Misguided

4 - Untitled

(Dedicated to my brother William, who is always unfailingly honest and is probably the most brutal critic of my work. He makes sure that I don't sound stupid when explaining things, and puts up with all my random questions and weird conversations. Love ya bro!)

Chapter 4

I had skipped dinner even though I was starving. There was no way I could talk to anyone right now, and even if I wanted to, I was too exhausted. The dorms were practically empty at this time, so I walked into the small kitchen, digging through the refrigerator for a bottle of water, then searching out some chips. Apparently, the director of the school didn't believe in junk food, because all I found were some unsalted pretzels. Grimacing, I took my water bottle and decided I could survive without a snack.

When I turned around, Isabel was standing there scowling at me as if I had just personally offended her in some way. Rubbing my eye with the back of my hand, I stepped out of the way, only to have her block it again. With a frustrated sigh, I leaned back against the counter, this was probably going to take awhile.

“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. She may have been rude and obnoxious, but as of yet, Isabel hadn't done anything to me. I wanted to keep it that way. The only problem was that Isabel had no intention of leaving it at that.

“So, what's your power? Regeneration? Mind reading?” she asked, her words tight and clipped. I narrowed my eyes at her, suddenly more wary.

“Um...why do you care?”

She rolled her eyes as if I had just asked why the sky was blue or something. “Because, dimwit, news travels fast, and the best way to stay on top is to get it first.” She mimicked my voice to a cue, and I found myself getting angry.

“You know, they say mimicry is the most sincere form of flattery, but the whole voice thing is sort of lame if you ask me. I mean...it can't really do much, can it?”

Isabel narrowed her eyes at me in a thin-lipped glare. “You're acting pretty high and mighty for someone who's only been here a day, so let me take this chance to explain a few rules to you.” She stepped closer, and I was forced to step back, my spine digging into the edge of the counter painfully. This close, I noticed she had dark amber eyes, “One, I'm the top girl around here, I'm the boss. Two, everyone listens to me and does what I say, everyone. Three, anyone who gets in my way is dead meat, and anyone who's on my list can ensure that they'll get nothing but hell from everyone around here. Let me just tell you that you're very close to getting on my list, Sara.”

If there was one thing I hated, it was bullies. The only thing I really hated more than that were threats. Straightening up, I forced Isabel to take a step back, and narrowed my own hazel eyes. “Listen here, Isabel,” I said slowly and deliberately, “I don't care who you are, and I don't really care what you do around here, but I do care that you're attempting to threaten me, and let me just tell you, it isn't going to work.” Before she could say anything back, I grabbed my water and turned, leaving her standing in the kitchen as I made my way up to my room.

Flopping down on my bed, I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach. I chose to forget about the situation with Isabel. She was just a bully, and as soon as she realized that I wasn't going to let her get to me, then she'd leave me alone. So my thoughts drifted back to that evaluation room, and I began to recount exactly what had happened there.

As soon as I had realized I was the one controlling that little globe of water, it had dropped right back into the basin where it belonged. Mr. Florence had told me that I had one of two options, simple water manipulation, or complete elemental manipulation. So for the next hour he had thrown different 'elements' at me, including potted plants, pieces of wood on fire, and big blasts of air from a fan.