Hours faded by without notice. She had stayed up until almost three in the morning, talking to Tyson who was her only friend conscious at that hour. Tyson asked to change their nine o’clock breakfast the next morning to ten when she suddenly realized that it was so late, and she replied with a quick “sure” and “goodnight” before falling asleep.
Katie didn’t mention anything to her friends about… whatever it was that had happened. Not yet, anyway. It killed her to keep it from her them, but she wasn’t sure how people would respond. She wasn’t even sure how she should respond. But she needed to tell someone or she might explode. She decided she was going to tell Tyson and Emily after graduation. They were her two best friends, after all.
She quickly dressed, taking care of what she was wearing and went down to the kitchen. Both her parents were there eating breakfast.
Something brushed against Katie’s leg. It was her cat, christened “Kitty” for reasons lost in lack of sleep and ingenuity when she was born. Katie bent down to scratch Kitty’s ears, but Kitty clawed Katie, hissed and stalked away, leaving a shallow scratch on Katie’s hand.
“Ow!” she exclaimed and examined her hand. The cut was bleeding just slightly, but as Katie looked at her hand, it quickly sealed itself.
“I warned you last night,” Natasha said in a playful voice. “She’s in a scratching mood.” Katie’s mom finished and then added, changing the subject, “Did you sleep well?”
“Oddly enough, I did,” Katie replied and walked up behind her mom who was seated at the table.
She smiled and stole a bite out of her dad’s toasted bread with peanut butter. “Is it normal that my hand healed so fast after Kitty clawed at me?” She looked at her hand again, then down to the floor where Kitty was looking up at her, licking her mouth with innocent wide eyes. There was no sign, except for a thin line of dried blood, that her cat had even touched Katie. “I saw my skin heal over the cut.”
“And now you know why you’ve never scarred, even after your surgery for your appendix,” John said.
Katie wanted to remark about having a model body which, even though her parents might appreciate, it wouldn’t be as much fun as doing it with her friends.
“You may evolve as you grow up,” Natasha said.
Katie raised an eyebrow. “You mean I will grow more?” she asked. Katie was already one of the taller students in her school and she could get an alcoholic drink whenever she wanted without being asked for an ID, though, she thought that may not be due entirely to her height.
“I mean, get older,” Natasha said.
“What a relief,” Katie exclaimed. “I’m going to get older than I am now!”
“No, that’s not what I meant—”
“Your mother means that now that you’re aware of your capabilities, you may find them developing more quickly than before,” John interjected.
“Okay, I guess that makes sense,” Katie said reluctantly.
Katie glanced at her watch suddenly and said, “I should get going. Tyson and I are going to meet for breakfast. I don’t want to be late.”
“I like Tyson,” Natasha commented without the slightest trace of guilt on her face. She took a bite of cereal, caught Katie’s eye for a second and quickly looked away.
“Yeah, I like him too,” Katie said with a straight face. “That’s why he’s my friend.”
“If you say so,” Natasha said.
“We love you, Katie,” John called out as Katie started walking away.
“Love you guys, too!” Katie replied as she got into the elevator.
“Oh, Katie!” John shouted.
“Yes?” Katie called back, sticking her arm out to stop the elevator door from closing.
“We won’t be at your graduation,” John said.
Katie quickly walked back to the kitchen. “What? You’re joking! There’s no way you two are not going. I’m graduating from high school. Of course you two are coming.”
Natasha shook her head. “Katie, there is a reason we told you what we did last night. Something is going to happen, and we have to be ready when it does. There are things hidden in our home that don’t belong here and if they were to fall into the wrong hands, you would not be safe.”
“What things?” Katie asked.
“We can’t tell you,” John said.
“What, you guys don’t trust me?” Katie accused.
“No, it’s not that,” Natasha answered. “There’s just too much to explain, and you’re not ready to know yet.”
Katie sighed. “Fine, but after this, no more secrets. When I get home, you explain everything.”
“In due time,” Natasha said, her once casual smile growing strained.
“You guys are freaking me out,” Katie said. She started to walk away but turned and hugged them both tightly instead. She held them for a long moment. “I’ll see you after graduation. And you’ll explain everything.” She then left before the emotion could grow any fuller inside of her and risk breaking out.
John and Natasha exchanged looks, in the same ominous way they had been recently. “I feel bad about it,” Natasha told her husband.
“I do too. But we have to let things play out as they do. Otherwise, she’ll never have a chance,” John replied.
“And there’s no other way?” Natasha asked.
“It’s us or her,” John said. “And there isn’t a question of who we would choose.”
Natasha nodded and looked at the floor, her eyes beginning to water.
“She’ll be fine,” John promised.
Katie made her way to the restaurant where she and Tyson had planned to meet. When she got there, she noticed that there were many students from her school there. She greeted a few and gave
