Beautiful Minds

Spiraling

Another restless night, as expected. The thought of people being out to get rid of me was scary, yet almost too bizarre to be true. There couldn't possibly be a reason why anyone here would want me dead. I just got here. I didn't make any enemies. Or did I? And who the heck would that be? Who here would be willing to plan a murder with several people involved like that? I've spent many hours contemplating whether Azlin could be some sort of pathological liar, who was out to scare me. But that didn't add up either. Again, why would she drive me to such paranoia? What would she gain from that? The last logical explanation I could think of is that she misinterpreted her vision of me being pushed down a bridge. Perhaps it was a stupid initiation thing, like in those high school sorority movies. I knew of a bridge a little further from the school, but I had no idea how deep the water underneath was. If there even was water.

But even so, she stopped the vision. She told me so herself, this particular outcome could no longer happen. Was I supposed to take her word for that? I had never seen her defuse a vision before, but then again, she would never be able to proof that she can. Because how do you claim you prevented something from happening if it doesn't happen? If she was telling the truth, what would that mean for me? Would that mean people were now planning different ways to have me executed?

I couldn't help but scan every person in range, as I filled up my plate with food at the cafeteria. My hands were shaking, and I felt on edge. I must've looked rather stupid. I quickly paid for my food and walked away from the line, scanning the tables. Luckily, Azlin was already sitting at one near the window, alone. I quickly made my way to her. She looked around a bit, which assured me that she was at least present mentally as well. I sat down in front of her. "Hi." I sighed. She scanned me briefly. "You look terrible." She stated with her monotone voice. "Thanks..." I frowned, not expecting her rude comment. She took a small bite of her salad and looked down. "I didn't mean it like that." Her voice was softer this time. "It's fine. I just didn't sleep much. And my thoughts are running overtime on this matter." I confessed. She listened, but didn't seem to know how to respond, so she continued eating. And so should I.

I placed my spoon in my bowl of soup, but ended up just staring at it. I hated how much this problem was eating at me. Surely due to my safety, but mostly because I knew so little. I observed Azlin for a moment. "Could you please tell me how your visions work?" I hesitated to ask. She looked up from her salad and looked at my shirt. She was quiet for a moment, but probably figured that at this point I had the right to know. She began fidgeting with her thumb, as she often did. "Well... Basically my visions occur when I'm daydreaming. Whenever I get lost in my thoughts for a while, I often end up being sort of dragged into a certain scenario. I never truly know where the daydream ends and when the vision starts. It's sort of a strange overlap. But once the scenario has played out, I can suddenly feel this... this pressure." She frowned as she placed her fingers on her temple. "Right here. And I have to say either yes or no, so the vision will stop. If I say yes, the scenario happens, and if I say no, it won't." She looked to her side, to the floor, as if she was embarrassed.

"What if you don't answer?" I asked curiously. She shook her head. "The pressure will not stop building, it will become unbearable." "Like a headache?" I tried to imagine it. She thought for a moment. "More like an earthquake, but in my head." Her way of describing it was fascinating to me. I nodded. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that. It must be tiring to be pressured into decisions like that all the time." I spoke genuinely. She looked at my shirt again, her eyebrows slightly raised. She seemed surprised. "Just, please don't tell anyone." It was only now that I understood why she kept her ability somewhat hidden. If it fell in the wrong hands, her powers could be exploited. "Being allowed into this school while I'm able to influence the future is already quite the exception. Usually they find that sort of stuff too dangerous." She explained further. Even for a school full of outcasts, she somehow still managed to be the odd one out. It only made me more fascinated about her. "You have my word." I promised.