Mikki said goodbye to River and left, lifting off the front porch and giving her grumpy floating daughter (as well as her backpack and hoverboard bouncing along behind) the silent treatment on the way home. Brisa sighed. How the heck am I gonna explain the "project" to her? Over half of those kids weren't even in my grade! Melting a little internally, she let herself be flown back home, equally angry at her mother and envious (as always) of her strong telekinesis. Finally Mikki broke the silence. "What happened, exactly? I want to know. All of it." She added as Brisa opened her mouth to speak.
"Well, uh..." Brisa didn't know where to start. "I went to the IHOP and was going to do homework. Then Wolfram came in and was yelling at the waitress, so-Oh come on, Mom, Gage told you all this, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did, but he didn't witness the whole thing. You were right there."
Darn it. "Okay, so Wolfram was yelling at the waitress. Delilah went over there to try and help and ended up punching him. He knocked her down and Bleddyn attacked him. Lachlan tried to help and ended up getting punched in the gut. Delilah left and Wolfram punched Bleddyn, then left too, I think. Then Gage told us all to leave. There was more, but I don't remember exactly what happened."
"And your part in it? Or were you just an innocent bystander?"
"All I was doing was talking to Yris when it first happened. When the physical fight broke out I tried to keep them apart, but my freaking telekinesis is too freaking weak!" Brisa ended, starting to tear up. Please don't ask about the park! She thought desperately.
"Where did you all go after that?" Her mom asked.
"Um, well, we all went to the park except for Delilah and Zion. I don't know where they are. Alice and Sherri and I went into this cool little shop, and then we all kinda went to Aunt River's house." Darn it, Brisa! You liar!
Mikki could tell that Brisa wasn't quite telling the full truth but decided not to press it. She flew the rest of the way home in silence. As she landed on her front porch and set Brisa and her belongings down, she said, "Well, try and get some homework done tonight. If you do, you can hang out with your friends tomorrow, 'kay?" As Brisa nodded and turned toward her bedroom, Mikki called out to her, "Just... be careful what kind of stuff you get involved in. I got involved in some crazy stuff when I was just a couple years older than you, and..." She sighed. "I don't know where I'm going with this. Just... Try to be careful, okay?"
Brisa nodded, her curiosity sparked. "I will." After one last look at her mother's tired face, she retreated to her room and started her homework. It was hard for her to concentrate, however. She couldn't stop thinking of the strange and fierce fire she had glimpsed in her mom's eyes when she talked about the "crazy stuff."