4 Helma's Gift Reading

The car ride was silent. Perhaps it would've felt heavy and awkward, but Waze felt that it was preferable to even more awkward conversation. Waze stared out the window as Josh looked out the windshield. They had been driving for about ten minutes and were reaching the busier part of town. Josh pulled the car into a bustling shopping center off to the right. Walking toward the reading shop, Waze focused on the little flickering light of power. She didn't reach for it, she didn't call to it; rather, she pushed it away, isolating herself in the cold, dark empty of the other parts of her mind.

"Welcome to Helma's Gift Reading, how can I help you today?" A bell on the door rang out as they entered.

As Josh paid for their reading and made small talk with the person Waze assumed to be Helma, as she was the only one in the store, Waze took in her surroundings. She had never been to a reading shop before. She'd been read, but going to a place like this would be too... public. She glanced back at Josh. If it was her mother, she would have already told Helma Waze's entire life story up till now. Luckily, Josh kept her tragic backstory of a gift-less life to himself.

The store was a cozy place, Waze was surprised by how pleasant it was to be inside. The walls had a few paintings and a bookshelf to the side of the room. There was a small sitting area with a few couches and seats and a coffee table with some magazines. The room was really quite small, but it wasn't like readings took up much space.

"Alright, come sit down here, sweetheart." Helma took a seat on a love seat in the small sitting area and patted next to her. Waze stared down, slightly incredulous. Not only had she just been called 'sweetheart' but now Helma had asked her to share a love seat with her. It was... awkward to say the least. Shaking away her reluctant thoughts, Waze stiffly sat down next to Helma.

"Alright, now just relax and reach out to your power, draw it forward. That way you'll score higher." It was a reasonable thing to say, but Waze did quite the opposite. She didn't want to know what would happen if she scored high. Josh would go blabbing to her mother about Waze hiding an ability, she'd probably get a lot of people questioning her, and most of all: there would be some pretty high expectations set for her. She wanted to keep this power to herself and a few trusted people, and instead call it a sudden burst of genius that won't happen again.

Waze relaxed her hand into Helma's and pushed away the light. It almost hurt, she ached to run towards it and embrace it. She wanted to use it more and more, to get stronger and stronger. But that would have to wait. Instead, for the time being she enveloped herself in the cold void that separated her from that warm light.

Helma sat up slightly, her expression stiff as she opened her eyes. She glanced from Waze then to Josh and choked out a sentence.

"I-um, I read her as a zero... she's gift-less..." Helma looked to her and Josh truly terrified. Waze could guess why. People who score low on readings often flip out and become aggressive toward the reader. However, a professional reader like Helma, who does it for profit, are required to give accurate readings. Waze didn't know much about it, but reading shops that lied about steps would shut down more often than not.

Josh slammed his hand on the table and his expressing twisted into something almost anger. Helma flinched back and Waze can't say that she herself hadn't. It was one of her weaknesses, angry people scared her.

"That's impossible! She just took out a step 6 a few hours ago!"

"Call it a sudden burst of genius," Waze was definitely going to cling to that phrase. "I've been a zero all my life, it hasn't changed now. I told you I wasn't hiding an ability. Even I don't know what happened."

Josh frowned before grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the shop. Luckily, he seemed angrier at Waze than at Helma. Waze could take the heat, even if it roughed her up a bit. She didn't want a person like Helma to have to deal with one of Josh's temper tantrums. Josh pushed her forward as they left the shop and Waze stumbled slightly.

"Whatever you're hiding, I'm going to find out." Josh gave her a stern look before turning his heel and stomping back toward the car. She felt the overwhelming urge to snap back at him, but either fear or rationality held her back. The car ride home was even worse. Josh was angry now, Waze could practically see it seeping out of him like the blue flames had from her.

They pulled up to the house and Josh immediately went to her mother's room to wake her up.

"Carol-" he started before Waze pulled him back.

"She's sleeping, please just let her sleep. You know how tired she is." Josh shook her off and stormed into her mother's room.

"Carol, you won't believe what happened. Waze used some hidden gift and took down a high step in one kick."

"We went to the reading place though, and I got a zero still! I haven't been hiding it." Waze tried to defend herself before Josh shot her a glare. She shrunk back.

Waze's mom, Carol, rolled over in bed to look at the two standing in her doorway, looking fairly unhappy. It took her a second to process what she had said.

"You took down a high-step? Thats great honey! How exactly though...?" It was a fair question to ask.

"A sudden burst of genius. I doubt it'll happen again. Maybe I ate something weird or someone helped me out. Either way, it left me in shambles and my body feels like every bone is broken. I'm going to go lay down." Waze thought for a moment that maybe this was what her mother felt like on a day to day basis.

"Alright honey, get some rest. Tell me if you figure anything out."

"What, you're just gonna let her walk away like that? This is major! Who knows how long she's been hiding this for, o-or if she got help from some dangerous people or something?" Josh babbled on. Waze began to block it out though as she felt her legs begin to give way. She slid down to the floor. She would have to make note that using her power wrecked her body, and that she shouldn't go walking everywhere right after.

"I don't feel good, I can barely stand. I'm going to take a nap. Please don't wake me up until dinner." Waze stumbled to her room and collapsed in her bed. It felt soft. Such a nice feeling. She decided that after dinner, she would go back to 'bed' before heading out to see her friend. Wouldn't be the first time she snuck out, besides it's not like she was going anywhere dangerous. She needed to find out more about this power, and soon. And there was only one person she could think to ask.