Chapter 2- STATIC

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“What are you talking about?” I asked, still staring into the mirror like it might tell me something useful.

“I’m telling you, this isn’t ordinary. It’s more than we know!” Ria said, her eyes intense.

“Wow, Ria Sherlock, you didn’t tell me you were into supernatural stuff,” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes.

“You idiot.” She smacked the back of my head.

“Ouch. That’s assault.” I pouted.

She rolled her eyes. “What if it’s a disease or something? Because seriously, hair doesn’t just turn blue. Not without reason. Unless… you actually dyed it to prank me.”

I turned to her, scandalized. “Why would I prank you with hair dye? Do you know my mum? She’d murder me and bury the body in the backyard flower bed.”

Ria examined my hair again, running her fingers through the glowing strands like they might vanish if she stared long enough.

“We better figure this out,” she muttered.

Before I could respond, the bell for first period rang. We both groaned in unison.

“Lucky for you, this school doesn’t care about weird hairstyles,” she said, heading for the door. “Let’s go. We’ll deal with this later.”

“Wait. What if it glows again?” I asked, smoothing my fingers over my hair like that would make it behave.

“Unless you’ve got a hoodie hidden somewhere, there’s nothing we can do.”

I sighed. “Fine. Let’s go before someone starts asking questions.”

⸻

I’d completely forgotten we had Biology practicals today. Great. Just what I needed—scalp stress and scalpel stress in one morning.

As soon as we got to the lab, our Biology teacher barked out instructions like a drill sergeant. “Pair up with your partners! Lab coats, gloves, masks—everything’s in the cabinet. Move fast!”

The specimen of the day? Toads, lovely.

Each pair got one.

“I’ll do the dissection,” I said quickly. Ria had no objections.

I suited up, picked up the scalpel, and leaned in toward the toad. Just as I was about to make the first cut, something happened—something really weird. A spark shot out of my hand and zapped the toad.

Zapped. Like a mini lightning bolt.

The scalpel clattered from my hand as I jumped back.

I looked around in a panic. No one else seemed to notice—they were all too focused on their own slippery, unlucky toads.

I glanced at Ria. Her eyes were the size of tennis balls. “What the hell was that?” she mouthed.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, my hands shaking.

“We need to get out of here. Now.” she whisper-yelled.

“But how? What do we say?”

“Watch me,” she said with an evil glint in her eye.

Uh-oh.

She suddenly collapsed to the floor, clutching her head and letting out a pained groan. “My… head… it hurts!”

It was so dramatic, I almost burst out laughing, but I played along. “Oh my God! Ria! Are you okay?”

Our teacher rushed over. “Take her to the nurse—now!”

Pass in hand, I helped her limp out. The moment we turned a corner, Ria stood up straight and grinned.

“We did it!”

We high-fived like we just pulled off a high-stakes heist.

By the time we got to the clinic, we put the act back on. The school nurse, Miss Maggie, was already outside.

“Oh, Miss Maggie!” I cried. “My friend—she’s really not feeling well.”

“Bring her in,” she said kindly.

Inside, she checked Ria’s forehead. “She’s not running a temperature. Probably just stress. She’ll be fine after some rest.”

“Can I stay with her?”

“You have a hall pass?”

I showed it to her and she nodded. “I’ll be back shortly. I need to pick up a delivery.”

The moment she left, I smacked Ria’s leg. “Drop the act. She’s gone.”

Ria sat up with a satisfied smirk. “I should totally go into acting.”

“Only if you want to scare small children,” I teased.

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Back to the important part—what happened back there?”

I looked at my hands, still tingling. “I don’t know.”

“That spark—it was blue, Jasmine. Like your hair. You don’t think they’re connected?”

“You think I have superpowers?”

“I think you’ve got something,” she said, pacing.

“Well, whatever it is, I need to hide it before my parents find out.”

“Not a problem. Didn’t you say they’re both traveling?”

“Yeah. Mum’s off to Australia for her degree program. Dad’s on a research tour—he’ll be visiting three countries this month.”

“That gives us time to figure this out,” Ria said, lighting up. “Operation: Blue Mystery begins.”

“To celebrate, how about Boba after school? My treat.”

“Call!” she grinned, and we high-fived again.

⸻

School finally ended, and I felt like a prisoner being granted parole.

Step one of Operation: Blue Mystery? Hide the evidence.

We stopped at a salon and dyed my hair back to its natural color. The stylist kept asking what brand of dye I’d used for the “strange but stunning blue.” We just laughed awkwardly and mumbled something about “custom mix.” Crisis averted. Sort of.

Next, we headed to my mum’s café.

Yes, my mum owns a café—part side hustle, part future investment. When she’s not globe-trotting with my dad, she and I both hang out there. And yes, I eat and drink for free. Perks of being the owner’s daughter.

Outside the café, Cindy and Kenna were trying to fix a flickering lightbulb.

“Where are the guys?” I asked.

“In the back, unloading stock,” Cindy said, struggling with the ladder.

“Here, let me help.” I handed my bag to Ria and climbed up.

“I’m getting a drink,” Ria said, heading inside.

“Save me a seat!”

I was twisting in the new bulb when I felt it—that strange, electric buzz in my fingertips. My eyes flicked across the street.

Someone was watching me.

A guy. Tall. Black hoodie. Standing beside another person, but his eyes were locked on me.

Creepy.

Then—oops.

My foot slipped.

I felt the ladder tilt and time slowed down like I was the star in some low-budget superhero film. The ground felt impossibly far away.

Is this it? I thought. Am I seriously going to die from an eight-step fall?

No first kiss. No prom. Just splat—bulb girl meets gravity.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

But instead of smashing into concrete, I landed in… arms?

Strong, steady arms.

I blinked and looked up. It was the guy from across the street.

“Seriously?” I muttered, both relieved and mortified.

He let me go gently, but before I could say anything, I realized—everything was frozen.

I mean everything.

Cars. Birds. People. The wind. Time.

“What the actual heck is happening?” I whispered.

No answer.

Because the world had hit pause—and I and the strange boy were the only ones still playing.