Neither of us went to school anymore since my mom homeschooled us everyday. The man, Franklin, helped Emma and me learn to control our powers. Emma ended up doing most of the cooking since Franklin and I both had the cooking skill of a pebble and my mom had other things she needed to do when she wasn't busy homeschooling Emma and me.
I was happier than ever there. For the first time in my life, I felt special, important. I could move things with my mind. And I got better at it really fast. Within just 2 days, I was able to keep Emma suspended in the air whenever I wanted, which was always. She got nervous and started freezing everything near her the first few times as she got used to not having the ground beneath her feet. Then it became second nature for both of us. I even did it accidentally sometimes. Having Emma floating off the ground really annoyed my mom though and she demanded that I stop. The demand didn't last long though. I turned to keeping Franklin's and her feet off the ground along with telekinetically messing up her hair constantly and she changed her mind within a few minutes.
It helped, too, that Emma couldn't figure out how to control her powers unlike me. I knew it was horrible to be happy that she was failing, but she had done everything else in our lives nearly flawlessly while I blundered it all, so I was glad to finally be the flawless one while she blundered. Just a bit of balance was all I wanted. She could keep the good grades, the perfect charisma, the beauty I wanted. I could move things with my mind and I was good at it. And, best of all, my mom was proud of me, no matter how annoyed she was with having everything floating.
The homeschooling aspect of my new life was a bit of a buzzkill though. It reminded me that Emma was smarter than me. She understood everything the moment she was told it and I had to hear it what felt like 20 times before I could understand. And while I would get to the point that I just wanted to scream in frustration, she just sat there, completely calm and cool. Just as I was about to act like a little kid losing Monopoly and throw everything, Emma would silently place her hand on my back and quietly explain what had been confusing me and my frustration seemed to vaporize. I didn't get how she could just stay so calm whenever I'd get so frustrated. I wasn't sure if I envied her or admired her for that. Probably a mix of both.
Sometimes, I couldn't understand Emma at all. I clung onto her, physically and emotionally, because she was warm and had always been able to comfort me since the day we met. I felt safer and happier with her arms around me and her voice in my ear. And, most of the time, she acted like she wanted me around just as much as I wanted her around. But there were exceptions. Sometimes, she seemed to be afraid of me. And her fear was tangible. The heat in her would fade and everything around her would start to freeze. I felt guilty whenever she acted like that. I assumed that I had done something wrong, something to scare her. I got to close or something. She distanced herself and I mimicked the action. Then, out of nowhere, she would act like the Emma I was used to again, my Emma. I was always too afraid to ask her why she had been acting strange in the overwhelming fear that I might remind her of whatever I had done wrong and she would distance herself again.
Then, when she started floating away from me as she slept and I tried desperately to cling to her warmth, I was even more confused. The first few nights this happened, I thought I was accidentally doing it. I was angry with myself for literally forcing her away from me and leaving me with only the thin blanket to keep me warm. She was annoyed with me when she'd wake up suddenly, fall out of the sky, and land painfully on the mattress which wasn't exactly soft. At least the first time. But I told her I didn't mean to, and she believed me.
I stopped being able to sleep after a few days of this, too afraid that I would unconsciously lift her into the air yet again, and, still, she would end up floating up, despite my deliberate focus not to. Slowly, I realized I wasn't doing it and it only made my fear worse. Something was wrong with her, not me. I didn't know how to help her. I left our room before she'd wake up often, not wanting to hear her groan of pain as she smashed into the mattress yet again.
I didn't avoid it completely though. She woke up in the middle of the night, suspended in the air, and fell crashing down onto the mattress beside me, making me jump. It caught me off guard and I couldn't form any coherent words. I was scared, and crawled into the corner, terrified I might do something to make it worse for her. She looked confused, scared, and in pain, but fell asleep quickly.
Much later, when I was sure she was asleep again, I crawled back over to her, wrapped my arms weakly around her neck, and rested my head against her shoulder. I started crying suddenly and was unable to hold back my tears any longer. I selfishly wanted to wake her up so she could comfort me, but I knew that, for once, she couldn't comfort me. I was scared for her beyond reason. I knew she was scared just as much as me, if not more. That wouldn't help. What I needed was to understand what was going on and for her to no longer be scared either.
I was so absorbed in my worry for her and my crying, that, at first, I didn't notice her arms had moved to hold on to me as she slept. But when I did, my tears slowed and I lifted my head to look at her face. She looked happy. More than just happy, actually. She must have been having an amazing dream. Her hand touched my hair softly and then I felt her start to float into the air. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on her. My arms clung to her neck for dear life and my legs and wrapped themselves tightly around her waist. Logic occurred to me a moment later though and I let go, falling to the mattress while only a few inches above it, while she continued to float higher and higher.
Was it selfish to let go like that just because I knew I'd get hurt when she woke up and gravity pulled her to the mattress? No, she would have been more hurt had she hurt me too. And I wasn't helping her by clinging onto her like that. I hadn't wanted to let go. I shook my head angrily.
Morning came before I knew it and my mom came in quietly, obviously because I wasn't up yet. Immediately, she jumped to the conclusion that I was making Emma float, just as I had originally assumed. I hadn't expected her to be surprised though, since I was sure she had already read my thoughts. She figured it out quickly though, just as Emma suddenly woke up and fell to the mattress with a thud! Somehow, though, this was funny to my mom, who began laughing as Emma turned bright red. I felt the mattress begin to freeze and the air in the small room followed suit.
"Emma!" I said quickly. I could see my breath. And still my mom was laughing. The room warmed again and I relaxed a bit.
"You do realize you're completely mental, right, Emma?" my mom laughed even more. I couldn't understand what was so funny, but quickly followed her out after she mentioned Franklin burning breakfast.
Emma seemed to be much more cheerful mood for the rest of the day, which I was thankful for. It wasn't until later that night, after I had assumed Emma was asleep, that I found out why she was suddenly so cheerful.
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