"Then let me see if I understand," Mom said when I got into the car.
"Some kids insulted Selphira after she got mad at you."
"...yes," I said.
"So you got mad because of that?"
"...Yes."
"Then you jumped on them with your knife fingers and sharp feathered wings, causing several cuts to all five of them, one of them losing three fingers, two others losing two fingers, and probably traumatizing them for life."
"...YES."
She turned to look at me with no expression and said,
"Am I forgetting something?"
"...That I was suspended for two weeks."
"..."
"..."
I fell silent, unable to look Mom in the face, so I didn't know what expression she was making. When I was expecting her to scold or yell at me, something unexpected happened.
"Hahahahaha."
"Hahahahaha."
Both Mom and Agatha, who was driving, started laughing, and I could only look at them, not understanding how they could laugh without stopping for several seconds.
"Haha, ... Ma'am, it's clear she's your daughter," Agatha said while trying to calm down.
"Haha, for better or worse, it seems that way," Mom replied between laughs.
"Aren't you mad?" I asked, bewildered.
"Sweetheart, I'll tell you two things," she said while looking at me with a smile. "First, if you believe it's worth fighting for something, like defending a friend, then DO IT. Those who say violence is never the answer say so because they don't have the strength."
"And the second?"
"If you're going to hit someone, do it without witnesses and without your victims being able to recognize you afterward."
I looked at her, bewildered and unsure how to respond, though I was sure that wasn't something a mother should say to her daughter.
"Ma'am, that's not something a normal parent would say to their child."
"To hell with normal parents... sweetheart, don't say that," she said the last part as if she realized she had made a mistake.
"So… I'm not grounded?"
"No, on the contrary! I'm taking you out for ice cream right now! My little girl fought against five idiots and won!" she exclaimed cheerfully. Honestly, I can't understand Mom sometimes.
...
After getting ice cream, we went home. According to Mom, when the school called, they canceled all the classes for the day, so now she was free. She spent the day with me watching movies in the living room until late. When night fell and I went to my room, I started to think.
Why did Selphira yell at me?
Why did she get mad?
What did I do wrong?
Does she hate me?
Does she not want to be my friend anymore?
"Why?" I questioned aloud as I began to cry.
...
"This morning, there was a reported bank robbery in the city. The thieves, led by the supervillain Arsenal, took people in the bank hostage to deter the Heroes and the police. However, the plan was unsuccessful thanks to the hero Flashstrike, who managed to disarm the robbers before they could harm the hostages..."
I listened to the news while heading down for breakfast. I was suspended, so I didn't have to go to school, but I couldn't help getting up early.
"Hello, sweetheart."
"Hello, Miss."
"...Hello," I responded with a total lack of energy, which worried Mom.
"Is something wrong, sweetheart? If it's about the fight, I'm really not mad."
"No, that's not it..." I hesitated a bit to speak, but I decided that if anyone could help me, it was Mom.
"Do you remember that yesterday in his office the principal said I fought with Selphira?"
"Yeah, what about it...? Oh right, you fought with your friend," she said in a voice that kept getting lower. She quickly regained her composure and asked me,
"And what happened? Why did you fight?"
Before I could speak, I started to cry.
"Crying I-I got to the classroom…" I began to tell her everything that happened yesterday. "Crying Then she stood up and yelled at me crying."
"Okay, okay, everything will be alright," Mom said as she hugged me.
"But crying what if she hates me?"
"She doesn't hate you."
"Then why did she yell at me?" I asked, a bit calmer now.
"Selphira is going through a tough time. All people with mutation genes often have trouble adapting and tend to be in a bad mood. You just picked a bad time and topic to talk about."
"So she doesn't hate me?"
"No, dear, but she might still be upset, so you should apologize to her."
"Yes! I'm going to apologize to her!" I said as I got up full of energy. "But how do I apologize?" I wondered. I looked at Mom and asked, "How do you apologize to someone? Do I just say I'm sorry and that's it?"
"That might work, but a simple 'I'm sorry' isn't very effective. Maybe something more sincere."
"More sincere?"
"Yeah, show that you really mean it and that you've learned from your mistakes."
"Show that I learned from my mistakes…" I paused for a second until I had an idea.
"Mom, I need epsilon crystals!"
Mom, who was sipping her coffee, spat it out and shouted, "WHAT!"
...
Mom had to go back to work that day, but since she didn't want to leave me alone at home, Agatha stayed with me, and after asking me what I wanted to do, we decided to go to a nearby park.
When we arrived, there were several families with their children. At my school, there were still classes, but others had already started summer vacation, which is why there were so many kids.
I didn't know any of the children, so Agatha and I just walked around looking at the plants and watching the other kids play.
There's a law that states that using genes in public without some kind of license or permit is prohibited, but this is considered the least respected law in the world; no one pays attention to it, so as long as you don't cause trouble with your gene, you can use it freely. That's why there were several kids my age or older playing with their genes.
From people who shoot fire from their hands to others who fly.
I saw a boy who could stretch his tongue like a frog; I wondered how far he could stretch it.
There was a girl who transformed her hands into something resembling diamonds; I wondered how hard they were.
A boy with four arms—does his gene just give him four arms or super strength?
One with… swords coming out of his arms—how sharp could they be?
A gene that allows climbing.
A gene that gives claws on the fingers.
A gene… that allows jumping high.
A gene… that… I want to copy.
I want to copy that gene.
I want to copy that gene.
I WANT TO COPY THAT GENE!
I WANT TO COPY THAT GENE!
I WANT TO COPY THEM ALL!
"Miss—miss—Miss!"
I felt Agatha shaking me. Startled, I asked, "What's wrong?"
"Are you okay? You were just standing there, frozen, staring into space with a strange expression. I called you, but you didn't respond."
"Y-yes, I'm fine, I just got distracted."
"Is that so?" she questioned, not fully convinced.
"Yes, I'm fine." She looked at me for several seconds, doubting my words.
"Sigh Alright, shall we keep walking?"
"Yes."
We continued our walk in the park, but I couldn't shake that thought from my head.
What happened to me?