A- Villain

Chapter 7 - Yes, Becky, we have to

I tried singing random songs in my head to get dad to stop listening in on my thoughts. I know he hates pop music, so that's what I keep humming along to. He doesn't seem fazed. Maybe he's stopped listening.

"Just so you know, Beck, singing old Taylor Swift songs in your head will not make me go away."

Shoot.

I clear my throat. "Emily is just a friend I've made in psych. She's been tutoring me. Now can you please get out of my head?" I beg. I don't want to have to keep a mental guard up for the rest of my stay.

"Sure thing bud." Dad sucks in a deep breath, and I realize I've shut him out. I used to come to him about anything and everything. The man isn't afraid to talk about any subject; life, death, love, girls, money, education, you name it. Now I know why he was so wise when it came to addressing my own problems - he could read my mind and assess the situation from there. I think it's cheating, but for a second I reconsider it as plain genius. Who wouldn't take advantage of that power?

"It's not cheating, it's... using my resources. Makes for good parenting." He assures himself with a nod of his head. I quirk an eyebrow.

He takes his hands off of the steering wheel to surrender, "Okay, okay! I'll turn it off now."

My younger cousins are fighting over who gets to play with the t-rex and eventually it gets thrown at my forehead. I just sigh because it was my dumb choice to sit in the middle of them in the third row seat of the minivan. What can I say? I wanted a chance at the t-rex too.

My phone vibrates in my back pocket and I squirm around to dig it out. If it's Noah texting me about a date with Jessie, I'm going to go bonkers. I know Jessie is pretty, and I know she's crazy smart. Other than that, what does he see in her? Perhaps it's one of those scenarios where they don't want to cut the tie because they know too many secrets about each other.

Wait a second.

I could be onto something here. I know Jessie has powers, but I'm not exactly sure I've ever seen them in action. I've never been told what they were. Actually, as odd as it seems, we've never acknowledged each other's wristbands aloud.

When I finally pull out my phone, it's an email. Mentally, I groan because an email means school related business. It's the weekend - leave me alone! But when I see the subject line and who it's from, I immediately lock my phone again. I do not need anyone in my family to see this information. A mental note is made to check Dr. Hayes' email later, when I'm in the safety of my own room.

For the moment, I have to pretend like I didn't just receive information along with a death threat. I have to get it out of my head. If my dad dares to read my mind, he better not find a trace of my dark deal against Jenga.

***
Mom hasn't turned my room into a workout area yet, even though I've been out of the house for a year and a half. It's still a dark blue color on the walls, and mom always insisted I had a matching bed comforter. I should've known she was joking about remodeling. My parents would never re-do their only child's room.

At some point I know mom had to have put in some serious workout time in order to be a successful superhero back in the day. Now that I know who she was back in the day - Rapid Glare, the famous speedster - it makes sense why she's always run marathons. I smirk as I realize she didn't even need her super speed to win so many of them. You go, mom.

Hey, you're supposed to be mad at your parents, remember?

Oh. Yeah. But, I mean, should I really blame them? Yes, it was a huge secret, but I can see why they thought nothing of it.