Not Yet Alone

Chapter 5

Always stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone.

Being alone used to be really depressing for me. In my past, I had never liked being alone. The feeling of loneliness was one that frightened me.

I used to jump at every creak, and my own shadow terrified me. But the main reason why I was afraid of the unknown was because I didn't know what the unknown was. It scared me to know there was something I didn't know about.

My fear was purged when God gave me the gift of reading minds. God knew I was scared of being alone due to my fear of the unknown, so he made me conquer it by letting me know everything.

Now, being alone doesn't bother me. If fact, I welcome the silence.

Having a fear made me weak, but without that terror to haunt me, I am a stronger person on the inside. God has made me strong.

****

To a bystander, I probably look pathetic eating lunch by myself. However, pathetic is not how I would describe myself. I rather enjoy being by myself. Being alone means I have more time to send messages to help other people.

At lunch, I bought a cheeseburger in the cafeteria, then sat down at my table. My table is in a secluded little place in the back corner of the cafeteria. No one has ever dared to come and bother me there.

I plopped my stuff down at my table, pulled out my laptop, and got busy. Even though I continue to stop crime everywhere, there is still so much evil around the world. I have never had a moment when there wasn't some bad thing going on that I couldn't stop.

I know I can't possibly save everyone, but I do my best. There is that one kid who is going to commit a suicide that I can prevent. There is that one robbery at a bank that I can stop. There is so much that I can do.

So even if it looks pathetic, that is how I spend my lunch period everyday. Alone. I can stand looking pathetic for the good of someone else.

****

The bell rang all too soon. It ended my work. Groaning, I gather up my belongings and headed to chemistry class. My chemistry class is tolerable simply because I don't have to have a lab partner.

My class has an odd number of people. Mr. Crucer, my teacher, let everyone pick their lab partners, and of course no one wanted to be my partner so that left me the odd one out.

I was perfectly fine with that, but Mr. Crucer was not. He tried to make me work with another group so that we would be a group of three. That didn't really work so well for me.

I can read minds, so I already know everything there is to know about the stupid labs and experiments done in class. Working with a group just slowed me down. So I complained to Mr. Crucer that my group was making me do all the work by myself (that was true anyways). Of course my teacher wanted to move me to another group, but I told him that wouldn't get rid of the problem because I was an advanced learner (that was not true, but I can read the minds of advanced learners so it really didn't matter).

So reluctanly, Mr. Crucer allowed me to work by myself. The great thing about working by myself  is that no one can become suspicious of how I already know the ciriculum. Also, when I finish a lab early, I have the opportunity to send a message to someone and save a life.

When I entered the classroom, everyone was buzzing about the school shooting that had been stopped by The Providence. Some of the kids were saying/thinking that it had been a miracle. I already knew about it, but I kept my mouth shut. God deserved the glory for it, not me.

I took my seat and the tardy bell rang shortly after. Mr. Crucer stood up to address the class to give quick instructions on the lab we would be doing today.

But before he could begin class, someone came into the room. My breath froze in my lungs for a second when I saw who it was. I had to see who it was because I did not know who it was.

"Hey, is this room 403?" I felt scared to see his face. Just like it had been when I ran into him this morning, I couldn't read his thoughts. I could only sink deeper into my seat as the mystery guy walked into my classroom.

"Yes, it is." Mr. Crucer told the guy.

"I am assuming that you are Mr. Crucer then? I'm new here, but I think I am in this class."

"I am Mr. Crucer. Let me see your schedule." Mr. Crucer took the new guy over to his desk where they began talking in hushed tones.

I could have read Mr. Crucer's mind if I wanted to know what he was discussing with the new guy, but I really didn't care what they were mumbling about. I was more worried about who this guy was. What was it about him that prevented me from finding his thoughts?

The mere idea of something unknown frightened me.

"Taylor, could you come here for a second?" Mr. Crucer's voice brought me out of my own thoughts.

 "Yeah sure," I got up and went to join the new kid and my teacher.

"Mr. Riley here," Mr. Crucer patted the new kid on the shoulder, "Will be joining us in this class for the rest of the year." He gave me a smirk, "Which is just wonderful because we had previously had an odd number of students in class."

Oh no. I knew where he was going with this, and I didn't like it at all. "Wouldn't it be better if he just worked with someone else as a group of three?" I tried to make it seem like a suggestion because I didn't want to make the new guy feel bad, but I really didn't want to work with him.

"What would be the point in that when you already need a partner?" Mr. Crucer seemed very pleased with himself.

"I don't need a partner." I practically hissed.

"Shh, be nice." Mr. Crucer turned to the new guy. "Taylor will be your lab partner. She is an advanced learner so she will be able to help you catch up on anything you missed at your old school."

"Okay, great!" The mystery guy looked at me expectantly. I had no choice but to lead him to my lab table.

Because I had my computer and stuff spread out all over the table, I had to move it so that the new kid would have room to put his stuff. I let out a loud sigh as I plopped back down. Huff. Why did I have to have a lab partner?

"So your name is Taylor?" The guy calmly put his bag down next to his seat and sat down. "What a pretty name."

I chose to ignore him. I was not going to encourage him.

"I'm Austin, Austin Riley." Austin held out his hand to me. Even though so far I had been pretty rude to him, it would be even ruder not to shake his offered hand.

"Taylor Arnold," I mumbled as I quickly shook his hand.

 "It is nice to meet you, Taylor." Austin gave me a smile. The smile completely transformed his face, making it look even more beautiful than before. I was lost in it for a second, but only for a second. It didn't take much for me to remember that I knew nothing about him, and I could not read his mind.

"So I'm going to be completely honest with you. I haven't had any chemistry class before because my old school did scheduling a little bit differently, so I'm going to need quite a bit of help. Maybe we could get together after school some day so you could help me?"

I just nodded. "Maybe." Or maybe not.

I have no intention of spending any more time than necessary with this guy. While he looks very attractive on the outside, I have no idea how he looks on the inside. He scares me.

Austin tried to help me on the lab, but he basically just got in my way. I got tired of him and told him just to watch; I'd let him copy my answers later.

It should have been just a normal day. I like normal. I don't like change. Normal is comforting to me because I know what to expect.

I don't know what to expect with Austin. He is different, and it scares me.

I had thought that by knowing everything there is to know, I had conquered my fear of the unknown. But even though I know (or thought I knew) everything, I am still afraid of the unknown.

 Live long and prosper