Sidekick by Carl Stubblefield (10 best novels of all time .txt) 📗

Ever wary, the girl picked at the food until she could resist no longer. She tore into the meal like an animal. Halfway through she looked up at the woman, ashamed to see her surprised look. Then she smiled and served Cass some more food and motioned for her to eat.

After the pair had eaten, the little girl tried to learn how she had made the meal, waving to the ingredients and how she had mixed them together.

This must have sparked an idea with the woman because she began grabbing some things and putting them on the table. She pulled out a tokencard and pointed to the girl. She then brought out various things from the cupboard and had her write a list.

The next day, the woman gave her the card and shooed her out the door, pointing to the list. The girl had to pull her by the hand and get her to come with her. The woman didn’t understand that tokencards worked on someone’s unique DNA fingerprint and the owner must hold onto the card when paying. It did no good to steal anyone’s card.

The woman and girl went together the first couple times, but being out in the foreign environment was very uncomfortable for her. She corrected the shopkeeper when he tried to overcharge them, and he scowled at her and threatened to kick the little girl out.

“We can just take our business to the other market on Sixth, it’s just as close,” she said defiantly. The clerk abruptly stopped complaining and rang up the rest of the groceries, muttering under his breath.

The girl began calling the woman ‘Auntie’ and their arrangement was worked out through pantomime and gestures. Eventually, Auntie became more and more reclusive, so they would go to one of the cash kiosks and pull out money. Then the little girl could shop alone.

Auntie never seemed to worry that the girl would run off with all of her money, though she easily could have. By then, though, they had a comfortable routine. The girl would handle the bills and Auntie had access to the money and would cook for the pair.

The girl happily made sure the electricity stayed on and the rent was paid, even though she didn’t like how much someone was charging for the crude construction of sheet metal and bare wiring. Still, it kept the heat in and the girl wouldn’t trade it. A month in the elements was enough for her.

After living with Auntie for a year, the girl began to notice strange things about herself. It started when she was very happy or very angry. She would begin to see tiny greenish-tinged sparks appear near her fingertips. There were only about five or six at a time, but they scared her. She really didn’t know what was happening to her.

One time after they had made the monthly money run, Cass had made a quick shopping trip. Someone must have been watching because they thought she had the full amount with her. The girl only took barely enough to pay for what they needed for just that reason. The rest they kept hidden in a coffee can under one of the loose metal plates in the floor, covering the plate with one of the couch legs.

When she had turned off the main street on her way to the store, a teenage boy grabbed Cass. He wanted the money and she gave him what she had, hoping to avoid him hurting her. He clutched at her wrist harder and began to lift the small girl off the ground and shake her a little, demanding the rest. He didn’t accept that was all she had.

The sparks appeared and the girl shouted, “Stop!” Her hands burst into fizzling showers of sparks and the teen had to let go of her as the sparks burned into his hands and arms. As he let go, she pointed her free hand at his face and sparks puffed at him like confetti. He ran off, covering his eyes and wailing.

As soon as it started, the sparks guttered out and were gone. The girl had no idea what had happened, and looked around, making sure no one had seen. The boy had dropped the money in the confusion and the girl scrambled to pick it all up before the wind blew it away. One or two bills blew away, but she still had enough to get most things on the list.

The girl played with the ability in secret from then on, trying to consciously bring it up, but it was intermittent and unreliable. Some days she could do it with ease, others it was like she had imagined the whole thing. Emotion really was the only reliable trigger for her.

Around that same time, Cass began teaching Auntie some English. Over time she learned Auntie came to America to get married. Her husband was very old though, and died soon after she arrived. From what she described, Cass understood that she inherited his money.

The lawyers, knowing she couldn’t do anything about it, gave her the minimum they could and kicked her off the property. She was all alone in a foreign country with no idea on the customs. If it weren’t for her opportune meeting of Cass, she would have been drained dry from dishonest people fairly quickly.

From there, the video sped up and Gus saw the day Auntie disappeared. Then the vision faded.

Gus sat stunned at what he had seen. “Aurora, I never knew. What happened to Auntie?” He looked over and she was biting her lip, her eyes red and uncertain.

“I guess that once she learned enough to communicate, she figured she didn’t need me anymore and left without a trace. I still don’t know what happened to her. I ran into Rory that same day and he recruited me into the academy.”

“Do you think they somehow arranged for her to be gone?