She drums her fingers on her keyboard, lips pinched to the side as if she were considering what she wants to ask.
I decide to break the ice first. Might as well. I have a feeling we’ll sit here all day if I wait for her to ask something.
“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” I ask as I type the question.
Her brows pinch but lips part then close like she doesn’t know how to answer that. “I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”
“What?” My eyes slightly widen, and I turn to look at her, but still doesn’t move. “You’ve never thought about it? That’s going to change today. You have to pick one.”
Her brows stay pinched, indenting the faintest crease. “What’s the point? They’re not real, so it’s not like it matters.”
I grin. “It’s called imagination, Jos. Ever heard of it?”
She spins in her seat to face me, pinning me with an unamused expression. She could be shooting me daggers and I’d welcome it. I’d rather have her eyes on me than not. But only because it’s hard to get a read on her.
“All right, what would you pick?” she bounces my question back to me.
My grin broadens because it’s not something I need to think about. I’ve known since I was six. “Elemental control.”
She stares, perplexed. “What’s that?”
“Controlling and manipulating the elements like water, air, fire, and earth.”
“That’s a thing?”
The severely confused expression on her face is cute. “Of course it’s a thing. Just imagine how powerful I’d be if I had it. I’d be unstoppable.” And having the ability to control water would mean I wouldn’t be afraid of it.
Well, it’s not the water itself I’m afraid of, but swimming in the deep.
A memory, one I hadn’t thought about in a while, plays in my head as if the moment had just occurred a second ago. The reminder of that day sends my mind spiraling and my heart racing for a moment. That is until my attention shifts to Josie and it all subdues.
She cocks her head to the side, eyes searching mine as if she had noticed I had slipped into a dark place I’ve been avoiding. But she must’ve realized I caught on because her back straightens and she draws her eyes to her fingers covered in rings.
There’s so many of them, in different shapes and colors.
“So what would your superpower be?” I ask again.
Her knee bounces next to mine, but it’s brief, before she moves it away. “Invisibility, I guess. It’s probably not a good one, but it works.”
There’s a twinge of vulnerability that seeps with her words, despite how dry they are. She also sounds embarrassed, like she was trying to make a joke of it.
The thought unfurls annoyance in my head and slithers to my chest. I shouldn’t overanalyze, but something tells mesomeone fucked with her. They must’ve made fun of her, made her feel small or some kind of way to be like this.
I hope I never find them because I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold back if I do.
“You’re going to have to pick something else.”
She looks up at me again, earthy brown eyes a little angry, a little embarrassed. “Why?”
“Because I don’t think it’s working. I see you, Jos.”
The emotions in her eyes dissolve as she takes in my words and her lips part just a tad, but she doesn’t say anything. I know she’s reading through the lines, understanding what I said, what I meant.
“I’m just saying, to be invisible, your superpower has to work. So pick something else,” I say to fill the void.
She ponders over it, and I can tell she’s really thinking it through. Her lips are slightly pursed, fingers twirling the ring on her middle finger on the opposite hand, and her head is tipped to the side.
I smile, not sure if she realizes she’s doing it.
