Elements

Chapter 39

I was thoroughly convinced that the clock moved slower before lunch.

I had been staring at it for the past half hour, and I swore it moved slower with every tick tock. The professor had been droning on monotonously for the entire period about how capes, when worn by super heroes, could cause more harm then the heroes could ever prevent. He had described situations involving thugs, tornadoes, and jet engines- long story short, "no capes".

When the bell finally rang, I was among the first out of the room. I found most of the classes at the school riveting, but History of Heroes was so boring at times. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that it was always followed by lunch.

I made my way down to the cafeteria as quickly as I could, eager to beat the lunch line that was so often excessively long. After a few minutes of waiting, I grabbed a Cesar salad and headed over to the usual table in the back of the room. Ben was there waiting for me when I sat down.

"Where's Anita?" He asked as I seated myself beside him.

I mentally face palmed. My best friend and I had all of our classes together, and I had completely forgotten to wait for her in my eagerness for food.

"Right here. Alone. Because someone left me for a salad!" Anita's voice came from behind me. She sat down across from Ben and I, shooting me a pointed glare.

"I was hungry!" I protested, my hands raised in defense.

"Yeah, I know. I could hear your stomach. So could the rest of the class. And probably China." She joked with me. I rolled my eyes.

"My stomach is not that loud."

"Actually it is. I could hear it down the hallway in my classroom." Ben chimed in.

I shot him a glare. "Liar." He stuck his tongue out at me, prompting me to slap his arm.

Excuse me. Would you be opposed to my presence here?

I looked up and found Lizzy staring at us with her unusually bright eyes. "I'm fine with it."

Anita and Ben nodded, and Lizzy took her seat next to Anita. I would like to extend my appreciation for your acceptance. You have made me feel welcomed here.

Anita smiled at her. "No problem. Everyone needs friends in a new place."

She smiled at us as she sat down, and I noticed she had no lunch tray.

"Where's your lunch Lizzy?" I asked.

Food doesn't exactly... Agree with me sometimes. I can't stomach it right now.

I let the topic drop, despite still being confused over her lack of appetite. An awkward silence fell over the table, none of us quite knowing what to say.

Ben eventually broke the silence. "So, Lizzy, why don't you tell us about your powers? I mean, we saw them in action, but I'd love to know how you got them."

Lizzy hesitated, seemingly reluctant to share her story. Well... My story is a bit... Irregular. When no one discouraged her, she sighed and began her story.

Well, as far as my method of communication, my powers came from what I refer to as another life. Her voice had a profound melancholic echo to it. I had just turned fourteen, and my family was the world to me. My father worked at a factory three miles from our house- we lived out in the countryside, so we had few neighbors. The machinery was all still only springs and gears, and there were no computers to operate it all. My father was in charge of maintenance of the machinery. He monitored the machinery from a catwalk above the rest of the factory, and when something needed fixing, he would stop the machine from a control, then go to repair it.