Almost Super by Marion Jensen

Author:Marion Jensen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

12

ONE OF US IS ABOUT TO

BE DISAPPOINTED

The 1080 went downtown. It also stopped at the public library, so Benny and I weren’t totally lying when we asked our parents if we could head there after school. We just didn’t mention the very small fact that we would be riding with a Johnson. That’s a conversation I’d rather not have.

The public bus smelled like every other bus I’d ever been on—stale air that carried the scent of humans in coats, newspapers, and also the slightest hint of adventure.

Juanita sat alone at the back of the bus, her dark curls poking just above the seats. It was a perfect place for an ambush, but I didn’t see any other suspicious-looking people. I checked the bus driver twice. The last thing I wanted was to be trapped in a bus driven by a Johnson.

Benny and I took a seat across the aisle from Juanita. No one else was within hearing distance.

Without breaking eye contact, I took in everything I could. Juanita had on a black woolen coat, pink gloves, and a backpack. The backpack looked like it held nothing more than books, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Hello,” Juanita said.

“Hello,” I replied, realizing this is exactly how our conversation had started in the grocery store. Then again . . . a lot of conversations start that way. “You wanted to meet us here?” I couldn’t read her face.

“You wanted to see my power,” she said.

I nodded. “Do you have to show it to us on a bus?” That sounded silly, but if she’d gotten powers that were as silly as ours, then anything was possible.

Juanita shook her head. “I can’t just show it to you,” Juanita said. “It wouldn’t prove anything.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because.” She lowered her voice. “If I’m really a Super-super, I can do any power. So I’d show you a single worthless power, but you would still wonder if I could do all the other powers.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I looked over at Benny, who just shrugged.

“Then where are we going?” I asked. “How are you going to prove you’ve only got one power?”

“I’ll tell you when we get there,” Juanita said. “It’s not far.”

Benny leaned forward in his seat and held up his pointer finger. “Just for the record,” he said, “we’re not afraid of you.”

I thought I saw a hint of a smile on Juanita’s lips. “I’m glad to hear that, Benny,” she said. “You shouldn’t be.”

That sounded to me like something a spider would tell a fly—right before the fly became dinner.

An elderly gentleman came and sat near the back and we couldn’t talk about powers anymore. We rode in silence.

Four stops later, Juanita stood. “This is it,” she said.

Benny and I followed Juanita off the bus. We were in a nice part of the city, just north of downtown. Fences of stone or iron surrounded the homes. Juanita came to a stop in front of a large gate. The property was well maintained. I could just make out a towering, sleek-looking house, sitting back among some trees.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.