Invisible

 

            Sweat trickled down Reina’s face as she waited for Mr. Price to announce who would be presenting next. When he said her name, she took a deep breath and tried to stop herself from shaking. She really, really hated standing in front of everyone. She somehow managed to make her way to the front of the classroom without dropping her notes or tripping over her feet.

            Standing now at the front of the class, Reina glanced up at all her classmates staring back at her. She felt her face turn red and launched straight into the speech that she’d practiced, trying to get through it as quickly as possible. She knew she wasn’t doing a great job, but she kept going. She fervently wished she were anywhere but here as she rattled off facts about the country of France, the subject of her presentation.

            As soon as she finished, she raced back to her seat with her head down. She was already so hot and embarrassed, but she pulled on her sweatshirt and put the hood up as she tried to hide. She pulled her hands inside her sleeves and hugged her chest, pretending no one could see her.

            The rest of the class was a blur for Reina. She was so focused on hiding from everyone that she didn’t hear another word that was spoken. When the bell finally rang, she jumped up in relief and headed to her next class. Gym wasn’t her favorite, but today it felt like a gift. She could easily blend in and keep her head down so no one would notice her. They were running the mile today, and she knew this was something she could do. You didn’t really need any special skills to run.

            A jolt of alarm rushed through her as she peeled off the hoodie that she’d been hiding inside. Blinking her eyes several times, she willed them to see something different than what she was currently seeing. She rubbed her hands together to make sure she could feel them, but they were just gone. She picked up the sweatshirt and felt it in her fingers, but her hands had disappeared as well as her arms.

            Nearly reaching full-panic mode, she put the sweatshirt back on and grabbed her backpack as she started running. She ran straight out of gym class and out of the school altogether. She didn’t stop until she got home, which was more than a mile away. Running faster than she’d ever run before, she tried not to think about her invisible arms and hands. When she reached her house a few minutes later, she barreled through the front door and slammed it shut behind her. Her parents were at work and her older brothers were still at school, but the feeling of being home and out of sight of everyone was somehow comforting.

            She quickly rummaged through her backpack and retrieved her cell phone. Taking another calming breath, she called Mom.

            Mom didn’t answer until the fourth ring, while Reina tried not to let her panic spiral out of control. When Mom finally answered, Reina wasn’t sure how to explain what had happened, but she choked out, “Mom! My hands disappeared!” Her voice came out much higher and scared than she’d planned.

            “What?” Mom sounded bewildered. “Where are you?”

            “I ran home because I didn’t know what to do. Help!” Reina was gasping in panic and trying to keep tears from spilling onto her face.

            Mom’s voice was calm as she said, “Stay right there. I’ll be home in ten minutes.”

            Mom hung up, and Reina waited for the longest ten minutes of her life. When Mom finally opened the front door, Reina ran to her and threw her arms around her.

            Mom’s face was full of concern as she gathered Reina into her arms and pulled her close. They both stood in silence as Reina felt her heart rate slowly calm down. She knew Mom could fix anything.

            “Let’s see your hands,” Mom said gently as she led Reina to the couch.

            Reina sat down heavily and slowly pulled off her sweatshirt. Her hands were still invisible, but she could actually see more of her arms now. Wordlessly, she showed them to Mom.

            Instead of looking shocked or panicked, Mom’s face was full of joy. She held Reina’s hands in hers and looked into her eyes. “You’ve discovered your power!” A huge grin appeared on Mom’s face, but Reina didn’t feel like smiling.

            “My what?”

            “It looks like you’ve awoken your magic.” Mom then launched into an explanation of the hidden magical members of their family. Only certain people had magic, and Reina was now one of them. Her brothers didn’t have any magic in their veins, but Mom had seen Reina’s potential and had apparently been waiting for something like this to happen.

            Reina sat there in shock as Mom then demonstrated her magical power. Snapping her fingers, a bolt of lightning flew between Mom’s hands, and she sent it bouncing around the room before she caught it and it disappeared. She told Reina that she was finally ready for her magical training.

            “But what about my hands?”

            Mom waved her hand, totally unconcerned. “Don’t worry. They’ll reappear eventually. You must have really wanted to disappear or something. Invisibility magic is really tough to master.”

            Mom and Reina talked for hours. Reina couldn’t fully relax until her hands had reappeared. When they finally did, she caught some of Mom’s excitement about learning more magic. A few hours ago, there’d been no such thing as magic, but now it was a glorious possibility. She thought back to her disastrous presentation at school. At least something good would come of it, even if it wasn’t a good grade.