15. Media Coverage
Later that afternoon, just after I finish working in the shop for mum, I walk back up the stairs into the lounge and turn on the TV -- using the button on the side of the screen, because mum hasn't got a new remote yet. It's stuck on some boring shopping channel and without the remote...
"Mum!" I call.
"Yeah?" she replies, from her bedroom.
I walk down the hall and carefully open her door, peeking my head around the corner of the doorway. "When are we going to get a new remote for the TV?"
"What time is it?" she asks and I glance at the hallway wall clock.
"Twenty-past-six."
"Okay, my wallet's on the kitchen table. If you want a new one, go and buy one. But be quick, as I'm about to start making dinner." I nod and grab some cash from her wallet before walking down the stairs and stepping outside.
Right. Quick. I could walk to the nearest appliance store, or take the bus, or... I concentrate and quickly rise up to roof level. ...fly.
Back in record timing, I let myself back in the house, climb back up the stairs and plonk myself down on the couch, much to the surprise of my mother.
"Back already?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. I nod, not bothering to explain how and raise the new remote in victory. "You should've just walked. You need more exercise."
I frown. For some reason, her comment strikes me as odd. How does she know I didn't walk? Well, I was kinda fast, yes, too fast to walk. She probably just thinks I took the bus. But still, why does that sound so weird then? It's not like she can possibly know that I flew to the store... I look up at her and she meets my gaze with an equal intensity. One of the corners of her mouth drifts upwards, obviously something is amusing her.
Her expression reminded me of a memory from a few years ago. I had just arrived home from school and unfortunately, it was one of those days and I had my mid-year report in my hand, ready to give to "Mrs Darlag," as per my instructions. All the sane parts of me wanted to burn it and sprinkle the ashes around the earth so it had no chance of ever reassembling. But that would have probably made my situation even worse, so I silently gave it to her, trying to face the end of the world with a little bit of bravery. Anyway, instead of looking at the report, she just looked me in the eyes and asked me what I had gotten. Like every guy before me, I lied and told her some marks that were slightly better than the truth. Her response to that was to look at me, with the exact same expression she is wearing right now, and to silently keep that expression constant until I cracked and told her what I had actually gotten.
The only difference is that this time, I'm not going to crack. Are you kidding? Tell her I have superpowers? I've seen enough movies to know that's a terrible idea.
I shrug at her. "The bus was faster. I don't need exercise, anyway."
"Right," she says, giving it up. "Sure, whatever. Now change it over to the news."
"Oh, come on." I groan. "I had to brave public transport and now I..."
"...have to let your mother watch the news."
I groan again and switch it over, before leaning back on the couch. No doubt whatever is on the news as something to do with some bragging supervillian, the boring stock markets or some charity event.
"Breaking news," says the front desk lady and I yawn, already bored. "Superhero, falls from the sky."
"What!" I cry, almost leaping from up from the sofa. This better not be about me! Oh no! Shit! The media must have...
"No one has any idea who this superhero is or where he came from, but he fell from the sky at about 11.30 this morning, and, coincidently, landed right in the middle of a bank robbing." Damn it! I bang the arm of the sofa in frustration and mum gives me a confused look.
"Are you alright?" she asks, her voice full of concern.
"I'm fine," I say through gritted teeth, turning my attention back to the television.
The lady at the front desk collects some papers in her hands and smiles pleasantly at the camera, making me grind my teeth together in annoyance. "Our local reporter Mandy Lee reports."
"Thank you, Sue," says a middle aged Asian looking woman as the television switches over to a full screen view of her; the reporter, standing in the street outside of what is most definitely the bank I saved from robbery earlier. Urgh! I bury my head in my hands before daringly peeking at the TV through the gaps in my fingers.
"I'm standing here," she pleasantly explains, "where earlier in the day, the self-named Villain 'Captain Catastrophe' attempted to rob this bank behind me." She steps aside, to give the audience a full view of the slightly ruined bank and surrounding street. The upturned cars have been removed, but I can still see the marks and indents in the tarmac from where I threw the car at Captain Catastrophe and he rebounded it with his force field like thing.
"He would have succeeded," continues the reporter, "if it hadn't been for the sudden and unlikely appearance of what appeared to be an orange and red suited superhero."
"This is bull," says my mother, surprising me as she sits beside me on the couch. "How do they know this guy wasn't another villain, and it wasn't another territorial battle?" I shrug at her, grimacing inside because I know the answer. But that is a good point. How did they assume I was a superhero?
"Naturally, no one knows who he is," thank god they don't, or I would be screwed right now, "but we have judged from the few pictures managed to be captured of him," the screen suddenly switches to a full view of myself in all my non-existent glory, in that god damned suit, causing me to grimace in hot checked embarrassment and shoot a quick glance at my mother, hoping like hell she doesn't recognise me.
"That he is most likely a teenage boy," the reporter continues, the screen still showing me, "between the ages of 15and 18."
Sixteen, actually. But how did they get that picture? I tried to fly away as soon as possible... damn it, I knew this would happen. I am such a moron. Urgh. I facepalm myself, getting weird looks from my mother again.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah," I mumble at my hands, not daring to look at her face.
"Because this news story appears to be taking a serious toll on you." Her voice is full of motherly concern. "If it's that bad, I can change the channel."
"Nah, leave it." I mutter, turning my focus back to the television. I probably need to watch this.
"We now talk to a witness, who was here and watching the scene unfold, earlier in the day." The reporter smiles with a way too friendly smile, before handing the microphone to a bulky middle aged man with a large thick brown moustache smothering his upper lip.
"This superhero guy," he starts, taking a deep breath and letting his voice growl into the mic, "is, by the looks of it, a total newbie." I grimace, before realising that he's right. "However he managed to win against Captain Apostrophe or whatever his name was,"
"Captain Catastrophe," the reporter corrects him.
"Yeah, that guy. However this kid managed to win against him, I don't know. It was a total fluke." True. "By the looks of it, he doesn't even know how to control his powers." Also true. "I mean," the man continues to rant. "He accidently fell from sky. What kind of idiot accidently falls from the sky?" I hear my mother snort and giggle a little, causing my cheeks to redden with embarrassment. This man is a dick. I bet I could take him on, any day. He probably whimpers at the sight of me. I keep trying to convince myself of this as he continues talking. Yeah, he's a total pussy. Hiding behind his moustache. I bet it's fake, too.
The reporter nods at the man and opens her mouth to speak again. "So, would you mind describing his 'sudden arrival' for us?"
He nods and stares into the camera, making me flinch. "It wasn't anything I would be proud of, that's for sure. I don't think I can find anything positive to say about it. He fell suddenly," the man starts making some interestingly complex motions with his hands to aid his description. "Unexpected. The kid must have been up there the whole time and forgotten to fly or something. Yeah, it was totally surprising and out-of-the-blue, kind of like... I don't know... a lightning strike?"
Lightning strike?
The reporter looks confused. "Lightning strike? Why do you relate it to that?"
"I don't know." The man shrugs, obviously getting bored with the interview. "Just the first thing that came to mind. The kid fought with some kind of electricity power, I think."
"Maybe that's where the example came from?" she asks him and he shrugs again.
"Yeah, I think so."
The news continues, and they spend at least another 10 minutes discussing me. I feel so honoured. My mother stays quiet through the rest of it, her face deep in thought, like she's thinking something over. That probably, knowing my luck, won't end up being a good thing. The headline finishes with a large picture of me again, the same one from before, and I flinch away from it, looking away so I don't have to look. From the corner of my eye I see my mother eyeing me suspiciously.
"Tim," she starts and I gulp, having a feeling I know what's coming. "Have you considered that the superhero kid looks... suspiciously like you?"
Shit! Damn it! I try and hide the shock on my face and replace it with something less suspicious, like boredom. "Nah." I yawn, quickly trying to think of an alibi. "I was at Josh's. Playing on his console. There's heaps of brown haired teenagers, mum. It could be any of them." I'm real tempted to just tell her, but I have a feeling she'll probably get mad at me for hiding it this whole time. She might get all weird too, like stop talking to me or locking me inside the house because she's afraid I'll get myself killed. The latter is a real possibility. Maybe I should tell her, in hopes that she'll lock me inside. It would probably increase my lifespan, anyway.
"Are you sure?" she asks, still suspicious. "Because you looked really affected by that news story. Normally you don't care, and go off to play computer games after 5 minutes of watching. But you seemed on edge tonight."
"I did?" I ask, faking a yawn before giving the stove a glance. "Shouldn't dinner be ready by now?"
"20 minutes." Mum grins at me. "Nice try."
"Nice try what?" I ask, faking confusion.
"Nice try trying to distract me." She rolls her eyes, reminding me of Julia. "Honestly, Tim. It's pretty obvious you're lying." She laughs to herself, going back to the kitchen. I stare blankly at the wall for a few seconds, before picking up my phone and wandering down to my room. Hold on. I'm definitely confused now. Does that mean that mum knows I'm the superhero, and doesn't care, or is she just pretending that she thinks I'm him, just to annoy me? Or maybe she knows I am but pretends to not care in the hope that I'll think that she's pretending to know just to annoy me? I sigh and lean back on my bed. That last idea is giving me a headache. It's like a paradox paradox.
Right, let's not think of this anymore, before I accidently cause my brain to explode. I reach for my phone and send Josh a text, wondering if he bothered to watch the news. He quickly replies with a: of course not, what kind of lame ass old person watches that... Damn it. This means I'm gonna have to fill him in.
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