I guess I wasn’t feeling so hot when I picked Debbie up at her house, and she quickly picked up on that.

“Are you all right, Em? You seem very...distant, almost upset. Did I piss you off somehow? If so, I apologize, but please talk to me, please?”

“Oh honey, it’s not you. I just got some interesting news last night, and I’m not sure how I want to handle it.”

“Is there anything I can do to help, somehow?”

“I honestly don’t know, Deb. Mom and I were doing some testing to find out where my affinities lay, and, well...”

“Well what, Em? We know you have some healing abilities, so you’re probably a pretty strong healer. I have an affinity for Air magic, myself. Mom says it’s because my mouth is always flapping in the breeze.”

I giggled. “It’s not that, Debbie. It’s just that my magic is too powerful, and that’s a huge problem. I have to learn to control it, before I have some kind of horrible accident.”

“Do you know which type of magic you’re too strong in?”

“You’re not going to believe it. Heck, I don’t believe it-or want it!” I said in frustration.

“Emily, I can see you’re upset. What magical discipline has you so worried?”

“All of them.”

“What?”

“Trust me, Debbie, I’m not bragging or pulling your leg. Mom says I may be the most powerful witch ever, and as an untrained novice, that makes me very dangerous. I guess I’m the magical equivalent of nuclear nitro-glycerin, and I might explode if I’m not extremely careful.”

“Whoa. So you mean if you were to cast a spell of some kind, it could cause problems because you could over do it?”

“Yeah. Mom and Grandma wanted to pull me out of school, because they don’t think I can handle it.”

“Well, that’s just silly. You didn’t know about your power before, and there were no incidents at all, maybe you have more control than they’re giving you credit for.”

I hadn’t thought about it before, but maybe she’s right? Maybe I have some kind of natural limiter-some way to protect myself? I don’t know, but if Mom and Grandma are right, if I’m that dangerous, why hasn’t anything happened before? Of course, I haven’t been trying to cast any spells, either. Maybe if I just relax and avoid trying to cast any spells, there may not be any real danger?

It was at least an interesting theory, and I’d have to bring it up with Mom and Grandma, but I already knew they wouldn’t change their plans for me. They might worry less, but that would be about all they’ll consider.

“Emily if you’re strong in all disciplines, have you had any problems with things like telepathy, or precognition?”

“No, I think it’s something that you need to be focused on. At least, I hope it is. I mean, I don't hear everyone’s thoughts, all of the time, or always see things that will happen to people. I suppose it’s sort of like Superman, in a way. His heat vision and super hearing aren‘t constant things for him, they’re only there when he needs them.”

I thought about it for a few minutes. “Debbie, what if I’ve been using those powers unconsciously all along? I mean, on our first date, it just sort of clicked, then I knew that I was going to spend my life with Tim. Even before that, I just knew you would become my best friend ever. Could I be tapping into my ability with out knowing it?”

“Whoa, that’s almost scary weird, if it’s true. I’m a complete zero when it comes to the psychic abilities, and I don’t know anything about how it works. Maybe you just have good judgment when you’re dealing with people? I don’t know.”

“You’re right, it’s very freaky. I was just thinking, if I was being precognitive, I would have known about Grandma’s heart attack, but maybe I did, and that’s why I went to the kitchen at just the right time. Oh, I don’t know!”

“Relax, honey. If you have those abilities, you can’t change it, so why worry about it? You haven’t been hurt by them in any way, right? Okay, so I guess it’s weird, but before you get too stressed about it, talk to your Mom and your Grandma.”

“That’s good advice, Debbie. You’re right, and thanks for helping me relax.”

“Hey, BFF here, remember? That’s why I make the big money!” She started giggling and got me started as well. It was a great stress reliever, and I was soon feeling like myself again.

The weather prediction had called for high winds and heavy rain, but all I saw was a light shower with a bit of a breeze. Hardly a storm, but when I turned on the radio for a weather report, they explained that the real storm wouldn’t hit us until around noon. I always keep an umbrella behind the seat, so I grabbed it and brought it into school with me.

The morning was fairly pleasant, but just before lunch we noticed that it was getting darker, and we could hear the far away thunder. The gym classes that were outside quickly moved into the gym, windows were closed, lights were turned on and life went on, pretty much as normal.

It rained quite hard, but that was nothing new. Behind the concrete and brick walls, I felt very secure, but I still cringed when the lightning struck close to the building and the thunder shook the building. A few of the girls even screamed (No, not me. Uh uh. Honest. Well, okay then...maybe, all right?) and the lights flickered and then went out. The teachers did a great job, and kept things cool and calm.

We waited about an hour, just sitting and talking casually before the rain stopped and I’m guessing that someone had contacted the power company. I found out later that there were outages all over the county, and they weren’t projecting a restoration of power anytime before tomorrow, and possibly later, as the school was fairly low in priority. We were finally released early, and Tim decided to take advantage of the extra couple of hours and to my surprise, took Debbie and I out for coffee.

I was very pleased that even with Debbie there, we had a very good time. We got several looks because of our fairly raucous laughter, but no one really said anything. Tim was very attentive, while still being good company all around, a talent that really impressed me. We had so much fun. I was really looking forward to my date now!

As Debbie and I drove home, we noticed little bits of windblown debris along the road. Nothing too large or anything, but as we approached our neighborhood, it did seem to get worse. I dropped Debbie off at her place, and then made my way home. As I got closer to the house, I could see something was different, but it wasn’t until I was pulling into the driveway that I saw the fallen tree. I went into the house to make sure everything was all right, and was greeted by Grandma. Mom came out a few minutes later.

“So,” I asked. “No real damage, then?”

“Damage? From what, dear?” Grandma asked innocently.

“From that fallen tree, in the back yard! I didn’t see any damage like that anywhere else on the way home, although we did lose power at school, and I don’t know when that may be repaired.”

Mom smiled. “Sweetie, that wasn’t an accident. That’s your homework.”

“My homework?!"

“Yes, dear.” Grandma said. “You have so much strength, small challenges just won’t be enough at this point. As you get more proficient, we’ll get smaller and smaller to help with developing and improving your fine control. At this point however, your strength allows us to begin on a very large scale.”

“I guess I can understand that,” I said.

“Guess not, young padawan.” Grandma said. “Do, or do not. Test you, your training will. Go now, and prepare.’

“You watched it again,didn't you?"

“Yes, my student.” Mom said bowing. “Is most awesome on Blu-Ray!”

Oh, Lord. It’s gonna be one of those nights.

How long until I can drink?