I got a girl's number.
I got a pretty girl's number.
This was revolutionary. I have never even attempted to talk to a girl, much less get her number. What was even crazier was that she asked for mine.
"I think we should keep in touch," she proposed. "Can I have your number?"
She asked for it so casually. It took me off guard, and she must've noticed because she started giggling. I felt my face turn red from embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it so bluntly," she said, pulling out her phone. After tapping a few times, she handed me her phone. "Don't make a big deal out of it. We clearly have a lot in common, so it makes sense that we stick together."
Hesitantly, I took her phone and punched in my number. After I returned it, I couldn't help but ask the question that came to mind. "Don't you have friends who could be more useful to you? We barely know each other."
Emily warmly smiled which could steal the heart of any man. "Oh, hush. Nobody else knows the things that you know in just the ten or so minutes we've been talking. Anyway, I'll text you when I get home, and you better respond."
How could I not?
"Don't worry. I got you."
She smiled one last time before waving. "I should get going. I have a university test tomorrow and don't want my parents to worry about me. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
Emily left me in a state of wonder. As I started my way to the car, couldn't help but think of what we'd do together. She made it sound like she was willing to storm the capital for some answers, which I wasn't even sure would have anything we'd be looking for.
Firstly, I had to tell Xavian about my unexpected success in scoring Emily's number. I thought about calling him, but I couldn't remember if he had baseball practice this afternoon, so I texted him instead.
I started my drive home and heard my phone buzz as I pulled out of the parking lot. Glancing at it, a text from Xavian read: "No way. I'll meet you at your house after practice is over."
I couldn't help but laugh, knowing that Xavian was bugging me about expanding my wings and trying to make new friends. There was no way he'd ever expect me to talk to Emily of all people, and secure her number. It felt like I took a giant step forward.
After I arrived home, I walked into my house and set my stuff in my room. Mom still wasn't home, which generally meant she was stuck in another meeting. I threw my stuff down and prepared a few snacks for when Xavian came over. He liked to eat after practice and wasn't picky about what was on the table.
About half an hour later, a quick knock was heard from the front door before it opened. "Coming in!"
"I'm in my room!" I responded.
He walked down the hallway and stood in my doorway with a flabbergasted expression. "So, you're telling me that you got who's number?"
I smiled widely. "Emily's."
"Emily Jackson?" he asked with widened eyes. "The girl we talked about at lunch?"
I nodded wordlessly, my smile growing. Xavian shook his head. "No way. Really!? Show me her contact. I need evidence."
"I don't have it yet," I responded. "I put mine in her phone. She said she'd text me."
Even though I didn't think his face could get any more bewildered, he proved me wrong once again. "It sounds like she's the one who initiated it."
"She did," I said matter-of-factly. "I'm just as surprised as you are."
"There must be a reason she gave you her number so suddenly, though," Xavian wondered, a thoughtful expression taking over. "It's not you, but there had to be a reason, right?"
Emily's power was a version of zero gravity and telekinesis. Out of respect for her, I didn't think it was right to tell Xavian her secrets. I trusted him, obviously, but it wasn't my right to tell him unless I had permission.
"No, we just got to talking and I gave her my number," I answered, not telling a complete lie. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but I'm not a liar."
He shook his head. "I am in disbelief, Eli, but I'm so proud of you."
Xavian jokingly wrapped his arms around me and made a noise that sounded like fake crying. Laughing, I patted his back. "Thank you, brother. I'm proud of myself, too."
"Now I have a more important question," he said. "Where's the food?"
Shaking my head and smiling, I motioned toward the kitchen. "I put some out on the kitchen counter."
"Awesome."
We walked to the kitchen and plated our desired portions of snacks that I laid out earlier. It consisted of crackers, fruits, and chips. I let Xavian take a bit more than me because I knew that he had worked up an appetite from practice not too long ago. We sat at the table and scarfed them down.
A few minutes passed, and Xavian turned his attention away from his plate. "How do you feel about going back to the soccer field?"
"Why do you ask?" I asked with a frown. The sudden question surprised me.
"I know it's your business and how you want to use your powers, but I'm interested in seeing more of what you can do," he answered, sincerity evident in his voice. "I know what you said about keeping it hidden, but I just think it'll be cool to let it out, I guess. Hopefully, that made sense."
I slowly nodded. "I know what you mean."
"What do you think?"
I considered it for a moment. He was right. There hasn't been a time where I've really let loose with my powers. I've been too afraid to do anything of that caliber. Although, I have moved a few rocks, shuffled some dirt, and created bumps in the ground with my feet before. The thought of going above that rattled my nerves.
Xavian convinced me. "Alright. Let's go."
He smiled. "Atta boy. Throw some tennis shoes on and let's go before the sun sets."
Following that, I put on a pair of sweatpants due to the chilling weather and rode with Xavian to the soccer field. I couldn't help but notice the occasional glances at my phone, expecting Emily's text. Nothing's come through, so I assumed she must've been studying for the exam she mentioned earlier. As much as I wanted to talk to her, I had to admire the fact that she was putting the future she was trying to create first. Besides, she said that she'd text me. I had to be patient.
We soon arrived at the soccer field to find a father and son just leaving. Nervousness rose in my body. What if someone hears or sees me?
Xavian patted my shoulder with the back of his hand. "Hey, you're good. I'll help you keep an eye out for any wanderers. I know how much it means to you to keep your powers hidden."
"Alright," I said with a small sigh. "Let's go."
We walked onto the soccer field, and the grass reached just below my ankles. I could feel the earth anywhere I walked, but here, it felt stronger than normal. Maybe it was the grass field rather than pavement or concrete.
I inhaled deeply, letting the power flow through my veins. Feeling stronger by the second, I flexed my hands and began to lift a large chunk of the earth out of the soil. I hardened it by consensing it with my hands. As it completely broke the plane, I sharply exhaled and pushed my hands forward and slightly elevated, sending the rock crashing into the creek at an arched angle.
Looking behind me, Xavian shook his head and chuckled. "I know I saw this yesterday, but I'm still amazed by this. What else can you do?"
Pondering for a moment, I wasn't sure how to answer that, but maybe I didn't need to. I don't know what I'm capable of doing, so it was time to test the waters a bit.
With my hands relaxed, I dipped down and gently formed a strand of dirt from the ground and willed it to wrap across my arm. It glided across my back before snaking across my other arm and eventually back into the ground. I continued to move my arms fluidly in the air, realizing now that when I'm relaxed, the manipulated earth moves fluidly as well.
I tensed my body and shoved the earth back where it came from. Now with flexed muscles, the earth that came out was hardened and cracked. I pulled more earth out of the ground and continued to push and pull it in all directions, experimenting with whatever came to mind. I felt free. All of the stress was gone. All of the expectations were gone. All of the deadlines disappeared from my mind.
Nothing mattered at the moment. It was just me.
It was like I was standing alone in a vast, open field. Nobody could bother me here. I loved being alone where nobody was around to talk to me. I could be myself doing the thing I was forced to bury for so long.
"Eli!"
I heard Xavian's voice, but my body didn't want to react. It wasn't like it was controlling me, because all I had to do was relax my arms and stop them from moving. I didn't want to. I was in my own world.
"Hey, Eli!"
Shaking myself out of the trance, I looked at Xavian from above, who was looking at me with wide eyes. It was different than before. Was it fear? I looked around, and there were huge strands of earth orbiting around me from a great distance.
Wait.
I looked down and realized that I was hovering about fifteen feet from the ground. Panic set in. How did I manage to do this? How long have I been airborne?
The question I should be asking now was how do I get myself back on the ground?
Xavian and I locked eyes, sharing a mutual expression. He called out to me. "Just relax your body!"
I forced my body to relax, and the stands of earth began to settle back into the ground. Gravity seemed to turn back on as I began to fall back to the earth. Xavian yelped, but I willed the earth to cushion my descent.
It took a few seconds to catch my breath. Turning to Xavian, he was staring at me as if an extraterrestrial meteor crashed onto Earth.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Examining my body, there didn't seem to be any scratches or bruises anywhere. If anything, I felt better than I did before we came here. "I think so."
"Do you have any idea how you did that?"
I shook my head. "Not really. I sort of spaced out, but I don't know how or why I did."
He offered a hand and picked me up off the ground. I wiped the dirt off of my pants as Xavian took a calming breath. "You looked like something I've never seen before."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, man," he explained. "Despite all of that, you looked relaxed, peaceful, ecstatic; it's hard to explain. What were you feeling?"
I looked at the ground in thought. "I felt free like I was the god of my own universe. Nobody was around to bother me, and all of the stress and anxiety was gone. It felt like a drug or something."
Xavian smirked. "How do you feel now?"
I thought for a moment before responding. "I feel great, actually."
"Remember what I said before we left?" he asked. "That it'd be good to let it out?"
I nodded. "Yeah. You were right. Thanks for convincing me to come out here."
"Don't worry about it, Eli," he said while playfully punching my shoulder. "That's what I'm here for. I had a feeling that this would be good for you. We can come back tomorrow at some point too. Maybe you can learn more about what you're capable of doing."
"Maybe," I answered. "It depends on how much work I have to do. Midterms are coming up, you know."
Xavian comically slumped his shoulders and groaned. "Don't remind me. That means I actually have to start studying."
"Dude, how have you been passing your classes?" I asked with a light chuckle.
He made an "I dunno" noise with his mouth. A look of frustration formed on his face. "I've been winging a lot of the quizzes and exams lately because of baseball. With our season already on the line, Coach has been intensifying practices and keeping us longer than normal. I don't know how much more the team can take. We're trying our fucking best in every game, but the schools around us are just...better."
"That's too bad," I said sympathetically. "I'm sure things will turn around within time. Just give it time."
He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I don't know, man. There's so many 'I don't know's' and not enough answers for so many things."
The conversation with Emily returned to mind. "Yeah, I understand that. Just hang in there, Xavian. I'm sure things will get better."
"I hope so."
The conversation ended there, and we decided to head back to my house. Mom still wasn't home, but Xavian decided to head home due to his dad asking for help moving some new furniture they recently bought.
His family had always come off as spontaneous, which I envied to some degree. I couldn't remember the last time my mom and I went on a vacation or anything of the sort, except when we went out of the country on a road trip to visit her sister when I was a toddler.
That was before all of the travel restrictions.
Before the war started.
I shook away the thoughts as I felt my phone buzz on my study desk. Picking it up, my body jolted with surprise. It was a text from an unknown number.
"Sorry! I ended up falling asleep while I was studying. It's Emily btw:)"
I smiled at my phone and replied with, "Hey! It's completely okay! How are you doing?"
It was only a few seconds until my phone buzzed again. "Oh, just tired. Even though I slept for a while. How are you doing?"
"Been better, been worse," I texted. "Went out to the soccer field with Xavian."
"Ooooh! How'd that go?"
I thought for a moment. She knows what's up already, so there wasn't a point in hiding it. "I worked on my powers to see what I could do."
The bubbles that symbolized her typing disappeared for a moment before they returned. Her message popped on my screen.
"I'm surprised you trust him that much. You sure he won't tell anyone about it?"
"So far, he hasn't given me any reason not to trust him. Besides, he's already seen a lot of my abilities, so there's no turning back now."
Emily responded a moment later. "When's my turn?"
"What do you mean?" I asked her. I set my phone down, waiting for the bubbles to transform into her text.
It finally came. "Obviously, I want to see your powers first-hand. Why don't we go to the field after school and grab some dinner afterward...?"
My jaw dropped again. Was she asking me out? Why was she wanting to go out with me?
"Oh, uh, sure!" I responded. "What do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking the field at 4, then dinner at 6:30. That sound okay with you?"
"Yeah, sure!" I sent, hoping I didn't sound too excited. "We can ride together if you want. If not, it's totally okay."
Some time passed before she answered. I typed a few answers onto my study guide for an upcoming test that I had to take in a couple of days.
My phone buzzed again. "That sounds great. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Don't be afraid to say hi:)"
I leaned back in my chair before picking my phone up again. I pressed the desired contact I wanted to call.
"Hello?"
"Xavian, you're not going to believe this."
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