SPECIALS

Chapter One: Charmian

“I’m positive, o great and mighty fire lord. We can’t all have your perfect hair and self-control.” I told him, shoving the stupid medicine bottle back into my bag and walking up the elegantly paved walkway to the academy’s front doors. Jett sighed loudly and hurried after me. He was faster, so it didn’t take much effort.

“Of course you can’t. You can only wish you were this awesome.” He quipped lightly, jabbing me slightly with his index finger. I rolled my eyes as I struggled to pry the huge, mahogany doors open. If I used my other ability, I wouldn’t struggle with this sort of thing. But I refused to make the same mistake I had last time. There was no compromise with my gifts. Using even one of them- unless it was an absolute emergency- was just an open door to disaster, as Dr. Arnolds had insisted. I promised my parents I wouldn’t. But I know I can’t keep that promise entirely. I might be able to stop myself from lifting objects across the room. But I can’t truly keep myself from hearing others’ thoughts. Not for long. It was like asking someone to only breathe out of their nose, and keep their mouths closed. It might work for a little while, but it’s too easy to slip up and forget. This was going to be a long year. I just hoped it wouldn’t be like the last one.

“Stop looking so thinky. It makes you seem creepy. Like you’re plotting to kill us all.” Jett commented, slinging his black book bag over his shoulder, looking me up and down, “Which, in all honesty, would not surprise me. Actually, some days I go to bed wondering if you’ll kill me in your sleep.” He joked with a sly wink.

I glared unhappily at him. “You’re hilarious, Jett.” I remarked dryly, finally throwing open the stupid, old doors and bursting inside. I regretted it instantly. Hit with a hundred buzzing minds all slamming against each other in my head, trying to break through my carefully constructed barrier. Ugh. I should have expected that. This is a school. People generally have brains in school. Not particularly intelligent ones, but brains none the less. I squinted and rubbed almost frantically at my temples. Go away. Go away. Go away.

Students milled all around us. Loudly. Locker doors slamming. Voices overlapping and drowning each other out. Whose brilliant idea was it to put me in a huge school full of obnoxious students? This was insanity! But Dr. Arnolds was a professor here, and he insisted that isolating me from other people would only make things worse. That I needed to develop a “tolerance” for these things or I’d never live a normal life. Funny. Because running back home to my bedroom looked pretty good right now.

I must have stopped in the middle of the crowded hallway, because Jett ran into my back and let out an irritated huff. “Geez, Char. Way to look normal. Rubbing your forehead like you’re Professor X is not going to win you popularity points.” He grouched, pushing me along.

I shook my head at him and shrugged him off. “Who ever said anything about popularity? I just want to be left alone!”

He shook his head at me, like I was a hopeless case of antisocialism. “You’re supposed to fit in, Char. You know, make friends. Act like you aren’t an alien for once. You can handle that, can’t you, genius girl?” He asked, shaking his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes. I sighed and looked down. Strange, my little brother giving me the ‘fitting in at high school’ pep talk. That was supposed to be the older kid’s job. Our whole little system was quite mixed up.

“Yes, I know. I’ll try to talk to someone or something, okay? Now go off and be an annoying pest in the freshman wing, will you? You’re giving me a headache.” I told him, glancing around the bustling hallway.