The Experiments: Extraordinary

Chapter 1: Maia

Chapter One: Maia

The piercing sound of my alarm wakes me up. Six am. Wonderful. My fist pounds against the alarm until it stops beeping. I use all the strength in my body to drag myself out of my warm and familiar bed. But honestly, I don't want to get up. Not because it's early or I'm tired. No, those aren't my reasons. The real reason is that my bed sheets are the only familiar thing I own. I'm standing in a brand new bedroom, in a brand new million dollar home, about to go to a brand new school. So I can't really be blamed for wanting to stay wrapped up in something familiar when everything else in my life is new.

I didn't want to move. I never liked it at my old school but I still didn't want to move. But my dad got promoted to marketing manager of some science corporation ran by the government here in Manhattan. I guess he's in charge of selling ideas and products and making business deals for the company. I really don't know. So my family and I packed up our things and left Seattle behind without looking back. It was easy for them. My mom is a well known lawyer and can get a job anywhere. And my siblings are all in their twenties so they had no trouble moving. Manhattan is a wealthier city than Seattle. More places to spend our parent's money. More parties to go to.

It took a lot of mental encouragement but I finally got myself ready for school. I put my brown leather jacket over a white and blue printed top. I'd much rather wear a hoodie but my mother is all about appearances. If she ever watched me leave the house with a hoodie or sweatshirt on, she'd drag me back by my hair. Through the mirror, I watch my brush go through my long light brown hair. Just as I reach for the bronze handle on the bathroom door to let myself out, I remember my pills. I sigh as I pop two white pills in my mouth and swallow without water. I've been taking these since I was thirteen. I'd like to just be simple and say that I'm semi insane so I take pills to keep my insaneness hidden deep inside me. But if my mom heard that, she'd lecture me on how I'm not crazy and if I keep saying I am, I might actually go crazy. In contrast to her opinion, I actually know I'm sorta crazy. What kind of normal seventeen year old girl sees and thinks she can do thinks that are impossible. According to my psychologist, Dr. Hanson, I just have an extreme case of anxiety. He thinks I watched something or heard something about people that can move objects with their mind and now I'm seeing things because I'm worried about it. I'm worried that I can have that.

It's not insanity darling, it's anxiety." My mother had told me once when I was complaining to her about my "condition". She didn't even look up from her computer to see my face. Somehow she thought she could convince me that I wasn't crazy by not even looking at me. It became a normal routine thing. I'd tell her I'm crazy and she'd say the exact same words without looking at me. "Not insanity, anxiety." I eventually stopped talking to her about my thoughts and she stopped saying those obnoxious three words.

I shut the bathroom door behind me and make my way down to our not lived in living room. I see my brother, Trevor, eating cereal with one hand and holding some kind of science book with the other. He's dressed in a white button up shirt tucked into dark jeans with and his brown hair is combed neatly. Trevor is probably the only person in my family that I can completely tolerate. My parents are both workaholics and my older sister Annabelle couldn't care less if I was breathing or not. Or so it seems. But Trevor actually makes an effort to act like my brother. I reach over him to grab a banana from the counter where he is sitting.

"What are you reading?" I ask him curiously. He looks up from his book and laughs lightly.

"More like studying. I've got my big exit test today. Eight am to be exact. I'm just trying to cram a bunch of information before I take the test of my life." He says to me.

"How'd you get a spot so quickly. We only found out about the move a month ago. Don't you have to register for those exit exams months ahead of time?" Trevor is in grad school at the moment. I think he's studying heredity or something along those lines. If he passes this test, then he'll graduate