The Leader

The Leader: Chapter One

Chapter One: Maya

I wake up at seven am like I do every single day, and head to the bathroom. I have to get there before my older brothers, because they take forever in the shower. When I'm about to get in the shower, I feel an all-too-familiar shooting pain in the back of my head. I shiver as it travels down my spine and into every nerve in my body. I fall to the floor with a gasp, hitting my head on the corner of the basin in the process. My vision clouds, but not because of the hit to my head; I'm having another vision. This one isn't extremely clear, but I do feel a great sense of loss and disappointment, and then accusations pointed towards one person. I see the person's face, and I get a shock when I see Talia Mason. She's amazingly popular, and she's best friends with the head of the popular group. I remember her from my geography class last year. She isn't exactly unkind; she just seems to be paying too much attention to her imagination, and not enough to reality. She also makes it extremely obvious that she wants to take Santia's place as head of the group. Everyone knows just how jealous she is, and not very many people like her. She's a perfect addition to the stereotypical popular group. Now Santia on the other hand is almost perfect. She tries to make everyone feel equal and she's kind to anyone who's brave enough to talk to her. She's the reason everyone wants to join her posse. She's also extremely persuasive and confident, and she always wins student council representative. I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes school captain next year. Santia has never spoken to me, and I've never attempted to approach her, because there's no point. Everyone knows me, because they think I'm crazy and a total nerd. I have black hair and grey eyes, and I don't wear glasses or anything, but I always get one hundred percent for every class. This has nothing to do with how smart I am. Quite the contrary, in fact. I see the future, you see. Whenever we have a test or exam approaching, I see what questions will be on it, and I just memorize the answers. My few friends believe me about being psychic, and I'm glad about that. No one in my family believes me, and they think I need a psychologist or something. I wonder if they'll believe me when I just happen to pick the winning numbers of the lottery. I grin at this thought as I turn on the shower and let the water soak my tense muscles. My thoughts are suddenly drawn back to the newest of my visions, and I start to panic. There will be a great loss and something... no, someone, will go missing, then everyone will blame Talia, but it will not be her fault. I cringe with sympathy for the girl- though no one knows it, she was really smart and down-to-earth until her sister died. Since then she's changed into an empty shell of a body left behind. She never has any emotion except pain, and I can tell how much it hurts just to make it through a single day of school. Though I'm not a mind reader, I can feel the pain of people around me, and nothing else. I notice Talia's above anyone else's because it stands out so much; she is obviously one of those people that does not deal well with pain. I cannot fathom how she makes it through the day without bursting into tears. I myself cannot spend more than a little time with her, and I only feel a diluted amount of her pain. I feel that this ability is more of a curse than a gift, and I wish I could rid myself of it. I turn off the shower and dress myself quickly, because I can hear my brother Fabian getting out of bed. I leave for school at eight am after eating and packing my half finished homework into my bag. I arrive at school just as the bell rings, and I sigh, because now I have to go to the office and get a late pass. When I finally make it to class, I'm twenty minutes late and I've got an attitude. So, when I remember that I have to do a chemistry practical with Adam Green, I almost break the door. There's nothing wrong with Adam; in fact, he's quite nice. He's also really cute, with his bright blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair. Apart from the fact that he's part of the popular group, his ignorance annoys me. I've had a vision of him shape shifting into a wolf when he sees his twin brother turning into an eagle. Also, I can see that he and I will be great friends, and I keep forgetting that he barely knows me yet. I have a hard time distinguishing between present and future, because my visions are so realistic. I walk into the room and stand next to him at the lab station.