Elements (Pentatonix)

Chapter 3

"Stop messing around and hurry up! Sarah need to get in there!"

"I'll be done in a minute!"

"Avi!"

"Esther!"

They've been going at it for the past ten minutes, and I've been holding back laughing the whole time. "Esther. It's fine, really. I'm not in that big of a rush," I said, my eyes closed as I laid on my stomach on the foot of her bed.

"It's like this every morning. He messes around too much."

What do you expect when you're surrounded by the one thing you can control? "I know the feeling," I said just as the water cut off. I took that as my cue to get up and start gathering everything I would need, including my makeup and hair stuff.

"Here. You can use this towel," Esther said, handing me one from her closet.

"Thanks," I said with a smile before glancing down at Kirstie. We had woken her up fifteen minutes ago, but she fell back asleep immediately. "She's your problem," I told Esther just as I heard the bathroom door open.

I stood up and walked out, taking note of Avi making it a point to avoid me. Instead of saying something, I entered the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. The moment I set my things down, I started the water and stared at my hand, smiling a bit as it began heating up to the point that it was consumed in flames.

To anyone else, it would seem to burn like hell, but the heat I felt was more lulling, like a warm bath. it was relaxing. I stripped down quickly and clipped my hair up out of the way before stepping in, allowing the hot water to ease my stress away. My first day was out of the way, so everything was fine.

I showered quickly and got out,  making sure I was dry before getting dressed and doing my makeup. As I finished up, I gathered up all my things, double checking before returning to Esther's room and packing my stuff up.

Kirstie was up and already dressed by the time I returned, and I couldn't help but smile a bit. I felt my body began heating up a bit, something it did randomly, but it never got out of control. I made sure I had everything and ran my fingers through my hair one last time as I followed the two girls downstairs. "It was fun. I'll have to come back sometime,"  said with a wide grin.

"You're not staying for breakfast?" Esther asked curiously.

"I have to stop by my place and get my brother to school," I said with a small shrug. "I told him to be ready by seven."

"You still have time. Please," she pleaded, staring at me through her thick-framed glasses. I reluctantly sighed and rolled my eyes as I set my things next to hers and followed them to the dining room. I sat quietly between Kirstie and Esther.

Most of the meal was quiet, aside from a few questions or reminders directed towards either Esther to my left or Avi directly across from me. About halfway through, I finished up and leaned back, unknowingly staring at my water thoughtfully. "Everything alright, Sarah?"

I looked over at the older woman and smiled slightly. "Yes, ma'am. Just thinking."

"About what?"

I thought carefully before shrugging and holding up my glass. "Water. It has to do with an experiment in my chemistry class," I said. It was only a half lie, but it wasn't my place to say anything about what I saw. I didn't know if anyone in his family knew, so I wasn't about to start anything.

Bringing the glass to my lips, I went to take a swallow, but nothing happened. Pulling the glass away, I noticed the water unmoving just like it had been the evening before. My eyes immediately darted across the table to Avi, but instead of looking away, he held my gaze, almost as if he didn't realize what he was doing. "Avi. It's not polite to stare," his mother said, causing me to stifle a small laugh.

I would have thought it was normal, but the look she gave him had unspoken words. I looked back to my water to see it free flowing again and finished it off. "If you'll excuse me, I should probably get going so my brother doesn't start worrying," I said as I took my dishes to the kitchen. Taking it upon myself to wash them quickly, I returned shortly after and smiled. "See you guys in class," I said, hurrying to grab my things and walked out.

Avi's POV

"Avi you can't mess with people's water like that. What if she suspected something?" my mom asked.

"She did. We got lucky she didn't say anything," Esther added.

"Maybe she should have. At least then we wouldn't have to lie all the time. I hate it." I said, my voice was filled with irritation. "Don't you two get tired of it?"

"Of course we do," Kirstie said with an exasperated voice. "But I actually like her and would rather her not think of us as freaks."

"She said herself judging isn't really her thing."

"That's because she doesn't know what any of us can do. Same goes with the other three. She's not finding out and you're not telling her," Esther said, acting more like a mother than a sister. "You need to be more careful. She's not like us."

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly nodded, leaning back in my seat. "We can't base our lives off lies for the rest of them," I said quietly.

"I know you don't like it, but we don't have a choice. It's either tell her and become more isolated, or keep it a secret and keep a friend. Come on so we're not late."

I stood up, taking my dishes to the sink. "What kind of friendship is based on lies?" It was the only question I had, but it was the one that was the hardest for me to answer.