The hotpot was one of the greatest inventions since the toaster and Pop Tarts, and Mina used hers almost daily. She found a cup that looked clean, wiped it out, carefully poured the hot water into the ceramic mug, and slowly added the teabag, stirring it around. Mina expected the water to turn a slight green or brown color from the color of the leaves; it didn’t. Gold seeped out of the tea bag, floating and shimmering across the top of the water reflecting the evening light.
Mina was scared to breathe, and watched as the flecks spun and twirled around the cup before slowly sinking to disappear under the water. The ceramic cup suddenly became too hot to hold. She almost dropped it but recovered quickly and put the cup down on her desk, rubbing her slightly burned palms on her jeans. The tea bag continued to steep, but the steam from the cup dissipated rapidly to be replaced by frost that slowly spread up the outside of the cup.
Mina pushed herself away from the desk and the cursed tea in shock. Her wheeled chair only made it a few feet before tangling in a pile of dirty clothes and tipping over, throwing her to the floor. She looked up, breathing heavily, and continued to half scoot, half crawl away from the aberrant phenomenon. When she reached her bed, she pulled her knees up to her chest and watched the cup warily. She was positive that at any moment it would shatter into a million pieces. When minutes passed and the cup continued to sit there unchanged, she decided to inspect it further.
She untangled the wheels of the chair from her jeans, damaging a favorite pair in the process, and sat back at the desk. Slowly she scooted forward, inch by inch, to inspect the cup. The frost was gone! Maybe she had imagined it. She grabbed a plastic spoon and stuck it into the cup, half expecting it to be melted into nothingness when she pulled it out. The spoon was fine. Confused, she sniffed the cup, and it smelled like normal Earl Grey tea.
A slight breeze made the papers on her desk shuffle, and Mina glanced at her bedroom window next to the desk and realized it was open. She reached over and shut the window. Maybe it was the sudden chill of wind on the hot tea that made condensation appear on the outside of the cup. Maybe it wasn’t frost at all; it very well could just be her overactive imagination.
Gathering her courage, she dipped one finger into the tea and brought it to her mouth to taste. The tea was slightly sweet with a hint of spice that lingered, odd because she hadn’t even added sugar or honey. After a moment of hesitation, she threw caution to the wind and decided to drink the tea. After all, Mrs. Wong would never ever give her something that would harm her. Maybe it was a quaint Asian home remedy or something.
The tea made Mina’s body relax; her eyelids became heavy. Yawning, she crawled onto her bed, being sure to put an extra pillow under her swollen ankle to keep it raised. She was hoping that she could take the air cast off soon, but the doctor had told her at least a week. It was only seven o’clock, but Mina couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She lost the fight and fell asleep.
***
“Mina, where are the crutches?” Nan asked as she put her purse and Chap Stick back into her locker. It was between school periods, and they had about two minutes to head to their next class.
“I woke up this morning and my ankle felt great. I saw no reason to try and get around anymore with those horrible crutches. In fact, I felt so great; I even rode my bike to school.” Mina grinned in triumph.
It was true. She woke up and there was zero swelling, and her ankle felt as good as new. She had even tested it by jumping, stretching, and running up and down the stairs to their apartment. It was a small miracle and blessing at once. Sara had tried to convince Mina to use the crutches per Dr. Martin’s orders, but she wouldn’t have it. Mina raced outside onto her red Schwinn bike and made it to school in record time. Even Mrs. Porter, her homeroom teacher, wouldn’t be able to give her a tardy slip today.
When Mina walked in she was surprised to see that Coach Potts, was at Mrs. Porter’s desk. It seemed that the old teacher had retired early and without notice, or that was what the rumor going around school was. Either way, she was gone and that meant no more detentions. Mina was ecstatic.
But the day went from great to worse because Jared still hadn’t appeared since her glimpse of him at the hospital. Normally, this wouldn’t worry Mina because she was kind of used to him showing up whenever he felt like it. She began to worry though when Ever, the girl with spiky hair, approached Mina after school.
“Psst, Gimp!” an irritated voice hissed at her from nowhere.
Mina had only heard one person ever call her a Gimp. She rolled her eyes and turned to see Ever motioning to her from the side of the school.
“What?” Mina asked annoyed. She walked the fifteen feet to the side of the brick building, and they turned the corner, out of the view of most of the students.
Ever’s short black hair looked as if it had barely been brushed. Her eyes looked wide with fright, and her eyeliner was smeared from crying. Today, she had forgone the skirt and uniform and wore black leggings and a plaid skirt with a denim jacket.