No Small Change (Short Story)

No Small Change is a short story by James Van Pelt. It appears in After Hours (1991) and Curious Fictions (Sep 5, 2019).

Word Count: 1,877

Author's Note
From Curious Fictions

''Everyone has a superpower. It might not be something amazing like flying or x-ray vision, but the powers are there just the same. Some people spend their entire lives trying to find their power, while the two friends in this story find theirs in a Dairy Queen.''

Characters

 * Maureen - used to be able to kill flies
 * Leslie - Maureen's friend
 * Jeff and Mark - boys on the football team at the junior high

Mentioned

 * Mrs. Fennimore - of Mrs. Fennimore's Finishing School
 * Mr. Haverson - who constantly wanders the hallways

Summary
In the girl's restroom at school, Maureen explains to her friend Leslie that she used to be able to kill flies. That she could stand on the back porch, say "bang" and all the flies for a mile would burn to ash in a moment. Leslie is skeptical, so Maureen gives a demonstration, pointing her finger at a fly in the restroom. With a "bang", the fly drops to the floor and burns to ash. Leslie is impressed, but Maureen is upset because the power is diminishing.

Leslie suggests they ditch class to go to the local Dairy Queen. There, Leslie points out that Maureen's life is pretty good: she's got a good family with wealthy parents and will go a good high school. Leslie suggests that perhaps this power of hers is going away to make room for something else, something better.

At a nearby table, a group of boys on the football team from the junior high are goofing around. A couple of them introduce themselves as Jeff and Mark to the girls. They explain there's going to be a dance and invite them. Maureen and Leslie say they'll think about it.

As the boys are leaving, the girls realize they have the power in this situation. They could go to the dance, "...or we could say no and break their hearts." Together, they look at the boys and whisper "Bang".