Then there were two

There comes a time in every child's life where things take a drastic change. At the age of ten, I had fully believed I had went through every life-changing situation that could take place in a normal child's life. As normal a life as one can lead in this world. I woke up someone else, got two quirks, discovered a new ability to one of them three years later and struggled to fully understand it for the next two years. I've had people trespass on my property trying to kidnap me and I've just recently crashed my bike into a tree. The last is not as grand as all the others but it's the one that has a nasty scrape on my elbow that I'm constantly reminded of. The point I'm trying to make is that I was sure that I've gone through every life-changing situation for a child.

There is just one possibility I had overlooked, one that should have been most considered.

"You're pregnant?"

My mother's nodding to the question, a look of joy on her face and a pregnancy test in one hand. I take a look at it, just to make sure this woman doesn't need glasses and lo and behold it's positive. She's pregnant. There's a baby cooking in that belly, a little monster waiting to be born.

What in tarnation?

When had they even-

Why is that my first thought?

"This is why you use protection dear mother, to avoid things like this"

"Zen" she's giving me the look that lets me know my comment is not appreciated and I take it to heart. "We wanted another baby, this is no accident"

Why would you want another baby, Rose? You already have me and I'm enough trouble for the both of you. Have you forgotten that your husband almost died just a few days ago because of my dumb antics? Do you need a reminder? And let's not forget about the kidnapping attempt two years ago. Another child is another target making it more likely for another attempt. Another child means another monster to deal with. Another child makes me an older sister and we do not want that. Me as an older sister spells bad news for that poor unborn child because I will either put them through hell or train them to a mini-me and both are terrible outcomes.

"So you planned on having another child?"

She nods.

"Without talking to me?" Don't parents consult the child they already have about adding another to the collection? "You're supposed to prepare me for this so I can ask God all mighty for my preferred gender. Now I'm late and might not get a baby sister. You see what you've done woman? Now I need to send a request every morning and night"

If mom wasn't used to my nonsense I'm sure she would be questioning where she had gone wrong with me. Maybe she is, but she's laughing at my idiocy as she always does, knowing not to take me seriously.

"I'm sorry we didn't talk to you first, but if it makes you feel any better, you're the first person I've told" she's trying to fix my hair back in place as she tells me this. Awe, well yeah that makes me feel better but still. They should've told me.

"You better birth another little girl"

"A boy wouldn't be so bad"

"But I want a baby sister" I can turn her into a mini-me and train another fighter. Hehehe. I'll teach her to torment and manipulate that sucker we have for a father. "But a boy is not bad either. Boys don't get periods, after all"

"Yes, yes, of course that's your reasoning"

What else did you expect from me?

"Don't tell your father, okay? I'll talk to him"

I realize that it's best she tell him, but something in me just wants to blurt it out of nowhere and shake him to his very core. We'd be talking about what we'll play in the backyard or maybe we'll be playing video games and yelling back and forth and then boom! Out of nowhere I drop the bomb on him and watch him malfunction.

"You won't tell him"

"I won't"

"Promise me, because I know you want to" she knows me too well.

"Fine"

"Thank you" I get a kiss on the forehead before she's off the bed and hiding the evidence. "Now, come help me in the kitchen"

"Can I cook today?"

"You don't know how to cook"

"Yes I do, I watch you every day. Just let me make some mashed potatoes or something, nothing too extreme"

"Mashed potatoes then, but I'll be watching you"

Probably a good idea. Knowing me I'd probably set the house on fire somehow.

"Hey mom" I'm suddenly curious about something and hopefully she doesn't try to lie to me. I'm not wearing my hearing aids so her thoughts are as clear as day to me.

"Yes, Zen?"

"Was I planned as well?"

"Nope not at all"

I wasn't? Why did she answer so quickly and so casually? Why is she smiling? She's not even lying and she's having a blast.

"Mom"

"What?"

"You didn't even try to soften the blow"

"Just telling the truth sweetie" ah, she's mocking me. She's having too much fun with this.

~~~~~~~

When dad gets home I'm waiting at the door, ready to escort him to the kitchen so he could try the mashed potatoes I had prepared all by myself. This is the first time my mother let me cook, and truly let me cook even if it's just mashed potatoes. She let me peel the potatoes, slice 'em, turn on the stove and everything else. I know how to cook, I'm sure I've held on to all of that, but there is only so much I can do as a ten-year-old. Mashed potatoes are only the beginning, soon I'll be baking cakes and making mac n cheese.

I like mac n cheese.

"Sit down old man" I push as much as I can but he won't budge. This man feels like a brick wall and just insults the strength I thought I had. He's chuckling while tugging at his tie and messing his hair. He can never keep his hair all neat when he returns home

"What did you do Zen?"

"What makes you think I did anything? I'm just telling you to sit down so you can eat"

"You also met me at the door, you never do that" finally he sits down, almost sending me to the floor with his unexpected movement. His tie is around my forehead and dangling in front of my face before I know it as he undoes the first two buttons on his shirt and gets ready to eat.

"I made mashed potatoes and you need to try it" also you need to eat your fill so you'll be too tired to get up so mom can break the news and I can watch with some popcorn. I just put some in the microwave and have decided that my study corner has the best view. "I already know it's good, I just wanna hear you say it"

"Cocky"

"No, confident"

"Whatever floats your boat, where's your mother?"

I shrug and leave him alone. I get my popcorn, dump it in a bowl and leave them to sit at my desk. I'm sure I had a camera in one of my drawers, I hope the memory has space for another video. Luckily the camera was in the first drawer with a generous amount of space in the memory card.

While awaiting my mother I take to watching my father enjoy the food spread before him. Mom outdid herself as always, something that my father will definitely tell her when she gets downstairs. While watching him I enjoy his thoughts, thoughts that are nothing but compliments to his wife and himself for bagging such an amazing woman. I always hear my father saying how lucky he was to have her as his woman, he even told me he didn't believe she would stick around this long.

There's a familiar pressure in the back of my mind the longer I look at my father. The pressure is so light I barely notice it. I slip in and out of his head every now and then, subtly influencing him as a form of practice. I've learned that once I gain access to another's mind it takes no effort to get back in. At least that's how it's been with my father. It could be different with other people, but I wouldn't know. I'll find out when I start school, which is not too long from now since I will be attending middle school. It's the best place to test my quirk even more. My father's mind is always available to me and for the past two years, I've been using him as a way to learn everything I need to know about this ability. He knows that I do it, he was the one who told me to do it in the first place. He's always my labrat after all.

Over the two years, I've learned that I do not need eye contact, not always or maybe not at all. I'm not sure but after a while, I've learned to get in without eye contact which makes it easier to manipulate him. If I'm careful and subtle enough he won't even know he's being manipulated. When I had first used my powers on that man he couldn't move despite wanting to. At first, my dad could tell I was ordering him around and would laugh and joke about being a puppet on a string. Now he doesn't even know that the urge to down a cup of water is because of me. That's good, really good. No one should know I'm using them when I'm using them, so subtle manipulation is the best. It's a tedious thing, however. I need to be gentle, subtle and very careful. It's like placing a thought within their head, a thought that is disguised as their own. It's harder than simply telling him what to do but far more useful.

He's scratching his stubble when I want him to, drinking when I urge him to, thinking out loud when I want him to. He doesn't even know it but he'll always laugh when I tell him about what I had done.

The sound of my mother coming down the stairs has me retreating from his mind and grabbing the camera. I've done enough mental probing for the day.

I busy myself with setting up the camera while the husband and wife talk about whatever it is husband and wife talk about. Dad compliments her cooking, compliments her and in turn, she says something snide and sarcastic as she always does. She never accepts compliments from dad and dad never stops praising her. It's fun to watch them go back and forth. I have the camera set to record and hold it up to my father, testing the lens, making sure it isn't blurry.

"Daaaaaad! Mom has something to tell ya!"

This earns a pointed look from the woman in question, but I'm suddenly blind. Dad is curious now, which sets everything into motion.

"Well, I guess that explains the food" smart man that one. "I'm either in trouble or in for a happy surprise"

It could be a mix of both depending on how you look at it.

"It's the latter" mom's fiddling with the pregnancy test behind her back, her joy barely contained behind a controlled smile. If she's this happy about it I can only imagine how my father will react.

Like a clown, I bet.

"I'm not going to drag this out and leave you in suspense, so here" getting right to the point my mother hands dad the test and I instantly zoom in on his face to catch his reaction. He squints at the thing in hand before those hazel eyes widen in surprise. He's stuck like that for a moment before a smile adorns his face and he's jumping out of his chair, which was a terrible idea because he somehow stumbles with his leg caught between the chair's foot and he's falling and his face hits the table. I'm trying not to laugh and drop the camera while he's groaning and maybe crying in pain all the while mumbling out words I can barely understand.

"Why did I see this coming?" Mom gets down to help him with a disappointed sigh, but a good-natured smile on her face. " Let me see"

His nose is bleeding terribly. Blood travels down into his mouth as he smiles and talks through my mother's gentle orders to shut up and let her take care of the injury.

"You're pregnant, we're having another baby. I'm the luckiest man alive, aren't I? I get another kid, another baby, a cute little baby. A baby that will cry a lot, but a baby. Another kid-" he goes on like that while my mother gets the blood off his face, telling him to lean forward and let the blood out. She doesn't try to shut him up anymore, knowing there's no use in even trying.

It's safe to say dad's loving the new kid before they're even here. His reaction is gold, absolutely ridiculous, but gold none the less. This man really hit his face on the dining table and ends up with a bleeding nose all because he's happy to have another kid.

When the new baby's old enough I'll show them this so we can both laugh at the clown of a man our mother decided to be the love of her life.

"Do you think Elijah would be a good name for a boy?" Dad's wondering out loud once he's cleaned up and sitting on the floor. " Leah sounds like a good name for a girl, don't you think?"

Terrible names. If we have a boy then he'll be named Norman or Ray and if a girl we'll name her Emma. We'll train them and make sure they're super smart so we can feed them to the demons.

"Mom, when the baby's here I'm in charge of the lullabies and bedtime stories"