Throbbing whirled when Kay woke up.

  He was hoping that the disfort all over his body would have gone away ht but he woke up, got out of bed, and that feeling was all over his body. One moment he felt like overstuffed sausage, then the he felt like a dried spohen he felt like his bones were hollow. The sensation wasn’t quite pain but it didn’t seem like non-paiher. It was hard to pin down but Kay knew he didn’t like it.

  Being a person that could turn into a being of living water, Kay had his share of weird experiences. Getting his butt kicked in that water form had strange repercussions, though. Repercussions that affected him while he was in human form.

  He slid on a T-shirt and then a sweater a like he was wearing fifty yers. His skin and every muscle in his arms screamed for him to remove the clothes. He looked outside the window at the cloud-covered m. It was going to be a cold one.

  There was no reference for the feeling that Kay was feeling. The couple times that Kay had gotten seriously hurt in his water form, including that big fight he fought when his powers first awakened; he couldn’t recall waking up the day and feeling like every bone was out of pd every muscle was dried out like old honey. Maybe the same thing happenedb ack then, but he couldn’t remember.

  Kay walked out his bedroom and his family was busy getting ready for their days. Aubrey was on the couch watg some early m MuchMusic before she went out to her job. She tapped her foot while a grungy rock band pyed on the s– Kay might have known that singer: Sam Roberts, he thought his name was. The living room was loud with bsting drums and alt rock wailing.

  Kay’s mom and stepdad were getting ready for their days, too. Stevie prepped lunches for her husband, her son, and herself.

  Kay went to the kit to get himself a gss e juice, scooting past Urban to get his hand into the fridge. He snapped a gss out of the cupboard a around the isnd to get out of everyone’s way before p himself a cup. Cup full, he put the carton ba the fridge.

  His mother was reading a neer. After the i st night, Kay worried that his little adve on the front page news but when the boy g the headlines “PREMIER WARNS THAT C–“ Well, Kay couldn’t catch the ehing but k wasn’t about him.

  He drank his juice. It was a bit bnd but he figured fluids were always good.

  “We’re not going to grandma’s this Thanksgiving,” said Mom. “She wao have it on Sunday and so did Herb’s aunt Berenice.”

  Thanksgiving.

  “Oh...” Kay’s voice was tired and heavy.

  Stevie looked at her son. He looked ill and drank his juice like a blood transfusion. “Are you okay, Mick?”

  This got some eyes on him. Urban and Aubrey cocked their heads at the boy, assessing roblem Stevie was witnessing.

  Kay shook the cobwebs off his face. “Yeah. I just had trouble sleeping st night.”

  Stevie smiled. “Well, cheer up! It’s a three-day weekend tomorrow.”

  Kay faked a grin and finished his juice.

  It was a day to tune everything out so Kay got his Walkman, its bck coat with scratches and chips on the front. He had a burnt CD full of assorted tracks, a number of songs from the 1970s that Kay liked. Songs from Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, The Who, and Led Zeppelin. And “Alison” from Elvis Costello... because he heard it in a movie once.

  He stuck the Walkman in his coat pocket and stringed up some headphoo his ears. He listeo the vintage guitars and hardened vocals on his walk to school, trying his best to ignore how his body felt like it was held together by weak glue.

  It didn’t hurt, his body; it felt fragile.

  It was Friday. Pull it together, Kay, he told himself. You have all weekend to recover.

  What was even wrong with him? Was that disfort a normal part of being a water person or someohat could transform? What were the rules for people that could magically ge their bodies? How did damage transfer from oo the ? It wasn’t something that Kay wao find out but a voi the back of his head knew how important that was to know.

  At school, Kay drifted through his first couple of csses. He kept his head down, did his work, and shivered over the disfort swirling in his body. When lunch came he ate his at the cafeteria, sitting at a table with some people he could call “friends”. He opened his lunch box. His mave him some keftedes, courtesy of Urban. He popped one in his mouth and chewed.

  Huh. Usually they had a promi ano fvour that Kay didn’t like. ano, or some kind of overp herb. Today that fvour was reserved. In fact, they didn’t taste like much at all. It didn’t matter much; a couple meatballs and most of a juice box and Kay was full.

  Huxley and Kay shared media studies so after lunch they walked to css together. Huxley engaged in versation and Kay gave enough attention to pretend that he was listening. Kay was hoping that his siess would ease up towards the end of the school day but it wasn’t getting aer. It was hard to gauge but it seemed to be getting worse.

  Once media studies got going, the lesson today was on broadcast television: how stations scheduled programming. Kay did his best to pay attention but his focus was drifting in and out. He only got faded signals of what he was supposed to be learning. Most of the time he was staring at the paper in front of him. It was today’s assig and he was supposed to fill in the bnks as part of the lesson, but all he could do was trail his eyes over the text, not knowing what the answers were while his fellow students wrote down answers diligently.

  After the lesson cluded, the teacher left the students to their own to plete the assig. What assig? Kay wasn’t sure. He couldn’t care either.

  Huxley got talking to some local cssmates, chatting with them, while Kay rexed and prayed that he wouldn’t o see a doctor. Oh god, a doctor. He hadn’t been to a checkup since his powers had awakened. What if he went to one and got found out as a water shapeshifter?

  Opting to ignore his ay, Kay turned his attention to the versation Huxley was having with their neighbours: Jia and Lana.

  Jia was a girl with long bck hair who was often seen smiling. Lana had short blond hair and gsses.

  Huxley saw that Kay was looking like he was going to pass out. “You okay, Kay?”

  Kay perked up and tried to appear alive. “Yeah.” He sighed and rocked a forehead into a palm. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”

  Jia nodded. “It’s Friday at least.” She pumped her arms up and cheered. “And then it’s the long weekend!”

  Huxley and Lana whooped. Kay forced a smirk.

  Lana saw Kay’s headphones. “What are you listening to on those?”

  Kay wasn’t sure what she was talking about until he waved a hand on his neck like he was trying to slot away a fly. His hand bumped the headphones. Kay didn’t realize he still had them on. The cord was ected to the Walkman in his pocket. He even had them on during lunch, evidenced by a crumb on the foam. He swatted the crumb to the floor.

  “Deep Purple,” said Kay, his voice shy, “Led Zeppelin.”

  “Oh yeah,” said Jia. “You like older music, don’t you?”

  Her tone was mog but Kay figured that he might as well get the interrogation over with. He brace himself with an inhale. “Yeah.”

  “And you don’t listen to uff?” said Huxley.

  “Yeah.”

  “Why not?” asked Jia.

  “It’s not good,” said Kay. “It’s annoying... and fake. Overproduced.”

  Kay didn’t like having his tastes on trial but it served as a good distra from the gssy feeling in all his muscles. The annoyance of having his musical choices dissected was easier to get through than sit there and ruminate over his body feeling the way it did.

  “Fake?” said Jia with a chuckle.

  “It’s artificial,” said Kay, “It’s soulless.”

  Kay usually peppered his opinion with restraint but he was not in the mood.

  Jia couldn’t hide her disbelief. “How is it soulless?”

  “It’s made by marketing,” said Kay, “It’s just meant to sell CDs.”

  Jia fluttered eyes but said nothing.

  “Did you always like older music?” asked Lana. She chuckled. “Did you ask for an AC/DC cassette for your seventh birthday?”

  Everyone chuckled, including Kay. He said, “No. I don’t remember liking music growing up– not anything that wasn’t a song from a Disney movie. Or video game music. That song ‘Cotton Eye Joe’...” He leaned up and straightened himself out. “I remember it pying a primary school dance. Everyone was so excited, jumping around. I didn’t get it. I didn’t feel anything for it.”

  They were all familiar with the song. It had been nearly a decade si was a hit and nobody was surprised that a kid could be disied in it.

  “So how did you get into older rock music?” asked Huxley.

  Something was going on. They had a geerest in Kay’s musical background. They looked at him with curious eyes and humble grins. The fragility of Kay’s body cooled down. “I started hearing music I liked in movies and it was stuff like The Band and stuff. I remember watg that oeor movie Armageddon and liking a lot of songs.”

  Huxley scratched his knuckles and a gave casual nod. “I guess I see your point. It’s weird, though.”

  It was weird, Kay knew. But he didn’t care.

  “I think it’s cool,” said Lana. “That you like old stuff.”

  Kay sighed, uo tain a smile. “I like uff a lot. New movies, new shows. I just don’t like music.”

  They tinued a discussion and the period flew by. Kay never got his work do he hoped that he would be able to finish the assiger. He said bye to his neighbours on his way of css and spent the st period of the day feeling fatigued. He came pretty close to falling asleep at his desk but made it to the end of the day without anything too embarrassing happening to him.

  Another warm day in Toronto and another cool day in Dead Head’s warehouse. Pax should have brought his coat but there was a bigger trouble on the horizon: breaking the bad o Dead Head.

  Dead Head was in the office, hunched over his desk, staring out into spatil he saw Pax e in the door. Pax beeliowards the office, the room’s light sprinkling across the floor of the dark warehouse. Pax walked across the building with his posture slouched and a slower speed than usual, footfalls eg across the building.

  Dead Head sensed disappoi was ing.

  Pax walked up to the office– the door hanging open. Pax knocked anyway. “Hey, boss, uh, could–“

  Dead Head cut him off. “How did it go st night with Vadsaria?”

  Pax ko cut to the chase. “Not good. We were ambushed.”

  Dead Head let out a throaty grump. “Were the cops there?”

  “No,” said Pax, rubbing his face. He ran every sentehrough his head before delivering it to Dead Head. “Some water guy was there. When we went to go spook on Vadsaria, this water guy came outta nowhere and attacked us. We tried to beat some seo him but we couldn’t deal with the guy! He was made of water.”

  Dead Head sneered, a grain of amusement in his disbelief. “This is your excuse!?”

  “It’s no excuse, boss,” said Pax. “It’s what happened. We could never have predicted some walking whirlpool would interfere with our business.” Pax slicked his hair back. “I swear, I’ve my share of freakshows over the years and never someone like this guy!”

  Dead Head groaned, suspending his forehead with a palm. He wao call Pax an idiot but what good would that do? He had to move forward.

  “We find out supplies elsewhere,” said Dead Head. “Fet about Vadsaria.”

  “What now?” asked Pax.

  “Talk to the boy down ion,” said Dead Head. “And by talk, I mean leave him with a momentiving me lip about his cut.”

  Mrunt work. Pax had hoped that joining up with Dead Head would have offered new opportunities but he was doing the same stuff as always. Oh well, he thought. Pax leaned up from the doorsill. “Will do.”

  With Pax leaving the building, Dead Head had room to brood. A water being? Was his subordinate screwing with him? Dead Head khere were strange beings around Toronto and that a water person defending a er store could have been a possibility. Hopefully it was a oime thing: the water being interfering or Pax giving him an excuse.

  He got up and walked to the dar hanging on the wall. Things were still on schedule, but would they stay that way?

  Kay got home ao his room. To tired to turn on the puter– he put his Walkman on the desk, plopped his backpack down by his bed, and id down.

  Diving his fato the pillow, his ears muffled by down, he could hear his blood flowing through his body. It sounded like pipes flowing behind an old wall. Pipes was the right imagery because his blood flowed fast and his body felt like a cyg duit of jet fuel, ready to be ignited.

  Make it stop, he thought.

  In the darkness, colours took his eyesight. Painful reds and sizzling yellows.

  I gave it a shot, thought Kay. I tried to be a hero, but it’s too hard. How did I get the idea that it was going to be easy?

  As he y there, falling into a state of half-sleep, Kay’s mind wandered. He thought about when he was in grade seven, running for track & field. His legs got caught in a hurdle and he colpsed on the ground, smag his face against the rubber track. He didn’t stay down, though. After kig off the hurdle from his leg, he got back up and dashed to the finish, busted lip and scratched up leg not an issue. He came in st but only by a few seds.

  Even when he was a small child, there were people impressed with Kay’s ability to shake off injury. He once fell off his bike, crashing his shoulder on the sidewalk, and it only took him a few mio get the wind baside him and drag his sorry butt home. He had to go to the hospital, but he ha like a champ.

  It was a different story when the injury was inflicted upon him from another. Even as he kept his eyes closed, he saw the faces of the crooks at the venieore. How they s the boy. He thought about that Weasel character: weasel wasn’t quite right– he was more like a cat or some kind of werewolf.

  Kay had never had people look at him like that, at least not that he could remember. Their threatening gazes and dismissive grins made him ge. If had the ce, would they have put Kay in the hospital? Or the mue?

  There ping. It must have been Philly. Kay pushed himself up to see Philly at his window, big smile on his foxy fad tail swaying behind him like a paintbrush in the breeze.

  Kay sighed. Better get this over with, thought Kay. He opened up the window, having no trouble showing his annoyahat Philly was there. “Hi... Philly.”

  “Hey, kid!” said Philly, showing off his foxy teeth. “Just came by to see how you were doing after st night?” He looked at Kay, with his wrinkled white shirt. “You seem okay.”

  “I feel like crap,” said Kay. He opened up the s to let the fox in.

  Philly hopped down and sat on the bed. Kay closed the pane.

  “Are you sore?” asked Philly.

  “No,” said Kay, “I feel... weird.” Kay rode his palm up and down an arm. “My body feels... gssy. My blood is flowing fast.” He rubbed his shoulders, dipping his head. “It’s like a perma adrenaline rush.”

  “That doesn’t sound like injury,” said Philly, “that sounds like trauma.”

  He hadn’t sidered it, but hearing that word struck Kay deep. Trauma? Was that really it? Kay looked down at his trembling hands and lost his wind.

  “It was your first fight,” said Philly, trotting around Kay’s sheets. “Expect to be a little shaken the day after.”

  Kay shivered. The feeling of fists bashing him iomach sent chills up his spihe remnant feeling of being tossed around the room made Kay’s body sway. Evehought of the puhrown at him– puhat didn’t even ect– made him unfortable. A stew simmered in his stomad his mouth got dry.

  “You’re still this,” said Philly.

  “Philly...” said Kay, his voice crag, “they wao hurt me!”

  Philly gazed at Kay, his ears drooping when he saw the terror in Kay’s eyes, a thin mist growing over them.

  “Hey...” said Philly, his tone reassuring, “How about you take the day off. Or two or how many you need. You’re in shock, I get that.” Philly paused, taking a deep look into Kay’s frustrated expression. “Or maybe you don’t want to tinue?”

  It had been on Kay’s mind. Maybe superheroing wasn’t something he could do, but even as he sat there, with his legs folded under him and his eyes with the sting of tears f, he wasn’t sure there was no reason for him tain.

  “I don’t know...” said Kay. “Give me some time...”

  Philly was disappoihat Kay seemed like he wao abort the superhero thing but the fox knew he should put Kay’s feelings first. He sighed and nuzzled a o Kay’s arm. “Have a rest.”

  Kay shifted on his bed. “Okay...” said Kay, looking away from his fox friend.

  He opehe window again for Philly. Philly turned around and grinned. “See ya, Kay.”

  “Goodbye,” said Kay.

  He closed the windohilly ran off, brushy tail behind him. He went to the stairs, stopped for a moment and gave a look back to Kay. Kay grinned and gave a little wave before Philly hopped dowairs and out of sight.

  Kay sighed and wiped his eyes. Funny enough, his body seemed to settle down in the versation with Philly. He took off his gsses and id his body on his bed, hoping a nap would catch him.