Not so super superhero

Chapter Six

*Trigger warning at the end of the chapter*

I'm tired of being useless, tired of being a sack of shit, tired of doing nothing with my life. With my newfound power, I can make a difference.
     Ever since that day, I know I've changed. The power I felt that day is not normal. I'm going to use it to my advantage. I will avenge my brother.
     I've been training for the past month 24/7.  I've been going to the gym every day for five hours, lifting weights and running. Ive put on a lot of muscle and gained a lot of endurance. So much that I don't think it's normal.
     This past month has been really hard for me. I had to talk to a ton of police officers and stuff. Brian's funeral is going to be in a month too, not excited for that.
     I've also tried practicing my powers. It hasn't been going good. The best way I can explain it is it being like a broken faucet. I try turning the faucet but nothing comes out. Then other times, little droplets pour out. Once in a while, the water comes exploding out.

     Sometimes I shoot lasers, other times I shoot out lightning. There's no way of telling. But maybe I can still be a hero.
     Fuck. I know I'm being naive, it's not going to be easy. I have been training extremely hard though. There's going to be serious competition, but I'll push through.

                                   ———
     I'd much rather not go to school, but my mom said I have to go. She cut me some slack because she knows I'm completely devastated because of Brian's death. I have to go now though.
     I get to school and head straight to my homeroom, I have to ask the teacher something important.
     I'm inside, everyone turns their attentional me. I walk straight up to the teacher.

"Can I still join the tournament?"

The teacher looks up, "glad to have you back Samantha, and yes you can."

"I'd like to sign up then."

She gasps, "A-are you sure?"

"Yes please."

     I walk to my seat and gaze out the window. This is going to be the latest drama. Leslie's definitely going to be hearing about this.
     I'm walking in the hallways, I know she's lurking around here. She's already approaching me.

     "Hey Sam, how ya doing. I wanna catch up with you! Let's go." Leslie grabs me and pulls me.

     We're in a bathroom, she shoves me to the floor. "You actually joined the tournament huh. It's going to be fun crushing you to a pulp."
     I want to fight back, but I don't even know if I have the power to.
     I get up and brush myself off.

"Hope you go get yourself killed like your brother," She snorts.

     She doesn't even see me move, I pin her to the bathroom stall. "Don't talk shit about the dead. You'll regret it", I growl.
I walk out, slamming the door behind me. I go to my next class. My day goes normally from then on.
I can hear other people whispering about me, It's nothing new. I grab my lunch, I'm going to the bathroom to eat my lunch, the usual.

"I want you to sit with me and my group of friends," Scarlett says.

     I turn and look at at at Scarlett. She's avoiding eye contact. Probably nervous. I shrug and follow her. Better than eating on the floor of a dirty bathroom.
     There are two girls and two guys at the table. They acknowledge me and wave.
"This is Samantha, Samantha this is Jade, Quinton, Emma, and Cole." She points at each person as she names them.
I whisper a barely audible 'Hey' and eat my food. They ignore me and carry on their conversation.
"I hear that the best person at their school is this chick called Amethyst Parker."
I choke on my food at the sound of that name. Flashes of memories come back. That damned smile is the first thing I remember. They all look at me.

"You good?" Asks who I think is Jade.

I give her a thumbs up and take another bite of my food.

"Okay then. I heard that her powers were ice, like Elsa."

"Uh Oh, looks like Scarlett's got some competition!"

It only makes sense that her power is ice. A power to match her heart, cold.

The whole time Scarlett is goofing around with her friends. I feel out of place. I dunno what her intentions were. It kind of puts me off.
I'm home, but not for long. I get ready and go to the forest nearby. I run all the way there as endurance building, I go deep enough so no one can see me.
  I'm going to try training again. I know it's probably not going to work, but it doesn't hurt to try.
I try to focus all my energy, then I imagine lightning coming out of my fingertips. I can imagine every detail, the slight spark at the beginning, it shooting out and branching out like a tree, and it striking the tree. I release! There's a little zap, but that's it.

"AAHHH, WHY CANT I DO THIS!" I punch the tree with al my might.
Upon impact, the tree breaks in half. The top part goes flying along with tons of splinters.
Okay, didn't know I could do that. I look at my fist, it's started bleeding. Ouch.
It's already eleven by the time I'm done training. This has been my routine for the past month, it will be until the tournament. The others have gotten to practice they're powers since they got them, I get a late start.
     I want to see how good my endurance has gotten. I take out my phone and open up the clock app. As soon as I push the 'start' button, I take off.
I press stop once I get home. I'm completely drenched in my sweat. The timer reads 15.45. Not too bad for a five mile run. I still need to improve though.
     I slowly open the door. I think I'll be fine, I probably won't be getting yelled at too much. I wonder if they've even noticed I'm gone. I smell alcohol. Dad must be home.
     I try sneaking as best I can, but he catches me.
"Where the hell have you been?!" The stench of alcohol is heavy.

"I was walking around and lost track of time."

"Lost track of time, while completely drenched in sweat? Are you fucking kidding me!" He's shouts. He gets closer and closer to me.

"I'm sorry dad."

"You're sorry? What a sad excuse."

Now I'm mad, he's not here any of the time and now he wants to be a good parent.

"What the hell am I supposed to say?"

"You're such an ungrateful bitch, I work while you're probably out whoring around."

"You're such an asshole! You're never home, you don't know shit!"

He lifts up his hand and brings it down to my cheek. There is a sharp sting on the place of impact. I touch my cheek and glare at him. I turn around and go into my room.
I look at myself in the mirror, you can see his hand imprinted onto my cheek. That's probably going to be swollen tomorrow.
I look through my bag until I find what I want. I pull up my sleeve and bring the razor to my wrist. My hand shakes and my tears fall. I cut, careful not to cut too deep.
I clean up the blood. I bring the pillow to my face and cry for a very long time.