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Two
I rushinto the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. Carrie’s assessment is on the freaking nose. Something really weird is happening to me, and I don’t know what to do about it.
I pull my phone out of my bag, considering a text to my dad. He’ll be at work, but I can call if it’s an emergency. I think through a few ways to explain what’s going on, but they all end up sounding like,Hey, Dad, just thought you should know I puked up blood and grew four inches overnight.
Then there’s Abby. But she’s away at a conference, and we aren’t that close. I can’t talk to her about personal things.
Lastly, there’s my mum.
Well, that’s complicated.
That leaves the emergency services, but this isn’t really an emergency. Overnight growth spurts aside, I feel healthier and stronger than ever. Which is not going to go down well with a group of overworked doctors and nurses.
I give up.The best thing I can do is go to English Lit, talk aboutWuthering Heights, and try to forget all this weird shit.
After drying my face, I head to class. English is one of my favourite subjects, and I’m enjoying the book, toxic characters and all. Carrie gives me a little wave from the back of the classroom, and I join her there.
My heart beats hard as Mrs Clarke talks about Heathcliff and how he went away to transform himself.You and me both, Heathy-boy.Except my transformation took a lot less time. Somehow, I became a whole new person overnight.
The hour goes by in a blur, then it’s time for lunch. It couldn’t come soon enough. I’m relieved to leave the stuffy classroom for a while.
“Are you okay?” Carrie asks as we take packaged tuna sandwiches out to the playing fields.
It’s a big question, considering everything that’s going on.
I let out a long breath, releasing some of the tightness in my chest. “Honestly, I don’t know,” I admit. “What if there’s something wrong with me?”
We make our way to a free area, where Carrie presses her hand on the grass to test for wet patches. Then we flop down. All around us, kids laugh and play sports and eat, most of them in the classic black-and-white St James’ Prep uniform. I envy them for a moment. None of them woke up the way I did.
My stomach growls, diverting my attention to the tuna sandwich. The growth spurt really kicked my hunger up a notch. Still, I find the sandwich unappetising.
“I think you need to talk to someone. A doctor or your dad. Look, there’s other things it could be. Like…” Carrie trails off, glancing behind her. “Did I ever tell you what happened to my cousin? He woke up with a tail.”
“A what now?”
“A tail!”
“Okay, Carrie, you need to explain how that’s possible.”
Her expression changes, and I swear she’s pitying me, which is the worst feeling ever. Her eyes are all big like a puppy dog’s, and she lets out a soft sigh. “He wasn’t human, Kira. He was an aura.”
Every part of my body goes freezing cold. “That’s not possible. There are only about a dozen auras per year. In the UK anyway. And don’t they come from a long line of them or something?”
She nods. “I know. But look at you. You’re taller, your hair is lusher, your eyes are brighter. There isn’t a single spot on your face. And you said yourself that you threw up blood. None of that is normal.”
A sudden tide of anger crashes through my veins. I get up onto my feet, brushing grass away. “It’s not possible. I can’t be an aura. I can’t. I’m just a regular girl.”
“Kira—” Carrie begins.
But I lift a hand and back away. The tuna sandwich ends up discarded on the ground. As I’m storming off the playing fields, a football lands in front of me, and some guy with curly hair raises his hand, asking me to pass it back. All my anger and frustration rushes out in that moment, and I belt it. The ball goes flying, hitting the boy squarely in the chest and knocking him clean off his feet.
I gasp. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I run over. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”
“What the fuck was that?” the boy mutters as he lifts himself to his feet and coughs. Then he looks at me, and I’ll never forget the utter terror in his eyes.
He’s afraid ofme. Because I’m a freak.
I back away, eyes scanning the playing fields as every single head turn towards me. They all must know what I am. They must sense it.
