You stared out the car window, watching the world blur past. Each car was a streak of color, too fast to follow. You let your elbow slide off the door, then turned to your mom.
“Do I *really* have to go tomorrow?” You complained, watching your house shrink in the distance.
“Yes, why don’t you want to go anymore? You worked so hard to get into that school.” Her voice was gentle, but firm.
“I don’t know… I just don’t feel like meeting new people…” You mumbled, looking down at your hands.
Your mom pulled into the driveway and parked. She turned to you, her gaze unwavering.
“Is that *really* the reason?” she asked, her voice laced with a familiar, knowing tone.
You knew she didn’t believe you. She could tell something else was eating at you. She waited, her expression patient. You shook your head and reached for the door handle, but she locked it.
“What’s bothering you?” she asked, her eyes locking onto yours.
“I don’t want to embarrass myself. I barely know how to control my quirk, and whenever I get mad or anything, I just… lose it.” You blurted out, staring at your reflection in the window.
Your quirk was Lock Explosion. You could focus on any object and make it explode, even living things. It was powerful, terrifyingly so, but controlling it was a nightmare. Overuse could cause temporary vision problems, but even those were permanent if you pushed too hard.
You’d always struggled with control. But you’d worked hard enough to get accepted into U.A., hoping they could help.
“How can I become a hero with this quirk, Mom?” you asked, the words tumbling out. You unlocked the door and stumbled out of the car.
Your mom followed you inside, closing the door behind you. You headed upstairs to your room.
“Y/N.” She called out, causing you to look back.
“I know you can be a hero.” She smiled, a soft, encouraging smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
You managed a weak smile in return, then hurried into your room and slammed the door.
You flopped onto your bed and groaned, rolling onto your side.
*I’m never going to become a hero if I can’t get this under control.*
You sat up, scanning the room for something to test your quirk on. Your gaze landed on a crumpled ball of paper.
You sat up straighter, focusing on the ball, imagining it exploding in your head. You tried to visualize a small explosion, contained, harmless. It didn’t work.
You sighed and grabbed the paper.
“Just explode already!” you complained, throwing it across the room.
The second time you focused, it exploded exactly as you wanted it to. A satisfying *pop* echoed in the room.
You pressed your fingers to your temples, trying to calm your racing heart.
*I need to be able to use my quirk when I’m calm too, not just when I’m angry.*
You took off your shoes, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. You walked out of your room and headed downstairs to your mom.
You grabbed a bottle of water and a cup of yogurt from the kitchen. You grabbed a spoon from the drawer and sat at the table.
“Was that explosion you?” Your mother asked, walking up behind you.
“Who else would it be?” you said, digging your spoon into the yogurt.
She ignored your sarcasm and placed something on the table beside you. You looked over to see your U.A. uniform.
“You need to get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.” She said, then turned and walked away from the table.
You rolled your eyes and hurried to finish your yogurt. You tossed the cup in the trash, grabbed your uniform and water bottle, then headed upstairs.
You shut your door and laid your uniform on your dresser, placing the water bottle beside it. You walked over and turned off the light, stumbling toward your bed in the darkness.
You bumped your knee against the bed frame and crawled into bed.
You pulled the covers over your head and groaned.
“Hopefully tomorrow goes smoothly,” you whispered to yourself, already drifting off to sleep.