Olympus Academy: The Final Bell.

Chapter Four: The Head-Space.

1.

Zoe Harte felt Jake's mind brush past as she hovered above the grass, meditating with the other telepathic students in the school gardens. A faint breeze skirted along the courtyard, toying with the hair spilling from her hoodie. She did not feel the electric blue strands tickle her cheek. She did not hear the bustle from the nearby classrooms, as students got to their seats, and shared summer exploits while they waited for the first classes of the year to begin. She only noticed Jake because the anxiety he felt being so close to the small circle of telepaths shone through the Head-space like a beacon. She felt nothing because only her body inhabited the space on the grass.

2.

Zoe Harte is in the Head-space. The psychic realm in which all human consciousness existed. The beauty of it always overwhelmed her; being in the Head-Space was like being submerged in an ocean of flowing colours, swirling, colliding, separating and blending with each other. The colour was broken only by white glowing people shapes. Each one was the psychic imprint of a person. Only telepaths looked as they did in the physical world, and despite every person on Earth being connected to the Head-Space, only telepaths could consciously access it. Zoe floated in the ocean of colour, manipulating her telepathic aura into sweeping shapes which circled her body. Her concentration was shaken by a sudden violent burst of energy rippling into her. She looked to the direction it had hit her from and saw an aura of telepathic energy raging out of control.

As she edged closer to the storm of energy, she saw a young boy was sitting at the heart of it. She could feel power pushing against her ethereal form, trying to drive her away. She concentrated, forming a shell to protect herself. She reached out into the maelstrom, and sensed Tim inside it. He was afraid, panicking. Zoe raised her hand, using her own aura to dissipate the torrent. She could see Tim clearly now, and the violent power rippling from him.

'Tim... are you okay?' Calming pulses of energy radiated from her, suppressing the energy bursting from Tim. She moved a little closer, almost close enough to touch him.

'Get away from me!' He threw a hand toward her, warning her away. 'I can't control it, I'm not strong enough!'

'You are, you just need to focus.' Another wave of power violently erupted from the boy, buffeting Zoe, knocking her to her knees. Her own aura barely protecting her. It took all the effort she could muster just to raise her head. 'Calm down... let me help you.' She focused on her aura again, and it began to grow. After an age, she regained her resolve. She was within touching distance of him now, and was almost overwhelmed by the power bursting from the small, frightened, twelve-year-old boy.

'No... you need to get away!' Tim was in a total panic, his powers flaring out of control. If Zoe didn't do something quickly, her mind would be obliterated in the storm. She fought the urge to run. 'It's happening again!'

'No it's not. I'm not going to leave you.' She took hold of Tim's hand. He tried to pull free at first, but then she felt his grip tighten around hers. 'We're going to get this under control.'

'I can't, I'm scared.'

'I'm not. I know you don't want to hurt me.' She pulled him close to her, cupping his face with both of her hands, so he had to look into her eyes. 'I'm here with you, we're going to fix this together, okay?'

3.

'...Okay.' Zoe felt his tears run over her fingers. The Head-Space melted away, and they were once again standing in the school gardens. She heard Tim sniff. She looked down at him.

'Are you okay?'

'Uh-huh. I'm okay now, thank you.' Tim backed away from her, wiping his snotty nose on the sleeve of his sweater. It left a thick silvery trail on the navy-blue fabric, next to several other faded smears.

'If a little light meditation freaks you out, you'll never make it to sixth form, kid.' A tall boy, with long, strawberry blonde hair pulled into a bun on the top of his head walked up to them. His sneer made Zoe's blood boil. He turned to her. 'What are you looking at?' Rumor around the school was that his dad was an Olympian criminal back in the day. Zoe had little trouble believing that at this moment.

'I'm not looking at anything.' She pulled her hood down further.

'Better not be.' He caught the approaching teacher's glare and decided to turn his toxic attention to something else. Anne Marie towered above Zoe.

'Walk with me, Miss Harte. I wish to speak with you. The rest of you, finish your meditation, and prepare for your next class.' She added, 'In silence.' Anne Marie, and Zoe walked toward the flower beds, a short distance away from the rest of the class.

'Am I in trouble?' Zoe looked at the ground around her feet.

'A beautiful day, non?' Anne Marie plucked a flower, and put it to her nose. 'Zoe. What do you know of the young man you helped?' She placed the flower in her hair.

'Tim? Nothing really.' Zoe shrugged. 'But he was so scared...' 

'Timothy King is the most powerful student in this school... possibly the world. He could have erased every mind within a twenty-mile radius if he lost control.' Anne Marie made a clicking noise with her tongue. She reached over, removing Zoe's hood and releasing her brilliant blue hair; which began to make an escape, but then just drifted back down over her shoulders. 'Tsk. You always have this thing half over your face. You should show the world how pretty it is, not hide it away.' Anne Marie straightened the blushing girl's hair.

'I didn't mean to...'

'Sil vous plait, let me finish...' Anne Marie stopped her with a raised finger. 'the courage and compassion you showed for a fellow student is admirable. I am proud of you, child.'

'Thank you, mademoiselle.' The student and her teacher began to walk back to the rest of the psychic class, who were now all stood ready to be dismissed to their next classes. Anne Marie walked ahead, Zoe followed closely behind, pulling her hood back up.

'But Zoe...'

'Mademoiselle?'

'Do not do it again, Vous me comprenez?'

'Oui, Mademoiselle.' Zoe smiled and offered a curtsy. The bell to end first period sounded, and within moments, the gardens were once more filled with students making their way to their next classes. Through the melee, Zoe sensed the school's truancy officer, Simon Graves. She picked up his frustration at having his daytime T.V schedule disrupted to chase after that little rich girl again. Then as sudden as it appeared, the thoughts were gone. Like they had been blinked out of existence.