Unordinary: New Student

9: Friends

Stephanie's POV

The red-haired boy and I walked down the hall. As we walked, I glanced at him from time to time, trying to read him. Why was he so nice? Did he have an ulterior motive? My eyes traveled from his messy, slightly spiky red hair to his golden eyes to his black sleeveless shirt to his black shorts. He looked pretty handsome to me. I shook my head slightly, embarrassed at myself for thinking that.

I recalled his red energy ball from earlier. I felt a strong aura coming from it. 'So he must be an elite tier or high tier.' I thought. 'Even more confusing. High tiers aren't normally very friendly to lower tiers...'

He noticed my glimpses and asked me, "Hey, what is it?" Our eyes met, green against gold.

I looked away quickly. "Uh, I was just wondering what your name is."

"Oh, sorry," He laughed. "I'm Blyke. Nice to meet you."

Blyke. It seemed to fit him. "And I'm Stephanie. Nice to meet you, too." I paused. "If you don't mind me asking, could I know what your ability is?"

He nodded. "It's energy beam. I'm an elite tier. I'm also the Jack of Wellston."

"Cool!" I said. "My ability is..." I didn't want to tell him, but it would have been rude not to. "Flow control. I'm a..." In truth, I was an elite tier, too. My ability had improved immensely since I had acquired it. But announcing it then would have caused too much trouble. "Low tier." I finished.

Blyke eyes widened. "Low tier? Really?"

My gaze sharpened to a glare. "So what? Now that you know, you'll beat me into submission? Or humiliate me later in front of a crowd? Or maybe 'educate' me on how hierarchy works?"

Blyke shook his head, a little shocked. "What? No! I was just surprised because you have the confidence of a high tier! And now that I know you're a low tier, it doesn't bother me at all."

I sighed. "I'm sorry... It's just... a touchy subject."

Blyke accepted my apology. "So... do you want to be friends?" He asked me suddenly. "I know it's a bit sudden, but you seem like a pretty good person."

"Likewise." I grinned at him. "It'll be my pleasure."

Smiling, Blyke pointed at the sign hanging above us. "This is the infirmary." He opened the door, and we walked inside.

A blue haired man who looked like he had serious anger issues was sipping his cup of coffee, and as we walked in, he almost spit out a mouthful. "How dare you interrupt the only quiet time I get here!" He scowled at us. His eyes flew to Blyke, who gulped. "You! You're that disrespectful brat who fought over a broken pen with that orange haired guy! What do you want?"

"A-actually," I let out a nervous stutter as the man turned his death gaze onto me. "We're here because of me. I'd like to get my injuries healed."

The man sighed, then stood up from his desk. "Fine. My name is Doc Darren. Come sit on this bed and I'll look over you."

In a moment, I was seated on top of the bed with the Doc in front of me and Blyke next to me. "So, what's wrong?" Doc asked.

I shrugged. "I don't really know. But the pain is mostly in my chest and sides, and I keep coughing up blood."

After examining me for a minute, he said, "It looks like you have a broken rib and a damaged lung. Now how did that happen?"

"Well," I frowned. "I was getting bullied by some kids from my class yesterday, and I used my ability to fend them off. My internal damage came mostly from the recoil damage I took from my ability."

Doc sighed. "Be careful next time, okay? I'll make you a tonic to heal your injuries. Wait here until then."

As Doc walked away, muttering something about careless kids and his stressful job, I glanced at Blyke. He looked very concerned and a little bit angry. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

Blyke's head snapped up. "So, who were those bullies from before?"

"Doesn't matter." I shrugged. "I'll be more careful next time."

"Of course it matters!" Blyke snapped. "I don't want them to beat up my friend again!"

I let out a frustrated groan. "You don't need to worry about me! I can take care of myself."

He sighed. "Yeah, just... be careful, okay?"

I blinked. I thought he was joking when he said he wanted to be friends. He really cared about me? I felt a blush coming to my cheeks. "Haha, yeah... I'll be careful."

***

I had drank the nasty tasting liquid Doc had given me. "It won't heal very quickly," he had told me. "But you'll be fully healed by the end of school today. So be careful until then."

I had stayed on the bed talking with Blyke. We had exchanged our numbers. Blyke glanced at his watch, and his mouth dropped open. "I need to get going!" He stood up quickly, heading for the door.

"Wait," I said. "How about we... jog together sometime?"

He glanced back, and I could have sworn his face was slightly redder. "Y-yeah, definitely! See you!"

As he rushed out the door, I smiled to myself. I had made another friend I could count on.