those mornings when I woke up and knew my life would change. My entire world would veer onto a different route, like the morning of my first day in high school or when I found out I’d made it onto the varsity volleyball team.
The lazy summer sun was already peeking through my bedroom window. I groaned and dug my fingers into my hair at the sight. It only meant another day of sweltering, unforgiving heat. The rumblings of pots and pans and the smell of sausage and eggs came wafting from the kitchen downstairs. A nice chill in the air blew through the window. I turned over in my bed and faced the window to see if the sky was clear or cloudy, but the glass was too foggy to see through.
That’s odd for the end of August… and the window isn’t open. Where is the breeze coming from?
I slowly got up from the bed, walked with unsteady steps to the window, and placed my hands on the glass. It was as cold—like it had been left open during a snowstorm. Even in the faint light of dawn that was filtering into the room, little pools of mist condensed around the points where my fingers rested.
Lifting the hem of my pajama shirt, I wiped the fog off the window until my sleepy blue eyes blinked back at me. A few clumps of cloud lingered in the promising clear, crisp sky like an artist, leaving a few smudges of white on an otherwise pale blue canvas.
I shivered lightly from the chill and frowned as dread settled in my stomach. Then I glanced around my room and saw, with a horrifying jolt, that my room was covered in a thin layer of ice.
Anxiety mounted in my chest as the pressure in my head rose so high it rammed into the insides of my skull, threatening to burst out. I covered my face in my hands and staggered backward until I fell back onto the bed.
Oh, God. No, no, no.
My breath came in raggedy puffs of air, and cold vapor hovered over my face every time I exhaled. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the pressure to subside. The muffled sound of my mother yelling at my younger siblings was barely piercing through the pounding in my head.
A few minutes later, my eyes flew open when I heard the backdoor of the house slam beneath my room, followed by the sounds of my brother and sister laughing outside. The pressure was gone.
My mind cycled back to the previous night. I vaguely recalled moaning and thrashing uncomfortably in the heat—Mom insisted that we sleep without the air conditioning on to keep the electricity bill down. So why did everything in my room freeze?
Suddenly, a vision of myself bolting upright during the night flashed into my mind. Half-asleep, I had wished for the crisp, cold feeling of winter, and the temperature in the room dropped. After snuggling under my blanket, I slept soundly until this morning.
I did this?
As if in response to my question, a pit settled at the bottom of my stomach. It didn’t make any sense. I must have been losing my mind. I jumped out of bed again, refusing to think about what had happened or how it had happened.
A knock on my bedroom door startled me. “Time to get up, Evangeline,” my mom called.
“I’m awake, Mom!” I shouted back.
“Okay, hurry up. Breakfast is almost ready.”
As her footsteps shuffled down the hall to Mattie’s bedroom, I glanced at the laptop sitting on my desk and remembered why I had been so excited about today in the first place. Today was the day I would find out if Hudson Heights University would grant me a scholarship! When I grabbed the laptop, it was cold to the touch, and tiny droplets of moisture pooled on the surface.
Shoot! I’m pretty sure moisture isn’t good for electronics.
I dashed to my bed and frantically rubbed both sides of the laptop on my blanket, attempting to dry it off and warm it up, before finally flipping it open. My heart hammered loudly in my chest as my laptop struggled to boot up with a familiar loud whirring. It was going to take a minute before I could do anything, so I ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth, washed my face as quickly as I could, and pulled my wavy, light brown hair into a messy ponytail. When I returned, I anxiously double-clicked the email icon and impatiently waited for my email to load.
Come on, come on…
It had already seemed like an eternity.
“Eva! Mattie!” Mom shouted from downstairs.
Ugh, I can’t sit here and wait, or Mom will come up and see everything frozen!
“I’m still changing!” I yelled back.
Leaving the laptop to continue loading my email, I rushed into my closet and threw on a pair of gray lounge shorts and an old Rotary Club t-shirt I got when I volunteered in high school before looking at the laptop one last time.
No new mail
I let out a little sigh as I shut the laptop. At least it wasn’t bad news.
“EVA!”
“I’m coming!”
I ran down the stairs. My sister Madison had already beaten me to the kitchen.
“Lazy butt,” Mattie snarked, tossing her shiny, long, light brown hair over her shoulder.
“Takes one to know one,” I retorted.
Mattie and I were only sixteen months apart in age—she was sixteen, while I was eighteen. You would think that would make us thick as thieves, but it was quite the opposite. We clashed all the time. Sometimes it was sibling rivalry, and sometimes it was something much worse.
Our small but cozy kitchen was full of warm colors and chicken motifs. Pots, pans, and other utensils were scattered across the white countertops. The beige wooden cabinets, which desperately needed a new coat of paint, were past their prime, along with the twenty-year-old stovetop. The white and blue floor tiles caught the light from the old drafty windows. Our kitchen would never be featured in a magazine, but it was home.
Mom hovered over the large wooden dining table with a hot pan, dishing out sausage onto plates that were each already loaded with two slices of brown toast. She brushed a few stray wisps of dark blonde hair from her face before setting the pan back down on the stove. She opened the backdoor and yelled outside, “Kids! Breakfast!”
Marjorie and Cid bounded into the kitchen with the commotion you would expect from two seven-year-old twins, their light blond hair bobbing as they tore through the room. My stepdad, Bill, was absent that morning since he had to work at his junkyard that day.
“What’s for breakfast?” Marjorie asked.
“Sausage and toast,” Mom replied. “Did you both wash your hands?”
“I want cereal,” Cid declared.
“No, you’re eating sausage and toast.”
As Cid began to whine to Mom, I tuned them out, sat down at the table, and started eating. My thoughts drifted back to my icicle room.
“Eva,” Mom said. “Don’t forget, I need you to clean the shed today.”
“What about Mattie? Why do I have to do it by myself?”
“Mattie cleaned out the fridge yesterday, so she’s off the hook.”
“I battled moldy mayo!” Mattie said triumphantly. “I’m not dealing with spiders.”
I nodded with my mouth full of toast and then furrowed my brow, realizing I would have to wait until this afternoon before I could check my email again.
Climbing the stairs seemed more like hiking a steep mountain. Having spent the whole day cleaning out the shed in the backyard, hauling stuff into the truck, and then tidying up the rest of the yard, I was completely exhausted. As I trudged down the hallway, I overheard Mattie in her room talking on the phone with her latest love interest.
I flung the door open to her room and shouted, “MATTIE LOVES YOU!”
Mattie glared at me with rage-filled eyes. “Get out!”
She lunged toward me, so I slammed the door shut again, snickering as I walked to my room. She was going to make me pay for that, but it was still funny.
Marjorie passed me in the hallway. “You smell!” she said, holding her nose and scrunching up her face.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked and pulled her into a big bear hug. “Now you smell too!”
“Ew! Let me go!” She struggled out of my grasp and ran toward the top of the stairs. “You need to take a shower!”
I laughed. “I know. I have to check my email first, and then I’ll take a shower.”
Swinging open the door to my room, I sighed in relief that it was no longer coated in a thin layer of ice, and pushed the mystery of how it happened out of my mind for now. I drew out the chair from under my desk and collapsed into it. I flipped my laptop open. Fortunately, I didn’t shut it down earlier, so it didn’t take as long to wake up as it did this morning. I glanced at my email inbox. There was still nothing new.
I pressed the refresh button to check for new mail. A little hourglass icon spun and spun and spun…
Ugh! Stupid internet! This is going to take forever. I need to shower.
I dragged myself into the bathroom. After a quick shower, I hurried back into my bedroom. The screen saver bounced around the screen, so I shook the mouse out of habit. The laptop sprang to life.
One new message
Oh my God.
The email preview read, “Hudson Heights… Congratulations! We are happy to inform you…”
Oh. My. God!
I opened the email quickly but read it carefully, needing to confirm that it was indeed what I thought it was. My eyes lingered on the words “paid in full” and “Fall Quarter begins Monday, September 5th.”
I rose from my chair and crumpled into a heap on the floor. Tears filled my eyes as I recalled all the times I had declined social activities to focus on my grades, how hard I had studied for my exams, and how many times I wrote and rewrote my admission application essay, only to do it all over again for the scholarship application essay once I got into Hudson because we couldn’t afford to pay for it. Up until that point, I had never worked so hard for something where there wasn’t a guaranteed reward. I had done it!
My heart was lighter than it had been in a long time, and I was so proud of myself. My new life was about to begin!
I stared fixated at my plate and ground my teeth to a rhythm in my head as I ate dinner later that night. Mattie sat across the table from me, and I could feel her eyes boring into my head, still seething with anger from the stunt I’d pulled earlier while she was on the phone. I smiled to myself and scooped another bit of mashed potatoes onto my plate. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of getting back at me tonight. I’d just let her stew with her thoughts of all the hideous things she could say to me.
At the farthest end of the table, Bill ate silently, occasionally grunting in affirmation of Mom’s complaints about how expensive groceries have gotten and how she’d run into nosy Martha at the store.
I spooned some peas into my mouth and wondered how they would take the news of me getting a full scholarship to Hudson. A full scholarship to Hudson. I smiled proudly at myself, repeating it over and over in my head.
Bill must have read my mind because he cleared his throat and asked, “What’s going on in that head of yours, Eva? If you’re plotting murder, I don’t want to be on the hit list.” He smiled.
“Oh.” I straightened up and smiled at him.
Bill had kind gray eyes that were a stark contrast to the sharp lines and angles on his face, not to mention the numerous deep pockmarks that made him look intimidating at first glance. Even though he was my stepdad, he was the only father I had ever known. He loved Mattie and me as much as the twins, my half-siblings.
“Eva doesn’t have half a brain in her to—” Mattie began.
“Mattie,” Bill warned, fixing her with a flat stare. “You’d think that the two of you would be best of friends seeing how much you both look alike.”
“I don’t look anything like Eva!” Mattie screeched, her eyes blazing. “She looks like a sewer rat.”
I snorted so loud I nearly choked on my food and then began coughing. Bill sighed and passed me a glass of water.
“So, we both look like hideous sewer rats?!” I laughed with tears streaming down my face. “Maybe your boyfriend likes rats, huh?”
“Keep Jason out of your stinking mouth!” Mattie pointed her fork at me. “Ugh! I can’t wait until you’re out of this house!”
“Well, you won’t have to wait long.” I paused for dramatic effect. “I got the scholarship to Hudson Heights!”
Mom and Bill looked at me wide-eyed.
“What did you say?” Mom asked.
“I got the scholarship, Mom! A full ride! I’m going to Hudson Heights this fall!”
“Oh my God, baby!” Mom squealed, rushing out of her chair to squeeze me into a tight hug.
Bill was right behind her, throwing his arms around both of us. “Congratulations, Evangeline!”
“Whoa.” I wasn’t expecting them to be so excited. I laughed. “Okay, okay. I can’t breathe!”
“I’m so proud of you,” Mom beamed as she and Bill returned to their chairs.
“I always knew you could do it, Eva,” Bill choked out, his eyes misting. “You’re going to be the first one in both of our families.”
That sent Mom over the edge, and she started bawling. “You deserve this so much!”
Marjorie’s whispered voice piped up next to me. “So, you’re going to leave us?”
“Oh, Marge. You knew this might happen. But I won’t be that far away, and I’ll come visit all the time.” I laid a hand on her back. “You can come visit me too!”
Marjorie’s eyes lit up. “Really?! That sounds fun!”
“You too, Cid.” I looked at my little brother.
Cid shrugged and kept shoving mashed potatoes in his mouth. I chuckled at how much he didn’t care about my big news.
I looked up and met Mattie’s eyes, seemingly glowering with hate in the dim kitchen light, but I couldn’t be sure. “C’mon, Mattie,” I said softly with a smile. “Can’t you be happy for me this one time?”
She pounded the table with her fists and stood abruptly, her chair falling backward and hitting the floor. “Why would I be happy for you?” she bellowed and turned to leave.
Frustration bubbled inside me. What part of me going to college on a full scholarship was such a betrayal to her?
I stood up from my seat and yelled at her, “What’s wrong with you?”
Mattie turned on her heels, pointing one finger and sputtering as she tottered toward me. “I hate you!”
The anger that had formed in my stomach rushed to my chest and then to my face. An intense pressure built in my head. I gripped the table, feeling like I was going to explode.
“Why can’t you ever be happy for me?!” I screamed.
My fingers dug into the wood, and the entire table erupted into yellow and orange flames. The smoke alarm wailed over our heads. The fire danced across the table, consuming our plates, the remaining food, and everything else in its path. The intense flames were right in front of me, yet it wasn’t hot against my skin. As the flames grew taller, I could see them reflecting in Mattie’s stunned eyes and casting an eerie glow over her horrified face.
“Oh, my God!” Mom yelled and rushed to the twins to pull them away from the table.
“Everyone, back up!” Bill rushed for the fire extinguisher and doused the blaze in white foam until the flames disappeared.
Once the mist from the foam dissipated, the air was thick with the acrid scent of smoke, burning wood, and singed fabric.
Everyone’s eyes suddenly turned to me.
“Eva…” Mom stammered. “How did you…?”
“You set the table on fire.” Bill quickly gathered the twins into his arms, as if to protect them… from me.
I stared at my open palms. “I…… I don’t know.”
When I looked back up at my family, the looks in their eyes burned into my memory. Pure and utter fear, even Marjorie. My mind began to spin as anxiety filled my chest.
What…… what’s happening to me?
My head buzzed with even more pain as I recalled how my room was covered in ice this morning, and now, I almost burned down the house. With a pang of sadness and terror, I realized just how dangerous I was to my family.
Tears pooled in my eyes. Mattie stared at me like I had sprouted two heads. Mom’s face looked as if I had been given a death sentence, and Bill still shielded Cid and Marjorie, who were hiding and whimpering behind his legs.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, before I sprinted through the backdoor, fleeing into the night.
