Different

Chapter 2

Roxie opened her locker. She saw a small envelope on top of her pile of sports equipment. She grabbed it and opened it, inside was a small sheet of paper with a short note.

Come to the back alley at 8:00 pm tonight. Do not bring anyone.

Roxie stared at the letter. It wasn't signed, and she couldn't recognize the handwriting. It could be a prank, but something made Roxie feel like she should go. Even though the smaller and wiser part of her warned her against going, that part was smaller than her curiosity. The time written on the note was late enough that it would be right after the game... Roxie shoved the note into her backpack then headed to practice, deciding she should check it out. Who knows, maybe there would be something cool there.

*****

Roxie had the note in one hand and a water bottle in the other. The game had just finished, Roxie still had adrenaline pumping through her blood. A new wave of adrenaline hit her as she realized what she was planning to do. She was going into a dark alley because a note told her to. Totally logical! She quietly snuck up to the corner behind the school where a small alley was. Roxie was pretty sure this was where the note was referring to. She took a deep breath and headed into the alley.

A dark figure loomed up ahead in the alley. The flickering lights shut off, and Roxie's grip tightened on her water bottle. She was prepared to defend herself if needed.

"Five years of karate, don't fail me now," she muttered to herself under her breath.

"Hey, are you the one who left the note in my locker?" a guy's voice asked. The dark figure stepped forward so Roxie could make him out a little better. He was a tall, ginger haired guy, his brown eyes had flecks of gold

"Jackson? You got a letter too?" Roxie asked. She lowered her water bottle.

"Whoa, Roxanne, you got one too? Does that mean that there could be even more..?" Jack stared at the note, as if searching for the answer to his question.

"I told you to call me Roxie," Roxie said flatly.

"And I told you to call me Jack," Jack countered. They stood there for a moment before they both broke into a grin. "Same old Roxie, how've you been? I haven't seen you in forever!"

Roxie shrugged, "Well, you're always with your other friends or busy with homework, or I'm busy with practice."

"Yeah, it's too bad, we had some good times back in grade school,"

"R-Roxie? Is that you? And is that.. Jack with you?" a voice called out.

Roxie turned and saw Sage standing there with Fletcher behind her, his inquisitive eyes scanning the alley. Roxie smiled, "This is so cool! You guys got letters too?"

Fletcher adjusted his glasses, "Yes, we ran into each other when heading behind the school, so we figured we should head here together. Do you know who sent the letters?"

Jack shook his head, "Sorry Fletch, we don't know anything,"

"I know something," a voice said behind them. They all jumped and turned to see Zion standing towards the front of the alley.

"You did this?" Roxie asked.

"No, but I saw this man in a trench coat put something into my locker then run off. I chased after him but he just seemed to disappear," Zion explained. They all stood in silence for a few moments.

"I wonder if there'll be any others, or if it's just us... What if the whole school got them," Roxie asked aloud. The others seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"It's just you guys tonight, the others have been spoken to in other locations,"

Everybody froze, then turned and saw a man sitting on the edge of a fire escape on a nearby building. He was wearing a trench coat, just like Zion said. The material looked ragged and worn. It was too dark to see his face.

"Who are you?" Jack asked.

"I am Professor Goldenberg, I work for a secret organization, hired privately by the president to create some... Ahh, how do you say, pills? Yes, close enough. These pills have been created for you. They will give you special abilities, and in return, all we ask for is that you would come with me to speak with the president," Goldenberg said, he spoke with an accent... Scottish? Roxie wasn't sure.

"Uhh, no offence but it sounds like you're trying to get us to take drugs," Sage said nervously.

"No, no, no, silly girl, these are different," Goldenberg said mysteriously. He pulled out a silver briefcase from behind him and undid the latches. The lid opened up and inside they saw five glowing pills, each a different color. All of the sudden they all floated up into the air and hovered in front of each of them.

"This can't be real.." Fletcher said quietly, he reached out and the pill landed in his palm. The others tried it and the pills landed in their palms too. Roxie's was cherry red, Jackson's was a neon green, Fletcher's a light blue, Zion got a deep purple pill, and Sage's was yellow.

"So... What do we have to do?" Jack asked, his eyes not leaving the pill.

"Just swallow the pill you received," Goldenberg explained. They all hesitated and looked at each other. Did they trust this man?

"Let's all do this on the count of three," Roxie suggested timidly. The others nodded.

"One.." Jack and Zion started.

"Two..." Sage and Fletcher continued.

"Three." Roxie said, then swallowed the pill. All of the sudden a warmth started building in her chest, then it spread out to her arms and legs. It started as a small glow, then grew into a roaring fire, her muscles screamed, like she was lifting weights at the edge of her limit. There was something else there too, like a subtle undertone. The joy of winning a game, of beating your old records, of defending your title. The joy expanded and numbed the burning to a dull glow, before fading completely.