comfort zone. And you’re getting older
and you’re realizing that you’re going to end up alone and
probably living at Mom and Dad’s.”
“That’s mean!” She was wrong, of course. I’d been on
date just six months earlier. So there.
“No, you’re mean. And immature. And self-absorbed.
When was the last time you even cared about anyone but
yourself? When was the last time you made a real connection
with anyone?”
For a second, my mind flashed to Mike holding my
newly healed hand. That felt like something. But what?
Before I could think about it anymore, I lost my balance
on the treadmill and fell forward. My face landed hard onto
the moving belt. I yelled and tried to get up but I was caught
in something. The damn guest pass they’d given me was
caught in the machinery of the treadmill.
I tried to yell but my face was being dragged against
the moving belt. My arms and legs were flailing in every
direction. Ella and everyone around me was screaming.
Hands were on my body trying to drag me up but the guest
pass was holding my face down on the treadmill. Finally, the
machine just stopped. I felt myself being pulled up and I was
able to open my eyes a bit. The first thing I saw was Ella’s
stricken face.
“Are you OK?” a voice asked behind me. It might have
been Rodney’s but I wasn’t sure. “Someone call 911.”
“No!” Ella screamed. Then she reached over the
flipped my shirt over my head, effectively blocking my view
and exposing my bra and back fat to the world. “She’s fine!
She’s fine! I’ll take her the bathroom and get her cleaned up.
Everything’s fine.”
I felt someone’s hands on my shoulders—presumably
Ella’s—pushing me along. “I can’t breathe,” I tried to say but
it was muffled by the shirt. “It’s wet and sticky under here.”
But there was no response. I felt like I’d gotten the worst
rug burn in history and my head was throbbing. Finally, I
stopped being pushed. I heard a door slam closed and a lock
click. Only then did she pull the shirt off my head.
I looked at Ella’s pale face. “What is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with you ?!” she hissed back. Then she
answered her own question. “You’re the clumsiest person on
earth, you know?” She yanked a towel from the rack in the
bathroom and pushed it my way.
“It’s not my fault! Rodney gave me a defective guest
pass. And isn’t that machine supposed to cut off automatically?
And did you have to pull up my shirt?!”
“Yes, I did! It was either that or explain why your face
fell off and you’re still walking around like it’s nothing. And
you should be thanking Rod. He’s the one that cut off that
lanyard and got you unstuck.”
“Hmph.” I patted my face with the towel and it was
red and wet when I pulled it back. I was bleeding a lot. And
the burning that started back at the treadmill was now a full
on fire. It felt like someone had rubbed my face off with a
piece of carpet. “Do I even want to look in the mirror?”
Ella shuttered. “No. You look like your face is melting.”
She shoved the towel back up to my face. “I forgot how gross
you were when you did this.”
Well that was just rude. I was the one growing back
my face. And it hurt like hell. “Oh well I’m sorry to gross you
out. It’s just my face we’re talking about here.”
She was still staring at me with a grossed out look on
her face. “How long does it usually take?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It depends. Maybe ten or
fifteen minutes. We just need to wait.”
Ella put her hands up in defeat. Then she put the toilet
seat down, sat down it, and crossed her legs. I leaned against a
wall, strategically placing myself where I couldn’t see myself
in the mirror. We stayed like that in silence for two or three
minutes. It was me that broke it. “Ella, do you ever wonder
what life would be like if you didn’t have to be a Super?”
Her eyes flitted to me. “I
and you’re realizing that you’re going to end up alone and
probably living at Mom and Dad’s.”
“That’s mean!” She was wrong, of course. I’d been on
date just six months earlier. So there.
“No, you’re mean. And immature. And self-absorbed.
When was the last time you even cared about anyone but
yourself? When was the last time you made a real connection
with anyone?”
For a second, my mind flashed to Mike holding my
newly healed hand. That felt like something. But what?
Before I could think about it anymore, I lost my balance
on the treadmill and fell forward. My face landed hard onto
the moving belt. I yelled and tried to get up but I was caught
in something. The damn guest pass they’d given me was
caught in the machinery of the treadmill.
I tried to yell but my face was being dragged against
the moving belt. My arms and legs were flailing in every
direction. Ella and everyone around me was screaming.
Hands were on my body trying to drag me up but the guest
pass was holding my face down on the treadmill. Finally, the
machine just stopped. I felt myself being pulled up and I was
able to open my eyes a bit. The first thing I saw was Ella’s
stricken face.
“Are you OK?” a voice asked behind me. It might have
been Rodney’s but I wasn’t sure. “Someone call 911.”
“No!” Ella screamed. Then she reached over the
flipped my shirt over my head, effectively blocking my view
and exposing my bra and back fat to the world. “She’s fine!
She’s fine! I’ll take her the bathroom and get her cleaned up.
Everything’s fine.”
I felt someone’s hands on my shoulders—presumably
Ella’s—pushing me along. “I can’t breathe,” I tried to say but
it was muffled by the shirt. “It’s wet and sticky under here.”
But there was no response. I felt like I’d gotten the worst
rug burn in history and my head was throbbing. Finally, I
stopped being pushed. I heard a door slam closed and a lock
click. Only then did she pull the shirt off my head.
I looked at Ella’s pale face. “What is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with you ?!” she hissed back. Then she
answered her own question. “You’re the clumsiest person on
earth, you know?” She yanked a towel from the rack in the
bathroom and pushed it my way.
“It’s not my fault! Rodney gave me a defective guest
pass. And isn’t that machine supposed to cut off automatically?
And did you have to pull up my shirt?!”
“Yes, I did! It was either that or explain why your face
fell off and you’re still walking around like it’s nothing. And
you should be thanking Rod. He’s the one that cut off that
lanyard and got you unstuck.”
“Hmph.” I patted my face with the towel and it was
red and wet when I pulled it back. I was bleeding a lot. And
the burning that started back at the treadmill was now a full
on fire. It felt like someone had rubbed my face off with a
piece of carpet. “Do I even want to look in the mirror?”
Ella shuttered. “No. You look like your face is melting.”
She shoved the towel back up to my face. “I forgot how gross
you were when you did this.”
Well that was just rude. I was the one growing back
my face. And it hurt like hell. “Oh well I’m sorry to gross you
out. It’s just my face we’re talking about here.”
She was still staring at me with a grossed out look on
her face. “How long does it usually take?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It depends. Maybe ten or
fifteen minutes. We just need to wait.”
Ella put her hands up in defeat. Then she put the toilet
seat down, sat down it, and crossed her legs. I leaned against a
wall, strategically placing myself where I couldn’t see myself
in the mirror. We stayed like that in silence for two or three
minutes. It was me that broke it. “Ella, do you ever wonder
what life would be like if you didn’t have to be a Super?”
Her eyes flitted to me. “I
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