The Innates (Book #1)

Chapter 22

"Okay, let's keep things real now." Jackson said.
"Huh?"
"The report card's fake, it's Ace's 5th grade report card.
"Ace failed P.E.?"
"Unbelievably, yes."
"I can't believe you." I said. "What a hoax."
"Okay, guys, enough fooling around. Let's get to it." She said. "First thing's first, you obviously shot an innocent girl who recently kicked your butt."
"If she kicked my butt, then can you call her innocent?"
"So you can't accept that you're weaker, okay... I'm cool with that."
"No, I'm not weak."
"Come on, Jess, we all know you're soft-hearted, good boy." Jackson said.
"I'm not, I'm a fighter. I changed myself, I'm a Seeker."
"Why did you change yourself? Tell us." He said.
"Do I really have to answer?"
"Yes, yes you do." I breathe heavily and my eyes went from extremely dry to completely moist.
"I-I-I didn't love myself... honestly. I was an outcast. Everybody hated me because I was acting like myself, I thought that there's no one I'd rather be than me, so I forced myself to be a completely different person. But it turns out, I was only lying to myself. So I resume being the old me, I'd be miserable. But attempting to change myself was equivalent to being dishonest to myself. I just can't go on like the rest." I sobbed, not even minding the tiny waterfalls from my eyes. "I don't even know who I am anymore." My voice broke, and something shattered from behind me. And more. And more. Little pieces of rubble fly out, one small explosion after another. I picked up what seemed to be half a cinder block. Then I stared at it as numerous tears drop from my swollen, veiny eyes.
"Jess, slowly place that on the floor right now before it shatters and cause minor injuries."
"It's just minor, no big deal." I clutched its edges. I cower and slouched and bowed my head down.
"Maybe we should stop this." Jackson whispered.
"No, no, keep going..." The lady said.
I stare at every piece of dust and cement that held the cinder block together. Next, all its cement started burning up with heat, my hands couldn't feel a thing. Finally, sparks and little pieces of electricity grows from its center and then, the entire cinder block bursted into little asteroid debris. I know it's me, I did this. But what I didn't know was, some shrapnel-shaped splinters from the cement I just blew up lanced my eyebrows, nose bridge, and left eyelid. "Shoot, he's injured! We gotta stop!" Jackson ran towards the glass and spoke to me, "Jess, are you okay? Are you alright?" I stare at him blankly.
"Jess! Speak to me!" I pounds on the thick glass, he couldn't even scratch it by one little bit. He hits it with his broad shoulders and screamed.
"Oh, he's bleeding. His face is bleeding, we gotta go help him!"
"We can't, we have to finish this." She said.
"Are you out of your mind? He's in shock, right now! He may be mentally unstable."
"There's no breaking that glass, Jackson, it's framed with power-draining material." Jackson stopped pounding and stormed outside the hallway. His heavy footsteps occupy the mid-sized hallway, the latches from the locks click and Jackson rushes to my aid.
"Hey, you alright? It's okay, I'm gonna get you out of here. Come on, Jess." He detached me from the wires and put his arm around me. "It's okay, it's okay, you're good. You're doing fine."
"My face hurts... is there blood on my eyebrows?" I muttered. I poked my cheeks and checked for more splinters.
"Don't touch it." He said. "You should rest in your room, Jess, Sarra will take care of your wounds."
"I hate myself." I blurted out.
"Not again, Jess." We entered the elevator and Jackson pushed the button to the ground floor, his arm was still around me. I took it off my shoulder and I sat on the corner of the elevator with my knees pointed up.
"Hey, buddy, what's wrong?" I don't answer.
"Was it the test? Look, I'm sorry I got you into this mess. But let me ask you something; was that the first time you ever spoke your mind?" I nod slowly and stared below the descending shaft. "Here..." He puts a chess-patterened handkerchief on my left hand. I used it to wipe all the blood off my face, it stings when the fabric touched my cuts.
"Thank you." I said. "Listen... I wasn't gonna tell you this but, two students told me that, there's a traitor living in this school and I'm the target. He plans to put our lives in peril, I-I don't know who that person is... but please believe me, Jackson."
"O-okay, uhm... what do you want me to do?"
"Find that person who switched the guns. That's him, he's the traitor. But... I'm not sure I can clear my name, I'm not worthy of it."
"Dude, what are you talking about?"
"I'm not strong, Jackson. I got nowhere to go to. I'm literally a nobody, I lost myself."
"You're strong, Jess, you have nowhere to go to because you don't have much choice but to be strong."
The elevator doors open, many students waited for them to open but they saw me. Most of them switched areas or just walked upstairs. I zipped up my jacket and covered my face with my hood. I hate the new and I hate the old. I also don't like the recent. Where will I go?