SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania (16 page)

I had to nod in agreement. Fortune wasn’t the guy who hesitated to get rid of a problem if he knew where to find them. Now the question was, if Fortune couldn’t see me, what did we do about it?

You have to tell them
, a tiny voice in my head yelled.
You’re making plans to fight the wrong gift and you’ll die! Tell them about the blue lightning!

But I couldn’t do it. My mouth seemed to seal itself shut, fear making me unable to tell the whole truth. Not with the very real possibility that one or both of them could spill Fortune’s secret to someone and risk my entire family. If Fortune caught even one whiff of gossip and went after the source, it was all over for me.
 

“I’ll tell our dad. Maybe he’ll recognize Fortune’s patterns when we tell him about the Seer thing. That could help a lot,” Cole said.
 

“Your dad’s gifted?” I asked.

“Gifts are hereditary. He’s a Timekeeper, too, and knows lots about gifts. He can help us.” I didn’t miss the pride in Cole’s voice as he spoke of his father, nor did I miss Penelope’s eye roll.
 

Before I could comment, my bag vibrated. I retrieved my cell phone to find a text from Henry:
Ur not home? Surprise 4 u.

I responded:
Home in 10.

Pushing the glass of my ice cream treat to Cole, I got out of the booth and grabbed my bag. “Gotta go—Henry’s at my house.”

“I’ll walk you,” Cole said, getting to his feet. Penelope tried to drink the rest of her shake and gulped it down. She winced as she got up.
 

“Brain freeze. Ow,” she grumbled. The silverware and glasses on all the tables rattled from her headache as we ducked out.

When we reached my house, Henry was sitting on the front porch. He waved in greeting but as we walked up, I could see his surprise. I hadn’t hung out with anyone but him since the spring.
 

“Hi,” I said. “We were having a milkshake at Pop’s.”
 

“Cool,” he said without any hint of suspicion. “Nova, I have something for you.”

“That’s why I rushed home. What’s up?”

He got to his feet and we all stood on my porch. Cole stayed in the background, while Penelope leaned against the railing, chin on propped hand, clearly listening to every word.

Henry pulled a rolled up newspaper from his back pocket. “I have this week’s edition of the Gazette. It comes out tomorrow.”

“And?”

He snapped it apart to reveal the front page: a picture of me, looking up at Andy Vicker. I winced at the unflattering photo that showed my shirt half twisted up around me; my butt seemed unusually large and my expression looked somewhere between a blink and a sneeze. That wouldn’t win me any cute points. Above the photo a headline read “SuperNova Saves the Day” with an article below.
 

“I figured out my front-page story,” Henry said.
 

His chest puffed up and I restrained myself from punching Henry’s nose clean off his face.
Bet I could do it, too.
 

“Where on earth did you get that photo?” I asked.

“Ashley Donovan snapped it with her cell phone. She texted it to me after I asked around for witnesses. It’s not your best side, but you get the idea.”

“Why did you do this?” The horror in my voice must have matched my face.
 

His broad grin faded. Confusion and disappointment replaced his excitement. “What do you mean? You’re a hero! Everyone thinks so.”

“No, they don’t. They think I’m some freak, another one of ‘Andy’s stalkers.’ They all think I’m nuts since my sister died.”

Henry gaped at me. “Nova, you need to read the article. I don’t know what you’re smoking, but that’s pretty much the opposite of what’s happening.”

“‘SuperNova?’” I asked, the anger clear in my voice. I slapped the paper back to him, against his chest. The motion send Henry’s hair flapping as I barked at him. “I told you that was a Starling nickname—”

“I know, and I’m really sorry about that,” Henry said, clearly anticipating this error. “The advisor thought it sounded better than the one I wrote; he did it without my consent.”
 

“Sorta like you did this entire article without mine?” I spat out.
 

Henry had the decency to look guilty, remorse clear. “I didn’t see it that way when I wrote it. I thought it would help your…situation. Will you please read it first?”
 

He motioned for me to sit on the steps with him. Cole and Penelope also sat Indian-style behind us, remaining silent. I didn’t care that they were here. When I thought about it, I wanted them to stay, really. They knew what I was and could possibly help me figure out
who
I was.
 

Henry handed me the paper and I read his words aloud:
 

Many of us talk or dream of heroic acts, but few ever get to actually witness it. Several students on Tuesday afternoon, however, were lucky enough to see it happen right in front of them (including yours truly). The corner of 12
^th
and Jennings Avenue behind our school (where school property connects to the neighborhoods) is often discussed when complaining about safety hazards. Many of us know firsthand how dangerous it can be to get across the road during heavy traffic (it’s like playing Frogger with a backpack).

Star athlete Andy Vicker went to cross the street Tuesday afternoon just like any other day. However, he didn’t see the car coming his way as he walked right in its path. The driver, admittedly distracted on her cell phone, lost control of her SUV when she saw Andy standing in the road, slamming on her brakes and careening straight for him.

Fifteen witnesses saw Nova Benson dart into the street and push Andy out of the road. He went flying, tumbling onto the pavement (though later to be found completely uninjured) while she turned and braced herself for the car’s impact.
 

“It was incredible,” said Lila Evans, junior. “My friends and I were waiting to cross and suddenly heard brakes screeching. When we looked, we saw Nova shove Andy out of the way. She saved his life.”

After Nova got Andy out of the way, the driver hit the brakes in time. Miraculously, Nova came out without a scratch.
 

“When the car hit her, I thought she was done for. They’re both lucky if you ask me,” said Ashley Donovan, sophomore.

Andy Vicker would sure like to express his gratitude:“I can’t thank Nova enough. I don’t think I’d be alive right now if it wasn’t for her; at the very least I’d be badly hurt. I owe her everything, but maybe I can start by taking her out to dinner.”

Just goes to show ya, kids: Don’t text and drive. And if you need any saving in the future, let’s hope our very own Nova Benson is around to help out. Next time you see her in the hallways, do yourself a favor and say hello. She might just save your life.
 

I lowered the paper, looked at Henry in shock. “I can’t believe you wrote this.”

He sighed at my reaction. “Yeah, I did. I thought you’d be excited or grateful or
something
. Not pissed off. I thought being popular and getting Andy’s attention was everything you wanted, like before. This is guaranteed to get you there. Andy wanted me to tell you he was serious about that dinner, by the way.”

I became uncomfortably aware of Cole and Penelope behind us and I cleared my throat. “Maybe that’s what I wanted last year, Henry, but not anymore.”

“Why not?” he demanded to know. “I mean, I know after everything that happened last spring, some things changed, but I thought this would help get you back into the swing of things! Everyone’s talking about what happened. I just managed to spin it in a good light.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. My eyes narrowed. “You think if it weren’t for your help, they’d think I was a freak?”

Henry’s mouth dropped open. “What? No, of course not! I mean…” he trailed off, searching the sky for an answer. “I want people to know the real you. I’m sorry, Nova, I guess I didn’t think it through. I thought you’d be happy.”

My heart dropped at the words, at my best friend’s good but ridiculous intentions. Henry had meant well. He’d done a stupid thing, but his heart had been in the right place. I couldn’t fault him for that.
 

“It’s too late to put something else in its place, isn’t it?” I asked. When Henry nodded, I sighed in a resigned way. “All right. If people are going to talk about it, I’d much rather them think I’m a hero than some puddle of sad girl. I’m so tired of everyone waiting for me to snap.”

“I know. It’s kinda why I thought it would be a good thing. I should’ve asked first and I really am sorry,” Henry said. We shared a smile and Penelope sniffed in a haughty way.
 

“You two get along much better than Cole and I do when we fight,” she said. She stood up, motioning to Cole to join her. She was ready to go, therefore they had to leave. I would have to be careful not to refer to her as Princess Penelope.

Henry and I both stood up, too. “Keep the paper,” he said to me. “I’ll see you in the morning; we’ll walk in together so you don’t wuss out on me and hide all day.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. He knew me too well; I’d already considered it a moment ago. The three of them stepped off the porch and turned to me.
 

“You owe me one, Henry.” His hair flopped into his eyes with his emphatic nod. I addressed the siblings. “And thanks for the company tonight, guys. It was…fun getting milkshakes with you.”
 

Cole and I shared a look. I shook my head a little in an effort to tell him not to tell Henry anything. He’d given me a slight nod, so I hoped we weren’t secretly agreeing to different things. I was almost worried to let Henry and Cole spend time together alone, afraid that Cole might let slip our secrets to Henry “I Love Big News” Wheeler.
 

We all said our goodnights and the three of them walked away. Knots in my stomach formed as I thought about everyone reading tomorrow’s front page.
 

I took a long, hot shower, unable to sleep after what I’d learned. When I finally dozed off, I had nightmares of Fortune, standing in the school’s hallway and laughing at the newspaper in his hands. Three fitful hours later, when my alarm went off for school, I accidentally crushed the clock in my bare hand.
 

“Ugh, not another one,” I mumbled.
 

I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. Bleary-eyed and grumpy, I sighed as I untangled the knots in my bedhead.
 

“Last night had to be a dream,” I mumbled to my reflection as I washed my face. “There is no way some race of people with superpowers are running around the world.”
 

And I hadn’t possibly been saved by Penelope and Cole, only to discover I was some sort of freak.
Right?

As I got up and ready for the day, questions swirled in my head so fast I could barely keep up. How was it possible that gifted people hadn’t been exposed to humans? Fortune had to be gifted, but didn’t that make him even more dangerous? How was I one of them?
And why is none of this on the Internet?

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded. I must’ve hit my head when that attacker last night threw me across the building. I imagined his speed. I had to have; what kind of freak show was I if all of this was real? I couldn’t have possibly agreed to let Cole and Penelope help me fight Fortune.
 

Gifted. No way.
 

Head still spinning, I absentmindedly shoveled pieces of breakfast pastry into my mouth as I shuffled to school. I’d nearly managed to convince myself that I’d imagined the whole thing when the Warners found me a block over. Cole’s hand went up in a small wave before he jammed it back into his front pocket, his expression unreadable.
 

I didn’t dream it.
 

My stomach turned, breakfast now forgotten. I shoved the remainder in a nearby trash can, speeding up to cross the road and get to school. The siblings made a beeline for me, Cole’s amber eyes not leaving me. Penelope, as usual, had her giant porcelain doll eyes on everything else.