The Emerald Mask (10 page)

“Okay. Fine. I'm in too,” Darren said with a sigh. “But how are we going to get to the marina?”

“I have it all figured out,” Mack said. “There's a movie theater across the street from the Middletown Marina. Jiichan already said he could drive us there. He'll think we're watching a movie, which gives us, like, two hours. It's going to work out perfectly!”

“I hope you're right,” Darren said.

“Everything will be fine,” Mack assured him. “
Especially
when we have Circe's Compass, safe and sound.”

The bell rang then, so Mack grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

“Mack! Wait up!” Gabriella called to him. “Do you have Comics Club today?”

“Yeah. You want to come?” asked Mack.

“I thought I might check it out—if that's okay,” she
replied. “I have a few minutes before practice starts.”

“That's awesome. I think you'll like it,” Mack said as they walked across the length of the school. “We're mostly just working on our comics for the art show. You should definitely do one.”

“I don't know much about comics. . . . Actually, I don't know
anything
about them,” Gabriella said. “I wouldn't know where to begin.”

“That's okay,” Mack assured her as they walked into the meeting. Mack's best friend Joel nodded to Mack from the other side of the room. “You'll do great. And I can help—not that you'll need it.”

Mack found some extra charcoal and a stack of handouts about panel sizes, lettering, and other techniques for creating a comic book. Then he pulled two desks together at the back of the room, so he and Gabriella could talk.

“I wanted to return this,” Gabriella whispered, reaching into her backpack for
The Emerald Wildcat, Volume 1.
“Thanks so much for letting me borrow it. I really loved it.”

“Anytime! I brought these in for you, too, just in case
you were still interested,” Mack replied as he searched in his own backpack and then presented her with issues two, three, and four. Gabriella's whole face lit up when she saw them.

“Awesome!” she exclaimed. Then she lowered her voice. “To read about a real
nahual
—doing good in the real world—it's so . . .”

“Inspiring?” Mack guessed.

“Comforting,” Gabriella said. She glanced down for a moment. “Do you realize how
in control
the Emerald Wildcat must've been? Nobody knew who she was—even though she was totally public about her
nahual
abilities! And using her
nahual
powers in her human form so naturally. I mean, that is
amazing
!”

Mack wasn't sure what to say. “Listen . . . about last Friday,” he began. “I feel really bad. I didn't mean to call you out in front of Ms. Therian. I'm sorry if I got you in trouble.”

Gabriella shrugged. “It's not your fault I can't control it,” she whispered. “Besides, it's probably better that Ms. Therian knows. She's watching me, you know, pretty closely. And part of me wonders if . . .”

“What?” Mack asked after Gabriella's voice trailed off.

Gabriella looked away. “If I'm the reason why they didn't want us to finish out the mission to get the compass,” she confessed.

“Whoa,” Mack said—then immediately wished he could take it back when he saw how miserable Gabriella looked. “Is it really that serious?”

“Part of me feels like Ms. Therian thinks so and worries that she told the rest of the First Four,” she replied.

“That's ridiculous!” Mack said. “We need you! You're the strongest person in our group.”

Gabriella tried to smile. “Thanks,” she said. “I'm going to try my hardest. It's like the line dividing my human self and my
nahual
self is all blurry. Sometimes I start transforming, and the worst part is—the worst part is—”

Gabriella's voice dropped so low that Mack had to lean in close to hear her.

“I don't even realize it.”

Mack remembered how frustrating it had been when he couldn't figure out how to transform. This, though, seemed immeasurably different.

It seemed terrifying.

“The truth is, I need help. If I knew another
nahual
—someone who understands what it's like or could teach me how to control my transformations—”

At last, Mack knew how he could help. “Ask Ms. Therian!” he said eagerly. “The First Four must know an adult
nahual
somewhere in the world. You know they'd connect you and—”

“Come on, Mack. If I told Ms. Therian
everything
, she'll assume I can't handle going on
any
missions, and all I'll do is hold you guys back. We'll still be doing kiddie stuff when we're forty! She'll think I'm totally out of control. If I can't help—if I can't
fight—
then seriously, what is the
point
?”

“But—” Mack began.

Gabriella kept talking. “I'm just going to be extremely careful,” she continued. “I think I've already identified some triggers—like getting really upset or carried away—like with soccer. And besides, I think I already know an adult
nahual
.” She tapped the cover of
The Emerald Wildcat, Volume 2.
“Remember? My mom!”

“That would definitely help,” he agreed. “But . . . if you're wrong . . .”

Gabriella sighed heavily. “That's the problem,” she said. “I can't just go up to my mom and ask her straight out. Because if I
am
wrong—”

“Have you tried asking Ms. Therian? She could—”

“I tried. She said she isn't allowed to reveal other Changers. It's a security thing.”

Mack drummed his fingers on the desk, deep in thought. “Maybe I can help. I'll do whatever I can to help you figure out the Emerald Wildcat's true identity.”

“Thanks,” Gabriella said. Then she glanced at her phone. “Oh man! Practice starts in, like, three minutes!”

Mack glanced at Gabriella's paper, where she'd drawn an excellent outline of the Emerald Wildcat's mask. “Hey, that's really good,” he said.

“Thanks,” Gabriella repeated. “For everything.”

Then she shoved the sketch into her backpack and hurried from the room.

Despite running all the way to the locker room and changing into her practice uniform as fast as she could, Gabriella was still late. The entire team was already running drills by the time Gabriella reached the field—and Coach Connors was
not
happy with her. Even though they had (narrowly) won the game on Saturday, she could tell Coach was upset with her disappearing act in the second half.

“Rivera! Get out there!” Coach Connors barked as Gabriella jogged up to him.

“Sorry I'm late,” she began, but Coach just blew his whistle—loud—and pointed toward the field.

Things only got worse from there.

It turned out that concentrating on keeping her
nahual
powers under control meant that Gabriella was really distracted—to say the least. For the first time since she'd joined the team, Gabriella was last in drills, trailing behind all the other girls. A sense of unease crept over her as she tried to keep up.
Have my powers been there all along—even before I knew about them?
she wondered.
Maybe I never was a sports superstar. Maybe I've always been a cheater, and I never even realized it.

Thweeeeet!

Coach Connors's whistle pierced Gabriella's thoughts.

“Rivera! Look alive!” he shouted from the sidelines.

Gabriella automatically reached for a new burst of speed—then stopped herself.
You're on your own,
she thought.
No
nahual
speed. No
nahual
strength. Just you, for once.

“Pick up the pace, Rivera!” Coach yelled.

I can't,
Gabriella thought miserably. She already knew what would happen if she gave in. She could feel her
nahual
powers pulsing just beneath her skin. How could she concentrate on stupid soccer drills when it took everything she had to keep her Changer abilities under control?

Practice dragged on like that for another agonizing hour until, at last, Gabriella heard the sound she'd been waiting for: two short blasts on the whistle.
Finally,
she thought with relief as she walked over to Coach Connors for the postpractice rundown.

But Coach Connors wasn't done with them yet.

“That practice was a disaster,” he said bluntly. “I have no idea how you could play so well on Saturday and then turn into such a disgrace by Monday. Now, listen up: I want you all to go home. Eat a good dinner. Get some rest tonight. Because tomorrow, you're going to train twice as hard to make up for today.”

As the girls moved toward the locker room, Coach asked Gabriella to wait. “I don't know why you were holding back out there, Rivera,” he said. “But we
both
know you can do better.”

“I know,” Gabriella whispered.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Coach continued. “You're as disappointed in your performance today as I am. Don't start phoning it in. Lazy habits are hard to break.”

That's when tears filled Gabriella's eyes—but for once, she didn't mind. It felt good to let it out.

“Go on, get changed,” Coach Connors said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You'll do better tomorrow.”

But Gabriella wasn't convinced. As she trudged back to the locker room, worries flooded her mind.
If my talent isn't me,
she thought,
if everything I have
ever
achieved in sports is just because of my powers—which I can barely control—how can I keep playing? I don't have the ability on my own . . . and I can't run the risk of undergoing a transformation and destroying everything.

The other girls in the locker room were pretty subdued too, so at least Gabriella didn't have to try to keep up with the usual chatter and laughter. But when she walked out of the locker room and saw Ma waiting for her, Gabriella couldn't hold her emotions inside any longer. She took one look at her mother and burst into tears.

“Mija!”
Ma exclaimed as she wrapped Gabriella in a hug. “What's wrong?”

Gabriella had to bite her tongue to keep from spilling
everything
. It was so tempting—and if she couldn't trust her own mom, then who in the world
could
she trust?

Remember the secret,
Gabriella thought firmly.
You made
a promise to Ms. Therian and your friends. Telling could put them in danger. You've got to keep the secret. No matter what.

“I just had a rough day,” Gabriella murmured, her voice muffled as she leaned her head against Ma's shoulder. “It's—I'm so glad to see you.”

Ma brushed Gabriella's hair away from her face and then kissed her cheek. “Come on,” she said as she reached for Gabriella's backpack. “I know exactly what you need.”

Gabriella and her mom didn't talk much on the short walk home, which was just how Gabriella wanted it. She was still so tempted to say something—to spill
everything
—and that, Gabriella knew, would be the biggest mistake she could make.

When they got home, Tía Rosa took one look at Gabriella's tear-streaked face and gave her an enormous hug.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

Ma gave Gabriella a long look. “But you know you can, right?” she asked. “Whatever it is—anything at all—you can talk to your
mami.
Or Tía Rosa.”

“I know,” Gabriella said as she tried to force a smile.
Maybe soon,
she thought.
If I can find a way to figure out if you're a
nahual
like me.

Ma scanned Gabriella's face for another moment and then marched over to the cupboard.

“What are you doing, Isabel?” asked Tía Rosa.

“Oh, I'm sure you can figure it out,” Ma replied as she got out the vanilla and unsweetened chocolate. Then she rummaged around in the fridge for a bright green chili pepper.

“Xocolatl!”
Gabriella and Tía Rosa exclaimed at the same time. The spicy hot chocolate was an old family tradition—the perfect remedy for chilly weather, rainy afternoons, and bad days.

Ma just smiled as she began to slice the chili pepper into round, green rings. She boiled the pepper slices in a pot of water, and the sharp, spicy scent made Gabriella's nose tickle. After Ma strained out the peppers and seeds, she returned the spiced water to the pan and stirred in some vanilla.