Chapter 1
November 17, 1990. Midwest America.
Danielle Mulberry was 10 years old. Danielle preferred it when people called her Dani. It's all Dad called her. She sat in her Fifth Grade class, and stared blankly ahead, waiting for the recess bell to sound. The assignment had been to write about a time she had been extremely happy. Dani had thought hard about when she was happy. She wasn't happy often, as nothing was much worth smiling about. Except, of course, her sister Ellie, and her Dad. Her mom had left when she and Ellie were just babies. Her Dad had managed alone, raising his twins as best as he could. He had been their best friend, and when he died two years ago, when the sisters were only 8, they had been devastated. Since then, Dani hadn't smiled. She wasn't happy. She didn't like to think about her dad anymore. He was dead, and thinking about him made her eyes water. So, when she had thought about what made her happy, an image of Dad and Ellie and her, all playing in a tide pool, on the beach had immediately come to mind. They had chased crabs and rescued a stranded starfish. Dad had held the sandy brown creature on his gigantic palm, and let Dani touch it. Ellie had, of course, squealed in fear at the idea of touching it, but still wanted to look. After much oo'ing and ah'ing from the girls, Dad had laughed heartily, and lead them into the surf. "Now," he said with an air of wonder, crouching down into the water, steadying himself against the push and pull of the waves, "we should set our little buddy free, hey?" The girls had nodded enthusiastically. Dani had asked to do it, which Dad had grinned at her and happily agreed, taking her tiny hands and gingerly placing the little creature in her waiting palms. "Gently, now." He said, as he had guided Dani's hands to the water, allowing the waves to carry the starfish back home. The girls had giggled excitedly and waved goodbye to the water, as if it could see them beneath the tide.
Dani had thought about the beach. But, Dani didn't write about the beach. She didn't like the knots that formed in her stomach, so, instead, she drew a picture. Not a nice picture, mind. No, it was an ugly one, of their teacher, Miss Thomas. Her drawing had Miss Thomas' big, round glasses, and her nose was overly accented, with big nasty warts and her teeth were sharp like razors, with a snake tongue sticking out. Above her picture, she wrote, in large, scribbly text: "MISS THOMAS IS A STUPID BITCH." When Colton, the chubby, freckle faced kid next to her, saw the picture, he had immediately raised his hand and shouted, "MISS THOMAS, DANI DREW A PICTURE OF YOU AND WROTE A BAD WORD ON IT!" His beady little eyes peeked smugly at Dani, as she stared at him, anger simmering in her stomach. All of the kids in the class turned to look at her, some curious, others barely hiding their excitement at what was about to happen. Dani hurried to fold the paper in half and squash it under her leg, hiding it from view.
Miss Thomas put down her book and stood up, crossing the room and standing above Dani, like a round and wrinkly old gargoyle, dressed like a Sunday School Granny. She levelled a stern look at Dani. "Young lady, hand it over, please." She said, holding her gnarled hand out and wafting an odor of moth balls into Dani's face. Dani glared back defiantly and shook her head. Her face looked angry, but her heart was pounding in her chest. Miss Thomas' mouth pinched into a tight, angry line, and she curled her fingers shut, then opened them again and pointed to her palm. "Now, Danielle!" Her hard stare was cold like ice. Dani gritted her teeth at the use of her name and clenched her fists, willing herself not to speak. Finally, Miss Thomas grabbed her roughly by the arm and yanked her from her seat with a force that she shouldn't have possessed, snatching the paper from under her leg and releasing her to plop back down, as she unfolded the paper. She looked at the drawing for a few seconds, before her face turned a bright shade of scarlet, and her eyes fell to Dani, burning with rage. "In all my years, I've never had a more disrespectful, petulant, and spoiled little brat!" Miss Thomas seethed, her jowls quivering with every word. "You think things like this are okay? You think you can make fun of me like this?" Spit flew from her lips and landed on Dani's desk and face. She wanted to wipe it away, but she was rooted to the spot. "We will be calling home." She looked like she had some nasty things she wanted to say, but instead she turned and she stormed to the front of the room. "Finish your assignments and hand them in!" She barked to the class. Everyone dutifully complied, except Dani, who sat, unmoving, and staring into space. Beside her, Colin sniggered with a few other boys, but she ignored them. She didn't like him. She kept the sentiment to herself.
When the bell rang for recess, Dani didn't need to be told that she wouldn't be going. She sat still in her seat as the other kids stood and ran for the door, disregarding Miss Thomas' screech to form a line and wait. They scrambled out the door and ran down the hallway, blending into the small sea of kids pouring out from the other two classes in their hall. The teacher from the room across the hall waded through the kids and pushed the door open, letting them all run outside. But, Dani didn't move. Not until Miss Thomas came to stand in front of her and barked at her to follow her outside to sit. Dani didn't say a word as she stomped behind the woman and over to the picnic tables, where the teachers sat and supervised. Behind them was a single bench, backed up against the school wall, where the bad kids went. Dani made her way over and sat on the very end, alone. She stared at her feet, trying to ignore the delighted screams of the kids playing. She sat far enough away from the teachers, to feel isolated even from them. She could hear them prattling on about their classes, but she largely ignored them.
"Dani!" Came a little voice, and Dani looked up to see Ellie slipping onto the bench beside her. "What did you do this time?" She said quietly, peeking over at the teachers, but they were too absorbed in their gossip to notice the sisters.
Dani shrugged her shoulders, "I blew up the teacher's desk." She said, grinning at her twin. Ellie giggled quietly and looked at Miss Thomas, then back to Dani.
"I heard you drew a picture of her, and she didn't like it." Ellie stated, then continued, "Colin said it said B-I-T-C-H on it!" She spelled the word out, and covered her mouth with her hand, so as to hide what she was saying from everyone, but Dani. Dani blew air out of her cheeks and yanked on one of Ellie's curls lightly.
"Bitch, I wrote bitch on it. You don't have to spell it out, Ellie." Ellie gasped and went wide eyed, trying to shush her sister.
"Eleanor! Go play, leave your sister alone!" Came a voice. The girls looked up to find all three teachers staring at them, and they exchanged glances, before Ellie slipped off the bench with an apologetic look. She waved a small goodbye and walked away, her dark curls bouncing with each step. Dani stared at the floor and began to tug on her own hair. Where her twin had beautiful, big curls, Dani had board-straight and dirty blonde hair, cut just barely past her shoulders. She hated her hair color. She wished she could look more like her sister. Ellie had a warm and welcoming face, with a sweet, dimpled smile, big blue eyes, and a lovely kiss of freckles across her pretty, button nose. Dani, on the other hand, was all angles and gloom, with sharp cheekbones, pointy chin, and plain brown eyes. Sometimes, she felt jealous of Ellie, but she would always stomp those feelings down as fast as she could. She loved her sister. Her sister was the only thing she had. Dani was wrenched from her thoughts by the sound of one of the teachers saying her name. She looked up, but realized they weren't talking to her. She bit her lip and fiddled with her fingers, listening in on what they were saying.
"I'm so tired of her in my class," that was Miss Thomas. Dani couldn't help but think that the feeling was very mutual. Miss Thomas was mean. Always had been. "She's a little monster! She doesn't listen, she picks fights, she doesn't do her work, I wouldn't be surprised if she was mentally retarded." Miss Thomas' words stung, but Dani swallowed and fought the urge to throw the rock she had been toeing around, at Miss Thomas' head. "Today, she did this!" Dani peeked up to see the other two teachers looking at the outstretched paper that Miss Thomas had in her hand. They both gasped and shook their heads, muttering in disapproval.
"I'm surprised they haven't put her in the looney class yet," one of the teachers commented. "She reminds me of a little psychopath."
"Yeah, ever since those girls' dad died, Danielle has started acting crazy." The other said. Dani clenched her fists so hard, her nails began to make crescents in her palms. "That's probably why they won't kick her out. It has to be sympathy." Dani could feel a lump hard in her throat, and she swallowed around it. A tingling sensation began at the base of her skull, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stomp the emotions down that she knew was beginning to cause the feeling. Bad things happened when she felt too much.
Still, the teachers blabbed on and on, calling Dani all sorts of names, and talking about her dad. She had to fight the rage from bubbling up, but it still simmered just below the surface. They kept on and on, each insult making Dani's hands shake, her lip tremble, and her eyes blur with tears. She blinked them back and stared stubbornly at the floor. She wouldn't burst. She wasn't going to burst. Then, "It's a shame really, she'd be just fine, if she could just be more like Eleanor." Dani felt like a knife had stabbed her in her heart. The tingling at the base of her skull became a surge of electricity that traveled down her spine and clenched her skull. The teachers didn't see, nor feel, the magical pulsing that came from the little girl sitting behind them. They kept talking. "Little Ellie. She's so well behaved, she's always so polite in my class. I'm just lucky I didn't get stuck with the little Devil. I'm sorry you did, but I'm happy it wasn't me." Dani's finger twitched, and her hair began to stand on end, as if she was full of electricity. Her tears blinded her vision and dropped into her lap, leaving big dark stains on her uniform skirt.
"I'm glad I didn't get either one of those freaks! You heard their mother was a prostitute, didn't you? They say she ran off with some rich guy from London." The teachers tittered in malicious delight.
"What's worse is their dad. They said he died in an accident, but I heard he killed himself!" Dani's whole body was shaking, the bubbling rage felt like fire in her throat, becoming harder and harder to stomp back down. "Honestly? I would too, if I got left with a little terror like that."
Snap.
It all happened so fast. Everything bubbled over, like a forgotten pot on the stove. Dani lifted her head, her eyes fixed angrily on the three, large tears pouring down her cheeks, and she opened her mouth to scream. Just as she did, a large ball of fire burst from her mouth and shot past the teachers, missing Miss Thomas' hair by mere inches, and struck the wall of the school. The dry autumn air, the rustling leaves on the ground, and the lack of rain for days was just what the fire needed, and it caught immediately. The wall that had been struck had blown out, throwing debris across the pavement and just barely missing a group of fourth graders who had been playing with chalk. For a moment, nothing but the sound of the fire, licking hungrily at the building, could be heard. Then, all hell broke loose, as children began screaming, and a swarm of teachers ran around, trying to round them up into groups. Dani, sat frozen and stared wide eyed at the growing fire. It jumped to the nearby picnic tables and caught on a patch of dry leaves, spreading quickly towards Dani and closing her window of escape, but still she stared, horrified. She would have sat there and been swallowed up by the flames, if a hand hadn't gripped her arm tightly and begun tugging her away. She looked to see Ellie, eyes wild with terror, tears streaming down her face, and tugging Dani along behind her, as she sprinted for the rapidly decreasing spot of unburned grass and dead leaves. Dani could feel her legs moving beneath her, but she wasn't aware of ever telling them to move. When they emerged from the blaze, Ellie whirled and threw her arms around Dani's neck, wailing in her ear, "Dani, are you okay!? Are you hurt?!" But Dani couldn't answer. She only stood rigid and still as a board in her sister's embrace, and stared at the fire as it consumed the building. Her sister kept frantically talking to her, but all she could hear was her own panicked voice inside her head. I'm in so much trouble.