With each passing day absent of him using his water powers, Kay’s mood got worse.

  Each day he would go to school and then e home– school then home, barely existing outside of those two worlds. His ms were ample with study and he drowned his nights with TV, movies, video games, and i browsing. His free time had bee a binge of media, a relentless barrage to quell boredom. But after nearly a week of parking his water form, he was being quite numb to the barrage.

  A difficult boss in the video game Seikesu III got him tequit and a quick revisit to Treasure of the Rudras reminded him of the game’s plicated spell system. After boung off of Tales of Phantasia, got the idea of pying anything but an RPG and loaded up a game from his childhood: Aero the Acrobat. Nostalgia wasn’t doing the heavy lifting Kay hoped it would so he switched over to Sparkster, something he had never pyed before.

  It took two stages before Kay realized he wasn’t getting any joy from the title.

  He then remembered Shining Force II, a game he was curious about but he couldn’t find a Sega Genesis emutor that ran of his puter so he closed the window in frustratioing out a quiet growl at the pesky application.

  He sunk more time by catg up on a couple webics he liked, but there weren’t many strips to get updated with so that chewed up a few mi most. He checked out some forums but then AzureHill52 logged into MSN Messenger.

  Azure had the honour of initiating versation. “Sup?”

  What ? Even behind the disguise of SkyWaker, Kay wouldn’t tell anyone oerhat he had superpowers. He k was a bad idea even if the temptation stu like burs from a field of weeds. Kay saw Azure’s chat as an opportunity, though, to express (without giving away too much truth) how frustrated he was.

  “I’m a little down,” he typed.

  “A,” Azure responded. “What’s the matter?”

  A swirling warmth took Kay’s cheeks. Someone, a retive stranger, was ed for him. He let the feeling of fort ride down his chest and tingle his arms, theyped, “I’m grounded.” It was a det cover story for what was actually going on.

  “That sucks,” said Azure. “For how long?”

  Kay didn’t know what Azure looked like and vice versa, but it was easy to imagine him and Azure just sitting in school or on a park bench as they talked. Kay could even imagine Azure’s voice: youthful but with intelligend strength.

  “I’m not sure,” typed Kay, which als accurate.

  “God,” said Azure, adding a ughii. “What did you do?”

  Kay chortled then responded. “Got in a fight.” That was 100% accurate.

  “Did you win?” asked Azure.

  He wao lie and say he won, but he was venting and one couldn’t vent over ent problems, so he responded, “No.”

  “That sucks.” Azure said it before, but said it again with more text. “Grounded over a fight you didn’t when, that blows! Hope things improve for you.”

  Kay blushed. Genuine care. It felt o be cared for, even with someone he didn’t know personally. Maybe there was some p the i where he could rant about what he was going through. Maybe there ace where he could ask for advionymously.

  He didn’t have the energy to look for that today, though.

  Kay gave a rexed sigh and looked outside. The clouds covered the sky like a b but if it wasn’t the prettiest outdoors, he wao get out anyway. Turning into the water form was still off limits but a piece of him was vicious in wanting to get out of the apartment.

  Could he go to the movies? He still wao see School of Rod trailers still pyed on TV all the time, so it was had to be still ires. Kay went to the shelf to get his wallet. There weren’t dolr bills ihe sleeve, only s in the pocket. Not enough for a movie. He would have to ask Mom for some money.

  He practised asking her for money, practising his tone and word choice. How should he have approached? Should he have been ho a right to question or butter her up with asking about her day? He bounced bad forth on what method he would use but when he heard her e through the door, he knew he shouldn’t have wasted too much time sihe movie was starting soon. He left his room to begin the iations.

  Mom was taking off her coat so Kay slowed his approach lest he started the versation awkwardly in the middle of a sleeve removal. He let the coat touch the hanger and then he began.

  “Hi Mom,” said Kay.

  Try as he might to make himself sound natural, Kay’s tone was weird so Mom instantly got wary. “Hello, Mick,” she replied in a tohat didn’t gesture at aional state.

  “I wao ask if I could have some money,” said Kay, keeping his timbre in check. “I wao go see a movie.”

  “On a school night?” asked Mom.

  Kay hadn’t take that into at. It was a Wednesday, ly ideal movie time.

  “I’ll be home before nine,” said Kay. “Maybe eve. It’s not different then when I’m usually out about town.”

  Mom thought about handing him some mohen stopped. “You’ve goo the movies before. Why do you need money now?”

  Kay was in trouble. He couldn’t admit that he had snuto theatres a dozen times, nor could he admit that he turned into a water creature while doing it. He dropped his expression. “I... used up all that money. You know, birthday money and ifts. Sometimes friends pay for me.”

  Mom went to her purse, and Kay’s heart rose– happy to have vinced her. But when Mom came back with a ten and a five, she had a serious expression on her face. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’ve been thinking about getting a job.”

  A job.

  Kay’s heart sunk. He had walked right into a brick wall of responsibility and expectation. The money was dangling there so he took the money before the offer was resded. He gripped the money, folding the bills between fingers. “I thought you said that if I got good grades I wouldn’t have to find a job? That you would pay for me?”

  “Great grades,” said Mom.

  “My grades were great!” said Kay. He could remember taking his eyes down his report card at the end of st year, a lovely crop of 70s and 80s.

  Kay didn’t actually mention what grades he was referring to, but Mom parsed what he meant– his Grade 10 review. She didn’t have a clear memory of what grades he got, but remember him doing well. She folded her arms, though. “I don’t think they were great...”

  This pierced Kay’s pride. He scowled and his voice crackled with e. “I got four As! My lowest mark was a seventy-five. Yed about it at Grandpa’s the oime!”

  Why did teenagers have to grow fierce over encement, Mom wondered. She tered Kay’s scowl with a stern look. “I was thinking straight As.”

  Kay puttered. If it wasn’t an after school job, it was 80s across the board. Such a high demand for a little spending money. Kay and Mom shared a stare at each other, Kay’s brow furrowed.

  He scoffed and turned his head away from Mom. “Were you this hard on Aubrey when she was in high school?”

  Mom tilted her head down, looking a little insecure. “N... no. But... maybe I should have.”

  Kay didn’t know what to say. A week ago he was flying through the rooftops of Toronto and now he was haggling his mother for spending money and she was blindsiding him with talks about responsibility.

  It felt like the versation had hit its clusion and Kay didn’t want to suffer one more sed of it, so he waggled the money, said, “Thanks, mom,” theo his room to get his stuff together. Mom sighed. He didn’t have be so bratty about it.

  Kay went into his room and took a mio fume. What a situation to be in! Kay hiding his water form had brought him back to awful reality: reality where he had to pay moo eheatres and Mom was expeg him to find an after school job.

  “This sucks,” said Kay, repeating the words of his i chum.

  Kay supposed that even if he still had unproblematic access to his liquid form, he would still have a problem here. His mom was asking him to use his after school time to get a job. Evenings were meant for water nonsehough!

  School, work, it was all going to take up so much time!

  Kay tried to put that aside, though. He had the money in his wallet and a movie was waiting for him. He put on a sweater ao get his coat, ahe apartment giving his mom a very ral “bye” before he left to help defuse any tensioween them.

  Most pces around town had their Hallowe’en decorations up or kept up their Thanksgiving oo prolong the aura of autumn. It was a bleary day but people were still out aed anyway. Some kids Kay’s age were crowded outside a townhouse, chatting at each other with big smiles on their faces. A couple of them sang a few lines from a Jet song, botched the lyrics, and the group of them broke into ughter that crackled across the street.

  A little farther down and Kay passed by Harris Pce, a party venue. ing off the street, there was a small parking lot. A young woman in a nice dress jogged up to the front door as quick as she could in high heels, clutg her bare shoulders– so cold.

  As he walked to the movie plex, Kay lost himself in his worries. He refused to believe that his life with water time was over. But how long would he have to wait until it was safe? That was a question he had no sure answer. Was the gang that sent the hit out on him oo hold a grudge? If Kay pardoned his water form for a year and the out again in that form, would the gang still be around and attack him? How about two years?

  God, thought Kay, the thought of being stuck human for years is depressing me.

  He let out a strained exhale. It wasn’t the first time that week he had bummed himself out with a spiral of pahoughts, but he was on his way to a happy pce: he was going to see a movie he wao see. A good movie; not a ker he had to sneak into.

  He tried to keep that in mind.

  The crowd was heavy on that early Wednesday evening. The lobby was full of movie watchers hustling around the carpet floor. Kay got in line for purchasing tickets. He realized that was the theatre where he got a suspicious gnce aimed at him on the way out of a movie he water-formed into. As he got closer to the front of the line, he prepared some excuses in case the clerk reized him.

  The clerk did nnize him. It was a busy job and a clerk was not going to remember someone who snu a couple weeks ago.

  So Kay got his ticket for School of Rock without problem and walked to the theatre hall. His show was starting in fifteen minutes.

  On his way there he looked over at the cession stand. Would he grab a pop or drink before heading in? He looked down at his money before shuffling it into his wallet. If Mom didn’t ask for it back, he a couple bucks for anything else ter.

  As he passed by the stand, though, a group of people caught his eye. Yeah, he reized one of them: it was Jia from css. She raised her eyes and put on a perky grin, waving. “Heeey, Kay!”

  “Oh, hi!” said Kay.

  Jia was with a few people. There was a boy that looked her age, Aaro, and then two older kids: Liezel, Jia’s older sister, and her boyfriend Luis. They exged introdus and names and then cut to chatter.

  “What movie are you here to see?” asked Jia.

  “School of Rock,” said Kay.

  Jia giggled. “That’s a kid’s film, though!”

  Embarrassment came over Kay, but Luis offered crification to the crowd. “It’s a good film!” he said. He turo Kay, reassuringly. “It’s a good film.”

  “Well,” said Kay, regaining his posure. “What are you here to see?”

  “Texas saw Massacre,” said Jia. Definitely not a kid’s film. She flipped a point at Liezel and Luis. “It’s rated R so I need a chaperoo get in,” she said, her voice defting under embarrassment. Jia brightened up a smile again. “You could join us if you want!”

  Kay had seerailers on that one. Apparently it was a remake? Kay wasn’t ied. He clutched his ticket. “I already paid for School of Rock.” He chuckled. “I’m not kidding. I really wao see it!”

  Jia giggled, smiling wide. “Don’t worry, I believe you!”

  Kay tossed them a wave ahem to go see his movie. They remai the cession stand as Kay entered his theatre.

  Kay took a spot towards the middle with a couple empty seats adjat to his. As the previews went on showg an uping Disney animated feature and selling Kay on the Will Ferrell vehicle Elf, people filled empty space so while Kay took a p the outside of the row, he was seated beside a middle-aged man.

  His front, rear and sides were occupied. It was quite different than his usual of entering through an air dud crawling into ay theatre to wate garbage movie. The movie started up and the physical credits was an inspired choice, so Kay was expeg something good. It didn’t take long to get to the edy and it had been awhile since Kay had been in an audiehat ughed at the movie. That was something quite g when he saw that Child Star movie earlier in the month.

  The stot rolling with the main character Dewey Fiing work at a private school and Kay leased to see Finn rebel against the kids’ modern music tastes and even suggesting cssic rock to a lot of them. Finn was namedropping bands Kay didn’t even know!

  As the movie went on, Kay’s mind wavered, though.

  He couldn’t help but feel the sequences of his trauma. Was it trauma? He wasn’t sure it wasn’t. The gang that was after him; were any of them in that room with him? His paranoia danced on his shoulder, distrag him minutes apart. He tried to pay attention to the film, and for the most part it was a success, but his mind drifted into the darkness and he wrestled with worry.

  By the end of the film, with the story leading up to a bombastid admittedly catchy) finale, Kay’s attention was focused oion picture. Despite his mind wandering over the course of the fim, he grasped the plot alright. When the closing credits arrived, some people stayed for a little music video at the end while ot up, wanting out. Kay would have liked to see the credits seque a wave of people were ing his way so he opted to get out and join them on leaving the threatre.

  He checked the lobby’s clo his way to the exit. 8:17. It wasn’t even his bedtime; not even close! Wait until Mom finds out about this! Kay thought.