Chapter Text
Her dad first starts getting her into sports because no matter where she is or what she’s doing, she can never seem to stay still for long. If it’s not her fingers tapping a random rhythm on whatever surface is closest, it’s her leg twitching up and down at an almost frantic rate. Alex never notices what she’s doing until someone brings her attention to it, and even then she doesn’t stop for long.
The first sport her dad takes her to is soccer. She quickly gets the hang of it, and before long she’s the best defender in the league. She’s also one of the top goal-scorers too, though that’s not supposed to be her job. Her coach loves her, but her teammates don’t. Her lack of interest in making friends and natural abilities alienate her pretty quickly. She only stays for one season before it becomes too much.
So they try softball next. Her hand-eye coordination stands her in good stead, and she has no issues picking up the rules. She once again establishes herself as a competitor early on, though she has the same issues as before. She’s too competitive, too focused, too successful to endear herself to her fellow players, who don’t bother trying to invite her into the fold after the first couple of games. She lasts half a season, and then quietly asks her dad if they can try something new.
Her dad offers her a sad smile and a nod, and doesn’t make her go to another practice or game.
After softball comes basketball. Her height helps her, and she actually manages to make friends with a couple of the girls. For a while, things are great. She goes to practice twice a week, plays a couple of games a month, and even gets invited to sleepovers and movie nights with her teammates. She once again becomes a great offensive and defensive weapon, and this time her team supports her skills. She thrives, and it’s not long before she makes a name for herself. She’s almost fourteen, and people start to mention college and scholarships, and the word potential is used a lot when adults discuss her talent.
But then Kara arrives, and things change. Her parents don’t have the time to drive her to practice anymore, and they don’t go to her games because Kara can’t handle the noise. The sleepovers slow, and then stop altogether, because she has a sister now. Her job is to spend time with her, help her to get used to life on earth.
Eventually she has to let basketball go so she can focus her attention on her new sister. The time she spent having fun with her friends is replaced with tense movie nights, or game nights, or some other kind of family bonding time. Only her parents rarely turn up for them, and if they do, their attention is focused on Kara. When they do shift their attention to Alex, it’s usually to scold her for not being friendly enough, or because her latest grades aren’t what they expected, or to suggest that she spend more time with Kara.
It’s a lot.
Too much, really. Alex is fifteen, but she feels like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. The twitching is back, only this time it’s worse. Agitation and anxiety make her even more antsy, make her feet itch with the need to run away.
She doesn’t, of course. She might dream about it, spend hours planning what she would do and where she would go, but she never goes through with it. She’s a big sister, so how could she?
Instead, she compromises. She starts leaving the house in the early morning to run along the beach, grateful for the time where she just gets to be Alex instead of Kara’s Big Sister.
It’s on one of these runs that she sees them. A group of teenagers of a similar age are floating amongst the waves, laughing and splashing as they lounge on surfboards. Alex stops and watches as they take turns catching waves, breath catching as she sees how carefree they all seem to be.
That weekend she uses her running away fund to buy herself a surfboard and wetsuit of her own. She doesn’t bother speaking to her parents first. She knows her dad used to surf, but they don’t really talk that much anymore. He’s always working, or trying to help Kara settle into life on earth. She doubts her mother will even notice.
She reads books and articles and watches videos, taking notes of how surfing works. She pauses during her runs and watches the teenagers and other strangers as they ride the waves, analysing how they move their bodies. Her body vibrates with the need to paddle out and try it for herself, but she decides to wait until everybody has left to go back and grab the board.
When she finally gets into the water for the first time, her heart is pounding. Her arms cut through the water easily enough, and she ducks her head and paddles through a couple of waves as she heads into deeper water, but she’s shaking. This isn’t like little league, or pee wee soccer. There’s no coach to tell her what to do. Her dad isn’t on the side-lines offering support. It’s just her, her board, and the waves.
Speaking of waves, there’s a promising one approaching. Alex takes a deep breath, prepares herself, and waits. One second passes, and then two. Her board starts to rise as the swell approaches, so she does what she’s seen everyone else doing. She paddles, hard. Three strokes, then four. On the seventh stroke she risks a glance behind her and sees that it’s time. She grabs the sides of her board, shifts her body, and goes for it.
Her knees pull up to her chest as she plants her feet, and she slowly loosens her grip so she’s crouched. Feeling a rush of adrenaline hit, she decides it’s all or nothing and stands straight up. Her arms are outstretched as she fights to keep her balance, and her knees are wobbly, but she stays up. She lets out a whoop of joy as she rides the wave, unable to hold in the strangled laugh that escapes.
For the first time since Kara arrived, she feels free.