And then it happens. The punching bag sways a bit, just a tiny bit. I thought maybe I’d imagined it, but Dad just keeps on concentrating, he moves his hands around a little, and it happens again. He really did it. He moved the damn punching bag with his mind. I was so excited that I begged him to teach me how to do it. He said that he couldn’t do that, that having telekinetic powers was dangerous. Not dangerous just because you could accidentally make somebody’s head explode or something, but also because secret government agencies would want to use people like you as a weapon. It sounded reasonable at the time, and even though I still wished that I had those powers, I never asked him to teach me again. After some time, I didn’t think about it at all anymore. Then, a few years later, I started sneaking into the garage to smoke. One day, I’m in the shed, and the punching bag starts swaying on its own. I thought about it for a while, and I figured it out. The roof of the shed was aluminum. In the hottest part of the day, when the sun was glaring down on it, the aluminum expanded. This expansion was what made the punching bag sway. Dad had tricked me.”
Zoe laughed.
“He tricked me,” Trevor repeated. “That… that’s a good memory.”
Trevor came back and sat down. It was my turn. I went up there, and though I was never comfortable with public speaking, I told the story about the secret agent badge. Mom shook her head as I told the part about the meeting with the principal. When I finished with the story, I sat down. Nobody else got up to speak.
Afterward, some of the family came back to the house. Casserole dishes of every conceivable color and design covered the surface of the dining room table. A few cousins I barely remembered were there. Aunt Kathy was there; she seemed intent on serving punch to everyone whether they desired it or not. I wasn’t thirsty, but I thanked her when she shoved a glass of the stuff at me, walking around with the glass in my hand, the red liquid inside of it sloshing around like thinned-out blood.