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CHAPTER SEVEN | THE LABS AGAIN
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a thousand dreams within me softly burn.
-arthur rimbaud
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"You summoned something to you?"
Dr. Owens was looking at Jackie like she'd just grown three heads.
"Well, I didn't do it on purpose!" Jackie exclaimed defensively.
This was the first time she'd been able to get to the labs since her episode the night she was babysitting Lucas and his friends. Jackie had wanted to go to the labs earlier in her break, but nobody's schedule could match up to make it possible.
"How did it happen?" Dr. Owens asked. "Walk me through it."
"Okay," Jackie said, tapping her fingers on the table. "I was trying to order pizza and... my hand kept just, like— I couldn't touch it. I was trying all the stuff you told me to. Focusing my thoughts. Breathing... but then the phone just shot off the hook! And then my nose started bleeding!"
Face pensive, Dr. Owens leaned forward and tapped his forefinger against his chin. "The nose bleeding is normal— unfortunate, but normal. However, what's not normal is the manifestation of multiple abilities... Jackie, I'm going to go back through the records kept on you and I'll call you in a few days to do some tests, okay?"
"Tests?"
"Nothing to invasive, I promise," Dr. Owens said, a kind smile on his weathered face. "I'll probably order a couple blood samples and an MRI scan... hopefully that's all you'll need to do."
"Hopefully?"
"Well," Dr. Owens made a face. "If none of that helps, we'll have to test your abilities which could be... unpleasant."
Squirming, Jackie crossed her arms and sunk low into the chair. Unpleasant... something about that sounded like it would be beyond unpleasant. It sounded painful and all kinds of horrible. Please, God, Jackie thought. Please let them find the problem on the first try. She had enough trouble with needles and getting shots. Having her blood drawn was unpleasant enough. If taking blood out of her body, from where it was supposed to be, was what Dr. Owens considered non-invasive, Jackie had no desire in finding out what he considered unpleasant.
"Yeah, okay, fine," Jackie said, tucking a curly strand of hair that fell from her ponytail behind her ear. Without much grace, she stood abruptly and knocked the chair she'd been sitting in backwards. "Bye, Dr. Owens."
[ ... ]
Lying on her bed, still in her day clothes, Jackie stared up at the light on her ceiling. Dark spots swam in her eyes, but she didn't look away. Instead, she thought about the lightswitch several feet away. She wanted the light off. Slowly, Jackie steadied her breathing and then turned her head towards the lightswitch. With narrowed eyes, she focused all her energy on that tiny, little, insignificant switch. Off. She repeated the word in her head several times over, envisioning the switch flicking downwards. She could even hear the little click in the back of her mind.
