Mutation

Chapter 6: Roommates

Hazel

I quickly, almost desperately, scurried into my room, and shut the door. What Leo told me kind of caught me off guard. I didn't even know why. I mean, he's just being protective like a good friend is supposed to be, right? Well, he has been acting a little strange since we arrived at the colony. Sometimes, I seriously don't know what that boy's thinking. Good thing I have a secret weapon now.

Anyways, I flipped on the light switch and observed my surroundings. It was a pretty decent-sized bedroom. It'll do for now. As I walked around, I saw there were things sprawled around the floor. Please don't tell me I have to live with someone else, I groaned to myself. Through learning I have telepathy powers, I noticed I started talking to myself more often. No wonder Leo thinks I'm weird.

There were even two beds in here; one freshly made and the other an unmade tangle of blankets. Whoever else lived here wasn't here, so where the heck would they be when it was nearly midnight? I rolled my eyes and sighed, too exhausted to handle the million questions in my head right now. I felt awkward just lying down and going to sleep right then, when I knew another person I didn't know had the key to come in here. What if it was a creepy guy? No scratch that, I see girly underwear on the floor. But you never know if this girl could come and kill me in my sleep.

I decided to just go sleep on the floor in Leo's room. I'm sure he won't mind. Maybe he's as freaked out about this new place as I am. I started walking to the door when it flew open, knocking me to the floor. A girl that was short in height and had startled brown eyes looked down at me, concerned. I guess this was my new roommate.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright?" she asked me, helping me up gently. Maybe she was nice after all. "Sorry about that. I didn't even know you were supposed to show up tonight. You're Hazel, right?"

I blinked at her, probably still stunned from the door slamming into me. Hesitating to regain my awareness, I replied, "Yeah, that's me. How do you know me...what's your name?"

The girl chuckled and smiled, which made me smile too because she seemed so friendly. "My name's Maxine. And everyone here knows you and Leo! It's crazy that I'm roommates with such an amazing mutant!"

It was hard not to smile at her enthusiasm. Maybe Maxine will be a good person to cheer up my sometimes negative spirit. "Really? Me and Leo are well-known?"

The sarcasm in my voice caused Maxine to giggle. I read her mind and discovered that she was actually 12 years old. You wouldn't think that because, for one, she was quite short, and she really reminded me of an excited little girl.

Maxine giggled again. "Are you reading my mind? Gosh, telepaths are so nosy."

I was shocked at her joke, and asked her, "Maxine, how did you know I was reading your mind?" I figured she was a mutant. She might even be a telepath too.

She walked over to her bed, pulling off her sneakers. "It's part of my ability, Hazel. I know everything that anyone could possibly know. Dr. Baker says I'm the smartest human being in the world."

Great, she's a nerd. Still, I was amazed. All of this I've experienced has been so extraordinary and overwhelming. "Wow, that's so cool....I guess I'm gonna have to get used to the fact that everyone I meet is going to have super powers."

Maxine laughed again. "Yeah, you'll get used to that. I know me and my brother had to get used to that when we first moved here." There was a brief paused before she added, "Hey, what's it like? Out there....on the outside of the colony? How bad has it gotten?"

I was surprised that she changed the mood so quickly. I really didn't want to talk to Maxine about out there. I had to deal with enough of that today. And I still couldn't believe all of this happened in just one day. It felt like an eternity of overwhelming horror. I didn't feel like going into detail to answer Maxine's question, so I replied with, "You don't want to know."