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We pulled up to the gate with a single kiosk in the corner that held a bored looking teenager who was playing on some handheld device. Cole cleared his throat and the boy immediately perked up.
"Oh! Hi, Cole," he said while fumbled inside with unseen buttons. The gate finally opened and the boy gave him a sheepish smile. "Go right on in."
"Thanks, Johnny," Cole called to him as we drove through the gate and on a gravel road lined with tall, old trees. As we neared the school, more and more people began showing up in the grassy, forested areas around us. Most were just sitting around and talking, but some were messing with their powers. Rocks were in the air, water spun around... it was so crazy to me.
We finally pulled along the back of the building where most of the people were gathered around eating. It was around dinner time and a nice day, so many of them were sitting at picnic tables or on a blanket on the ground. There were only a few parking spots and cars as Cole pulled into one and put it in park.
"Listen," he started. "People are going to stare at you and whisper and such, it's all very high school. You're new and we don't get many new people around here. They all mean the best but they're not very inconspicuous about it."
I shrugged and he got out the car as I following suit. All the chatters of the common area dwindled down as it seemed that all eyes were on Cole and I. He ignored everyone and went to the trunk to grab our things. Once he did, he nodded his head towards a door for me to follow him.
While the outside of the building was pretty, the inside was the same. There were few doorways but Cole and I went down the hallway until the very end that held double doors leading into a room. Cole knocked and the doors opened to reveal a middle-aged woman sitting at a desk.
"Hello, glad to see you're back," she said while getting up and holding out her hand to me. "I'm Patricia Galen. It's so nice to finally meet you, Taylor."
"Likewise," I smiled as we all took a seat.
"So I see that you all ran into a Catcher along the way," she raised an eyebrow up from underneath her glasses. I must have had a confused look on my face because both her and Cole laughed. "I'm a Mind," she answered the questions that hung out in my head. "I can read your thoughts."
I got uncomfortable at that point because I have always liked my head and thoughts being my own but that isn't the case here. She cracked a slight smile at my discomfort but continued on without saying anything about it.
"This is Supernatural Abilities, the place where people like us train to protect ourselves and kill those who threaten us--The Catchers. I know Cole has told you other specifics so I won't bore you with all that again. We will let you get all settled in tonight and tomorrow we'll test you on where you place in our ranks."
"Where is she going to live?" Cole asked and Galen turned towards the computer to search for something.
"Why don't we put her with Claire? After all, Bethany left a month ago and she's your friend as well. Might as well introduce her to your friends while we're at it, right Cole?" I was confused at her words but Cole gave her a face while Galen laughed. She turned towards me and said, "You're going to like it here, I can tell. You'll learn so much but at the price of leaving the people you love behind. As Cole said, it's for their protection as well as yours that you do this."
"I know," I mumbled and she gave me a small smile.
"Well, if that's everything, I'll let Cole show you to your new home for a while. Claire is a nice girl. Loud, but very nice. See you tomorrow, Taylor, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone here."
The two of us bid Galen a goodbye and I following him through the building once again. We went up a few flights of stairs while Cole went on about my new roommate.
"Claire is really nice. We've been friends since she got here. She's dating my roommate, Alex so you'll be seeing him around a lot as well. And me too, I guess, since you're living with part of my group of friends."
"Oh, darn. I bet you wanted to ditch me as soon as we got here," I joked, bumping my hip with his.
A smile spread onto his face. "How'd you know?"
We continued walking until we found ourselves in front of a door labeled '201.' Cole fished out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, going in first. When he opened it, a squeal was heard from the inside of the room.
"Cole! You made it back--" She stopped when Cole stepped out of the way to reveal me.
There was a girl sitting on one of the two beds in the room and next to her was a boy. They looked around the same age as me, but much more joyous and excited. Well, the girl was.
"Claire, this is your new roommate, Taylor," Cole introduced. "Taylor, this is Claire and Alex. Mind and Water respectively."
Claire jumped away from Alex and off the bed to come give me a big. "It's so nice to meet you! We all heard about what went down with your pick-up. Bad luck, huh?"
I gave her a sheepish, shy smile. "Yeah, little bit."
"Well, it's a good thing that you made it back here in one piece. Cole must have been your knight in shining armor--"
"Okay, enough, Claire," Cole interrupted her before turning to me. "I'm going to head out now if you're all good to go. I have a lot to do before tomorrow and you need to get some rest before your test." Now he looked at Alex. "Hey, man. Wanna come with me? Leave the girls to their bonding rituals."
Alex stared at Cole for a second before giving Claire a peck on the lips and following him out. Before the two boys left, he turned around and said, "Nice to meet you, Taylor. Hopefully Claire doesn't drive you crazy too."
I gave him a smile while Claire shouted out an objective, 'hey!' and then they left. Once the door fully shut, Claire snorted.
"A lot to do, my ass," she mumbled. "He just wants to go see Vanessa before lights are off."
"Vanessa?"
"His girlfriend," Claire answered and I felt a little frown rest upon my lips because Cole never once mentioned any romance here. "She's the worst but I guess he likes that kind of girl."
"What?"
Claire gave me a look. "Let's just say she's not the most decent person out there."
I nodded once and put my bags down on the extra bed. The room was small, but as expected for a 'dorm' room. There was two of everything: beds, dressers, and shelves. There wasn't an attached bathroom so now on top of getting used to being at a place filled with people with magical powers, I have to shower in front of them too. It wasn't decorated or anything because I assume Claire was also practically abducted from her home prior to coming here and didn't have time to go decor shopping. It's a room, not a home.
"Did Cole show you around?" Claire asked and I shook my head. "Here, I'll give you a tour. Drop your bags and let's go!"
I found myself walking about Supernatural Abilities while Claire talked a mile per minute. She showed me the mess hall, the training rooms while were lined with state of the art exercise equipment, and even the ladies showers, something that I was very disappointed to see.
"So how did you find your powers?" I asked while we walked around outside. There were only a couple students out right now since it the evening air had a slight chill in the air.
"I was fourteen and trying to cheat on a test," she admitted with a slight red tinge on her cheeks. "The person in front of me was a child-genius--smartest one in the school! I was focusing so much on them that I heard their thoughts in my head and I knew all the answers they were putting down."
"So you can read minds?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Only if I want to and focus. It's not like I hear a million voices in my head all the time. It's only when I put in the effort to, which I usually don't because I feel that it's pretty invasive."
That relaxed me more. I was already put off from Galen being able to read into what I'm internally thinking, but having my roommate able to do that too? That would be awful.
We started heading back to our room after seeing everything that I needed to. I still didn't know how to get around but I have Claire and maybe even Cole to help me out while I get used to being here. My roommate was easy to get along with and talk to so at least I didn't have to pretend to like her. She was a bit too eccentric at times, but it was all in good fun and easy to get used to.
"Tomorrow you have your placement test," Claire stated as we walked up to our room. "Don't stress about, it's not a big deal to anyone anymore."
"Why not?" I asked in confused at how she stated her words. Why would anyone else care?"
"We've all seen so many placements that it's kind of a normal thing by now."
I didn't say anything while the words soaked in. "Wait," I stopped once the realization reached me. People watch?"
"The whole place does," she crinkled her eyebrows together as she used her key to open up our room's door. "Didn't Cole tell you?"
Peeved off, I huffed and slumped down on my bed. "No, he must have forgotten to mention that."
She laughed at my angry posture and patted my shoulder with one of her hands. A little smile played on her lips. "Don't worry, no one will judge you by how you do... You know, except the judges."
"Thanks, Claire," I deadpanned as she laughed. "Means a lot."
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Another, very introductory chapter! But don't worry, the next one is all exciting and stuff :)
I just want to say thank you SO much yet again! Please (if you celebrate) have a good Thanksgiving and weekend! I'll be posting the next chapter in a couple days like usual.