The Power

Hi, I Can Make You Scream Without Looking at You.

On the bus ride to school today, I got a few stares. I don't normally ride the bus, and my car got a flat, and I don't have the time to go get it fixed before school.

I tap my foot on the bus floor, hoping that my nervous engery doesn't make me accidentally explode something or make someone lose their head. Praying, I peel away the bus and look out into space. Ever since that one bus ride, putting me in outer space calms me.

Only it fades when this one girl gets on. She's probably a freshman, I've never seen her before. But the way she styles her long hair modestly and how she glares at this guy who looks just like her, who walks on behind her. I love her green eyes and her black backpack. She is beautiful.

Only the guy behind her locks eyes with me and glowers. Boyfriend, I note, or overprotective brother.

I try to ignore them both and go back into space. I close my eyes as I face the sun, it's amazing rays blinding me. Before I know it, the bus arrives at school, and I have to quickly peel away space, something I haven't exactly mastered. By the time I'm actually in reality, the bus is quite a bit emptier and I have to teleport up to the steps.

I miss my car and my free satellite radio. I miss my never running out thermos of coffee.

I need coffee. Now. Like, right now.

Something tells me to follow the girl on the bus. She heads around a corner, leading to the cafeteria. Before I can do anything, she turns around and says,

"I knew it."

Shit. I'm busted.

"Name?" She's taken out a post it note and a pen.

"Brian," I say. She scribbles it down.

"Meet me right here at lunch."

"We probably have different lunch periods," I pointed out.

"Ten thirty," she snaps. "I'm positive you can come up with an excuse to leave class."

Right there, that makes me think she knows. And no one knows about my power. No one. Not even Caleb, my jock best friend.

The girl pushes past me to head to a class. I stand there for a moment before going to class.

How could she know about the power? Why would she know? Or care? And why ten thirty?

I've made myself invisble-ish, so the teacher doesn't call on me.

It's ten twenty. I need to get out of class in ten minutes. I don't want to know what that girl would do if I didn't show up. I could. . . no, I don't have the power to erase me in today from the teacher's memory. But I could remark myself absent. I get up to get a tissue (sort of) and made the clipboard inch closer and closer to my hand. At least the tissues are on the teacher's desk. It slowly crawls towards me, not making a sound. When it reaches my hand, I tap the checkmark next to my name, and it vanishes. I now have to push it back to exactly where it was. Great. I flick it with my finger and it starts moving again.

I'm taking an awful long time just for a tissue.

It reaches where it was as I glance at the clock.

I edge out of the classroom and grab for my stuff. My binder and books appear in my hands. I sigh as I head down the hallway. Just because I can, and to kill time, I put my stuff in my locker and take a swig of water. I wish it's coffee.

I set down the hallway to find the girl. I need to know who she is and how she knows about the power.

She's waiting for me at the corner. I shift my weight and sigh.

"I know who you are," she says.

"Because I've met you before," I say sarcastically.

"I'm Bree," Bree says. "I know who you are. You're one of the mutants."

"Excuse me?" What the fuck? I'm not a mutant human.

"You heard me." Bree is getting annoyed. "Come on, how'd you get out of class?"

"I just have the power," I hiss in an undertone. "That's all."

"The power?" Bree snorts. "You're not homo sapiens anymore than I'm a dude."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I ask.

"You're homo magicae corporis. We are. It's a brand new species, we've been mutating ever since there have been home sapiens," Bree says.

"You're fucking kidding me," I say. "You're this new species too?"

"Well. . ." Bree sounds agitated. "No."

"I can make you hurt so bad you'll wish you've never been born," I say. "And I will, if you tell someone."

"Why would I tell someone?" Bree asks. "My brother's the mutation. I haven't told anyone."

"You're sure?"

"Of course," she snaps. "Do you think I have a memory problem?"

I sigh. "No one knows. Sit across from me on the bus. Silence." I twitch my finger. Bree tries to say something, but her vocal cords don't work. I let out a soft chuckle. "Bye, then."

I turn and walk away. I make one step the one that makes her vocal cords work again, the one I take around the corner and away from her. I look down at my watch. I still have some time to kill, so I head left into the boys bathroom.

Caleb is by the sink, splashing water onto his face.

"Hey, man. Ditching?" he asks. "Congrats on losing your ditching virginity."

I sigh a shaky breath.

"Hey, man," Caleb says, looking worried. "You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah," I say, nodding. "I'm fine."

"Want me to ditch with you?" Caleb offers.

"You've probably got a cute girl in your class," I say. "Flirt with her."

"You read my mind, brah," he says, and walks out of the room. Once the door shuts, I lean against the sink.

Someone knows.