The Once and Gifted King [ON HIATUS]

Chapter Twelve: Powers [893 Words]

The main hall was crowded with people, but this time, none of them were running around or working at the desks. Everyone stood around talking, looking confused and nervous. I noticed more people I recognized of varying ages. There were even little kids who couldn't be older than five. In fact, no one looked over twenty or so.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?"

Heads swiveled to where Excalibur used to be. An older man stood there, waving his hands about. After a moment or two, the large room quieted down.

"Okay thanks, everyone," The man said. His voice was amplified throughout the room and I realized he was holding a mic. "My name is Tim Swinton."

I muttered to Blake, "Great, a relative of Kat." He smiled at my remark.

"I want to be the first to welcome you to Swinton Academy. This academy was started almost four years ago, when the powers first started appearing. My family and several others banded together to protect the children affected. Our efforts have brought forth all you see here." He opened his arms wide to indicate the building. "We hope you can all be comfortable while we help you understand, develop, and learn to control your powers.

"Okay. First today, we need to split you into groups so we can figure out what powers you have. If you already know, great! Tell your instructor when it's your turn. This is the biggest outbreak we've had so far, so please keep everything calm and organized.

Mr. Swinton then broke up the crowd into clumps around the same areas. He introduced the instructors, and they headed to their groups. We spread out as much as we could in large circles with the instructors in the middle. Blake and I had Rosabelle Fairthe, a young woman with long brown hair.

"Hey guys. I'm Belle," she greeted with a smile. "Here's how this is going to work. Would anyone like to volunteer to be first?"

One of the jocks from my homeroom stepped forward with a cocky grin.

"What's your name?"

"Sean Pendalton."

"Okay. Sean is going to demonstrate his power and I'm going to write it on this form I have. If he can't figure it out on his own, I'll help him. Then we'll just move in a clockwise direction until we get everyone."

"This is going to be a while," Blake muttered. I nodded with a sigh. The noise level in the room was on the rise.

Turns out Sean could Hulk-out. Figures. He looked like he was made of rocks. No wonder he was so cocky. Next was Pete, the idiot who bullied Zeke. He didn't know what his power was, so Belle walked him through it. She told him to think of a strong emotion such as fear, love, or anger. He smirked at the last word, and I wondered if he was thinking about all the kids he's bullied over the years. At first I expected for nothing to happen. Then Pete frowned.

"The plants are upset."

Belle blinked at him, but instantly recovered. "Plant empathy... Okay, next?"

There were another fifteen minutes before our turn. I was first, so I said, "I can float, basically."

Belle smiled. "You might be able to do more than that with practice, my lady."

Some of the kids from homeroom snickered. Blake stepped forward quickly.

"I can transform into a dragon."

The snickers turned to oohs and aahs, though they sounded somewhat sarcastic. Then we continued through the circle. A lot of people were shy about standing in the middle of a bunch of strangers. They often showed their power quickly because their nerves fueled the ability.

For some, the power wouldn't come. They were worried and jealous, but Belle reassured them that they most likely had a power.

"It's probably something you can't do on your own, such as making someone else's power stronger. You'll figure it out eventually, and we'll help."

Finally after about two hours, we came back around to Sean. Other groups were filtering out, and Belle said, "You can go to lunch now. The cafeteria is directly across the entrance hall. In an hour, go back to your homerooms."

As the students scattered, I grabbed Blake's hand and started searching. "Let's find Neil and Zeke," I told him.

Blake stopped, so I turned around to face him.

"I don't really want to be around Neil."

I crossed my arms. "Why can't you two be friends?"

Blake slid his hand over his hair, making it pop at odd angles. "He and I don't get along."

"That's obvious."

"I'm just saying. You two can be friends, but don't drag me into it. We're just too different."

I sighed. "So basically you're making me choose?"

Blake looked horrified. "No! Of course not. I just won't hang out with you while Neil is around. If he's not around, I'll hang out with you."

"But I can't hang out with both of you at the same time. I have to split my days to hang out with you."

"Well... I guess."

"You should learn to get along with him," I protested.

"Some people aren't meant to be friends."

I sighed again. "As long as you aren't enemies... I guess there isn't much I can do to change your mind. Let's go get something to eat."