Ashley let her head go back until it rested against the wall.

Kenzie was audible before she was visible. She returned with Victoria walking beside her, both of the girls carrying something from the vending machine in each free hand. Victoria had dressed up more than she had for Rain’s event, more care given to her hair, which was left unbraided, a top with a band of lace that covered the breasts, black pants without any side pockets, and nice boots—the same boots Victoria wore with her costume, the gold bits left off.

Who would I have been, if I’d never had powers? If I was born into a different situation? Would I have resembled Victoria?

“There was a situation with traffic, a staged event stalled all traffic across the city for a half hour,” Victoria said. “The others are on their way, but they’re going to have to duck in when things are already in session.”

“Thank you for letting me know,” Ashley said. She took the bottle that Kenzie offered her.

“I loosened the cap,” Kenzie said.

The door opened.

“Armstrong is coming, but he has other obligations he couldn’t avoid. He’ll show up around or after the recess partway through. The court knows.”

The brute in uniform approached, looking smug. Ashley clenched stiff fingers around the plastic water bottle, and plastic crackled.

☽

Ashley’s hands gripped her upper arms.

There were no good days, anymore. There were the bad days, and there were the days she dreaded the bad days.

This was a bad day.

“Bitch. Making me look stupid in front of my friends!?”

His fist went out. He grabbed Ashley’s mother by the hair, and she quailed, hands curling up at her chest.

“Come on! Say it again. Aren’t you brave enough now that we’re alone? Say it!”

“Please,” Ashley’s mother said. “I’m sorry.”

“Come on!” he shouted the words in Ashley’s mom’s ear, twisting hair in his hands. Ashley’s own hands twisted around her upper arms, gripping.

“Okay, okay,” Ashley’s mother said. “Will, let’s—we’ll put Ashley to bed, okay? She doesn’t need to be here, she’s scared. Then, we can talk, okay? We can talk about anything you want. I’ll say anything you want.”

“Anything you want, anything you want! Okay! Okay!” Ashley’s dad mocked, still so loud that Ashley winced with every utterance. It had to be worse for her mom—his mouth was almost pressed against her ear.

“Please,” her mom said.

“Please. You can’t even sound normal. You sit there and act like you’re smart. You sat there as they laughed at me, smiling that stupid fucking constipated cow smile of yours!”

Her dad pushed her mom, and she fell against the bookshelf. There were more papers and folders on the shelf than books, and everything went flying into the air.

“Stop,” Ashley said, quiet.

“I’ve got to go into work tomorrow, you know that? You know they’re going to bring it up.”

Ashley’s mother stood, swayed, then went straight to Ashley. Her dad’s back was turned.