“We’re working you hard this weekend.” my mother said when she woke me up this morning.

“When did you become my alarm clock?” I asked.

“You’ve missed out on a lot of your training.” she said.

“Oh, that’s right.” I said.

I had almost forgotten that I had these weird powers. 

“Well, get up.” she said.

“What am I using these powers for again?” I asked.

“You never know when you’re going to need to defend yourself.” she said.

Just minutes later, we were out in the backyard again with the barrier up. I let out a sigh because I was not looking forward to going through all of this again.

“Now, let’s make sure you remember-” she started.

I held out both of my hands, creating a flame with the right and ice with the left.

“You can already do both at once!?” exclaimed my mother.

“What?” I said, “That’s not normal?”

“Have you been practicing on your own?” my mother asked.

“No.” I replied.

“I see.” she said, “It seems you must have inherited a lot of my power.”

“Mom?” I said, “Why did this have to happen?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“It’s one thing that we’re… aliens,” I said, “but did I really have to transform into a girl?”

“It’s just how our race works.” she said.

“Do all the women in our-” I started.

“No.” she said, “Not all of them have powers.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.” I said.

“When the women in our family give birth,” she said, “there is a small chance of them receiving our powers.”

“I know that already.” I said.

“If a boy comes out,” my mother said, “we have to wait until they’re fifteen to see if they have powers. If they do, you know what happens.”

“So what happens if you have a girl?” I asked.

“The girl will end up using her powers not long after she’s born,” my mother answered, “assuming she has any. If she doesn’t, she’ll just live her life like a normal girl.”

“Even if I have these powers,” I said, “I can’t live a normal life?”

“As long as you have them,” my mother said, “other aliens might drag you into battle.”

“I really… didn’t ask for any of this.” I said.

My mother walked up to me and hugged me.

“I know it’s gonna be hard.” she said, “But you’ll get used to it eventually.”

“Well, it’s not like I can go back to how things used to be.” I said, “Doesn’t make it any less annoying though.”

“Like it or not, you ended up with my powers,” my mother said, “so it would be a waste to not use them.”

“If it had happened to Sam instead,” I responded, “would I still be my old self?”

“There’s no guarantee.” my mother answered, “The woman in our family can give up to two of their kids their powers. So, you might have stayed the same, but there would still be the chance you’d transform too.”

“God, this all… confusing.” I complained.

“Now,” she said, “why don’t we get back to what we came out here for?” 

“Right.” I said.

“Remember the shield?” asked my mother.

I put my arms in front of my chest like last time.

“It looks tougher than last time.” my mother commented, as I moved my arms away and the shield disappeared. 

“Now, now hold out both of your hands.” she said, “Imagine holding a sword.”

“Like this?” I said.

“Yeah.” she said, “But also think about what you did when you channeled fire and ice.”

“Okay.” I said, and suddenly a sword made of fire and ice appeared in my hand.

“Good.” my mother replied, pulling out a red sword.

“W-What are you doing?” I asked.

“Now, we’ll fight.” she said.

We struck our swords at each other. It wasn’t easy. My mother was extremely fast, so I was struggling to keep up with her. She ran all over the backyard and I chased after her. I managed to land a few more hits to her sword, but she was tough. After what felt like forever, I managed to knock the sword out of her hand.

“You’re pretty good at this.” my mother commented.

“Thanks?” I said.

After that, she made the barrier disappear.

“So, how was your date?” my mother asked.

“Will you drop it already?” I asked.

“How do you feel about him now?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, I was wondering if your feelings had changed.” she said.

“Wait… are you saying I’m going to suddenly start liking guys!?” I exclaimed.

“Why are you so surprised?” she said, “It doesn’t happen to everyone that transforms though.”

“What are you saying?” I asked.

“Some of them still like girls.” she said, “No matter which you like, I’ll support you.”

“That’s great,” I said, “but can we not talk about love stuff right now?”

“Fine.” she said.

“I am worried about him though.” I said, “Not seeing the old me is really bothering him.”

“So, what are you going to do?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” I responded.