Outcasts

Chapter Twenty-Six (Haile)

The moment I step in the house, I fling my back-pack off my shoulders and into my locker. Clutter on the inside rattles, but I don't give the back-pack a second glance. My arms and legs extend out like a cat would after a nap. My tense muscles finally begin to relax as I stretch my body. My eyes are strained from staring at a white board all day, so I close them and let out a lingering yawn.

Just a few more months, I say to myself, rubbing all the sleep desires from my eyelids. and then you are done with high school! Feeling the future possibilities brushing my outstretched fingertips, I smile dreamily.  I turn my hand over so that my palm is facing the sky. My hand trembles as excited tremors shoot up my arm. Without warning, I feel my eyes glow, and I smirk. I won't have to hide anymore. I can find out how I want to contribute to the world with my gift.

My sensitive hearing detects noise in the kitchen. Tilting my head and grinning, I know that it's Jeah. I walk down the hallway towards the dining room. 

When I push the dining room doors open, I am overwhelmed with a potent aroma. A smile creases deeper into my face and I breathe in the warm sent. My intuition flicks on like a light switch despite the headache it would cause. Possibilities flood through my head.

The smell: Tomatoes, salt, basil. The warmth with the vegetables: Soup.

"Come to know the kitchen a little better, eh Jeah?"

The sounds of metal clanks and knifes chopping stop for a minute and a silence forms. I can hear the soup simmering on the gas stove.  Jeah calls out in a voice that sounds strained, "Haile? Is that you?"

"Yes." I sigh, blissfully. "The soup smells awesome!"

Jeah's tired, pale face emerges from the open kitchen door. Only then do I see the sweat on her brow. Her eye brows are arched in a strange emotion I can't grasp.

Pushing through the pain, I use my intuition again. I study her body and the sweat on her forehead, and the concern in her eyes. "Your fever has broken, but you are still sick. "

Jeah steps forward and opens her mouth to speak. Her voice still comes out raspy, even though her fever is gone. "How did you know?"

I sigh and shake my head. My soul feels restrained because I want to blurt out everything I know. I want to tell her it all. Instead, I say, "We have a lot of things we need to tell you."

Jeah looks at me eyes wide. A puzzled expression crosses her face. "Okay?" 

When I don't say anything, Jeah's eyes flood with sadness. Immediately, I feel guilty, and duck my head.  I reach out with my powers, trying to read her mind out of curiosity, but something inside me disagrees.

I recoil slightly at the headache I am given. I close my eyes to shield them from light.

The burning pain spreads, and now I am sweating just as much as Jeah was a minute ago. The pain is now digging its fangs into my shoulders. Pressing my hands into my temples, I regulate my breathing. After a few deep breaths and a few seconds of withholding my powers, I am able to quell my raging migraine. I open my eyes, trying to seem causal.

Jeah tilts her head and looks quizzically at me. Her eyes narrow, questioning my previous movements. Shrugging, she pivots on her heels and makes long strides into the kitchen. I follow her into the kitchen with smaller steps to make it seem like I wasn't too eager.

What is happening?  I think back to the pain I felt in my brain. The puzzling questions begin to pile on, and the confusion grows. Nothing like this has ever happened before!

My heart stops at the realization of it all, This has never happened before. This isn't normal for Teslents. 

I am jolted into reality when Jeah stops walking. Brushing off my own thoughts, I focused my mind entirely on Jeah.   Jeah stands over a large bubbling pot of thick red liquid. She takes the wooden ladle sleepily into her hand. The ladle curtsies down into the red liquid and rises back up. I stare at the liquid, and my stomach begins to growl.

With ease, Jeah lifted the spoon to her mouth. After pushing a strand of hair out of her face, she tilted her head back and swallowed. Jeah smacked her lips together as if there was something left to be desired. She shakes her head, making her static hair wave in the air, "I don't know, what do you think?"

And then the ladle is in my hand, full with soup. My stomach begs for the relief of food.

Holding the warm ladle against my mouth, I gulp down the soup.

And my god, it is heavenly! 

"Oh," I whisper. "My. Gosh!"

"What?" Jeah asks, sounding worried. "Does it taste good? Does it need more salt?"

"Jeah! Are you kidding me? This is the best thing I ever had!"

"Really?" Jeah speaks with a sparkle of pride in her eyes.

I take the ladle and fill it with soup once again. This time I take my time to taste it. I notice the beautifully combined flavor, the light creamy texture, and the warmth I am filled with. The autumn cold seems so distant now that I am here. Now that I am home.  A smile is already embedded in my face when I shout, "Hell yeah!"

Jeah giggles slightly, "That's great, because I made a lot of it!"

She turns back to her soup pot and puts a lid over it. She turns the gas stove down so the flame is a small rose of light shining in the dimly-lit kitchen like a star. Averting her eyes, she allows the soup to simmer in peace.

"Listen, about that night when-" She mumbles awkwardly.  I know she is referring to her strange state, because her face is becoming slightly red.

"No, it's fine." I begin. "Every Teslent starts off like that."

Jeah lets out a stiff, hoarse laugh, "That sounds weird coming from you."

A moment of stillness settles in the air. I take a breath and say what was on my mind. "I'm sorry we had to lie." I say. "It's kind of a big deal."

"No no it's fine."

"But it's not fine." Jeah looks up in bewilderment to meet my eyes. "We shouldn't have lied, we should have explained everything."

"But it's fine because I now know why you had to keep it a secret. It was." Jeah gives me a half smile as she pauses. "my birthday surprise!"

I think about her words and then form a solution in my mind to fix any problems we had. "Can we just forget about the past and start over, please?"

Jeah thinks over this for a minute and nods. "I'd like that.I think we both need a fresh start."

I pull her into an embrace, completely shattering my personal bubble I liked to keep around myself. I feel tears make their way to the corners of my eyes, "Don't worry, this time, I'll be there for you. I won't lie anymore."

"And Haile?" Jeah asks, trying her best to look up at me.

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to worry, I accepted the responsibilities of a Teslent on my own. I reached out and took the power in my hands. I will use it for good. I will not become a Scavenger." I feel her face twist into a grimace. "I am sorry I called you one, that was wrong on my part."

Nodding quickly, I reassure her that I forgave her hurtful words. Then the tears come as a weight leaves my shoulders. I remember the times my parents have told me, again and again, that Jeah could become a Scavenger. So many times they warned me to be careful around her. And now here I stand, free of the worry, holding my little sister, who is devoting herself to doing good. 

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that."