After discussing all the details of my involvement and my reward with Jane, we started talking about how I'd get to Egypt. Obviously, it was a matter of a few minutes' flight, but how would I explain it to Tori?
It was clear I'd be gone for a few days. Jane wasn't even sure about the duration of the search. After all, the city was an unexplored anomalous territory where anything could happen, and time there was a strange concept. The sun didn't shine, and there was no cycle of day and night, so we had to account for the fact that I might be gone for an indefinite period. I didn't want to make my mother worry.
We tossed around different options and eventually came up with a few solid ones. The first was about a camp. It wasn't surprising that a schoolkid might go to camp in the summer. Of course, if it were summer, that would make sense, but alas, it was fall. Then I got the idea of a specialized camp. Everyone knew I was studying programming and was even part of the school's coding club. Jane left that day to sort out this option. She had a fairly high level of authority, but she couldn't use it. She'd been sent on a short leave—surprising that a secret organization protecting humanity had such a thing—and all her access to levers of influence over government bodies had been blocked, but she hadn't lost her skills, she said, and could arrange everything.
The key was secrecy and confidentiality. Neither she nor I wanted me to be found. I didn't want to ruin Tori's normal life—I didn't care about my own secrecy—and Jane didn't want it because I'd warned her that if I was found, I wouldn't be as kind to others as I was to her. It seemed this girl's worldview had been shattered multiple times that night. A small but supremely powerful hero of Earth threatening to kill anyone who ruined his school life and movie nights with his mother. Maybe I was overly harsh, but my power gave me that right.
So, a programming camp for kids 12+ was feasible, and the other options became backups. After all, faking an injury that would put me in an induced coma for a month wasn't the best idea. Tori didn't need gray hairs in her blonde locks.
Having agreed on everything and that the invitation would arrive tomorrow, Jane left to set it all up. I was left to live a quiet life that day, but unfortunately, the surprises didn't end.
After a delicious breakfast made from fresh produce straight from our farm, I headed to school. Sitting, as always, next to Kate, who was oddly pensive, I couldn't help but ask:
"Something wrong?" Usually, she was lively and always cheerful. After our fight a year ago, she stopped talking to any of her other friends, focusing all her attention on me. I didn't exactly love it, but it didn't bother me much either. After all, a regular school friend was something interesting. An experience I'd never had was always something new and mysterious. Like a secret you wanted to uncover.
"Nothing much," she said, turning her clear-eyed gaze on me. There was something in her eyes.
Shrugging, I sat beside her.
I was sitting on the school bus, leaning against the seat, watching houses flash by outside. An ordinary day, unremarkable, until Caitlin decided to break the silence. Caitlin was my only friend at school. She was smart, quick to pick things up, and never afraid to speak her mind. Today, her gaze was… strange.
"Brandon, I know," she said.
I looked at her, not understanding what she meant.
"Know what?" I tried to keep my voice as calm as possible.
She lowered her head, as if thinking, then looked at me again, but with a different expression. Like she knew something no one else was supposed to.
"Oh, nothing special, except that my friend is Superman and hasn't told me anything about it. You're hiding it from everyone, I get it."
I flinched. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind. How did she find out? How did she guess? I hadn't told anyone. Only Jane had managed to track me down. But she couldn't have found Caitlin and told her everything. Why would she? And Caitlin was just my friend, completely unaware.
"Are you crazy?" I tried to brush off the conversation, but it was too late.
She gave a sly smile, her eyes gleaming as if she'd made some incredible discovery. I suddenly realized she wasn't scared. On the contrary, she was intrigued.
"Brandon, did you think I wouldn't notice how you always step up when someone's in trouble? Or how you avoid any tough situations? And when the fire broke out in the school cafeteria… I knew you saved everyone. I saw you walk away like nothing happened, more than once."
She was right. But I'd tried so hard to hide it, to be normal, like everyone else. How could I have given myself away? How did she figure it out?
"You won't tell anyone, right?" I said, feeling a chill run down my spine.
She didn't answer right away, just looked into my eyes, as if waiting for me to say something else. I wanted to shout something back, but instead, I stayed silent. I knew I couldn't hide everything forever. Caitlin wasn't just guessing—she was certain. I couldn't ruin Tori's life, but kill Kate?
"Brandon, you don't have to hide it. You're not an ordinary person. You need to be yourself. You should help, not hide. All these years, you've tried to be a normal teenager, but you're a hero. And if you want, I'll be there, I'll help however I can."
That was unexpected. Usually, I only heard about how important it was to blend in, to hide my true nature. But Caitlin didn't judge. She supported me. It was like I was a real person to her, not just Superman.
"You won't tell anyone, right?" I asked, dreading the answer. I don't want to…
She shook her head.
"No, I won't tell. It's a secret. But I can help you. You know you can't hide forever."
We sat in silence, and I felt the tension in my chest ease. After all, Caitlin was a true friend, and if she'd figured it out, maybe she was right. I didn't need to hide my nature; I needed to embrace it. But I wasn't ready for that yet. Her words, though, were starting to break through my wall of doubts. Maybe I should tell Tori?
I looked at her, trying to grasp how much she'd put into her words. We teenagers often try to be normal. Sometimes we forget who we really are.
"Thanks, Caitlin," I said, trying to smile. "You have no idea how much this means."
She just nodded.
"You're not alone, Brandon. And you don't have to be a loner."
We rode a few stops in silence, but now the silence was different. I didn't feel threatened or worried that someone might uncover my secret. Caitlin knew, and it felt like with her, it wasn't scary.
The next day, as Caitlin and I walked through the school hallway, I saw the other kids going about their business. In a way, I was still a regular teenager, with the only difference being that now I knew I didn't have to hide. My life could change, and I was ready. But not yet.
Or maybe it wouldn't change, just become simpler. My thoughts were interrupted by a call.
"Brandon, there you are. I've been looking for you." Mr. Jamison, the computer science teacher and head of the coding club, its eternal leader. "This came in half an hour ago."
He handed me an A4 sheet with a form. Crowfoot Camp, for gifted kids. Caitlin, standing beside me, peeked over my shoulder, scanning the form, and asked the teacher, who was shuffling papers.
"Can I go too?" Caitlin had been coming to the club with me for a while and was a pretty successful student.
"Of course, I was just looking for another ten kids to go. Investors from a big company decided to hold a big event for anyone interested. You can go too, Caitlin, but first, talk it over with your parents, and you too, Brandon."
Leaving us, he walked off. Holding the form, I marveled at how quickly Jane had pulled it off.
"Hero stuff?" Caitlin whispered in my ear.
"Mhm," I nodded. "Big hero stuff."
A sharp pain shot through my temples, but I couldn't figure out why, and then I forgot everything…
---