Chapter Twelve

Ami gestured to the end chair, a tall black seat with a high back.

"Sit." She said. Mego sat with her fingers interlocked, trying to piece together what had happened. If only she could get past the dizzying, out-of-body sensation that made her feel like she was falling. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't count on everything happening so fast. I was going to have this talk after you turned eighteen." She waited for an answer, but Mego could only stare blankly at the bowl of ice cream. "The good news is that we can get a head start on everything." Silence. “I know this all a bit out of the blue, but once you get the full measure of what is going on, you will understand why we did what we had to do in time.” No response. "You really need to start talking now."

"Is that an order?"

"No, of course not. Look, I know this is a shock..."

"A shock?” Mego said, finally looking up. “Being shocked means you had an affair, I'm adopted, or you're my aunt. Right now I feel nothing, because there are no words for it."

"None of those things is true."

"What is true anymore?" Mego said, close to tears. "All this time, you and Dad have been leading a double life."

"It wasn’t a secret if you watched the news."

"So this is my fault for not paying attention?"

"No, this is what happens when you spend too much time in your head. Hide from the world long enough, and eventually the world will forget about you, and you'll miss out on all the important stuff. Do you not remember all those air shows we went to? How everyone saluted us?”

“I thought they were just being polite.”

“I showed you my uniform!”

“It looked like a normal suit.”

Ami raised her arms in despair. “I give up; you’re hopeless.”

"At least it explains all those business trips." Mego said.

"Never happened."

"I'm guessing your friend didn’t have a wedding in Hawaii?"

"Nor was there a reunion of ex-boxers from across the globe."

Mego felt dead inside.

"It was all an act." She said. "You played me, every step of the way."

"You weren’t supposed to find the notebook; that was a mistake."

"It was left in the car you gave me.”

"In a secret compartment known to only one person."

“Then you should have kept the car locked up.”

“In hindsight,” Ami said. “You have to understand, we chose this place because it was abandoned and in the middle of nowhere. Then the council decided to turn it into a fancy estate. Worst luck.”

“Why did you choose a house in the middle of nowhere?”

“Safe-keeping, I suppose.”

“Who were you keeping me safe from?”

“You got it twisted.“ Ami said, looking away. “We were keeping everyone safe…from you.”

Mego needed a moment. “I’m sorry, what?”

Ami brought up a laptop computer. She pressed the 'Pause' button, and the screen showed the CCTV footage from inside someone's house.

"What is this?" Mego said.

"Wait for it."

The video showed footage from a camera inside the mansion's entrance hall. A group of girls were clad in raincoats, all wielding two-handed water guns. A crackling sense of mischief pervaded the atmosphere, rimed with gleeful anticipation. What drew Mego's curiosity was the voice of the ringleader, a nasally whine of haughty disdain. Chiyoko Kobayashi.

"Why are you watching Chiyoko's house?"

Ami pressed an index finger to her lips.

"Now remember," Chiyoko said. "When she drops the pizza, we rush out and soak her. Try not to get splashed yourself; remember, these guns are not full of water. I know, gross, right? It's gonna stink the house out, but she deserves it. No one humiliates my family. Mum barely speaks anymore; she doesn’t even get dressed. That bitch put my Mother into therapy. Green thinks she's escaped me, but this will haunt her for the rest of her life." Three loud metallic knocks filled the room. "She's here. Get to your hiding places. Go! Shhh!"

Mego continued to watch as she heard her own voice on the intercom.

"Hello?"

"Who is it?" Chiyoko said in a sing-song voice.

"Pizza."

Chiyoko waved everyone down to keep quiet.

"In a second," She said. "Alright, you may ent..."

The large door exploded off its hinges and carried the girl across the foyer and onto the stairs. As the dust settled, Mego crunched slowly through the debris.

The other girls anxiously emerged from their hiding places, wracked with confusion and an ice-tinged fear for their lives. Mego pointed to one of the water guns.

"Is that piss?" She asked. The girl said nothing, her face frozen in terror. "Is that PISS?" The girl nodded timidly, dropping the weapon, followed by the sound of several plastic clattering onto Terracotta tiles. Mego dumped the Pizza where she stood. “Which one of you morons is gonna pay up?”

The crowd of girls started flapping cash notes in her direction, and the screen went dark.

"Oh God, I killed her." Mego said.

"She's alive," Ami said. "You messed her up pretty bad, but she's alive.. Hopefully, anyone who posts it online will likely assume it’s staged footage. No one is going to believe a bunch of pony-club brats." She looked down at her mug. "For now, at least."

"What do you mean by 'For now'?"

"It is only a matter of time before people see you for what you are.”

"That wasn't me! I mean it was..."

"I know," Ami said, raising a hand. "That is why you can't stay here."

“You knew what I was capable of, and still let me go to school? All those kids.”

“Trust me, I wasn’t happy either. Even so, we couldn’t hide you away; it would have started rumours, and rumours lead to investigations. It was a risk, but we had procedures in case of any…upsets.”

"Procedures?"

"Agents posing as teachers in nearby classes."

"Wow, that bad, huh?" Mego said. "Why don't I remember?"

"You must have blocked it from memory. Once word got out, we went into damage control. Replaced the door, scooped up the CCTV and got Chiyoko the best doctors' money could buy. A lot of hush money was involved, payoffs and NDA’s."

"Why, though?" Mego said, tearfully. "I would never hurt anyone, not even idiots like Chiyoko."

"I know, love," Ami said. "But right now you have zero control.”

"What’s wrong with me?"

"I’m not going to sugar-coat it," Ami said. "This power you have, it's all building to something."

"Are you saying I am the key to all this? The chosen one? A prophecy foretold?"

"No, dear," Ami said. "No prophecy is that desperate. We were warned how unchecked power could manifest. You were unusually strong as a kid; that's why we had to watch you day and night."

Mego suddenly felt uneasy.

"Watching me?" Mego said. "Like the bedroom and bathroom?"

"NO!" Ami said, her face screwing up in disgust. "What do you take us for?"

"Right now? I don't know."

"What we do know is that this path you're on can only lead to destruction. The days of you leading a normal life are over. For your safety and everyone else’s.”

"I'm not going to kill anyone, c'mon."

"It doesn't have to be deliberate," Ami said. "Sometimes accidents happen. That is why you must be ready, so when the time comes, you might save someone."

"Translation: Do side-quests before the main storyline."

"I have no idea what that means, but if that's how you feel, so be it."

"You could be a little less condescending."

"I'm not a nerd, Mego."

"Dad was..."

"Don't remind me," Ami said, smiling. "He tried to get me into some dungeon game. I was bored within minutes. Don’t give me Math and paperwork and expect me to have fun." She leaned closer to Mego. "I don't want this to come between us,"

"It won't. Just leave me out of it."

"It's too late for that; events are in motion."

"How?"

"Whatever dumped you in London is linked to this superhuman strength of yours."

"Okay, tell me anything you know."

"I can't do that. Not yet."

“More secrets," Mego said, pushing her bowl away. "I don't know why I bother; it's either going to be lies or classified." She got up. "Fine, do what you want. I don't care. The fact that you lied to me is just the worst kind of betrayal."

"C'mon, Mego."

"I'm going to bed. Talk later, if ever.”

She paused at the kitchen door, still trying to process everything that had taken place.

"I just hope you can forgive me," Ami said.

"For treating me like an idiot?"

“That and the next thing."

Mego parodied a salute and quickly passed out.