“Yeah, I think you got it,” Jenny said. The dark-haired girl nodded at Dread, a taller girl with white spiky hair, with an encouraging smile. “Let’s take a break.” The two girls skated to the edge of the glassy white track and sat on their team bench. Jenny smiled at the empty roller derby stadium around them. The sun hid behind a mountain of seats, on its way down for the evening. After enjoying a comfortable silence for several minutes, Jenny nudged Dread with her elbow.
“Hey,” she asked. She sat up straight and met Dread’s eyes. “What’s it like?…” Jenny hesitated for a moment, then clarified. “I mean, uh, being a Unique?” The pale girl smiled at Jenny and shrugged.
“It’s the same as being a Zero, except we get powers,” Dread said. Jenny shook her head.
“There’s gotta be more to it than that. There’s only one of you, anywhere, in any universe,” Jenny stared at the ground. “There’s millions of me out there,” she said in a softer voice. Dread placed a hand on Jenny’s shoulder to get her attention.
“Maybe,” she smiled once Jenny looked up. “But only one of them is sitting next to me.” Jenny smiled for a second, but then her face turned serious.
“Can you keep a secret?” Jenny asked. “Just for a little bit, it won’t stay secret for long.” Dread nodded. “Ms. Sharp offered to turn me into a Unique.” Dread’s eyes widened.
“What?” Jenny nodded with an eager smile on her face.
“Yeah! She said she’s been working on the tech for a while now and says its ready to test on Zeros! She offered me because I’m on the team!” Jenny grabbed Dread’s hands tight. “I’M GONNA DO IT!”
“What!? When?” Dread asked.
“She said in time for the next game,” Jenny shrugged. “So any day now, I guess.”
“Do you know what Soul?” Dread asked.
“Kind of,” Jenny sounded disappointed. “She said right now she can only do plant souls, so it’s going to be one of them.” Dread nodded, patted Jenny on the back, then stood up.
“Let’s keep practicing until you get your new soul.”
