Smoke

10: Announcement

A week later and I was still not used to the school, not used to the people, not used to all of the powers. I still didn't have any friends, except for Oliver. I only saw him on the bus and in drama class, though, which I was in now.

"I have an announcement." The teacher said, getting up from his desk. He adjusted his shirt, wringing it through his hands as he talked. "For this semester, we are putting on Romeo and Juliet." The teacher said loudly, getting most kids' attention.

Some of the people in the class murmured, others smiled, and a few were on their phones. The teacher looked at us, a dread and an excitement in his eyes. He waited until the talking dulled down.
"We will start auditions and practices within the month." He said, trying to meet eye contact with all of us.

We had done this play last year in my old school. My body slumped, sagging in my chair, remembering my friends, remembering playing an extra, getting to have fun with the cast while not worrying much about lines.
Now, maybe I would be able to have a major role, which would distract me from my friendlessness and my power. I already knew all of the lines, anyway, and having a big role would make it less boring.

I glanced over at Oliver and his friends, seeing what they thought about this. They all seemed pretty excited, and smiled and were loud with their whispers, except for Oliver. He was staring at the room, looking around. His eyes met mine, but they were wide, looking past me. It made my heart skid a little, seeing him look through me, through the whole room. I felt my stomach turn, and quickly reached my arm out to tap his shoulder.

He blinked rapidly, looking dazed for a second before his eyes focused on me. It made my stomach curl, seeing him come back to the present from wherever he was in his head.
His eyebrows twitched lower with a bit of disorientation, before it went away and he nodded slightly at me. I nodded back, confused.
We both turned to look at the teacher, the moment gone.

I couldn't help but glance at Oliver every so often, concerned. I thought back to when he told me his power. My eyes skidded over his face multiple times, seeing his bright and very blue eyes glancing around the room, almost there but somewhere else. A few of his curly strands of hair dipped onto his forehead, and he pulled them back out of his face a few times.

He glanced at me, seeing me watch him, and I looked away, stomach bubbling, pretending to listen to the teacher.