Date: December 3, 20XX (18 years later)
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I sat silently during my free period, typing an essay for my English class. Most people would be hanging out with their friends or doing anything else, but I had devoted myself to staying on top of my work. Glancing around me, only a couple of other students were in the library, working diligently.
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and contemplated how to continue the essay. It certainly wasn't something I was interested in, it being Rilandian Literature. At that moment, I gazed outside and admired the sky. White, puffy clouds filled only a small portion of the deep blue sky, making me wish I could be out of the confinement of this building.
I had to be devoted to studying. My dream was to get into the top university this country had to offer, and it was my parents' dream too. I had yet to decide what I wanted to major in, however. Maybe a teacher? Maybe something in business? Maybe a-
Whack!
My thoughts were interrupted by something solid hitting me in the side of the head. I looked at what hit me, and on the ground beside my desk was a plastic water bottle. Looking around to see who decided to throw something at me, a familiar face appeared. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"Xavian, what are you doing here?"
He threw up his arms and looked offended, but his personality told me he was only messing around. Xavian took a few steps forward.
"What? Am I not allowed to come visit you, Eli?"
He sat down next to me as I cleared my throat and spoke with a slight smirk on my lips. "You never bother to come to the library, nor do you care much about your studies. So why are you here? To bother me?"
Xavian didn't seem to know what to say, but before he could speak, I began to laugh, catching him by surprise. "Don't take me so seriously. I know we don't have much in common, but we're still best friends. You're athletic, I'm not. I focus on my work, and you don't. It's how it's always been since day one, right?"
His demeanor shifted to where he was more relaxed. He sighed and shook his head. "I can never tell with you sometimes. Anyway, what are you working on? You seemed to be deep in thought when I walked in."
"Oh, just this literature essay."
"How's that going?"
I shrugged and ruffled my hair to fix it after seeing myself in the reflection of my computer. "Fine, I guess. It's nothing interesting, though. What's up with you?"
"Man, I'm exhausted," Xavian said, drawing out his words. He rested his head in his hand. "Baseball's been a lot. I don't know if you've been paying attention, but we haven't been doing great this season, so the coach has been on our ass."
"Ah, I understand," I answered. "Just hang in there. I'm sure the team can turn it around soon."
Xavian shook his head. "I hope so. The season started about a month ago, so there's still time to fix our weak points."
The bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of the seventh period, and having one more to go. I started to pack my things into my backpack. "Well, I'll see you after school, then. Do you have any plans?"
He shook his head. "No, but I'm probably going to rest at home. My mom's probably cooking dinner, though. Wanna come over?"
A small smile formed across my lips. It had been a while since we last hung out outside of school. With my studies and his athletic schedule, we didn't have much time for each other anymore after the school year started in August.
"Yeah, that sounds good," I answered him. "When do you want me to show up?"
Xavian waved his hand in dismissal as he shouldered his backpack. "Show up whenever you want. I'll let my mom know you'll be on the way after school. I'll see you later, man."
"See ya," I responded, waving to him as he left. Shortly after, I started to follow him out, but turning the opposite direction when I stepped into the hallway.
Xavian was a very carefree person. I remembered a few years ago when I asked him why he was so untroubled, and he responded that it was how his entire family was, and that he grew up only needing to worry about things that were "worth worrying about," as he put it. On the flip side, I tend to worry about the little things.
My final period was history, and despite the boringness, I did my best and pushed through it. The final bell rang, and it was finally the end of the long day. I exhaled when I stepped out of the building, adjusting my backpack over my shoulder. The beautiful sky that I was admiring was now a reality. I smiled to myself as I started to walk toward my car. On the way there, I got the feeling of someone watching me. I looked over to see a girl walking with a couple of friends from the other side of the parking lot. She was the one on the left, and confusion came over me.
She was one of the "popular girls," so to speak. She was beautiful, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and a petite figure. Her name, however, was something my mind couldn't remember.
However, it was like she saw a ghost. The girl kept walking, now slightly behind her friend group, with widened eyes still locked onto me. I stood still, wondering what was going on. We have never associated with each other, not just because of the popularity difference but also our conflicting schedules. She was a grade below me.
She finally looked away, leaving me in a state of confusion. I looked down to see if there was anything on my clothes, but I quickly realized that wouldn't make sense. Looking around, there was only one other person near me. He was in his car, scrolling through his phone. That meant it was clear she had to have been looking at me.
I shook it off and opened the door to my car. After climbing in, I turned the ignition and started my journey home, still wondering what had happened.
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"I'm home!" I called as I entered through the front door of my home. I found my mom in the kitchen washing dishes.
She turned to me after hearing my voice, opening her arms for a hug, which I gave. "Hey, Elijah. How was school?"
"The same," I answered. "Nothing too exciting."
The encounter with that girl came back to mind, but I quickly put it back in my mind. Mom smiled warmly. "Well, that's alright. Would you like something to eat?"
"No, thank you," I responded. "I think I'm going to Xavian's for dinner in a bit."
A look of surprise came over her face before another smile appeared. "Really? That's great! You two haven't done anything in a while. How's he doing?"
I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat at the table. "I can tell he's stressed over baseball but hides it well. Other than that, everything's fine."
Mom nodded as she started the dishwasher. "I've read that the baseball team isn't doing too great."
"That's what he said today," I stated. "I don't know anything about the team, but I'm sure everything will work out."
"Well, I sure hope so," Mom agreed. "The school prides itself on its sports and academics. They've been one of the top schools in the region for the past few years. Though, I've noticed a subtle decline since the war started."
The war. A subject that seemed taboo to talk about, yet it weighed so heavily on everyone's hearts and minds.
The war had been raging in this country for about seven to eight years. Hevastwa, our neighboring country to the west, has been fighting with us for a variety of reasons. A large reason was the disagreements of political beliefs and how we used our weapons of war.
I never agreed with our country's beliefs or the decisions we made. There were tons of pointless threats made against Hevastwan citizens, meaning they constantly lived in fear. Not just minor threats, but threats of nuclear annihilation against their cities. I thought it was completely ridiculous, and so did everyone else.
The Supreme Leader of this country was toxic and needed to be replaced with someone of better morals. Of course, there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to hope that his successor would be even slightly better.
It wasn't always like this, either. When I was younger, I remember when Riland seemed blissfully unaware of the chaos behind the scenes. Things were peaceful. People were happy. The country was blooming.
That was only a dream, now.
"Elijah?"
Mom's voice shook me out of my thoughts. I returned to reality and sheepishly rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. "Huh. S-Sorry, Mom. I got lost in my thoughts."
"Oh, honey," she spoke in a comforting tone. "Please don't worry about the things you can't control. I'm sure everything will get better soon. We have to stick together."
Her words could only give me so much reassurance, but I knew she was right. "I know. Thank you. I think I'm going to go to Xavian's now."
"That's okay," she said. "Have fun, okay? Don't come home too late."
I grabbed my keys before giving her a quick hug. "I won't. Love you."
"Love you, too. Bye-bye."
I headed out of the house, a small gust of wind meeting me as I stepped down the stairs. Opening the door to my car, I climbed in and turned the ignition. After sending a quick text to Xavian to let him know that I was on my way, I pulled out of the driveway and turned toward his house.
I could feel the earth rumbling beneath the car. As I looked at the scenery around me, earth was everywhere. Beneath the grass, on the pavement, and even underneath the ground. It was like it was calling to me, wanting me to...
No.
Xavian's house wasn't too far away, only a couple miles past the school. I parked the car close to the curb since the driveway held his dad and Xavian's car and his mom's in the garage. Getting out, I stepped onto the pavement.
The calling feeling returned. I looked around to see if anyone was around, only to find a cat sleeping on their neighbor's porch. On the ground, there were a few tiny chunks of the pavement. My hand extended toward the pebbles, and I just clenched my fingers when Xavian's voice shook me out of my trance.
"Eli!"
Fortunately, my car shielded his view. I relaxed my hand and walked toward the driveway. "Hey, Xavian."
"Are you good?" he asked as I got closer. "You looked like you were staring at something on the ground."
We did our signature handshake before I responded. "Yeah, I'm good. I was just checking my phone."
I hated being a liar, but there was no way I could tell him. His reputation was far too large to risk the rumor spreading. It wouldn't be a rumor at that point.
I trusted Xavian, but I've gone this long being a normal high school student. With the first semester coming to a close, I only had to survive a few more months until graduation. I can make it until then, right?
His mom greeted me at the door. "Hey, Eli! Long time no see! How have you been?"
Ashley, his mother, was shorter than average. She wore a casual dress with a thin jacket that matched its colors. Her hair was medium-length with pretty curls.
I returned her smile. "I'm doing alright, how about yourself?"
"I'm just fine. Please, make yourself at home. I have dinner working, but do you want a snack in the meantime?"
I left my shoes beside the door and followed her into the kitchen. "Oh, no, I'm okay. Thank you though."
"Hey, there's something I want to show you," Xavian stated, motioning me to his room. "It'll be quick."
I followed him down the hallway, and he opened the door ahead of me. His room looked the same as it did when we were children, except he upgraded to a queen-sized bed. It gave me a very nostalgic feeling.
"I know I've been here several times before, but it always brings back memories of our playdates and sleepovers," I recalled.
Xavian nodded and fixed his curly hair. "For sure. I miss the days, don't you?"
"Absolutely," I replied. "Your mom would always let us stay up late and have the snacks my parents wouldn't let me have during the late hours. We had nothing to worry about either. Just us being kids and living the dream."
Xavian sat on his bed and pulled out a large binder from under his bed. He glanced at me and motioned for me to sit next to him. "Here. This is what I wanted to show you. It'll add to the nostalgia."
I sat down as he opened the binder. Inside were a bunch of pictures of us as kids. One of them stood out, and it was us at a water park that had since been shut down. There was a large bruise on my forehead. I immediately pointed to it. "I remember that! I tripped over something in the splash pad and fell on my head."
"Maybe that's why it was shut down," Xavian mumbled before chuckling to himself. "What about this one?"
He pointed to a picture of us and our families on a roller coaster. Our expressions were...less than attractive. I laughed. "Didn't your dad throw up after?"
Xavian nodded and laughed with me. "He barely made it to the trash can."
After flipping through a few more, we landed on one that Xavian didn't recognize. It was of me and him playing baseball, but the ball wasn't your typical baseball. It looked like a rock, and my hands were behind my back, with my leg extended to the side and forward.
My heart dropped as I quickly tried to rack my brain, but the memory never came to mind. When was this?
"Huh, that's weird," Xavian murmured. "I don't remember this. We're obviously playing baseball, but how are you pitching with that form? And why are we using a rock of all things? We had a surplus of balls here."
I had no answer for him. Why was I using my power so openly? I made a promise to myself not to tell anyone.
Not even my parents.
At least, I assumed they didn't know. They've never told me anything about it before.
I noticed Xavian looking at me with a puzzled expression. "Uh, Eli? Do you know anything about this? You seem anxious."
The feeling that was swelling in me was overwhelming. It was like my body was screaming at me to tell him, to tell someone. To be honest, I always wanted to tell Xavian, despite the reputation difference. He came off as such a laid-back, trustworthy guy. He wouldn't spread my secret, would he?
"Eli? You can talk to me. What is it?"
I had to tell him, or else it felt that my body was going to explode.
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