"Chug chug chug chug chug chug chug chug!" I heard people shouting and immediately went to where everyone was.
I got to the living room to see Myra and some big guy, each downing a huge bottle of liquor. At this rate, It looked like I was going to be the one driving home tonight.
Myra slammed the bottle down and the guy still had about a fourth of the way to go. Everyone shouted and cheered her on. She shrugged them off like it was nothing. I pushed my way through the people to get to her.
"Somebody's having a little too much fun," I said. The last thing we needed was for her to get piss poor drunk. I'd already had enough of that in my life.
"I'm fine. This stuff isn't even touching me. I burn it off before it can ever get through my system," she said. I noticed her eyes were lighter than usual. She was using her power to keep the alcohol at bay.
"As long as you keep it under control. I'm going to go put our host in his place," I said.
"Maybe you should leave it. He's just a human. You'll deal with him for a few months and he won't even be a thought to you anymore," she said. Normally Myra was all for putting someone down.
I was looking forward to embarrassing Martin, but I guessed she was right. It really wasn't that deep to where I needed to go out of my way to do anything. Life would teach him.
Despite the blatant drunkenness going on around me, I actually was enjoying myself. I found Michael and a few of his friends and we went out on the back deck. It was a mixture of girls and boys. At first it we all just made small talk, some of the guys talked about their journalism articles, some of them were athletes, they even talked about girls despite there being girls out here.
Our conversation turned into a game of Never Have I Ever after a guy walked out with a few bottles and shot glasses. I promptly suggested that I be the record keeper and drink pourer. Getting drunk was not a part of my plan.
"C'mon, it'll be fun," Michael said.
"There's no way in hell. Coming here was a stretch for me. I'm not going to start drinking," I said as I started writing everyone's names on the piece of paper.
"I'll go first," one guy offered. Everyone turned to him.
"Never have I ever fantasized about anyone out here right now," he said.
Almost everyone took a drink. Other than me, there were maybe one of two girls that didn't drink. Every guy out here did. I shook my head as I put marks next to the drinkers. This was going to be one interesting and revealing game.
***
When the game finished everyone who played was pretty wasted. Even Michael was slurring his words. Nobody even really registered it when announced the winner. I was pretty sure they'd all end up vomiting before the night was over. I decided it was time to find Myra and head home. I'd had a good a good time, but I'd reached my limit.
I walked back into the house to find Myra sitting on the couch with Jake. They were pretty deep into their conversation, but I sat down on the love seat across from them anyway.
"I didn't realize you two knew each other," Jake said.
"I'm the one who found Daisy Lynn after she discovered what she could do. She's been with Jason and me for most of the summer, training and preparing for whatever is to come next," she said.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. My cousin said things are changing. It's like something huge is going to happen, but no one knows exactly what."
"Maybe we should be having this conversation with everyone around. You never know who's sober enough to remember what they hear," I said.
"Yeah you're right," Jake said. I looked at Myra.
"I'm ready to get home. Before all the puking starts," I said looking around. Kids were passed out everywhere. Myra got off the couch and patted Jake on the shoulder.
"I'll see you around," she said as headed toward the door.
"Did you have a good time?" she asked after a few moment. I nodded.
"Do you have any idea what's going on with us? I mean, from my encounter with the Supreme I know that she knows the future. Maybe not all of it, but certainly some of the important parts," I asked as I thought about the images she showed me again.
She'd only shown me images that pertained to me. I had to find other Unknowns that could control and element, but I didn't know how. I didn't know if I would die before I found them or be killed shortly after. What was the point in putting four elements together when one of them would be taken out of the equation? Maybe there was something that I was missing. Something that I hadn't learned yet.
"I had no idea. Jason hasn't said anything about it."
"He was looking at profiles of Unknowns a few weeks ago. One of them was an Enforcer. I don't understand why he would be looking at profiles like that," I said.
"Jason keeps tabs on everyone. He's a telepath. The Society pays him to train Unknowns like me and you, but they also pay him for information. They probably put him on some assignment to make sure Enforcers are doing their jobs right. I don't know why he's so opposed to being and Enforcer or a Court when he can do that," she said.
"He wouldn't be happy having to put so many Unknowns back in their place. They'd probably assign him to kill people since he's so powerful," I said. That's what Enforcers did. They killed or injured those that stepped out of line.
"Maybe you're right," Myra said.
I silently nodded my head. It was only a guess. Looking down at my lap, I noticed my small phone in my pocket. I pulled it out and sent a text to Hunter. He didn't reply immediately, but by the time we got to the house and I was getting ready for bed it buzzed softly.
I picked up my phone a little too eagerly. It had been a long night so I only wanted to talk on the ground. Sometimes I wished that he could come over, but I knew that wasn't an option. Although both Jason and Myra knew that I kept in touch with Hunter, I knew Jason would have an aneurism if I ever brought him to the house.
"How'd it go?" he asked.
"It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. There was more drinking than I would have liked, but overall I had a good time," I said.
"That's good. I'm glad you're getting out and socializing. It's good to make new friends," he said.
"I've made a few. Though I do have to say there is one guy who like to push the boundaries. He's always making suggestive comments and tonight he had the nerve to kiss me. It was on the neck, but still."
"He kissed you?" Hunter asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. He's an asshole."
"What's this guy's name?"
"Martin. He's really good friends with a guy named Jake. Jake's cool, but Martin can be overbearing at times."
"Martin. And Jake. Hmph."
"I feel like you're angry about it. Don't be. We're on good terms. He is a jerk, but we're good," I said.
"Yeah," Hunter said, but it didn't feel like he was listening. I wasn't going to fret too much about it. It wasn't like he could find him. Martin was just a kind in high school.
"How was your day?" I asked trying to bring him back into the conversation. Sometimes when things really bothered him or caught his interest he got really distant. I often wondered what went on in Hunter's mind when he did that.
"Busy." It didn't feel like my tactic was working.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, there's just been a lot on my mind lately."
"You know you can tell me anything right? You're my best friend Hunter. Your problems won't be too much for me, just the same way mine aren't for you," I said.
"I know. I'll get around to it eventually. It's not something that I can broach lightly," he said. I didn't know how I felt about it. It sounded like it was something serious.
"Is everything alright Hunter?"
"Don't worry it's not anything bad, but it's important," there was a beat of silence before he spoke again.
"You should probably go to bed. It's been a long day for the both of us," he said. I tried to push back the hurt that I felt at him shutting down on me. Normally he was very open and now he'd just closed me off.
"I'm not trying to brush you off. I'll make it up to you, I promise...Do you like horses?" he asked.
"I love horses," I said. We didn't own any horses out on the farm, but that didn't mean I didn't get the chance to interact with them. Neighboring farmers owned the majestic animals and sometimes when Pa was having a good day he'd let me go over and play with them.
"Give me a few weeks to get things sorted out on my end and we'll go horse back riding. Okay?" he said.
"Okay," I said not bothering to conceal my excitement.
"That's what I like to hear. Sleep well Daisy Lynn," he said.
"You too," I said and we hung up. I'd forgotten his previous distance just moments before as I rolled over feeling elated. Somehow he always managed to put a smile on my face.
***
The next few weeks were pretty quiet. I was doing well in my classes. I had two A's, a B and a C. My teaching assistant and P.E. class were easy. English wasn't hard, but the teacher was a tough grader. Math just sucked period. Despite that, if everything stayed the way that it was I'd probably graduate with a 3.0 maybe a 3.1 or 3.2 if I could raise my math grade.
As usual, it seemed like life decided that I needed a little bit of drama after a period of peace. I just couldn't catch a break.
I was in the bathroom when I heard Sharon talking out in the hallway - about me of course. It seemed like she had a personal vendetta against me and I couldn't figure out why. I'd never done anything to her and always spoke whenever I saw her. Still she acted like she couldn't stand me, especially when Michael wasn't around. Then she was really rude.
"Something's not adding up. This girl came from nowhere and nobody has even batted an eye. Normally you'd be all over this," she said. I walked over to the doorway so that I could hear better.
"I know, but she seemed pretty uncomfortable when I tried to ask her about her past. She said it was pretty grim," I heard Michael's voice say.
"Well, I did what you were too afraid to do. We're not journalists for nothing. It's not that hard to dig around out here. We're out in the country for Pete's sake," Sharon said.
"I told you to drop it a long time ago, Sharon," Michael said sounding irritated.
"Will you just hear me out first?"
"No. I don't want to know."
"Yes you do. You barely know the girl. If she was really your friend she would have put her confidence in you. But she hasn't and you're still stuck on her like white on rice. Maybe you should just drop her."
I flinched at Sharon's words. I considered Michael a friend. She had no right to say these things about me.
"I know you've been dying to find out about her. Just indulge me for a few moments will you? Nobody has to know. You don't even have to tell her that you know."
There were a few beats of silence before Michael answered.
"Okay," he said slowly. I frowned. She accused me of not being his friend, when he was about to listen to whatever rumors Sharon had scourged up.
"Her father is some farmer just over in the next county. His business isn't the biggest, but as far as I could see they were making ends meet. There's a small school out there I'm sure she went to. I just don't understand why she switched schools. Why would she travel out here everyday when her other school was so close to home?"
"Maybe she has a relative out here," Michael offered.
"Maybe. But still, why come out here? It's her senior year shouldn't she want to finish it with her friends? If she's with a relative why'd she leave her father? If not what's happened in her hometown to make her leave?"
"I have no idea," Michael said.
"Well, I'm going to find out," Sharon said.
"Don't. Mind your own business, Sharon," Michael chastised.
"You've been all about her ever since she arrived. Why? I've known you for years and you've never acted this way toward me."
"Just leave her alone Sharon," he said, his tone firm and unmoving.
"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you find out she's a fraud," she snapped.
I felt hurt at her words. I just wanted to have a normal high school career. I just wanted to be happy. It always felt like life put happiness just within reach only to yank it away. Why couldn't I finish school without being questioned of my motives?
Tears fell down my face and I tried to pull myself together, but I just couldn't. I was tired. I just wanted peace. Peace that didn't seem to want me. Part of me wanted to completely fall apart but another part of me was angry allowing myself to be so affect by Sharon's words. It was a deep anger I'd never felt before. It was completely foreign.
It was pure rage.
I wiped my eyes and walked over to the mirror so that I could fix myself. The last thing I needed was for someone to ask me what was wrong. I couldn't lose control at school. Too many humans could get hurt. We could be exposed if that happened.
Splashing water on my face helped to satiate my emotions. I rubbed my hands across my face before I assessed my appearance in the mirror. Immediately I jumped back.
"What the hell?" I gasped.
My irises were pure black. The calm blue they normally were was completely gone. I watched in horror as the darkness spread to the whites of my eyes. My hands were shaking. What was going on?
Trying to fight off the panic that was threatening to take over I turned on the faucet and rinsed my face again. It took a several minutes but eventually I felt my heart rate slow down.
When I looked back in the mirror the black was still vibrant ever. I still had one more class to go to. I'd get in trouble if I skipped out on my teaching assistant class. But I'd be in deep shit if I walked into the office with black eyes. I had no idea what to do.
As I looked at myself in the mirror someone walked into the bathroom. Instantly I froze.
The girl made eye contact with my in the mirror and smiled before entering a stall. I frowned. She didn't act like there was anything wrong with me. I decided to take a huge gamble and waited until she finished to see if I was right.
"Do you see anything on my eye?" I asked after she dried her hands.
She took a step closer and looked.
"No. They look normal," she said.
"Okay. It felt like I had an eyelash, but I couldn't quite get it. Maybe it's just dry," I lied.
"Maybe," she said before leaving the restroom.
I decided if she couldn't see anything then I was fine. Maybe the Mark was something only Unknowns could see. It made sense that the Supreme wouldn't Mark someone in way that would cause exposure. Still I couldn't figure out why my eyes were black.
I nervously walked into the office and tried to push my insecurities into the back of my mind as I logged into the computer and entered the attendance for the day. I would ask Jason when he picked me up. Maybe he would know.