Chapter 1

So, it’s come to my understanding that not every teenager out there can hold fire in the palm of their hands…  So it’s just me out there? Great… that little talent started at the end of the year party, where the whole 7^th grade was meeting to swim at a community pool. Yes, the whole 7^th grade. I was having a blast… Sun, friends, water…what could go wrong? Being me, everything… Melissa, Troy, and I were swimming around, celebrating the end of school.

“So, we’re out of school…”Melissa said.

“Don’t say it like that… say it like, ‘We’re finally out of that prison they call school where they hold children hostage 7 hours a day!’” I said.

“No kidding…” Troy agreed silently.  Everyone thought it was freezing in the water, but no one seemed to care. Me, well, I was boiling.

“Is it me, or is it really hot in this pool?”

They gave me blank faces, confused.

“It’s freezing, Jenna.” Melissa said. “Sun screen?” she asked. She had enough sunscreen for 3 people on her face. The white cream was visible.

“No, I think I’ll be fine.”

I ducked my head under the water, away from the sun. I was still burning up. I swam around, trying to find a cool spot in the pool, but it was warm everywhere. I sat on the ledge, letting only my legs dip in the water. Melissa followed me. “What do you think 8th grade will be like?”

“7^th grade, but more annoying, complete with more homework and Mrs. B.”

“You mean Mrs. Buzz kill… Are you staying in the boarding school next year again?”

“Where else would I go? Hey, do you have any ice?”

“There’s some at the table… But…”  I ran to the ice and popped some into my mouth. When I breathed, there was steam. Steam…There was steam in my mouth. I looked like a dragon, or like I just smoked, but no one noticed. The ice wasn’t even that cold, and melted in a matter of milliseconds. I jumped back in the water, and looked like I must’ve seen a ghost.

“You okay?”

“Yeah… So what are you doing this summer?”

As I listened to her yap on about vacation plans, I rubbed the warm water on me… because it wasn’t boiling, and I was.

“Jenna?” She asked, touching my arm. She jumped back. “God! You’re freaking on fire!”

“Really?” I said, looking at my arm. I thought she was being literal, because that’s how I felt. “Oh, yeah. I’m really hot.”

Troy treaded through the water, with a smirk on his face. “You’re hot?”

“You know I am…” I said. “Anyway, that’s not what I meant.”

“Sure it wasn’t. What are you girls talking about?”

“Jenna’s, like, burning!” Melissa said. I watched as Troy’s slight smirk disappeared, and his eyes drifted to me.

“Nah, I’m fine. Come on. Our class is playing Marco Polo over there…” but it only got worse. What was wrong with me? I tried everything from standing in front of a fan, to pouring water on top of my head. Troy and Melissa watched as I steamed when the water touched my skin. I decided to avoid the pool because I was pretty positive normal children didn’t steam when they touched water.

“Maybe the pool would help…” Troy said.

“Maybe.”

“Should we tell someone?”

“Yeah, like, ‘Excuse me, but I steam when I touch water. Please help me.’” I said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes.

“You’re so difficult.”

“It takes work to get this way, thank you for noticing.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t take it anymore. I was sweating like crazy, and Melissa insisted on getting me out of the sun. I followed her into the lobby, where she sat me down and gave me more water… which I gulped down with unnatural speed. That felt a little better…

“What is happening to you?” she asked, pacing around. “Are you sick?”

“I don’t know… but I’m not enjoying it much either. Go swim, I’ll be in here. It’s better in here.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, ‘course.” My mouth was dry, and I grabbed 3 bottles of water, two at my feet. I gulped the first one down… Melissa raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll stay, just in case.” She decided.

Troy stood behind her, silent as ever. His eyebrows scrunched together. My skin became an unnatural red… like, very red. Like, Elmo red.

“I told you to use sun screen!” Melissa scolded. There was a ringing in my ears… I grabbed them, and shut my eyes. I was on fire, I knew I was… I had to be. It couldn’t be just a sun burn. Tears streaked down my face, and they started boiling. I was going to explode. I wanted to explode. I couldn’t take it anymore. I started to scream and Troy threw water on me. I decided to hit him later… Steam rolled off of me… More boiling… I felt like the blood inside of me was boiling, too. Even my eyes… just get it over with! I was in pure @#!*% … How long would this last? The manager behind the counter ran over, scolding us for spilling water. Then he saw me… he put his hand on my shoulder, and then yelped.

“You burnt me!” he yelled, his hand red. Tough! I was the one who was burning! Help me! I yelled inside of my mind. Then, he came to his senses. “Are you alright?”

I couldn’t answer. I clutched my ears, shaking my head, silent tears streaming down my face. He grabbed a towel, and used it to pick me up. He carried me away, in his arms. “Call 911.” He barked to Melissa.

“No!” I yelled. 911? No thank you, sorry! “I’ll be fine!” I barely managed to speak, my mouth was so dry.

“Kid, it’s okay. I’m going to help.” He said. I wanted him to put me down… he couldn’t carry me forever. Then he started muttering, “Ouch, ouch, ouch…” he ran back to my chair and sat me down, rubbing his arms where’d I’d burned him. “Where are your parents?”

I couldn’t answer… I didn’t want to. Try answering stupid questions while your body starts to burn. It’s not the easiest thing in the world. Troy answered for me. “She doesn’t have any.” How’d he sound so freaking calm? What was happening? The man ordered them to call 911 again. I gave up on trying convincing them not to. No one listens to the kid on fire… In a matter of terrible minutes; I heard the sirens rip through the deafening silence. They loaded me on gurney, which rattled and made noise as I was put into the ambulance. Then, fierce as I am, I passed out…

Chapter2

I woke up with tubes connected to me… the room was too white, and it hurt my eyes. I wasn’t so freaking hot, but I was still sweating. There was water at a nearby table, and I downed it. Troy and his mom, and Melissa and hers, stood by me. They were both still in their bathing suits. I groaned. I was in a freaking hospital…

“What happened?” I asked.

“The doctors say they don’t know…” Melissa’s mom, Ms. Shaw, said.

“So, I freaked out over nothing?” I asked.

“No, sweetie. Of course not. They said you were practically on fire. They just can’t figure out why.”

Ms. Shaw was almost like my mother. She always had me over, and treated me like one of her own. She beat living in a boarding school all year long… Troy’s mom was solemn, and never around. She was today. And she didn’t look too happy about it. Now that I was awake, she gave me a disapproving look, and then pushed out of the room, leaving Troy behind.

“They want to keep you overnight… just to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He explained.

“Weird…” I said. I’d never been in a hospital. I wondered if someone had to pay for my check in or something…  Ms. Shaw usually paid for my medicine when I was sick, and for my boarding school. I couldn’t thank her enough… She wasn’t my real mom, but she pretended to be. Troy left the room with a simple nod, and met his mom outside. Melissa looked scared and pale. Her eyes were wide, and she was jumpy.

“Are you okay?”

“Am I ok? You almost gave me a heart attack! Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better. Ha, you looked so freaked out.”

“You know I hate hospitals… And was that a laugh?”

“Uh, no. Trust me, I know you hate hospitals…” she was practically my sister.

We chatted for a while, of things off subject.  It was nice to not have to think about how I was in a hospital. Still weird… Eventually, Ms. Shaw said she had to leave, but that she would check on me in the morning. She would bring me back to boarding school, where I’d continue to live my boring life… or so I thought. They filed out and I was left alone in the hospital, with an overly concerned, annoying nurse, who checked on me and kept me awake. Life of luxury…

“Do you need anything?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You see, it’s my first day as a nurse, so-“

“Of course it is….”

“Are you warm?”

“A little.”

“We’ll make the room cooler.”

You’d have to make it Antarctica in here if you wanted me to be cool…. She also expressed how she never had a kid without a parent stay overnight before, just to make me feel cozy. In the end, the lights went out, and I fell asleep, having dreams about a nurse who never left my side and didn’t feed me. I woke with a start, in the middle of the night. Sweaty, dry mouth and heat: the same familiar feelings as earlier. I knew it was happening again. I couldn’t stop it. I reached for the water that never emptied, thanks to my nurse, and threw it on me. Steam sprouted from my skin. It was getting worse faster than I’d expected. I pushed a button I never thought I’d ever need to push…  The freaking nurse’s button…  In longer then I’d hoped, she hustled in and found me hunched into a ball. Why’d she pick now to be late? She called for the doctor, and a man in a white coat ran in. He ran over to me, and touched my back. He yanked backwards, into the wall.

“That’s impossible…”

“Make it stop!”

My vision started to blur, everything went fuzzy. Black spots danced around, clotting together, making everything black. I didn’t want to faint… in my limited vision, I saw men hustling quickly around me. What were they doing? Why couldn’t they make it stop? I started yelling, sweating, and freaking out. One of them pulled out a needle. Even through excruciating pain, I yelled, “Don’t you dare inject that thing in me!” and you know what that idiot did? He stuck me with that needle, and it was only seconds before I was out again. Who does he think he is? I don’t care if he has some PhD or whatever, don’t stick a frightened teenager with a needle! I don’t care if I’m screaming and kicking and yelling, you better have permission before you touch me with any sort of sharp object. Especially a needle. Ugh. I didn’t wake up until the next day, and that’s when the action started…

Chapter 3

By the next day, I’d gotten sick and tired of being in that hospital room. When I woke up, Mrs. Shaw was there, smiling at me. I rolled my eyes, and stood up. I yanked off the tubes, and examined my hospital gown. Where’d they put my clothes? I tuned out Mrs. Shaw’s urges for me to sit down. I was ready to get out. As you may have noticed, I’m not a very normal teenager. A normal teenager would’ve stayed and soaked up all the attention she could, enjoying the sympathy while it lasted. Me? I wanted out. Now. I ran through the hospital doors and hallways. Mrs. Shaw yelled after me, while doctors chased me down the halls. Exits… where were the exits? I was unconscious when I’d entered my room the first time… Elevator! I ran toward it, pressing the button. “Hurry up, hurry up!” Ding! The door opened, and I shoved past the people who tried to get out. I pressed the floor button, but there was a lady in the elevator with me. She gave me a puzzled look.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in your room?” she asked.

“Meh…” and so we stood there awkwardly, elevator music playing in the background.

“So, what are you here for?” she asked.

“The usual… I started steaming when I touched water.”

She shrugged, like this was no big deal. Her huge shoulders rolled up, then dropping. Ding! I ran out of the elevator, but doctors were waiting for me.

“Please cooperate, you’re safe here.” Did he say cooperate? Psh! Yeah right!

“Cooperate? I don’t do well with that word…” I pushed past them, and bolted down the road. They must’ve thought I was completely senile, but I didn’t care. Fresh air… I soaked it all in. Mrs. Shaw ran after me, yelling at me to stop. I winced. I hated disappointing her. She’d been so kind to me. I stopped in my tracks, letting the doctors grab my arms.

“I’m fine! Let me go!” I struggled, but their grip was tight. Mrs. Shaw was almost in tears. Suddenly, something washed over me. I almost fell limp, and I let myself get yanked across the parking lot. Steaming, they let go of me like so many other people had. They let my just lay there, on the parking lot, burning up again. But now it was so much worse. I can’t even begin to describe what it was like. I prayed for it to be over, or for me to just drop dead. I’d do anything to make it over, soon. But this time was different. I looked at my arms, and I could’ve sworn I saw fire dance over them. Then it stopped.

“Jenna! Jenna, what’s happening?” Mrs. Shaw asked. Gee, I don’t know. Maybe I just caught fire for a minute there… it happened again, and I could only hope my gown didn’t turn to ashes. That’s me! I’m in the middle of catching on fire or dying, and I’m worried about my clothes burning up. The fire grew from inside my skin again, but it lasted longer this time. I screamed and rolled around on the black concrete. It didn’t go away. Eventually, I stopped rolling and started slapping the fire, a.k.a., myself. Aren’t I intelligent?  Rolling around on the ground, complete with a self-inflicted beating. I was on a roll! Get it? Because I was- never mind. The fire grew taller on my arms, orange and blinding. I stopped slapping myself for a moment, realizing that I wasn’t in pain. Well, aside from the hitting. Oh, if Melissa could see me now… I stared, wide-eyed at my arm. Not many things went through my mind except-

A-     Catching fire wasn’t a normal activity,

B-      I still had clothes on, thank God,

C-      I was making everyone who surrounded me scream.

The last one was something I’d always wanted to do… just in case, that was sarcasm, if you didn’t get it. Since I still had my clothes- my dignity, I ran in the opposite direction, making a steam trail as I did so. It took me a while to realize that all of me was on fire. Why weren’t my clothes? I shouldn’t question it, I was ecstatic! It felt suddenly good to be on fire. (Never thought I’d say that…) I felt like I was at my full strength, and that this was what I’d been missing my whole life. Cool. I ran faster then I’d ever think possible for myself.  I could even see better then I used to… Anyway, I didn’t know whether I should thank God, or slap him in the face. I was a freak. And who knew being one meant that you had to go through all that @#!*% …

Chapter 4

I finally stopped running on a sidewalk leading to our school.  As I caught my breath, I tried to find water around me… nothing. How was this happening? Was it just an illusion? Was I going crazy? I swept my hand against my flaming arm, trying to die it down. It would’ve worked if my hand wasn’t on fire too… I gulped. What if this lasted forever? I started to choke up. I didn’t want to be a freak… then I thought- tears! Was my face on fire too? They rolled down my cheeks, but the water hurt me. I felt like the Wicked Witch of the West. Did I melt or something when I touched water? I hated not knowing what was happening to me. Somebody walking down the sidewalk, saw me, paused, and ran in the opposite direction. What if Melissa and Troy reacted like that? I sat down and buried my face in my hands. I tried to calm myself down, hoping that when I opened my eyes, everything was back normal.

“Calm down… it’s going to be alright.” And when I opened my eyes, the fire was slowly dying down. I continued to relax, letting my tense bones ease. The fire died down until it was barely visible on my skin. I ran back to the boarding school, and knocked on my door, hoping my roommate wasn’t too much of a jerk to answer. Luckily, she did. She sat my face, and my hospital gown.

“Jenna, I heard you had a spas attack at the pool. Ha, in front of everybody. The whole school is talking about it. Why are you in a hospital gown? Did they take you to the Nut House?”

“Shut up and let me in!”

She backed off, because she wasn’t used to me telling her what to do. I pushed past her, onto my bed. I closed my eyes and thought. Okay, everything’s okay now. You aren’t on fire, and you’re home. You aren’t at that stupid hospital anymore, and you can relax… I took a deep breath.

“This is weird, even for you. Where’ve you been? Didn’t want to leave the hospital, did you? Yeah, well, while you were living it up, I had to do all of your laundry.” She complained.

I groaned. Why couldn’t she shut up for a minute while I tried to think and relax?

“Kate, I’ve been through a lot in the past two days, so I would appreciate it if you would just leave me alone…” I pleaded, rubbing my temples to get rid of my new head ache that was forming.

“Since I did your laundry, you’re doing mine.”

“Fine… I’ll do your laundry. Now, will you leave me alone? I haven’t gotten much sleep.”

“Just because its summer doesn’t mean you can relax. You’re doing my laundry.”

“Yes! I’ll do it!”

“Yes, you will. I don’t care if you’re dying, you’re doing my laundry.”

“Yes, Kate, I am doing your laundry. In a minute, okay?”

She grunted, and then sat down on her own bed. Jeez, I’d forgotten how much I hated her… I don’t know how long I laid there, thinking about what had just occurred. And why? Why me? Some nobody from a small town with no parents and no clue where she came from, turns into a fire freak. I just laid there, for minutes and minutes, until… someone knocked on my door.

“Go get it,” Kate ordered. “You’ve been sitting there for forever. Get up.”

So I did. And Melissa stood there, behind the door, her whole face looking like it aged ten years with worry. I had done that? She barged in.

“You’ve had everyone worried. I knew you’d be here. You’re still in your hospital gown? Are you alright?” Melissa sat down on my bed and I joined her.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I can’t believe you ran away from the hospital. Did the doctors chase you?” she asked. I shot Kate a look, and her mouth fell open. Well, that felt good.

“Yeah, they did. It was weird. Um… but I don’t want to talk about it. Where’s Mrs. Shaw?”

“She’s waiting in the car. I was just supposed to check if you were here. Come on, she doesn’t want you staying here by yourself. Pack your things.”

“You mean I’m staying with you guys?” I started to smile.

“Yep. Come on! Change your clothes. Troy wanted to see how you were too. He’s in the car with my mom.”

“She isn’t putting me back in a hospital, right? Wait did you say Troy?”

“I don’t know… Yeah, um, Troy’s with us. But there’s something you should know…”

I paused. I didn’t want to be in a hospital, especially now that I knew that I was a fire freak. And Troy- what was he doing with Mrs. Shaw? I packed my things, and changed my clothes. Yes! I could go to Melissa’s house! I don’t have to stay with Kate, I was free! I ran out of the bathroom, bag in hand. I ran downstairs, slamming the door behind me, just to let Kate know I was happy to be leaving. In the parking lot, there was Melissa and Mrs. Shaw. I’d never been so happy to see a broken down van in my life. I loaded into the car, silently praying our destination wasn’t anywhere with needles…