of water sprayed from it. âUgh! No!â she cried. With a surge of strength and frustration coursing through her, she slammed her hands down on the sink. It gave a loud groan and broke loose from the wall, coming away in her hands. Water spurted out of the pipebehind it. Charlieâs jaw dropped as she stared at the devastation, barely comprehending what was happening.
The water continued to spray everywhere, soaking her, but Charlie hardly felt it. Instead she threw the sink against the wall, yelling incoherently. The sink cracked and fell to the floor, breaking in half.
The shock of the noise finally brought Charlie to her senses. She put her hands up to her face and pushed her wet hair from her eyes. Water kept coming down on her. What was happening? Her left arm ached. At first she thought sheâd injured it. She pushed up her soggy sleeve to examine it but soon realized it was throbbing with heat beneath the bracelet.
âThe bracelet!â she whispered. She punched the button to release the clasp, but it wouldnât open. She tugged at it as hard as she could, but it held fast. At the same time, with water streaming down her, she finally realized the full extent of the damage she had caused. She knew she had to get out of there before someone saw her.
She raced to the door and flung it open with far too much strength. The handle hit the wall, leaving a chunk of tile crumbling to the floor. But Charlie didnât stop to look at it. She ran.
She went past the distant voices of Mr. Anderson, Kelly, and the high school guy. Past the dark box office window and the banner that hung overhead, greeting visitors. Charlie pushed through the exit doors and out into the cool evening air, but she didnât stop.She ran across the empty parking lot, over the track and soccer field, through the line of mesquite trees that bordered the municipal football field. Finally, when she was safely far away from school, she stopped running and began pawing madly at her wrist, trying to get the bracelet off.
It wouldnât budge. It was stuck.
If she was strong enough to rip a sink out of a wall, why couldnât she get this stupid bracelet off her arm? Charlie didnât know what to do. She didnât know where to turn. All she knew was that ever since sheâd started wearing the bracelet she had somehow gained ridiculous speed, extraordinary strength, and the power to heal herself. She dropped to her knees, put her face in the grass, and yelledâshe had to yell. She had to get out her frustration. She could only hope that the earth muffled her yells enough to keep others from hearing her, because she was totally OOC right now. Out. Of. Control.
After a few minutes of breathing deeply and trying to get a handle on things, Charlie sat up. She got to her feet. There was no one around. Slowly she continued walking toward home. Guilt flooded her when she thought of the damage sheâd done to the girlsâ bathroom. It was so insanely impossible that she wondered if sheâd only imagined it. Maybe she was so stressed out from moving that her mind was messing with her. How could this be happening? And how could she make it stop if she couldnât get the bracelet off?
Sheâd have to cut it off somehow. Maybe the saw that sheâd used to make the platform would be sharp enough. On second thought, that was probably a really bad idea. Maybe her parents had a safer tool that could break through the metal band. Though the location of the toolbox in their garage at the moment was anybodyâs guess.
As Charlie neared her neighborhood, she grew calmer, and her thoughts began to come together. Who could even make a device like this? And why would someone send it to her? She shook her head, marveling at the abilities sheâd gained from it. Superspeed, amazing strength, crazy healing powers . . . it sounded good when she thought about it, anyway. But it wasnât so great if she
The water continued to spray everywhere, soaking her, but Charlie hardly felt it. Instead she threw the sink against the wall, yelling incoherently. The sink cracked and fell to the floor, breaking in half.
The shock of the noise finally brought Charlie to her senses. She put her hands up to her face and pushed her wet hair from her eyes. Water kept coming down on her. What was happening? Her left arm ached. At first she thought sheâd injured it. She pushed up her soggy sleeve to examine it but soon realized it was throbbing with heat beneath the bracelet.
âThe bracelet!â she whispered. She punched the button to release the clasp, but it wouldnât open. She tugged at it as hard as she could, but it held fast. At the same time, with water streaming down her, she finally realized the full extent of the damage she had caused. She knew she had to get out of there before someone saw her.
She raced to the door and flung it open with far too much strength. The handle hit the wall, leaving a chunk of tile crumbling to the floor. But Charlie didnât stop to look at it. She ran.
She went past the distant voices of Mr. Anderson, Kelly, and the high school guy. Past the dark box office window and the banner that hung overhead, greeting visitors. Charlie pushed through the exit doors and out into the cool evening air, but she didnât stop.She ran across the empty parking lot, over the track and soccer field, through the line of mesquite trees that bordered the municipal football field. Finally, when she was safely far away from school, she stopped running and began pawing madly at her wrist, trying to get the bracelet off.
It wouldnât budge. It was stuck.
If she was strong enough to rip a sink out of a wall, why couldnât she get this stupid bracelet off her arm? Charlie didnât know what to do. She didnât know where to turn. All she knew was that ever since sheâd started wearing the bracelet she had somehow gained ridiculous speed, extraordinary strength, and the power to heal herself. She dropped to her knees, put her face in the grass, and yelledâshe had to yell. She had to get out her frustration. She could only hope that the earth muffled her yells enough to keep others from hearing her, because she was totally OOC right now. Out. Of. Control.
After a few minutes of breathing deeply and trying to get a handle on things, Charlie sat up. She got to her feet. There was no one around. Slowly she continued walking toward home. Guilt flooded her when she thought of the damage sheâd done to the girlsâ bathroom. It was so insanely impossible that she wondered if sheâd only imagined it. Maybe she was so stressed out from moving that her mind was messing with her. How could this be happening? And how could she make it stop if she couldnât get the bracelet off?
Sheâd have to cut it off somehow. Maybe the saw that sheâd used to make the platform would be sharp enough. On second thought, that was probably a really bad idea. Maybe her parents had a safer tool that could break through the metal band. Though the location of the toolbox in their garage at the moment was anybodyâs guess.
As Charlie neared her neighborhood, she grew calmer, and her thoughts began to come together. Who could even make a device like this? And why would someone send it to her? She shook her head, marveling at the abilities sheâd gained from it. Superspeed, amazing strength, crazy healing powers . . . it sounded good when she thought about it, anyway. But it wasnât so great if she
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