“Or else?” Miriam gloated. “What can a featherweight like you do, huh? You’re just as stupid as your mother.” She reached out and poked her finger into Aspen’s chest.
The anger building inside Aspen exploded as Miriam’s touch triggered a blast of energy so powerful that it frizzled her stepsister’s red curls and blew her right out of her stilettos. With a jolt, Miriam flew backward and hit the wall, her head connecting with the brick behind her with a loud thud. Aspen gasped as the girl’s eyes rolled back in her head and she slid down the wall in slow motion.
Sandy pushed her back. “Wait. Don’t touch her,” she cried.
“I didn’t,” she murmured to herself.
Sandy glanced around to make sure that no one had seen what had happened. Luckily there were no witnesses. The courtyard was empty since most of the students were already in class. She bent down and grasped Miriam’s chin in the palm of her hand. The girl was quiet for a moment, then groaned as she regained consciousness.
“Ow, my head hurts,” Miriam mumbled. “What happened?”
Sandy turned to Aspen and made a shushing motion, then crouched next to Miriam. “You tripped on your high heels and fell against the wall. You’ve hit your head. I think you’ve got a lump already.”
Miriam reached up to feel her head, grimacing as she touched a sore spot.
Picking up her stepsister’s shoes, Aspen slipped them back onto her feet. “These shoes are dangerous—you should try wearing something with a lower heel. Why don’t we take you to the nurse to get your head checked out? That bump is starting to grow.”
Miriam groaned and allowed Sandy to pull her up. Aspen was too scared to touch her, so she stood back and waited. Her stepsister wobbled unsteadily on the shoes and then took a few tentative steps forward.
The three girls walked slowly through the courtyard into the empty hallway and followed the signs to the school nurse’s office. Sandy knocked on the door and handed Miriam over to an older woman dressed in white. She led Miriam to a bed and thanked the girls for their help. Once she’d written down their class numbers, she pressed an intercom button and spoke to their teachers. Aspen and Sandy were excused for being late, and she shooed them out of the office.
Aspen’s eyes were huge and she breathed a sigh of relief as they left the room. “Oh my word, what did I do?”
Sandy laughed. “You should see your face. That look is priceless.”
“Stop it,” Aspen said with a giggle. “I thought I’d killed her. Did you see the way she flew through the air?” She straightened her green top and felt for the dream catcher, which was strangely hot.
“You don’t know your strength yet, Princess. I told you not to shock me. You’ll have to learn to control your power, otherwise we’re going to have fried students everywhere,” Sandy joked.
Aspen smiled broadly. “You’ll have to teach me tonight.” The two girls hugged each other outside of Sandy’s class.
“See you later,” Sandy whispered before she slipped inside her art classroom.
Dylan waited for Aspen as she rejoined her English class and grabbed her by the wrist as she sat down. Her heart thumped with pleasure. She wanted to ask him about the girl at her party, but she was too shaken after the incident with Miriam.
“What happened?” he whispered tersely, a deep crease appearing between his eyebrows.
“Nothing. Miriam just got a taste of her own medicine, that’s all.”
He ran a hand through his hair, and she wanted to reach up and push a wisp of hair out of his eyes.
“What did you do to her? I felt a disturbance but I couldn’t tell where it came from.”
“Nothing, she dug her finger in my chest and I blasted her without doing a thing. I didn’t lift my hand, I swear.”
Sitting back thoughtfully, his lips curled into a smile. “That’s interesting. I didn’t know you’d be so strong already. You’ve only been sixteen for a day.”
Aspen winked and gave him a big smile. “That’s what happens when you mess with me.”
Dylan laughed. He spent the rest of the day with her and carried her bag from class to class. When it was time to go home, he asked if they could walk instead of riding the bus.
Aspen was thrilled. She was comfortable in his company and didn’t want to spoil the mood by raising the topic of the red-haired girl at her party. They strolled along the pavement as other students made their way noisily around them.
“I’ve never seen your parents, do they go out often?”
Dylan scuffed a leaf on the pavement. “They aren’t home a lot. They’re busy, but Molly looks after the house, and me.”
“What do they look like?”
“Ah, same old Dream Walker looks. My dad has dark hair and my mom has fair hair. You know, the usual.” Without warning, he shouted, “Race you to the end of the street.”