“I’m coming Aba!” I yelled at my dad and abandoned my pursuit discover what was going on with the odd feeling on my back. I threw on a red t-shirt with the word “Brooklyn” scrawled  across the middle and faded blue jeans that had a small rip in the knee. I skirted out into the hallway with a familiar chipped wooden floor and stepped into the bathroom to brush my teeth. My back felt still stiff, like it does after watching a movie or playing a soccer game. I shoved some gel through my hair, spiking it a little bit. I saw through the mirror a white feather laying on my shoulder. I took it off to try and figure out how it got there, but then once again I was forced to run when I looked at my watch and saw that the bus was arriving in less than five minutes. I ran out of the bathroom and slid down the banister. My dad handed me my breakfast- egg sandwich in a pita-bread at the bottom of the stairs and then kissed me on the cheek as I ran out the door.
    "Wait Shai-Shai!" my mom said to me as I was halfway down the front steps. "You forgot to give me a hug!"
    She walked quickly over to the door and embraced me in her arms. I felt her stiffen all of a sudden and she told me to take off of my backpack.
    "I can't, Momma," I said to her, "I'm going to be late!"
    "Do it," she said, and by the tone in her voice I could tell that she was not fooling around.     I dropped it off of my shoulders onto the dirty marble steps outside our house.
"Now your shirt," she said adamantly. I realized that it was not worth arguing, but as I pulled off my shirt, I wondered why she was asking me to do all of this.
    As soon as it came off, I almost fell down the rest of the stairs. I was washed over by a sensation coming from my back. The weight that had been concentrated in the small of my back now seemed to spread onto either side of me. I felt loose, as if I had been stiff all morning and just now my back was stretching out. My mother was standing half in the doorway with her hands over her mouth. Her eyes got red at the edges like they did when she was about to cry. However, she didn't look upset or angry. She looked shocked. Her eyes had noticeably widened.
    I took a deep breath and looked over my shoulder and came close to losing consciousness. I felt like I was going to vomit. And then, I became elated. What had just happened to me was something that I had dreamed of.
    The school bus pulled up and kids opened up the windows to gawk at me. I turned away from them and focused. "Would it work?" I thought to myself.
    I said one word to myself, and it was like commanding just another part of my body. My feet left the stoop, and I whooped with jubilation. My muscles coursed with energy. It was like running or jumping- already it felt so natural. I could hear the yells of shocked kids on my bus. Even the bus driver had opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk to look on. My new limbs pounded the air, sending me higher and higher. I stroked my wings, feeling the supple white feathers. At last, I was flying.