By limebug06@aol.com
Rated: G
Submitted: January 2002
Summary: This short viginette describes how one simple statement from her father could affect Lara Kent's life in ways she never imagined.
This story is written as an essay by Lois and Clark's daughter for her college journalism class. As always, the ususal disclaimers apply, and feedback is alway welcomed. I hope you enjoy it
The Biggest Change of My Life By Lara Kent
***
There are many things that can change in a person's life. Family can move away, pets can die. My parents had prepared me for those kinds of things. But when I was young a change occurred that I could never have prepared for.
It all started on my twelfth birthday. Man, was I excited! I mean, I was turning twelve! That was only a year away from being a teenager, ya know.
Anyway, the day started out normal enough. I was running around the house, and Mom and Dad were getting things ready for my "family" party that night. Everything was going perfectly.
Until my parents dropped a bombshell on me.
It was after lunch when Dad called me into the living room. Man, what a sight. They were both sitting there, perfectly still, with these really worried expressions on their faces.
So I said, "I'm dying aren't I?"
That eased them up a bit. Mom smiled and pulled me over to sit between her and Dad on the couch. I looked at them both, until Dad started to speak. And boy did he speak! Just blurted out the most surprising thing I had ever heard in all of my twelve years.
"Lara, honey, I'm Superman."
I sat there dumbfounded, staring at him. Not wanting to comprehend it, I guess. And not knowing that my entire life was gonna change, from that one simple phrase.
I had never thought it possible. Superman was the man I watched every night on the news. My dad was the guy who gave me piggyback rides and helped me with my homework. They weren't both one person. They couldn't be. But they were. And I was his daughter. Which meant something else. There was a reason my parents had told me on my twelfth birthday. You see, Superman hasn't always been Superman. Clark Kent didn't start to get his powers until he was, you guessed it, twelve years old.
I couldn't have imagined what that would mean to me. I would have Superman's powers! No longer would I be some typical adolescent girl, trying to fit in. I thought it was a good thing. At first.
From that moment on, nothing was ever the same in my life. Whether I was making excuses for my dad, or being taught to use my powers, things were always different. I never felt normal. When my friends went out, I was lectured on being cautious, or not even allowed to go. Dad was overprotective, Mom was yelling at him to lighten up, and arguments became frequent.
I was scared. My perfect lifestyle was being turned into what a lot of my friends had. Fighting parents, cold dinners, silent evenings. I soon began to just blame myself. All of the tension and stress was because I was different. I shut my friends out, because I couldn't talk to them about it anyway. I hated myself for what I was, and I hated my parents for ruining my life.
This went on for a long time. As I gained each new power, the tension in my family rose again. All I wanted was my normal life back, before everything changed.
The year I turned 16 the life I had did start to come back. After getting my license, I showed my parents just how cautious I could be. Dad relaxed and the arguments stopped. For the first time in a long time we could all have dinner together like a civilized family. I didn't have to worry about Dad criticizing me on my "abilities", and he began telling me funny stories about things he'd done with his powers. We Kents were a family again. We were far from your typical family, but it worked for us.
But there was one more change that was about to happen, and that's the one that you all know about. Letting the entire world in on my dad's secret.
And even though my dad reassured me we'd be safe, I wasn't prepared for what would come next. Television reporters at my door, tabloid articles trashing me and my family, and meals and nights interrupted my by ringing phones. My world was turned upside down again, but this time is was fifty times worse. It wasn't between my parents and me anymore. We were now sharing this with everyone else on this earth. I hated people trying to pry into my life, wanting to know exactly what I was able to do. I was separated from my friends again, but this time it was because of them. They feared me, were afraid I'd get mad and hurt them. Never before had I felt this isolated. I couldn't go out to get the mail without being hounded by people. Mom and Dad were great in supporting me through it all, and they promised me, and each other, that it would all be over soon.
Soon turned out to be a year. Gradually, each news station and paper found more and more stories to focus on, and ours slowly died out. People were friendlier, and my friends hung out with me again. We returned to being Clark, Lois, and Lara Kent, not Superman, his wife, and "Supergirl". For the second time in five years, my life went back to normal, and we were happy. So that's it. The biggest change of my life. But you know what? I wouldn't have changed a minute of it. Because it helped me to learn. I know things now that I wouldn't have known without this experience. It's helped me to grow up, and I will always be grateful to my dad for helping me to know what it's like to be the real me.
THE END