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Annie swung her legs under the hard plastic chair, feet missing the ground by an inch or so. The sound of the other kids still on lunch break, yelling and running around, drifted into the quiet corridor where she was imprisoned, awaiting sentencing.
Fidgety, she tried combing her fingers through her long brown hair. They got stuck in tangles immediately. There were probably still sticks and stuff caught in there. Ugh.
She glanced at her friend. Steffi’s arms were crossed, lips pouted, eyes locked on the ground. She glanced back, then quickly turned away with a ‘hmph’, presenting Annie with her equally tangled blonde hair.
Annie responded with a ‘hmph’ of her own. Why was Steffi mad with her, anyway? This wasn't her fault.
The door clicked open, and an equally disheveled Yourn stomped out of it. He glared at Steffi as he passed, who glared daggers back at him. Annie sighed. She wished Yourn would leave Steffi alone.
Mrs. Krenshaw, the second year teacher, followed Yourn out of her office and stood in front of them. Her face was stone as she watched Yourn leave, waiting for him to get out of earshot. Annie shrank a little. She liked Mrs. Krenshaw and missed her class from last year. She was nice. But the nice ones are always the scariest when they're mad.
Yourn slammed the door on his way out. To Annie's relief, Mrs. Krenshaw's face softened. She sighed, tugging her glasses off and rubbing her eyes. "You girls. Again."
Before Annie could get a word in, Steffi broke her silence. "He started it! He said my Silver Star shirt was lame!"
Mrs. Krenshaw glowered at Steffi, weary. "And what did you say in return? That his face was lame?"
"Wull- no, I..." Steffi huffed, folding her arms again. "I said his shorts were lame."
Annie sniggered before she could hold it back. Mrs. Krenshaw turned her attention on her. "And you. I expected better from you, Miss Contractor."
Annie withered, turning red. "I'm sorry Mrs. Kren-" Before she could get further, Steffi was on her feet.
"It wasn't her fault Mrs. Krenshaw! Honest! All Annie did was laugh at his shorts and he hit her! It was his fault!"
"That isn't what Yourn told me."
"Well he's a LIAR then!" Steffi was shouting at the teacher. "He never leaves Annie alone! We just want him to go away and play with his own friends!" There were tears welling up in Steffi's eyes as Annie watched. Steffi...
Mrs. Krenshaw crouched down, level with the trembling Steffi. "He doesn't have many friends Steffi. Have you noticed that?"
Steffi looked away, quietening down. "'Course he doesn't. He's a butthead."
Mrs. Krenshaw sighed. "I think I need to talk to your parents." Seeing the sudden fear on their faces, she added "You're not in trouble! But we need to find the three of you an outlet for all this anger. Girls your age shouldn't be fighting like this."
"WHOOOOO! I'M THE BEST AT FIGHTING!" Steffi's arms shot up from behind an ice-cream sundae bigger than her head.
Annie smirked, working on her far more modest dessert. "Yep. You're a world champ, kiddo."
Steffi shoved the monstrosity aside so Annie could give Steffi her full attention. She wore her brand new yellow belt like a headband. "Didya see my front snap? My foot was all sweaty and I thought I was gonna slip but then I just shifted a bit and was like WACHOW!" This was accompanied by her prosthetic leg kicking out of the booth, narrowly missing a waitress.
"Steffi, watch out!" Heinrich hooked his hands under his daughter's armpits, hauling her back like an uncooperative cat. "No kicks indoors, please. Eat your sundae."
"Mresh, Papi." The spoon was already jammed in her mouth.
Annie grinned. Steffi had done really well, even if she was still catching up to Annie. Even Yourn was nice about it. He got all blushy and told Annie that her and Steffi looked like Magical Girls.
That was pretty cool.
Steffi shot upright from her previously relaxed position on Annie's bedroom floor. "Okay! How about these? Are you ready?"
Annie, sprawled on her bed with a comic, rolled her eyes. "Sure, let's hear them."
Steffi cleared her throat. "Team Shock. Team Snap. Team Blast. I was thinking something like Team Lightning, but I think Team Blitz would work better-"
Annie snorted. "You're such a deutsch-nerd."
"Hey! It sounds cool!"
"Whatever, dumb-cough."
"Dummkopf! Take this seriously! We need to be ready when we get the Dream, all the best teams were hot right out of the gate. We're gonna hit the average age next year!"
Annie sat up, amused. "I like that you assume we're gonna get the Dream, or that I even want to get it. You really want to fight monsters every night?"
Steffi spluttered, indignant. "Of course I do! You get to be cool, and protect people, and, and... magic! How could you not want magic powers?!"
Annie shrugged. "You'd also have to survive on 6 hours sleep at most, and be at school every day of the week. I'd love to see how you'd handle that."
"Fooounder, you're so lame! We're gonna be magic, so shut up!" Steffi dropped to the floor and, angrily, went back to coming up with rad team names.
Annie grinned. She'd never admit it, but she'd daydreamed about being a Magical Girl too. It did seem dangerous, but kinda... exciting too. And noble.
She wondered what sort of costume she'd get.
Annie followed the stream of girls out of Future's Promise, somewhat glum. This should have been an exciting month. The new school was fun, the dry run patrols she'd done with Team Mentor had gone great, and holy crap, the lunches were so much better.
But she was doing it without Steffi.
When she got the Dream, Steffi was sure hers would come the very next night. Then the one after that. And the one after that. After a fortnight of waking up with the same old blonde hair, she was so heartbroken she couldn't bear looking at Annie.
Annie sighed. She figured she should give Steffi space. Maybe with some time, she'd be okay with having a magical girl friend instead of being one. But for now... Annie missed her.
Just past the end of the school fence, a blur formed to Annie's right. She started to turn-
Books, bag, shoes and Annie went flying as she was tackled by her assailant. She hit the ground, somehow already pinned. She groaned, opening her eyes.
A girl her age loomed over her. She wore familiar headphones over a head of shockingly hot pink hair, and a wide, manic grin.
Annie gasped. "S-Steffi?!"
"That's Pop Blitz to you, Rock Blitz!"
The shock was quickly overwhelmed by joy. "Holy crap! You got it! You got the Dream!" She shoved Steffi off of her, pinning her in a bear hug of her own.
"Sure did! Hope you're ready! I've got a bunch of manager's numbers, we gotta go ring them right now and-"
Steffi faltered as she felt Annie's shoulders shake. After a sniffle, Annie croaked out a few words. "I missed you."
Steffi pushed her back so she could face her friend. "Heeey, come on! This is gonna be so cool! We're gonna be the best magical girl team out there!"
Before Annie could respond, the ground opened up beneath her. She watched Steffi's shocked face disappear above her as she fell into nothing.
Dark. She was sliding on something hard, something slick. She dug her sneakers against it but found no purchase, dropping faster and faster through a lightless void.
The ground tipped left. She tumbled, face slamming into the surface, facing back the way she came, maybe. The ground spiralled right, then back. It was almost vertical as she pawed at it, desperate for some friction, faster and faster and fast-
Her stomach lurched. She was sliding... up? Facing backwards, slowing as the ground grew steeper, losing momentum. It even began to feel rougher. She dug her hands in, almost satisfied as they burned. That meant slowing down, that meant control, that meant-
The ground disappeared. Upwards for a few moments, before her stomach lurched again.
She plummeted, tumbling, screaming, towards a pin of white light.
She landed hard, smashing through a pile of garbage. Broken pieces scattered around her and hit the ground with heavy metallic clangs as she crumpled to the ground and slid to a stop.
Whatever just happened, she was still. It was quiet. She focussed on catching her breath. She groaned, with... with someone else’s voice. Her throat seized. That wasn’t her voice. That voice was deep.
She rolled over, eyes snapping open. Everything was white. She was surrounded by broken pieces of machinery, piles of it. She looked at herself.
She was wearing a suit. A boy’s suit. His suit. My suit.
Ben stared at his jacket, his pressed pants, his polished shoes. Slowly, he pinched his cuffs between thumb and forefinger. Polyester. It was real. His suit. His. “What... but, I’m not... I’m...” He felt lightheaded. This voice wasn’t right. This was all wrong. A sob broke through his throat. “I’m... I was-“
“Breathe, Benzene.” A hand on his back, gentle.
He twisted, facing her. A woman, gold and white and sad eyes knelt next to him. He gaped. Words wouldn’t come.
She smiled. “Close your eyes, Benzene. Just breathe.”
With that smile, something broke. The woman drew his head down to her chest as, without really understanding why, tears and choked wails surged out. She hummed softly as she held him, running a hand through his hair.
After a minute or two, he regained some control. “What... where is this? What was that I saw?”
He felt her sigh. “I’m sorry, Benzene. I’m terribly sorry I had to show you that, all at once. I know it hurts.”
His breath hitched, again. He felt like he should pull away, run. But he was so tired. “You showed me that? Why?”
“Because you’ve been calling to me, without knowing it. Without knowing why. I needed you to know why. Do you understand?”
“I don’t... don’t know. I don’t know.” He drew a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m not sure.”
He felt her pull away. As he leaned into his knees, she took a step back before sitting in front of him.
“Benzene. Within, you have the potential for magic. You were born with that potential. Do you understand what that means?”
His head span. He knew what she was saying, but he could not say it back. He rubbed his face against his sleeve, sniffling, before he could face her. “You said I... I called to you? Are you sure?”
She nodded, smiling. “You did. That's why I’m here.”
He shook his head. “I don’t remember. I don't remember calling.”
She placed a hand on her chest. “The call is coming from deep within, deeper than you can venture right now. But the voice I heard, Benzene, was unmistakably yours.”
"How... how can I trust that?" His voice raised, tinged with desperation. "How can I trust that if I don't remember it?"
"You don't need to trust me. Everything you saw tonight came from the same place as the call. All I did was allow you view it. Remember how it felt, and... try to trust that feeling."
He watched her stand up, extending her hand. “You are well suited to the role I’m offering you, in every way. It is yours if you want it. But it will mean venturing to that deep place, and hearing your voice. Is that what you want?”
Ben stared up at her face, at the hand offered to him. This wasn’t real. There was no way. None of this made any sense, he couldn’t make sense of it.
His heart was hammering its way out of his chest. His head throbbed. He was so afraid. He feared that voice. He feared the sense that what he saw really did come from somewhere within. He feared how it'd felt. He feared how... how much better it...
Her hand was there. If he wanted it.
He hauled himself to his feet. One more long, unsteady breath, then he could face her.
“Yes. That’s what I want.” He took her hand.
Those sad eyes smiled. “I’m glad I could do this for you, Benzene.” He felt a surge, saw a flash, then it was over.
