get mad at you because you cured all diseases and they’re out of business. So they kidnap you and lock you up in some cage in an underground secret prison.”
“No way! I’ll escape!”
“What with? Cuz you can only have one superpower, right? You can’t unpollute and undisease your way out of a cage.”
It’s Nicole’s turn to furrow her brow. “So are we saying that you definitely need more than one superpower?”
“Absolutely.”
“Fine, then. My second is … teleportation.”
“For the cage?”
Nicole nods. “For the cage.”
“Well played, Nix. Well played. One last question. This one is from NewBenKenobi.” Amy’s glance slides across at Nicole, then back to the screen. “Hey, Ben. Good to hear from you again. So, you ask: ‘People have found evidence of animal remains in an odd formation at the campgrounds. Did you see anything weird there?’”
Nicole looks confused. “Animal remains?”
Amy stares into the camera. “Uh, Ben: Don’t know. Don’t care. You guys out there, post us the superpowers you’d like here at AmesAndNix.com . Tune in again! Byeeeee!”
The screen fades to purple, with scrawled letters:
Peace Out! Ames & Nix xxx
Lost for Words
T he elevator beeped as it passed the third floor of Evergreens Hospital, and Nicole glanced across at her best friend. Amy was being unusually quiet, and Nicole half wondered whether the stress of the previous few days had gotten to her more than she’d let on.
Nicole’s mom had been against their visiting Elise so soon after the wildfire, but the girls had insisted, and after they’d stopped to pick up a bag of fresh grapes and a handful of colorful balloons from the store, Nicole’s mom had reluctantly dropped them off before her shift.
Amy sensed her friend’s eyes on her, and she looked up and smiled. She popped a grape into her mouth and offered the bunch to Nicole. A ding announced the elevator’s arrival at the children’s ward.
The girls stepped out into the bright and cheery reception area.
Elise Allerton was there to greet them, a large smile plastered across her face. Her hair was in pigtails, her face was scrubbed clean, and she wore jeans and a T-shirt as if she’d just strolled in off the street. She looked well-rested and healthy — and about as far removed from the injured girl Nicole had carried as could be possible.
“Wow! Look at you!” Amy gasped, barely putting into words the disbelief Nicole was feeling.
Nicole gave a smile, too, and croaked her greeting.
“Hey.”
Elise grinned, and from behind her back she pulled out two daisies, which she offered to Nicole and Amy. “Thank you for saving me.”
Amy knelt down before the girl and gave her a hug — in part to check that she wasn’t some kind of apparition.
As Nicole watched Elise hug Amy tightly, doubts raged through her mind. How could this be so? The little girl — who only a day earlier had been crushed under a heavy tree branch and was so badly hurt that she was barely conscious throughout the entire flight through the forest — was healthy and well.
Soon they were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Allerton, who explained that, although they were still suffering from smoke inhalation, Elise had been given a clean bill of health. Together, the family had been checked out and was all set to go home.
Nicole felt truly dazed, and she knew from the look on Amy’s face that her friend shared her confusion.
Elise’s parents had a different reaction. They could not have been more thrilled, and they held on to their daughter as if they had inwardly vowed never to let her go again.
“The doctors are calling her a miracle child, and you can see why.”
“It’s just amazing!” Amy exclaimed.
“We were expecting to come sit by your bedside, Elise.” Nicole handed across the colorful balloons.
Mr. Allerton gave his daughter a big bear hug. It made Nicole suddenly think wistfully of her own dad.
“We think you’re the miracle girls. Both of
“No way! I’ll escape!”
“What with? Cuz you can only have one superpower, right? You can’t unpollute and undisease your way out of a cage.”
It’s Nicole’s turn to furrow her brow. “So are we saying that you definitely need more than one superpower?”
“Absolutely.”
“Fine, then. My second is … teleportation.”
“For the cage?”
Nicole nods. “For the cage.”
“Well played, Nix. Well played. One last question. This one is from NewBenKenobi.” Amy’s glance slides across at Nicole, then back to the screen. “Hey, Ben. Good to hear from you again. So, you ask: ‘People have found evidence of animal remains in an odd formation at the campgrounds. Did you see anything weird there?’”
Nicole looks confused. “Animal remains?”
Amy stares into the camera. “Uh, Ben: Don’t know. Don’t care. You guys out there, post us the superpowers you’d like here at AmesAndNix.com . Tune in again! Byeeeee!”
The screen fades to purple, with scrawled letters:
Peace Out! Ames & Nix xxx
Lost for Words
T he elevator beeped as it passed the third floor of Evergreens Hospital, and Nicole glanced across at her best friend. Amy was being unusually quiet, and Nicole half wondered whether the stress of the previous few days had gotten to her more than she’d let on.
Nicole’s mom had been against their visiting Elise so soon after the wildfire, but the girls had insisted, and after they’d stopped to pick up a bag of fresh grapes and a handful of colorful balloons from the store, Nicole’s mom had reluctantly dropped them off before her shift.
Amy sensed her friend’s eyes on her, and she looked up and smiled. She popped a grape into her mouth and offered the bunch to Nicole. A ding announced the elevator’s arrival at the children’s ward.
The girls stepped out into the bright and cheery reception area.
Elise Allerton was there to greet them, a large smile plastered across her face. Her hair was in pigtails, her face was scrubbed clean, and she wore jeans and a T-shirt as if she’d just strolled in off the street. She looked well-rested and healthy — and about as far removed from the injured girl Nicole had carried as could be possible.
“Wow! Look at you!” Amy gasped, barely putting into words the disbelief Nicole was feeling.
Nicole gave a smile, too, and croaked her greeting.
“Hey.”
Elise grinned, and from behind her back she pulled out two daisies, which she offered to Nicole and Amy. “Thank you for saving me.”
Amy knelt down before the girl and gave her a hug — in part to check that she wasn’t some kind of apparition.
As Nicole watched Elise hug Amy tightly, doubts raged through her mind. How could this be so? The little girl — who only a day earlier had been crushed under a heavy tree branch and was so badly hurt that she was barely conscious throughout the entire flight through the forest — was healthy and well.
Soon they were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Allerton, who explained that, although they were still suffering from smoke inhalation, Elise had been given a clean bill of health. Together, the family had been checked out and was all set to go home.
Nicole felt truly dazed, and she knew from the look on Amy’s face that her friend shared her confusion.
Elise’s parents had a different reaction. They could not have been more thrilled, and they held on to their daughter as if they had inwardly vowed never to let her go again.
“The doctors are calling her a miracle child, and you can see why.”
“It’s just amazing!” Amy exclaimed.
“We were expecting to come sit by your bedside, Elise.” Nicole handed across the colorful balloons.
Mr. Allerton gave his daughter a big bear hug. It made Nicole suddenly think wistfully of her own dad.
“We think you’re the miracle girls. Both of
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