The name we chose for X-Team seemed to stick. We all called ourselves the X-Team all of the time. At first, it was just for fun, but over time, it ended up just being muscle memory to call ourselves the X-team. It just became a thing we did. No one around us questioned it.
We made it through fifth grade with Hector, and he eventually got old enough to stay home alone at Joey's place. He developed a very jovial personality, like Joey, probably because of all of the time Joey spent with him. One weekend towards the end of fifth grade, we made Aaron stay in an open room with Hector, and Aaron eventually got closer with Hector. They're not exactly best friends yet, but they can cope. Aaron grew out of his red shoes, but almost immediately bought a new pair, exactly the same. Joey hasn't changed his hair at all either.
Right now, the X-Team and I are at a sixth-grade introduction speech. The new principal is in the middle of the gym talking to all of the new sixth graders in the bleachers about some new middle school policy. Adam was amusing us by slicking back his hair with saliva. We were all trying to hold back our laughs.
"Dude, stop, we're going to get in trouble," I tell him, snickering.
"We aren't strict at this school, we just have strongly enforced rules for your safety and whatnot," Adam says in a deep voice, mocking the principal. "We have lots of punishments for you if you break our rules."
"Be quiet," Aaron tells him, motioning to the principal, who just asked if we had any questions. Adam shut up for a minute while the principal was looking around. Eventually, the principal dismissed us, and we left for class. We have already been here for about a week, so we know how things go around here.
Nothing else interesting happened that day, except for getting loads of homework. After school, we all went over to Joey's house to do it. The next day, we came to school, expecting another boring day. Since our middle school is a little farther from Nick and my houses, we bike instead. We made it to school and went to our lockers. Joey and my lockers are three apart, and everyone else's a while away.
"So, ready for another day without recess?" I ask Joey.
"Eh, not exactly," Joey shrugs. "What do you have for first period again?"
"Math. You have English, right?" I ask.
"Yeah. The teacher is super monotone," Joey moans. "Ow!"
"What happened?" I ask. Suddenly, my fingers started heating up around my backpack I was holding. I stare at it, and my fingers eventually start to burn.
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The second my backpack catches fire I rip my hand away and blow the fire out. I see my fingers still on fire and realize the heat wasn't coming from inside my backpack, but from my hand. I try to blow out my hand, and only make it worse. I look over at Joey and see bright sparks lashing out on his hands. He's shaking his hands and trying to make them stop.
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"Come on, to the bathroom," I suggest, blowing on my hands. He nods and we race down the hall and towards the nearest bathroom. We race in and shut the door behind us. I turn around to see Nick, Elliot, Aaron, and Adam in there as well. They were all freaking out like us. I look down at my fingers and see the flame spreading down my palms.
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"Ah!" I exclaim, and race to the sink. I turn on the faucet, slightly burning the handle. Water bursts out and begins filling the bowl. I plunge my hands inside and hope for the fire to go out. My hands go in, but the fire still burns even under water. This has to be a dream. I'm dreaming, right. This cannot be real. I'm on fire.
I notice the smoke from my hands raising to the ceiling, and the sprinklers activate, showering us in water. I put my hands under the sink, so all of the smoke gathers there instead of at the ceiling. Once the smoke clears, the sprinklers stop, and everyone is soaking. I look at my hands and notice that they aren't flaming anymore. I look at everyone else. They have stopped freaking out. I put my back to the wall and slide to the floor, panting.
"What was that?" Nick asks slowly.
"I have no clue. It's impossible. Things like that can't happen," Aaron says.
"But . . . they did," Adam states, still looking down at his hands.
"My hands . . . they were on fire," I say, confused. "What happened to you guys?"
"I had dark black energy surrounding me. I-It was so dark. Ghostly," Nick states.
"Rocks. Everywhere on my hands, covering them," Adam says, picking up small rocks that had fallen to the ground.
"There was water shooting out of my hands. All over them," Elliot tells us.
"I am not sure. I don't know what happened to me. There was . . . some kind of energy. Technological energy. I don't know what it was," Aaron explains. I sigh and look at everyone. What is going on?
