This is not a Journal

(7)

Dear Diary,

You know, I could have been long gone by now if Xavier wasn't my perpetual savior. Instead, here I am, penning away in this diary that seems to have a lifespan longer than a tortoise's.

Out of all the plot twists life could have thrown my way, I got stuck with superpowers. I could have been in a band, I mean I have good guitar skills (no actually not, I'm her sister and I'm just sneaking in for no reason. And also she sucks ✌️) and I have good vocals so maybe in an alternate universe, I'll actually be enjoying fame thru a rock band rather than being a superhero with bad guys as breakfast.

Anyways, now my sister's crashing at my place cause she's "off to college". Of all the colleges around, she picks the one a stone's throw from my pad. Talk about being a pain in the neck, sis.

You know what let's continue the story.

So, after pulling off the dumbest move ever by trying to take on The Striker's gang, Xavier and I figured it's time for a reality check.

We're back to square one: Xavier's teaching me the ropes again because, let's face it, I'm a total dimwit who thinks she's invincible. Time to brush up on survival skills before I end up as villain bait.

But first, I gotta swing by the house. One more slip-up, and my folks will have me pegged as the neighborhood troublemaker. So, Mom and Dad, if you're tuning in, here's the scoop: I'm just a messed-up 14-year-old who stumbled into superpowers and is now dancing on the edge of disaster.

And there I was, sneaking back home, crossing my fingers that Mom and Dad wouldn't catch sight of the gash from my shoulder from that dumb sword that zapped my powers, the bruises from the big guy's hand that almost crushed me to death, and my not-so-secret superhero getup-currently identified as a cosplay outfit.

Thankfully, they were engrossed in their usual routines: Mom unleashing her inner Karen, and Dad glued to his ◼️🟧 shows. But there was one problem: my sister.

As I stepped into my room, there she was, alive and kicking after her hospital stint. With eyes and a mouth big enough to fill a billboard, she clocked my disheveled appearance.

"Oh my god, Star! Is that you?"

"I swear I saw you on TV!"

"What's with the shoulder gash?"

"And all those bruises?"

"Seriously, did you just come back from World War II?"

"You're her! You're her! It's you! YOU'RE BRIGHTLIGHT!"

With lightning speed, I swooped in to clamp her trap shut before she turned our quiet street into a circus, blabbering "Brightlight" for all to hear.

All I'm pleading for is a smidge of secrecy, a dash of discretion. She nodded along like a champ, but let's be real, that promise is about as sturdy as a house of cards in a windstorm.

I'm starting to think she's got a condition-like a chronic need-to-spill-the-tea syndrome or something. It's as if she's allergic to keeping anything under wraps, especially my secrets.

"Hey, did you know Star can't strum a guitar to save her life?"

"Star had a little accident in kindergarten, if you catch my drift."

"Star turned down Jason... Ooh, burn!"

"Star's got a tumor."

That last one wasn't even real. When I found out why suddenly everyone was chipping in for my "cancer treatment," she got an earful, let me tell you.

Let me tell you, when in the far future I get some sort of a documentary, my goddamn sister will take thay chance to destroy me bit by bit.

"So what can you tell us about your sister? Ths spectacular Brightlight"

"Uhmmm she pooped her pants in kindergarten, she's gay, she likes classical music, she has too many pimples in her teenage days. There's so many interesting things about my sister."

Well, I'm drained, battered, and ready to pass out, so I'm hitting the hay. If I snooze through that midnight training session with Xavier, then so be it. I'm clocking out and pretending I don't exist until morning comes knocking.

Morning hit me like a hurricane, and top priority on my list is keeping tabs on my sister. My secret's teetering on the edge, and if it spills, so do the beans on my enemies. I'll do whatever it takes to clamp shut that woman's trap. And by enemies you may ask, we'll talk about that later.

With my tech know-how, I sneakily planted a mic on her phone while she was preoccupied, linking it up to mine. Now I can eavesdrop on every word she utters to anyone. And if I catch wind of my secret slipping, she's in for a surprise of a lifetime.

Another day, another trip to my makeshift school, where I'm welcomed by a bunch of nerds playing detective, trying to unmask "Brightlight."

"I bet it's one of the girls in our class."

"It could be the shy one. She's quiet for a reason, you know."

"What if it's Star?"

"Are you nuts?"

"I mean, 'Star' and powers of light..."

"Maybe it's her."

Then they turn their sleuthing skills on me, firing questions like it's an interrogation. Thankfully, I didn't c***k under the pressure.

I can already picture what morons they'll grow into as adults. They're wasting their time poking their noses where they don't belong, like meddling in my business. They're like those annoying side characters in Power Rangers, always butting in and sometimes causing more trouble than the actual villains.

As school kicked off, we were hit with a somber announcement about our biology teacher battling illness and needing donations. Like everyone else, I chipped in.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm bringing up this tidbit. Well, buckle up, because this math teacher is about to become a key player in my story. But you'll have to wait for the next chapters to find out why.

Fast forward to lunchtime, where I'm chilling with my crew and decided to spill a tiny secret. Myra, Julie, Amber, and Francine-all ears when it comes to juicy gossip, especially if it's from yours truly.

They're the polar opposite of my sister (except Francine)-vaults when it comes to secrets. With them, your secrets are safer than Fort Knox... well, except Francine, that is.

I'm the odd one out in our squad, the only one rocking the bisexual boat. The other four are as straight as arrows and obsessed with K-pop like your typical straight girl crew, while I'm over here with a plethora of crushes spanning across genders.

Anyway, the last crush I had was on a girl, and she royally messed me up. She was your typical classroom crush material. But when I poured my heart out to her, she hit me with the ultimate rejection: "ew." I was crushed, and now my heart's eyeing up the boys.

When I spilled the beans about crushing on a guy, they seemed oddly relieved that I wasn't swooning over a girl this time. They're low-key rooting for me to go full-on straight, but hey, this is who I am. Maybe I'll change one day, but not today. I'm just owning my truth, that's all. Anyway, moving on...

After lunch, as I was heading back to class, out of nowhere, this guy grabs me and drags me down to the basement, where all the shady stuff goes down.

And just when I'm about to give the culprits a piece of my mind, who shows up but Xavier. I swear, this guy and his surprise appearances.

"How the heck did you find me?"

"What's with you knowing about this school?"

"Are you stalking me or what?"

"Can you chill for a sec, Star?"

Turns out, I'm in hot water. The Striker and his goons are gunning for me.

"Remember that big dude you just tangoed with? The Striker's on a whole other level. And he's got backup."

The bell saved me from further interrogation, and I bolted for class, leaving Xavier in the dust. Midnight rendezvous it is, Xavier.

Midnight

Under the cover of midnight, with owls providing the soundtrack, I returned to the deserted playground to resume our conversation.

"Alright, spill it."

"The Striker's got a massive criminal empire. He's the big cheese in the underworld. I did some dirty work for him back in the day, way before I met you, and—"

"Why on earth would you work for that scumbag?!"

"It's complicated."

"You absolute moron! Now I've got to face off against a guy with city-sized ambitions all because you decided to lend him a hand."

His words fueled my rage, and I found myself pointing my light powers at him in a threatening manner.

"Well, you would've been toast without my help. Can we get on with this and leave your drama behind?"

He countered by pointing his hand at me, his fingers tinged with an ominous purple glow.

And at that point, it's better to just go along rather than go to ash. And so we got to training where Xavier teaches me some more skills and Martial arts because why not?

And so, rather than turn to dust, I begrudgingly agreed to Xavier's lead, and we delved into training, adding more skills and martial arts to my arsenal because, hey, why not?

Midway through, I mustered the courage to broach the touchy subject.

"What exactly went down between you and The Striker?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all this, and I lost it."

"It's alright. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Let's just push through this, and who knows? You might end up being the greatest."

"Okay."

And so, we pressed on until morning and parted ways. With my parents mysteriously absent, I had the house to myself.

Contemplating my plans, one obstacle loomed large: school.

After freshening up, I geared up and headed out. It's finals week, and despite the scorching heat, I'm stoked for summer.

Sometimes, I swear our state left the earth and just started orbiting around the solar system, with the sun bearing down relentlessly. Not a cloud in sight, and rain? Forget about it, at least for the next 30 years.

But hey, there's a silver lining—I get to hit the beach and chill... Oh, wait, there are people. Scratch that, summer now officially sucks.

On the bright side, my family and I have a trip planned to Hawaii this summer. Last time we were there, we faced off against crabs, locals, and runaway surfboards.

Anyways our exam is on tomorrow and the day after that then after that... SUMMER.

Let's skip over because school is boring. My friends came over because they want to tweak my suit and so they did for the next 4 hours and when I tested it on, it looked amazing as a smooth operator.

They replaced the uncomfortable tailoring with a much more comfy one allowing me to "move much quicker and faster."

Talk about a curveball from my friends.

But back at home, as the night rolled on and my friends took off, my parents and sister dropped a bombshell.

"What's the big announcement?"

"Who's been messing with the toilet again?"

"Dad, ditch the 🟧◼️."

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks...

"Star, your mom's pregnant."

"What?!"

"WHAT?!" echoed my sister, her shock doubling mine.

"We're getting a brother... a future nuisance," Dad added with a chuckle.

Wow damn... Midnight

Me and Xavier resumed our training. That's when he dropped a bombshell about The Striker.

He handed me a bracelet, claiming it would summon him in case of emergency. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Seriously? As if I needed some sort of Pokémon-style rescue plan. I've got this under control, thank you very much. (Little did I know, my ego was about to lead me down the wrong path.)

And Flick... Thor unwears himself

Morning dawned, and the first order of business was to impress my crush. Being the writer that I am, I decided to play to my strengths and penned him a poem.

In morning's glow, my heart takes flight,

Words dance upon the page so bright.

For you, my crush, this verse I weave,

A tapestry of love, if you'll believe.

With every line, my feelings pour,

In hopes you'll see, and want for more.

So here it is, my heart's decree,

A poem for you, my destiny.

Yeah! Let her cook ladies and gentlemen. It's her sister here and I'm about to tell you what happens next, she got rejected.

"So, uh, I wrote you a poem... It's for you, you know, 'cause I kinda like you."

Not too long after...

"Aww, that's really sweet, but, uh, yeah, I'm not really looking for anything right now. I'm sorry, Star."

ANDDD THE REJECTIOON BY WEMBENYAAAMAAAAA🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

She asked me to write this down because mentally she can't. She always cries whenever we bring up this conversation.

Sooooo she's gone for now and yes I'm literally gonna destroy her if she ever has a documentary now peace ✌️✌️✌️