practice. If I wanted to hurt somebody I'd punch 'em."

Waters nodded. "I understand, but the rules are the rules. We'll have them sent home, but they can't stay here."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, then sighed. "Fine. So... that isn't why you're here. Why are you here?"

"I heard you went out with some of the other students. I'm happy for you. I hope you had a good time. I wanted to check in and see how you were feeling."

Elizabeth sighed, feeling her face go red with a mix of embarassment at being caught and anger at herself for giving the coach any reason to believe she would ever be happy here. "I didn't really want to. It just seemed like it was going to be more fun than staying at home wishing I was anywhere but here." Coach Waters' eyebrows went up a bit. She took a slow breath, feeling a knot in her stomach as she forced herself to keep on. "Look um... You can check in all you want, and make me figure out ways to do things with this horrible accident, but you can't make me stop wishing I didn't have it, and you can't make me stop wishing it would go away, and you can't make me happy I'm here." It took effort to hold back tears. It took more effort when Waters' expression softened.

He nodded after a moment. "You've got a point. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop trying to help you keep from hurting anyone with it. You don't have to like it. But I won't try to make you miserable, or make you do anything I don't think will help... and you don't take it out on me. We got a deal?"

Elizabeth scrunched up her nose, suddenly feeling guilty. She knew it wasn't Waters' fault. She knew she didn't really have anyone to blame for anything, except maybe her parents. And she really shouldn't take it out on him if he was just trying to help. "'kay."

Waters held out a hand. Elizabeth hesitated, then shook it. "Good." Waters' smile returned. "You're feeling alright? No odd side effects of using your power?" Elizabeth nodded at the first question, shook her head at the second. "I'm glad. Then I'll see you tomorrow morning." He turned, nodded to the nun, and the two walked off. Elizabeth closed the door, wiping the beginning of tears out of her eyes.

She stared at the target for a moment, then got back into bed. Her science textbook lay open. It had been largely ignored once she started thinking about her power and what it had done when she was out. Her first final exam of high school was coming up, and she just couldn't concentrate.

She grumbled quietly to herself. "Stupid school. Stupid power. Stupid nuns. Stupid temp housing. Stupid rules. Stupid coach making me do things with something I hate." She looked at the board, at the many spots where knives had sank in and torn the wood open. She grumbled again, and felt her power respond, slowing down the water in the air, letting it flow into a liquid, vaguely shaping it as it formed into a solid, wanting a knife. Ice landed gently in her hand, and she threw it. It spun in the air, glittering in the light. It wasn't perfect, but it was close enough to a knife that the balance wasn't too bad, and there was a clear handle and blade. Crunch.

She blinked as shards of the ice scattered in every direction, her power losing its hold over them. They dispersed into the air, sublimating completely before they landed. Frost formed over the surface of the board, dissipating more slowly. The room, which felt very dry when she'd pulled the water out of the air, began to feel slightly humid over the next several seconds.

She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, and never wanted to, but she couldn't help but think it even as she hated herself for it. That's... really cool.