Deviant (Blendling Trilogy #1)

Chapter One

I have always been different. As a child, I refused to associate with other children because I was smarter than they were. My mum kept registering me for different children sports to get me to associate with others. Like when she registered me for junior chess club and had to withdraw me when I was asked to take an IQ test because I beat my tutor. She wanted me to be normal, to read books with pictures and believe in fairy tales. Of course I never believed in them and preferred to read biology text books when my mates didn't even know how to read. When I was seven, my then best friend, Charlie's mother told my mum to keep me away from her son because I told him where babies really came from. I don't blame myself for that, he believed angels brought babies from heaven to deserving mothers! But as I got older, kids my age decided to stay away from me of their own accord; although at this point I had managed to alienate those who tried to get close to me.

My name is Phoenix Deveraux and, yes you guessed it, I'm a freak. I'm not a freak because I'm some emo kid or that I have bad dress sense, although if my best friend is to be believed, I need to work on my appearance; neither am I a freak because I'm a nut job with an addiction; nor is it that I have a criminal record. I'm a freak because of a DNA anomaly that makes me different from other kids. This anomaly makes me better than them in every way, and this eventually leads to them feeling inferior to me, so they avoid me and secretly wish to be me. I'm quite popular among the ladies because of my looks but I don't really care. The only reason I associate with humans is because my mum wants me to pretend to be normal.

When I was five, my father gave me 'the talk.' Not the birds and bees talk but a talk that both fascinated and terrified me. My father graciously explained to me, after an unfortunate incident at the park where I mistakenly set a child's shoes on fire, that I am not like other kids. I am something more, a Blended. A Blended is a human with an extra chromosome that makes them different. He explained that I must never, under any circumstance use my abilities in from of a human because they would not understand. I was smart enough to know that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life as a lab rat, thus hiding my abilities became paramount. That was the last talk he had with me because he was killed six hours later. We moved in with my aunt, Geraldine and her son Cameron the next week and that's where I grew up.

"Ready for school?" Gerry calls from the hallway
"Yes," Cameron enthused as I cried "no"
It's Monday and the first day of the semester. Cameron is excited to be back in school but I don't share his enthusiasm. Like me, he isn't fully human, he's an air elemental. Unlike me, he loves the attention from humans.
"Please, as if you're not excited to see Macy" Cameron said, punching me playfully. I gave him a look
"Who is Macy" my mum said. We were sitting in the kitchen having breakfast and she paused to look at us. She was stirring something on the stove
"No one" I said. Cam snickered
"Right" she said,resuming her work "I hope you're being careful with the human"
"Mum" I shrieked as Cameron burst out laughing
"I was a teenager once"
"Yah hundred years ago" I muttered. She frowned and put on her lecture face. Cameron grabbed my arm and pulled me from the kitchen.
"Bye aunt Charlotte, ma." He called loudly as he pulled me from the house. He knew I was about to have a row with my mum.
"I dunno why she's being so difficult. It's not like I don't know about pregnancy and all that" I complained "She used to want me to pretend to be normal. What's more normal than sex"
"Eh" he said, scratching his head " no mum wants her son to have sex, human or not"
"Your mum didn't complain when you did it" I said furiously kicking a stone on the sidewalk. Neither of us was old enough to get a license so we always took the bus. We sat on a bench to wait for the school bus.
"My mum is liberal about most things. Plus she feels guilty about my dad"

It was true. His mother insisted I call her Gerry and she lets him get away with anything because she felt guilty she didn't know his father. It was a one night stand at the local bar. She wanted to have an abortion but my mum persuaded her to have the child. Sometimes I think if my mum had not adopted me she would have persuaded Gerry to allow her raise Cam.
"I think she blames me for dad's death" I whisper. "Maybe if I hadn't started that fire the resident Changelings wouldn't have known Blendeds were in the area"
"First off, we don't know that it was a Changeling that got your dad" Cameron counted on his fingers. "Second, even if it was a Changeling, it might not have had anything to do with you. Thirdly, she loves you regardless. You are her miracle baby, remember?"
"Sometimes I wonder" I croaked. I was tearing up and I hated it.
"'Cheer up man"he said, trying to lighten my mood "the bus is here." I looked up and watched the bus pull up. We locate a seat at the back.
"Mehn. I can't wait to get my license next week" Cameron complained "it stinks in here"
"Hey boys" an exaggerated feminine voice says and I look up to see Macy.
"Oh crap" I say.