Free Pulse of Heroes by A.Jacob Sweeny Page A

heart. There was no way she could
repair the damage, as some of the fragments were no more than dust.
She started wrapping the broken pieces in tissue paper, placing
them in the bottom of the garbage bin as quietly as she could. To
her surprise, the blue disk was still intact and lay beneath a
large shard. Michelle carefully picked up the glass and placed it
in her pocket. She washed her face and exited the bathroom as if
nothing had happened, heading straight to the kitchen to enjoy one
of the cookies while they were still warm.
    Michelle contemplated whether she should call
Samantha and tell her everything that had happened at the mall. But
what if all this nonsense was completely made up in her head?
Samantha would surely think her crazy; she might even tell her mom
about it. No, she would definitely need more evidence of something
strange going on if she was going to share this with anyone. But
what kind of evidence could she get, and how? Michelle was
determined to come up with a plan.
     
    Dinner that night was pleasant and festive
enough, although Toby was definitely missed during the holiday
vacation. They talked about that for a while, and eventually the
conversation led to talking about the important gathering they had
been invited to at the mayor's house. Her father had forgotten to
mention one crucial detail: it was a formal event. Michelle and her
mother immediately looked at one another, both with the same
thought on their mind. What were they going to wear?
    “Daddy, you could've told me a little bit
earlier. I have nothing to wear.”
    Her mother chimed in next, “Darling, you
could have given us a smidgen of information?”
    Her father looked confused and almost hurt
when he answered that he had no idea it was such a big deal. Her
mother responded that in the bigger picture of things, it wasn't,
but that formalwear was a much bigger hassle for women than for men
because men pretty much all wear the same outfit to any formal
event and no one bats an eye.
    Michelle agreed with her mother. “Yeah,
you're going to wear the same thing you do to your office every
day. All you have to do is wear a fancier tie and nice cufflinks,
and you're set.” Her father listened to her rationality and was
forced to agree. Michelle continued, “I have nothing to wear, not
even shoes.”
    “What about the black and white dress that
you wore a couple years ago? It looked so pretty on you,” her
mother said.
    The black and white dress was really nice,
but her mom was mistaken because the last time Michelle wore it was
actually more like four years ago. She had definitely grown since
she was 12 years old. Great, Michelle thought. They're going to
have to go back to the mall two days before Christmas. What a
freaking nightmare! There were always the small boutiques in town,
if she had the luck to find something that would fit and be
reasonably priced.
     
    Michelle stood in front of her closet, her
feet surrounded by the different dresses turned inside out and
bundled like dirty laundry. She was sweating and frustrated. It's
not that Michelle didn't have any skirts or dresses, but they were
mostly cottony summery types. And the black and white dress was
completely out of the question. When she held it up against her
body, it looked like a little kid’s outfit. She just wanted to
scream! Just then, she heard her cell phone ringing from somewhere
in the room, but she couldn't locate it. She frantically searched
in her bed, under her pillow, then under the bed, but to no avail.
The phone rang its last rotation; if she didn't pick it up right
then and there it was going to be sent off to voicemail. Like a
star athlete, Michelle dove towards her closet and pretty much
belly-flopped onto the pile of clothes that was lying on the floor,
triumphantly emerging with phone in hand. She answered just in
time. It was Samantha.
    Naturally, Samantha wondered why Michelle was
out of breath, and Michelle explained to her how the phone was