“Guess again!” demanded Harrakti, placing a limb in her friend Charlotte’s lap.

“Is it a hand?” asked Charlotte.

“Nope!” Harrakti shrieked in glee. “It’s a  foot.”

Charlotte opened her top three eyes. “It should be a fifty fifty chance, but I keep getting it wrong. Are you cheating?”

“No!” Harrakti batted her eyes. “No. I just… how would I cheat?”

“Maybe you have mind control,” suggested Charlotte. “I mean, you could have special powers I don’t know about.”

Harrakti considered. “Maybe I do…”

***

For the next two weeks, Harrakti tried to find ways to use her powers. She tried tricking the servers at the legion into giving her drinks for free. She tried getting extra free popsicles from the dentist. She tried stealing a neighbour’s dog.

Nothing worked.

Harrakti came to the natural conclusion that she had no powers and her friend Charlotte was just exceptionally stupid.

***

“Do you think there’s something wrong with me?” Harrakti asked her mother.

“No dear.” She put down the hockey stick she was taping. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because somehow I have the stupidest friend in town. How did that happen? How come none of the smart kids wanted to be my friend?”
Harrakti’s mother was very confused. She decided to proceed cautiously. “You think Charlotte’s… I mean you think the other kids…” Harrakti’s mother felt stuck.

“Yes mom,” said Harrakti. “Charlotte’s so stupid she doesn’t know if my feet are hands or my hands are feet.”

“Oh,” said Harrakti’s mother in confusion. “I don’t think I see the problem. Does it matter if she knows? She’s not the one walking on them.”

“Not yet,” said Harrakti, “but what if somehow our brains got switched and then Charlotte’s stupid brain was in my body and she couldn’t figure out how to walk?”

“How would that happen?”

“Super powers.”

“Nobody has super powers,” said Harrakti’s  mom. “I told you that when you stole the neighbour’s dog.”

“Oh,” said Harrakti.

She tried to think of a counter-argument, but she was stumped. She couldn’t prove that she had super powers, so maybe her mom was right. Maybe nobody did. And if nobody had super powers maybe it didn’t matter if Charlotte was stupid.

“Mom, I’m confused,” said Harrakti.

“Honey,” said Harrakti’s mother. “The whole world is confused.” She continued taping her hockey stick.

by Bill Radford