Coral Campbell was still awake. It was midnight, and she was just about fed up with all the terrible dreams she was having. They wouldn’t stop. Some mornings she would wake up pale and shaking. For all her visits to the doctor, the situation seemed hopeless. Do the calming exercises Mom taught you, she told herself. Her parents were doing all they could to help her “get through this phase”, but it just wouldn’t work if they didn’t know her secret. Coral shuddered. The monsters, the ocean, Veronica… No, the exercises weren’t working tonight. Coral decided to call her friend Jamie, she always got calmer when he was talking on the phone. She grabbed the cell phone Mom got her for her 13th birthday and dialed in Jamie’s number. “Hello? Coral, is that you?” Jamie said through the phone. “Yes, Jamie, it’s always me,” she said. “Just checking… why are you calling this time?” Coral explained her situation. Jamie was sympathetic. “Sorry. So the doctor hasn’t helped any?” “No...,” she replied. “I - I see,” he yawned. “Oh! I’m sorry, did I wake you?” “No, it - it’s fine.” Coral could tell he was fighting the urge to fall asleep. She decided to end the call. “No, I’ll hang up.” Jamie was persistent. “It’s really-” *beep*, she hung up, because in fact, Coral had forgotten it was past midnight. Coral, you need to get a grip on your emotions! She climbed back into bed and put her face in her pillow, hoping to get back to sleep. ************************************************************************** Coral awoke to a loud ringing noise. It took her a moment to realize it was her alarm clock. “Ughhh,” she moaned; she did not feel like going to school - wait! It was Saturday; she got to stay home! Maybe she could convince Mom to let her go to the park by herself this time, then she could find her hiding place and play with her power. “Coral! You awake?” Mom was calling from the kitchen. “Nope!” she shouted back, as she always did. “Come down for breakfast, would ya?” “I’ll be right down, Mom!” Coral jumped out of bed and got dressed as fast as possible; Mom did not like to wait. She ran down the stairs and hopped into her chair. Her younger brother Thomas was already chewing away at a large waffle. “Hi, Coral,” Thomas said. “Sorry to break it to you, but… I ate your waffle already.” Coral made a face at her brother. “Jeez, I’m just joking,” he said. “Mom’s got it over there.” He was pointing at the counter where their mom stood. As she got her waffle, Mom gave her a pat on the head. “Where’s Dad?” Coral asked. “He left on his business trip last night, remember?” “Oh, yeah,” she replied dejectedly. Dad seemed to be away more than he was at home these days. Right when Coral sat down, her older sister Veronica (who she despised) stormed down the stairs. “You’re late for breakfast,” Mom scolded. “Whatever,” Veronica said, clearly in a bad mood, as she was most mornings. She plunked dramatically onto her chair. “Waffles again?” Veronica huffed. “We had them yesterday.” “But waffles are yummy,” replied Thomas, master of logic. “Also, these waffles are special because I helped make them.” “Well then these must be the best waffles ever,” Veronica said. “Probably.” Thomas replied solemnly, not realizing that Veronica was being sarcastic, he was only six, after all. Coral seized her chance to speak. “Mom, could I go to the park today?” “Well, I suppose I could drive you down this afternoon -” “No, I mean by myself.” “Oh... ,” Mom said slowly. “Well, I have a yoga class at 1:OO… Could you at least bring Thomas with you?” “What? No!” Coral sputtered. “He’ll ruin everything!” Mom raised her eyebrows. Coral could tell she was going to lose this fight. Thomas started whining. “That’s not fair! I want to go to the park!” It was time for desperate measures. “But Mooooom!” Coral whined. “Stop acting like you’re 5! You go with your brother or you don’t go at all and that’s final,” Mom shouted. Coral slumped down into her chair. “Fine,” she sighed. The argument was lost. After lunch - a fine meal of ham and cheese sandwiches - she grabbed Thomas’s wrist and dragged him out the front door. “Stop tugging on my wrist, Coral! It hurts,” he whined. “Do you want to come with me or not!” she snarled. Thomas was taken aback. “Yeah, but-” “Then stop complaining!” “OK, OK...” He was quiet for the rest of the trip. When they arrived at the park she told Thomas to play on the playground while she did “girl stuff.” It was a lie, but she was sure that he wouldn’t interrupt that. She made sure Thomas wasn’t following her, then she headed toward a row of thick brush and trees. She felt for the little opening, climbed through, and there was her damp clearing. It was wet from the previous times she had tested her secret power. Carefully, she peered over the brush. Nobody knew about this clearing except for her, and she intended to keep it that way.
Once she was sure there was nobody watching, she shot a large blast of water into the air, then shot another blast to separate the first one. Then she began her routine, imagining she was in a contest for special talents. “Bravo, bravo!” The judges were amazed. “Well, there’s no comparison! We declare Coralyss Rose Campbell winner of the contest!” Coral grinned. She closed her eyes and curtsied, her heart fluttering. In those moments, Coral was so happy. Then she felt a pang of sadness. I wish I could use my powers in public; it would help with my popularity SO much... She scolded herself for thinking like that. Coral sighed and took a deep breath; let the rain fall gently down on - rain? RAIN? She opened her eyes, and almost fell down in surprise. The the two blasts of water had multiplied into a mini rainstorm, which was rapidly increasing. What have I done? she thought miserably. She soon realized that she had to make it stop or she would be found out. “Uh… rain I command you to stop!” Nothing happened. “STOP! STOP! STOP!” Still nothing. She was panicking now. What am I going to do?! It didn’t help when she heard a familiar voice. “Coral, what's going on over here, and why is it raining?” It was Thomas, and she was furious. “THOMAS, I TOLD YOU TO STAY BY THE PLAYGROUND!!!” she screamed at him. “I-I-I….” “You what?!” “I-I’m sorry Coral, I saw a rain cloud over by the spot you went to and went to investigate, and, well, found you.” He was crying now and Coral realized she would have to explain this to Mom. “It’s all fine, Thomas,” she soothed (although it wasn’t really.) “Just do something for me and don’t tell Mom, okay?” “Okay,” he said though his tears. She took his hand. “Come on, let’s go home.” The two siblings arrived at the house drenched in freezing rain, just as Mom and Veronica were turning on the news. Thomas was feeling better; you could hardly tell he had been crying at all. Maybe they could get inside without Mom hearing… The door creaked open. “Coral, is that you?” Mom called. “Yeah, it’s me,” she called. So much for being inconspicuous. “Why are you home so early?” Mom asked. “Um . . .” “Well never mind, come watch the news with us,” she said. Mom pressed a button on the remote, and the TV blared. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s turn our attention to Jill with the weather. Jill, how’s it lookin’ out there?” “Well, Dave, things have really taken a turn. At about 2:30 this lovely spring afternoon, a mysterious drizzle began to fall on our town, and it has only gotten worse. Thunder showers are expected from what we’ve seen, but frankly, I don’t know if the weather forecast is very accurate at the moment.” “Oh, no…” Coral moaned, as she plopped into her favorite comfy armchair next to the fireplace. *What have I done?*
