I was baffled and shocked. I had no idea that they were actually able to do that. Nor did I know that was even possible. I wasn't even able to form words to put up with it.
It almost made me question life itself, but I stopped myself from going that far. "T-that's a-amazing.." I said still shocked. "Let me guess, you think I'm a freak too." Nagima sighed.
"No no no no no! Not at all! It's not weird at all!" I did my best to assure her. "Are you sure you're not just saying that to make me feel better about myself..?" Nagima questioned.
"No I mean it. You have a really unique ability. That's a fact." I patted them on the back. They looked away at the last moment, but I was able to tell from their side that I lifted their mood.
Just a moment later, Mage and Skyla came by to see what was up. "What is going on over here?" Mage asked politely. "Is there a welcome party that we weren't invited to?" Skyla said jokingly.
"Oh no it's not that, I was just about to tell Nagima to stop filling his head with ideas before he does something stupid." Aria pointed at me. "'He' has a name you know." Nagima corrected. "Oh yeah! I'm Ajin. You're Aria right?" I introduced.
"Uhh, how do you know my name?" Aria looked at me weirdly. I pointed at Mage. "Makes sense that it's him.." Aria sighed, "All I'm saying is that you shouldn't try escaping. You won't find anything there." Aria claimed.
"You don't know that Aria." Nagima rebuked. "I do know that last time we tried, the others ended up dead." Aria's tone shifted. As soon as she said that, I felt my ears twitch, and my blood run cold.
"It was a good plan, we just needed to train more." Nagima reasoned. "That doesn't matter, we still could have won if didn't get ratted out. And the snitch STILL got killed." Aria emphasized.
"Then what's the point in worrying about that specific detail when you know that we could try it again?!" Nagima stood up. "Because there's less of us! Last time we at least 23 kids by our side." Aria stated.
"The difference between them and the rest of us, there's a greater difference in strength and if not intelligence with Mage and Zaina present. We could bust out if we wanted to-" "NO!" Athena yelled suddenly.
"I don't wanna see anyone else die.. we've lost too much last time. Too many!" Athena exclaimed. "But you can't be okay with living here! You were our strongest asset Athena!" Nagima convinced.
"You remember Jeremy? That boy you used to like, right?" Aria brought up. I had literally no idea where this was going, but I could tell that mood changed dramatically. "Aria... don't you dare." Nagima anger rose.
"There was nothing we could do anyway. The warden was too strong." Aria told. "WELL MAYBE IF YOU KNEW HOW TO USE YOUR POWER AT THE TIME, WE COULD HAVE BEEN FREE!!" Nagima shouted.
"OH SO IT'S MY FAULT THAT WE GOT AMBUSHED AND SHOT AT?!!" Aria started yelling too. I didn't want them to argue anymore. Whatever it was they were arguing about, it was getting to me. It was making me mad.
"ENOUGH!!" Mage yelled. In response to that, the poles on the basketball court bended all the way down instantly. The baskets touched the ground with a CLANG.
"Listen, I get it. I know you too are suffering. But the only way we can stay alive now is to keep our heads, and to NOT fight each other!" Mage spoke assertively. Nagima and Aria looked at one another, clearly showing frustration.
Nagima then began to walk away, seething with bitterness. "Hey wait!" I grabbed Nagima's hand. "LET GO!" They fumed. Tears fell down their eyes, revealing a clear sign of sadness. I didn't wanna make them sad anymore, so I let go.
The looked at me for a moment, then walked away towards the edge of the field. "I hope they're alright." Athena wished. "Tch, whatever. Believing in false hopes will only get you killed." Aria walked off as well, Athena following along.
"Wow... that could've gone way better.." Skyla uttered. I turned to Skyla and Mage, my face showing a confusion and sadness. "What happened.. when I... before I got here..?" I asked, hoping to hold back tears.
Mage looked at Skyla and sighed before he nodded at her. "Don't worry, it's nothing you should think about. If anything, we should play a game of basketball. Just us three!"Skyla acted excited while Mage somehow manipulated the poles into its original place.
I assumed that was his power. Made me wonder what else he was capable of. But while Skyla ran off to get the basketball, I couldn't help but think about what Aria and Nagima were arguing about.
'It's clear that they've been through a lot.' Don sat on the court's edge. "Yeah.. but why aren't they telling me?" I asked sadly. 'They already did. You just have to figure out the rest for yourself.' Don implied.
"But how..? I don't even know where to start." I wallowed. 'The adults are already a start. Try listening, maybe you'll find something.' Don assumed. Once again, Don was giving me ideas.
It felt like he always knew what to say. Better yet, what to do. It fascinated me, but also scared me a little bit. Still, I was grateful to have somebody like him on my side. Otherwise the asylum would've been more colder and emptier than the chamber room.
"Ajin I got the ball! Let's play!" Skyla ran towards the court with the ball in her hand. I put any ideas I had at bay for the time being. I wanted to live in the moment. "Alright. Mage she has the basketballs! Let's play!" I jumped.
"Heh, fine. Let's see how I'll be able to score a point against the new boy wonder." Mage finally finished fixing the basketball hoops.
YOU ARE READING
Shyla misfits
Short Story2023; was the year that few to little kids that were born with super powers. Some were considered strong while others remained normal yet special. Still, society was skeptical of such a rare breed of humans being out and about. So Asylums from world...
