Education
This story was written for
‘s prompt: “Write about the invisible boy.”“I hate being invisible,” Denny muttered, kicking at a rock.
“That is because you cannot control it,” Trina said. “Invisibility is all about control. Control yourself, control your power, watch your surroundings. After that it is easy.”
“Yeah?” her little brother said. He had just powered up, and he wasn’t handling it well. “Let’s see you walk through a crowd invisible without getting stepped on or bumped into. I can’t even go out in the rain or anything unless it’s sunny. I can’t even change back half the time!”
Trina pulled over. “Okay. You see that mall over there? It’s fairly crowded, you would say? I will bet you I can go invisible and walk from here through the mall and back without anyone noticing.”
“Psh, yeah, how’m I gonna know you did?” Denny scoffed.
Trina rolled her eyes. “You are such a pain, little bro. Fine. You know this mall, right? At the other side, past the food court in the middle, all the way at the end by the J.C. Penney store, is there not a man that sells sunglasses?”
“Yeah… wait, are you gonna swipe one?”
“Yes,” Trina said. “I will swipe one. And then, just to show you, I will return it. And no one will know. Agreed?”
“Done,” Denny said. “Bet you chicken out, though.”
Trina sniffed, turned towards the mall, and vanished.
She hadn’t been wrong. Once you could control it, invisibility was easy. If you couldn’t, however, it sucked as a superpower. Especially if you were walking through a crowd. Imagine taking constant care to look out for anyone and everyone within your point of contact for fear they might bump into you or step on you and wonder what the heck they just ran into. Constantly watching for sudden arm movements, sudden side steps, unexpected jumps, falls, or stumbles forward. Keeping in mind the walls or guardrails or other objects around you in case you have to dodge a person suddenly and then next thing you know you’re knocking something over and people are wondering why a vase or a flowerpot just inexplicably dive-bombed the floor. Not to mention the weather, carpets, mud, puddles, pets, cords, small toys, small bugs, small children, and any one of a thousand things that might unknowingly cut in front of you or inadvertently reveal your presence, and it’s a wonder anyone wants to go invisible at all.
Trina, however, had practiced.
It was almost a dance, really.
Step here.
Dodge there.
Look out for the teen couple on the verge of a breakup.
Dodge the other teen couple definitely not about to break up.
Stifle impulse to yell “Get a room!”
Make sure you’re downwind of the pet store.
Don’t trip over power cord leading to vacuum run by mall janitor.
Keep going. Just keep going.
It took a while and Denny was beginning to get impatient when Trina reappeared, fancy pair of shades in hand. “Well?” she said.
“Cool!” Denny said, clearly impressed. “Can I see ‘em?”
“No,” she said, “I need to go put these back, remember-hey!”
Denny had already snatched them from her grasp, turned invisible, and was running off, cackling happily.
Trina ran straight and true, tackling him to the ground and retrieving the glasses from his stunned hand. “The other thing about being invisible?” she said. “You have to be quiet.”