American Gods: The Girl Of Lightning

A robbery

"You're going to do what?!" I hissed, speeding up to catch Wednesday. Either my ears were deceiving me or he had just said they were going to rob a bank. He spun and grabbed my shoulders, stopping my pace.
"You know what I said, I have a very special job for you my dear." He leaned into my ear, pretending to embrace me. I tensed up, a flame of anger under my skin. He continued,
"I need you to go and sit in that library right there, next to the window. I need you to sit there with a book and a cup of whatever coffee concoction you want. But most importantly," his voice dropped three more octaves.
"I need you to make it storm."
I raised an eyebrow as he slipped me $10.
"I literally have no clue what the fuck you're talking about." I tucked the money in my pocket and looked over to Shadow, who was pacing nervously in the cold. Wednesday looked deep into my eyes and muttered, "I know you can do this. You know you can too. Just focus." He patted my shoulder and slipped over to the car. I frowned and walked across the road.
The library was small and cozy, with a friendly atmosphere and the warm scent of coffee radiating through the air. Trying to steady my nerves, I got in line to order a coffee. I rolled the bill into a tight cylinder inside my pocket, chewing the inside of my cheek. Were they really going to do this? I know Shadow has been in prison before. I know he also just got out. Robbing a bank in broad daylight is.. fucking stupid! Why was Wednesday so careless?
"How can I help you?" A pleasant voice asked. I looked up, startled. I hadn't even been looking at the menu.
"Uhh.. can I get the um... what do you recommend?" I stuttered out, trying to be calm about this whole situation. The barista smiled a sweet and patient smile.
"I personally like the caramel peppermint macchiato on cold days like this." She smiled. I felt myself weakly smile too.
"Great, I'll get a large one of those." I handed over the money and turned to look out the window again.
"Your name?" I whipped back around startled.
"I-I'm Sorry?" I whispered again. She laughed.
"Your name for your cup." Oh. Right. Clara you're fucking stupid sometimes.
"Clara. Just Clara." I gave another attempt at a smile and she nodded and wrote it down. I moved out of the line and began perusing the books. Some young adult fiction, a couple romance. It didn't matter what I picked, I just had to make it look like I was reading. The real struggle was going to be what Wednesday had asked. How the fuck was I going to make it storm?
"Clara!" Came a call from the pickup window. I snagged it and gave a polite thanks to the barista. Sitting down by the large window overlooking the street, I saw Wednesday and Shadow return. They parked the car and walked toward the bank, Shadow dropping off by a phone booth. I clutched the book and coffee, the latter burning my hands. Wednesday caught my eye and mouthed, 'You can do this' To me. I swallowed hard and flicked open the book.
Think. Think about what a storm is. The meeting of one cold front and one hot front, clashing and combining. Dark clouds roil, threatening to split the sky open with buckets of rain. Cold and icy rain that would fall and mingle with the fat fluffy snow. Slush and ice would fill the streets, spurring every person to head home faster. The dark clouds wrestle each other in the sky now, rippling with something stronger than just rain. Thunder peals out, a rich bass hearty enough to slam into the listener's ribcage. Thunder was the offspring of something much more dangerous, and much more powerful.  Lightning. The thick spires of plasma cut the dark sky like furious knives. Their hot fingers land with a smack onto the earth, directed only by the Gods themselves and a few manmade rods. Lightning is absolute, bringing death and pain upon its victims. Lightning burns.

My eyes flashed open, the searing pain in my hand becoming unbearable. The coffee, still trapped in its cup, had burned my hand. I was gripping the book so tightly that the pages were left with indents. I sat the cup on the side table and looked outside.
It was pouring the rain, thunder crackling. Wednesday was speaking to a police officer, Shadow nervously standing in the phone booth. The slushy sidewalk sputtered with the footsteps traipsing through it. Passerby's hurrying to get out of this freak rainstorm, flinching at every crackle of lightning illuminating the dark clouds.
"Fuck." I whispered, sinking back into my chair. I felt different, my body more alert. I glanced around surreptitiously, hoping no one had noticed me. I flexed my burnt hand, the tender pink skin of my palm racing with pain as I moved my hands. I had burned myself, holding on to the piping hot coffee for too long. Another loud boom of thunder shuddered the glass of the window, the wind blowing the freezing rain horizontal. Shadow answered the phone in the booth, evidently from the police officer. I carefully picked up the coffee and tested it. It was still pretty hot, scalding my tongue with the first sip. The sweet minty flavor reached the corners of my tastebuds moments later. It was nice, the barista having a good taste for this. I looked at the cup, seeing the imprint my hand left on the side of the cup. Words caught my eye. On the other side of the cup was my name, and written underneath that was a series of numbers.
She had given me her phone number, the pleasant barista. Her name was also written carefully across the cup, just under the number. Her dancing script spelled out 'Freya'. Just like the goddess. I smiled to no one and took another sip, offering a glance up at her. The small coffee shop had gotten much busier since the rain started coming down. She was busily taking orders and smiling to customers. She caught my eye between them and smiled. I smiled back and tipped the cup to her.
I checked back outside, feeling flustered once more. The police car had driven away, and Wednesday was approaching the car. I stood and placed my book back on the shelf, and ran outside to meet them. The icy water whipped against my coat, soaking me to the bone. But it didn't matter, I almost relished in the feeling of it. My hair was doused in and instant and it took everything in me no to whoop into the dark clouds. Lightning crackled in response, spreading my joy to the entire city in the form of sleet.

Sliding into the back seat, I shook out my frozen hair and gave a wild grin to Wednesday and Shadow.
"Did I really just do that?!" I whisper-yelled, barely able to contain my enthusiasm. Wednesday gave me a content and excited smile.
"Yes my dear. Yes, you did."