Abnormal {Book 1: Completed, Book 2: Ongoing}

Chapter 7

Adrius leads me out into the hallway, and I can feel hundreds of pairs of eyes following us as we leave the cafeteria. I feel like a terrible person for leaving my squad, but since Adrius is the commander's son, he still holds some degree of authority over me. 

Once we're alone, he leans against the wall. I move to the wall opposite from him, not wanting to stand too close, but also feeling slightly awkward from keeping my distance. 

He sighs and walks a few steps forward, then peers at me closely.

"Are you ok? You seem kind of...uncomfortable. Is there...is there anything I can do?"

I shake my head silently, not trusting myself to speak around him.  

He nods to himself, then exhales. "Okay, good then. I brought you out here to talk about your schedule."

He hands me a plastic bracelet, and I strap it onto my wrist, examining it curiously.

"What is it for?"

He reaches out and presses down on a small, dark button at the center of my white wristband. Immediately, a laptop sized screen materializes out of nowhere, floating directly in front of my face. I gasp in wonder, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Adrius smile.

"Go on, touch it," he chuckles. "It works just like an touchpad, except it doesn't really take up any space."

I touch the blank screen with the tip of my index finger, and the words "Welcome, Lyanna #778" appear in the center. 

"What does the number mean?" I ask curiously.

"It's your rank, and it will rise over time. Newbies always start at the bottom. Now, use two fingers to swipe to the left." I follow his instructions, and a chart pops up on the display. 

The first column on the left shows the time periods, and the top row shows the days of the week. 

It's a schedule.

Every day of the week, there are individual training sessions right after breakfast and lunch. If I add up the times, that means 5 hours of training per day. Even though I know that it's nearly impossible, but I hope that Everett is assigned to be my mentor. His calm personality really helps me focus on the present moment rather than letting my mind wander to somewhere it shouldn't be. 

Or it could be Valerie, I think. Her bubbly personality is really a complement to my...

Adrius clears his throat expectantly, and I realize that I completely missed what he was trying to say.

"Oh...um..." I turn to see a slightly amused expression on his face. "What were you saying again?"

"I was saying," he responds patiently, "That I will be your mentor for the individual training sessions. For the next few months at least. I'm not sure if it's a permanent or..."

I gasp. "Excuse me, what?" 

He seems surprise at my outburst. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," I struggle to come up with an answer. "Is there a specific reason for why you are assigned to me?"

"Oh!" He recovers quickly. "According to my father, your stimulation chamber results were quite impressive, actually. He thought that it would be best if I trained you, since I am currently the highest ranked Abnormal here. He thinks you have...a lot of potential."

"Yes, of course." I nod absently. "That make sense." 

But my mind is whirring. Spending 5 hours a day with him...it just seems...so overwhelming. I'm not sure I can handle using my powers and being in his presence at the same time.

"Also, I would suggest that you also practice using your powers on your own. The more powerful you become, the better you'll perform in your training sessions, and the higher you will rank. Only the top 25 ranked will be able to stay in the top level. I highly recommend you start practicing tomorrow evening." He glances at the clock on the wall. "Oh, dinner is ending. You should go back to your dorm and rest. I have something I need to discuss with my father."

Just as I'm about to respond, Valerie comes out of the cafeteria, followed closely by Aveline, Adam and Everett. Valerie loops her arm through mine and pulls me towards our dorm, not giving me a chance to say goodbye to Adrius. 

"So," she asks excitedly. "What did he say to you?"

"He just showed me the schedule. Also, he gave me this." I show off my new wristband / watch-like device. 

Valerie nods her head impatiently. "That's not all, isn't it? He must have told you something else!"

I sigh, exasperated. "Well, he mentioned that he's going to be my mentor for the individual training sessions." 

All four members of my squad stop in their tracks to gape at me. "Wait, what?" Adam gasps.

Everett's eyes widen in disbelief. "A third level Abnormal almost never interacts with the lower level ones!"

Even the shy Aveline speaks up. "Yeah, it's usually the higher ranked Abnormals in level one that train the lower ranked ones."

I flush under their gaze. "I don't really know how things are supposed to work here...Adrius just said the commander thinks I have potential..."

"I mean, that kind of makes sense since Adrius is ranked number one...wait! You never told us what your power is!" Valerie exclaims.

I open my mouth. Nothing comes out. I feel my throat tighten with worry. Are they going to think I'm a monster? Mind control is differently from invisibility. Different from healing powers. Different from flying, telepathy, psychokinesis...

Am I going to lose the only friends I have here?

I take a deep breath, and mentally steel myself. 

"My superpower," I say, "is mind control."