Angel

54

I WAS SWEATY and my hair tangled in knots by the time we walked back into the restaurant. So much for tidying up for this meeting! As we approached the table, I saw that our two groups seemed very… separate. No one was talking. They watched each other warily.

When I got closer, I heard Gazzy say, apropos of nothing, “We can fly.”

“So can we,” said Maya, eyeing Fang. “Well, some of us.”

“I can see really, really far,” said Dylan, not missing a chance to outdo Fang.

“Me too,” said the tough-looking guy, adjusting his Ray-Bans. “I can hear really far too. Whispers from a mile away and all.”

“Well, we can breathe underwater,” Angel offered, modestly avoiding any mention of the fact that she can also read minds.

“So can I,” said the pale kid. “I can regenerate and heal really fast.”

“We heal fast too,” Iggy countered. “And we’re really strong.”

“Try me,” said the pretty Asian girl. “Let’s arm wrestle.”

“Um, I can hack most computers,” Nudge said mildly.

“I’m fast enough to steal any computer we’d need,” said the blonde.

Gazzy didn’t miss a beat and said, “Fast enough to dodge this?” then sent a forkful of mashed potatoes flying through the air. Fast Girl dodged it easily, but then Gazzy snapped his fork to the left, flinging a glob right at… wait for it… Maya. And it hit her in the face. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Oops,” Gazzy said with a nervous grin. “My bad.”

Maya wiped off her cheek and stood up, flashing a look that could kill. She grabbed the basket of rolls and began pelting Gazzy with them, lightning fast.

Gazzy laughed and ducked, taking no offense. “Food fight!” he cried happily.

Immediately, the uncivilized hellions in my flock and the free-wheeling punks in Fang’s gang let all their inhibitions go. Nudge tossed her milk shake at the blond girl. The scrawny kid mashed his hamburger in Iggy’s face. It fell to the floor, and Total dropped on it like a small, black avenging angel. Angel methodically dipped fries in ketchup and launched them at anyone she could. Fang and I were waving our arms and shouting for them to stop, but they were well beyond hearing us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some security guards starting to make their way over to our table. Just like old times.

And then it hit me: things had actually been fairly peaceful with Fang and me apart. Horrible and heartbreaking but quiet. Now that we were in the same room, all heck was breaking loose. Maybe we were better off apart? Maybe the whole freaking world was better when we were apart?

“Guys!” I shouted. I was about to tell my flock to do an up-and-away before we all got arrested, and then, all of a sudden, Dylan jumped up on a chair.

And he started to sing.