Free Balancer by Patrick Wong

the class cleared, Mr. Stanford approached her desk.
    “Is everything OK, Nicole? I heard about the campgrounds fire.”
    “Yeah, perfectly fine. Sorry about earlier. I was kinda zoning out.”
    Mr. Stanford’s brown eyes rested on her for a second. “It must’ve been very frightening.”
    Nicole held his look and nodded.
    “You’ll let me know if anything is interfering with your schoolwork this semester, and I’ll make sure you get back on track. Deal?”
    Nicole smiled, relieved. “Deal.”
    “Good.” Mr. Stanford collected up his battered leather briefcase and left Nicole alone in the classroom.
    The stillness of the room reminded Nicole of her dream the night of the wildfire. She was half toying with the notion of going to the window to see whether it really was déjà vu when she realized it wasn’t the rumble she remembered.
    However, a few seconds later there was a definite SLAM! and an excited Amy clattered into the classroom.
    “I knew you’d be here.”
    “What’s up?”
    “What’s up? Let me show you wassup!” Amy produced her smartphone with a flourish and presented it to Nicole, beaming. “Look at the numbers!”
    Nicole looked down at AmesAndNix.com , with the most recent YouTube clip of them talking about the wildfire. At the bottom of the page were a hundred new followers.
    “Wow!”
    “I know! A hundred since this morning! The Acorn ’s just doubled our audience!” Amy gave a hoot of delight and hugged Nicole. “The more people who read the paper, the more people who will come to our site. This could go viral, Nix!”
    Nicole laughed. She always admired her best friend’s all-conquering zeal for things, and this turn of events had certainly brightened her day, allowing her to forget The Acorn ’s oversight. The website had been floating below the 50-follower mark for weeks, and this gave it a welcome boost. “Maybe we can use the next show to set the story straight,” Nicole added.
    “Oh no!” protested Amy. “We just do … whatever. We have to think of what we can do! It’s got to be awesome. Come on — food.” Amy put her arm around Nicole and nudged her toward the door.
    “Lemme get my stuff.”
    “K. I’ll be outside. Seeing who loves us!” Amy sang as she balletically exited the classroom.
    Nicole returned to her desk and collected her books, pen case and beloved new messenger bag, a new-school-year gift from her dad.
    A folded-up piece of paper fluttered down to the floor. Ben’s note. Nicole had totally forgotten about it.
    She headed out of the room, unfolding the note as she went. Its one-word message was simple yet surprising.
    Hero.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Hero
    T he camera clicks on and Amy appears, dressed in jeans and sneakers with a cute pink top. She’s standing in a hallway decorated with picture frames and a rubber plant. It’s early morning, and behind her light is peeking through the cracks in curtains. She peers into the camera, raising her finger to her lips.
    “Shhhh,” she whispers. “I have to keep very quiet, because I’m here on important secret business. See this?”
    Amy flicks the camera to a Web page on her tablet. The headline reads “Family Says Thanks to Local Superhero,” and underneath it is a photograph of the Allertons with Nicole.
    Amy points to a door and pushes it open.
    The camera moves past a sign on the door that reads Nicole’s Room .
    The light is low here, and the camera zooms in on a mound under duvet covers. The sound of gentle breaths points to someone undisturbed, asleep.
    Amy turns the camera back to herself and whispers, “I’m going to put my personal safety at risk just to show you what a sleeping superhero looks like. Let’s see if she exhibits any of her superpowers this morning.”
    Amy sticks out her foot and prods the mound.
    No response.
    Amy sneaks up to the curtains and flings them open, flooding bright sunlight into the room. Some low groaning comes from the mound.
    “She