DARLA

2

Susan was by the stove when she heard the door open by the living room.
"Just in time." She switched off the stove and wiped her hands on her apron. With a smile on her face, she made her way to the living room.
"Welcome home,dear-"
Susan paused when she realised her daughter was not alone. A slightly nervous looking Phil stood beside her, his eyes darting around the living room.
"And you brought a...friend?" The uncertainty was clear in Susan's voice as her smile faltered a bit.
"Mum, this is Phil." Darla gestured to the shaky male beside her. "He's from my class."
"Hello,ma'am." Phil raised his hand in a small wave.
"Hello, young man." The smile was back on Susan's face, albeit the surprise hadn't left her eyes. "Nice to meet you. Would you be staying over for lunch. Although I planned for two but it's enough to go for three."
"It's alright," Phil replied. "I don't want to intrude or anything."
"Oh, nonsense." Susan chuckled a bit. "It's no trouble at all. We rarely have visitors these days. Make yourself comfortable. Lunch would be set in a while."
Her statement left no room for objection and she disappeared into the kitchen before Phil could utter a word. He turned to Darla.
"What is it?" She raised her brows.
"I just didn't expect your mum to be welcoming. I expected her to be behave in a different manner."
"Like how?"
"I don't know?" Phil shrugged. "More apprehensive, I guess."
"Don't be silly." Darla punched his shoulder slightly with a laugh. "My mum is a sweetheart when you get to know her. Just relax and you'll find her pleasant."
And Phil discovered she was right half an hour later. Contrary to his fears, Susan had warmed up to him when she discovered that he was a nerd and a vast lover of animals. He discovered she liked animals too and had owned a variety of pets when she was younger.Conversation at the table flowed from school to nature, documentary and even movies. Phil felt  a bit of nostalgia wash within him at the company of the two women. He felt right at home away from home.
But it was time for discuss the elephant in the room. The main reason he had followed Darla home from school. And when he glanced at her, he saw the message in her eyes. She knew it was time.
After lunch, Phil shyly accompanied her to her room. His heartbeat accelerated a bit. This was the first time he would be stepping into a girl's room. Much less one he had just met not long ago.
To his surprise, her room wasn't the way he expected. Rather than the stereotypical pink theme. Her room walls were painted a light brown. Rather than attractive male celebrities plastered on her wall, it was pictures of plants. He faced her, his eyes boring into hers with query.
"What." She shrugged. "I plan to study botany,remember?"
"And I wnat to study zoology," Phil replied. "You don't see me filling my room with pictures of different animal species."
"Don't judge me. It's my passion!"
"Okay. Okay. Sorry."
Phil's eyes were drawn to a glass object on her desk and they lit up with excitement.
"Holy smokes! Is that an ant farm?"
"Sure is."
Phil's smile widened as he watched the industrious insects go about their business within the glass.
"Cool," he whispered.
"Hey, don't drool over the little guys." Darla chuckled as she stood beside him.
"You wound my dignity."  Phil pouted at her in mock sorrow.
For a moment the duo said nothing, their eyes drawn to the insects below them. Phil glanced at his watch and then stared at Darla. She caught his gaze from her side view.
"I guess this is the moment you've been waiting for," she sighed. "Phil, you're a cool guy. You're smart and intelligent. The problem is me. I don't know if you would want to be involved with someone like me."
"What exactly is wrong with you?" he asked. "You look normal and awesome to me."
"I hope you won't change your mind after this."  Her lips pursed into a straight line.
She lifted her hand towards the glass before Phil could ask for her explanation.  To Phil's amazement, a handful of sand rose from the ant farm and into the air in synchronisation to her hand movements.  Phil's eyes doubled in size. He took off his glasses and wiped it, then put them back on. The sand was still in the air. He wasn't imagining things.
"Holy smokes!" he cried.
Darla lifted her second hand to her lips, placing her index finger on it to signal him to be quiet. He nodded in compliance,though the shock was evident in his eyes still. She dropped her hand and the sand dropped back into the glass, safely away from the ants.
"Wow." Phil took a deep breath. "You..You're telekinetic?"
"Only when it comes to sand. Not any other thing...or person." Darla leaned on the desk, her eyes lowering in solemn fashion. "I was born with it. I discovered it when I was very little during a trip to the beach with my mum. I just kind of stared at the sand. And then just like that, i made patterns on it. Then a sand castle. My mum freaked out but she warned me to hide it. It was at that moment I discovered we had some kind of psychic connection. She feels my emotions and she can detect when something happens to me. If I'm in danger or if I'm sad, happy or furious,she knows."
"And your dad?" Phil asked.
"He died a long time ago."
"Oh...I'm really sorry about that."
"It's alright." Darla faced him with a smile. "So are you still interested in becoming friends with a freak like me?"
"Darla, you're not a freak!" Phil had gotten over the initial shock. He took her hands in his. "You were born with an extraordinary gift. You didn't ask for this, you didn't force it upon yourself. It doesn't make you a freak, it makes you unique."
"You know for someone who believes in science, you're taking this quite well." A wry chuckle escaped Darla's lips. "You do realise that this defies nature."
"I was startled at first, I won't lie to you," Phil replied with a chuckle of his own, "but that doesn't mean I'll treat you like dirt or a weirdo. Besides, I think this makes you more interesting to me. All my life, I've never had anything exciting or fascinating happened to me. This is a first and I'm going to treasure it. Darla, you may just become the most treasured friend I've ever had."
"Wow." Darla stared at her hands in his. She felt her stomach flutter as she gazed at his eyes through the glasses. Those eyes told her what she wanted to know. Phil was telling the truth. He wasn't going to shun her. And if she understood him clearer, her special abilities made him like her even more.
"So." Phil gave her a pleading gaze. "Would you go to the prom with me?"
Darla noticed the contrast in the request. Unlike in the morning when he was skittish, there was confidence brimming in him.
"Yes." She smiled.