It didn’t take too long for Harding and Kira to run me through the other tests, which all failed to reveal any other powers. That was a relief. I was silent as we walked back to the building where my dad was still waiting.

“How’d it go?” he asked when we walked in.

“She’s the strongest woman alive,” Harding proclaimed.

“Maybe the strongest person alive,” Kira added.

“Really?” My dad asked, surprised but pleased.

“It’s not all good news,” Harding said. “This level of strength is incredibly dangerous. She’ll need to learn how to interact with the world around her, especially people. We’ll be recommending for her to be sent to the Cain Center.”

My stomach lurched and my heart began beating faster. That was where they sent the dangerous supers.

“I don’t really need to go there, do I?” I asked, hoping Harding would change his mind. “I can just keep my hands to myself, you know? I’m not a danger to anyone.”

“Let me ask you this,” Harding replied, “Do you ever get startled? Boys teasing you and make you jump?”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“What’s going to happen the next time that happens?”

I didn’t respond.

“Remember the boulder you pulverized?” Harding asked. “And I seem to remember a rather painful experience just a short while ago. At the Cane Center they’re prepared for those kinds of events, and there are healers and medical staff on hand in case of injuries”

“How long will she need to be there?” My dad asked, coming forward and placing his hand on my shoulder.

“That’s hard to say,” Kira said. “It depends on how quickly Misha can learn to control her strength. As soon as she’s deemed safe, she’ll be free to come home.”

“What if I don’t want to go?” I asked, really not liking the idea of being locked away just because of my strength. I wasn’t that dangerous. What happened with Harding was a fluke. I was sure I could keep my strength under control enough so as not to be a danger to anyone.

“This isn’t a matter of whether you want to go or not,” Harding replied. “It’s a matter of public safety.”

“You can’t make me go, though.”

“Legally, we can.”

“What about physically?” I countered. “If I refuse to go, what can you do, really?”

“You’re parents can be fined, or even charged with public endangerment if they’re found to be supporting your refusal to go to the Cane Center.”

“But what if –

“She’ll go,” my dad cut in and then turned to face me. “You won’t be there for very long,” he assured me. “You’ve always been a good student. You’ll go there, you’ll learn to control your strength, and then then you’ll be back home.”

“It’s not as bad as you might think,” Kira assured me. “Since most of the new supers are minors, the Cane Center is a lot like a big school. You’ll still have your regular classes so you won’t fall behind academically, and then there’s a bunch of clubs and activities you can join.”

My shoulders sagged as I felt the fight go out of me. What was the point in resisting? All I’d accomplish would be getting my parents in trouble.

“Alright,” I muttered. “When do I go?”

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Kira replied. You’re allowed one bag of personal items. Don’t worry about clothes, that’s all provided by the Center.”

“Really? I have to wear a uniform while I’m there?” I was not looking forward to that.

“Some super powers interact poorly with certain materials,” Kira explained, “and they found it was easier to just standardize what everyone wore rather than try and have everyone sort through their own clothes. Also, for the same reason there’s no jewelry allowed except for in your room. Your personal items are also not to leave your room. They’ll have more information for you when you get there, but those are the main ones to know ahead of time.”

“In the mean time,” Harding added, “I suggest slow movements whenever you need to interact with other people or objects. It’s a lot easier to catch yourself from breaking things if you go slow.”

It was a subdued car ride back home. My car door was still broken and I had to hold it shut the entire time. The hardest part about that was not crushing the door further, which I only partially succeeded at. By the time we arrived back at home, my hand print was clearly set into the door and there was no salvaging it. The entire door would need to be replaced.

“Sorry about the car,” I murmured as we walked up to the house.

“Don’t worry about it,” my dad shrugged. “You’re still getting used to being the strongest person alive.”

“You make it sound like this is a good thing.”

“Well, it could be worse,” he sighed. “You could be one of those people who spew acid or something every time they try to talk.”

“Small comfort.”

“You also don’t have strange tentacles or appendages growing out of you.”

“Horns could be pretty cool, though,” I said, thinking about some of the other supers I’d heard about.

“Nah, horns would make wearing a hat too complicated.”

“And I wear so many of those.”

“In the winter you do.”

That was true.

“Well, I don’t have horns so I don’t need to worry about that.”

He opened the front door for me and we both made for the couch where we flopped down beside one another.

“Do you want some help packing?” He asked after a while of us both just sitting there and staring up at the ceiling.

“I don’t know,” I replied, not yet wanting to think about that. “I don’t even know what to pack.”

“Favorite book?” he suggested. “Probably some makeup. We could get a bunch of junk food from the store and cram your bag full with that so you always have a stash of snacks.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Great. You go get started on packing your makeup and whatnot and I’ll call your mother and let her know what’s going on.”

“Ugh, do you have to tell her?” I asked, knowing how much of a fuss she would make over this.

“Well, since she’s supposed to have you this weekend, yes, I do kind of need to let her know.”

“Fine, but I don’t want to talk to her.”

My dad frowned.

“She’s your mom. She’ll be concerned and she’ll want to talk to you.”

“She’s the one who walked out on us,” I stated, getting up from the couch and walking towards my room. “If she wanted to be involved, if she cared, she would still be here.”

My dad didn’t respond and I left him there as he pulled out his cellphone. I still hadn’t forgiven my mom for leaving us. I didn’t understand why she’d done it. I’d never seen my parents fight, never had any inkling that something was wrong with their marriage. Just one day, she announced she was leaving, packed her things, and she was gone. She didn’t even fight my dad for custody. It had been his idea that she should take me on the weekends, not hers. When I was over at her place she was detached and it was clear she didn’t want me around. It was as though I were spoiling her newfound freedom. Though, I had no idea what she wanted with that freedom. She didn’t have a boyfriend or go on any dates as far as I could tell. She just lounged around the apartment, reading and eating salads.

Whatever. I put her out of my mind and instead focused on finding the luggage. I could just ask my dad but he was already on the phone with my mom and I didn’t want to get drawn into talking to her. I checked the storage room first, partly because its door was already open and I was wary about causing any more damage. Calling it a storage room was generous. The room was waist deep in random stuff that didn’t have a better place to be stored. In the past, any time we needed something from the storage room it was a serious endeavor to wade through the mess. Now, however, I could walk right through it without any issue if I wanted. Of course, that would also likely result in me breaking a lot of what was in there, so instead I just pushed things around, careful to go slow as Harding had suggested.

I found the luggage about halfway into the room, buried beneath a half assembled weights set. I had vague memories of my dad saying he was going to get into shape shortly before my mom left us. Once she was gone, he seemed to have lost interest in exercising. I lifted the entire frame, including the weights, and carefully set it aside so I could get to the luggage. It wasn’t until I set it down that I realized I’d cracked one of the welds on the frame by gripping it too tightly. Oh well, it wasn’t as if my dad was going to use it. Besides, the weld wasn’t on a critical piece. I decided not to mention it to him.

With luggage in hand, I went to the bathroom and began gathering my makeup, toothbrush, and everything else in there I thought I’d need. There were half a dozen lotions I’d collected over the years that I doubted my dad would ever use so I threw those in the luggage as well. That done, I went to my room. I didn’t have much in the way of jewelry. I’d never gotten my ears pierced since I was too squeamish around needles to have ever gotten it done. Considering how durable I was now, I doubted I’d ever get them pierced now, even if I wanted to. I had a few necklaces and rings, but nothing that I thought I’d really want to bring with me. Instead, I picked out a few outfits. I may not be able to wear them around the Cane Center, but I’d at least be able to wear them in my room. At least that would give me a break from wearing whatever uniform or jumpsuit they made everyone wear.

A knock on the door drew my attention and my dad stood in the doorway, his cellphone held out in his hand.

“You’re mom would like to talk to you,” he said.

“Does she, or did you have to make the suggestion yourself.”

“Please,” he said, gesturing with the phone.

“I don’t want to talk to her,” I insisted.

He held out the phone, not moving, and I caved first.

“Fine,” I sighed and moved to take the phone from him.

“Careful,” he reminded me.

I slowed down and gingerly took his phone from him. The case quivered in my hand and I loosened my grip to the point where it felt like the phone would just slip out of my hand, but it didn’t.

“Hello,” I said.

“Misha, how are you doing honey?”

“I’m fine,” I lied. “Just packing for the Cane Center.”

“That’s what I heard. That’s exciting. Never thought we’d have a super in the family.”

She didn’t sound worried or concerned. Just trying to keep the conversation going.

“Yeah, I was pretty surprised this morning. I’m blue now, did Dad tell you that?”

“No, he didn’t. Well that’ll go nicely with your eyes. I bet all the boys will be falling all over themselves to get your attention now.”

“Yeah.”

I wasn’t sure what to really say. I was trying so hard not to crush my dad’s phone and she was talking about how being blue would make me more attractive? Was that what she thought I was worried about?

There was an awkward pause as we both tried to think of what to say next.

“I guess you won’t have to worry about not being able to open any jars,” my mom finally said.

“Mom, I nearly crushed another super to death today.”

I’m not sure why I brought that up exactly. I was just so tired of this superficial conversation. “I have to be careful not to crush everything I touch. I’m not worried about difficult jars or what the boys will think of me. I’m worried about what’s going to happen the next time I accidentally crush someone or break something really important.”

“Well…what do you want me to say, then?” my mom asked, exasperated. “I hope you can figure out your powers and of course I don’t want you hurting anyone, or getting hurt, but I hardly know what else to say.”

“Whatever, look, I need to pack. Do you want to talk with Dad?”

“No. Good luck with everything, Misha. I love you.”

“Bye,” I said and hung up.

I took the phone back to my dad who was back in the living room. Only as I was handing him his phone did I notice the new crack on the screen. I wanted to apologize to him, but it seemed like that was all I’d been doing all day, saying sorry for breaking things. He seemed to understand accepted the phone without comment. To my relief he didn’t ask about my conversation with Mom and let me get back to packing.