Fire And Ice

Prologue

I take a breath and look around the classroom. The teacher has basically given up this year, we'll all be going to another school next week, so everyone was acting like it was the last day of school. I was, as always, sitting in the corner.

Everyone had a friend, mostly based off of power. People who could fly or levitate things or make wind hung out with each other, and those who could breathe water or manipulate it hung out, et cetera. I didn't have a power yet. Everyone else's has shown up, some since middle school, except mine. So I was now alone, because the friends I had had didn't want to be caught dead with someone without a power.

It's actually really hard to find someone without a power. I'm probably one in a hundred people on the whole Earth without a power. I sink farther in my seat. More alone than ever.

A teacher popped their head in the classroom. "Ms. Shannon, the judges are waiting for your class."

Everyone fell silent with excitement. I could see Kamijah biting her lip, bouncing on her toes. Joshua was playing with his dreads, and Harmony was red with nervous energy. They were the people everyone knew: the popular girl, the popular guy, and the smart girl that happens to know everyone in existence. I could point out who everyone was, actually. I've known them for years. Caleb. Sandy. Travis. Amir. Lydia. Faith. Robbie. Sapphire. Arjun. Jasper. Iqra. 

We all line up, me in the back behind Sandy. She's just as quiet as me, though more popular because her brother. She's currently whispering to Lydia.

The teacher leads us to the auditorium, where we would display our powers for judges to see and tell us what school we would go to. At least, I think. I kind of zoned out when the teacher spoke about it, because I know the judges will gasp and send me to some weird lab to get tested on to see why I am the way I am.

I sat down and watched everyone go up one by one. I only paid attention when the people I used to know went up, and the popular kids. Kamijah went to the stage, eyes alight with joy. A flashy girl with a flashy power.

"Kamijah Q. Williams. You passed all of your exams with a high C. You get along well with students, yet you got into a fight last year. This doesn't spell good news for you, unless you have an ability to change that." One of the judges said, shuffling their papers.

Kamijah grinned and opened her arms wide. "I have an ability I'm sure you've never seen before." I rolled my eyes at the word ability. Call it what it is, you butt-nosing bimbo. A power.

Sparks flew from her hands before they shot purple light. She turned her hand to her neon shirt to reveal she was emitting ultraviolet. "I can emit any spectrum of light I wish to, visible or invisible."

One of the judges scratched their chins. "What about gamma rays?"

"I've never tried it, but I'm sure I can."

The judges wrote stuff down, and the next person was called to stage. I waited a little longer until Joshua went up to stage.

"Joshua L. Hopkinson. You have a wide grade range, though it appears English is your weakest subject and science the strongest. You have a clean record, and was on the soccer team until ninth grade. What made you stop?"

Joshua looked away. His skin was dark, but I think a blush managed to show on his face. "I kept freezing the ball."

The judges looked surprised. "Like, stop it's motion?"

"No. Ice."

One of the judges looked a little disappointed. If she had wanted someone who could manipulate time, she's in the wrong place. The judges watched Joshua a little longer before asking, "Can you display your ability?"

"I can't control it."

The judges made a decision right then and there where he should go. I could tell by the way their spines straightened simultaneously. Joshua left the stage, Sandy taking his place. They were siblings, Sandy having moved up a grade.

"Sandy J. Hopkinson. You have good grades, get along well with other students, and seem like a very good person. Show us your ability that we're sure is as amazing as you."

As soon as they said that, the room was filled with spiders, crawling on everyone and causing screams to rise. It began to thunderstorm, and knives rained from the clouds. Sandy shouted over the ruckus, "I can make nightmares a reality."

"Stop it, then!" one of the judges shouted as a monster of shadows lurked towards him.

"I can't. I mean, I can, but only if someone is asleep." She says, and I looked around. There were plenty of people asleep now, fainted because of her power. And suddenly everything crumbled to dust, and Sandy walked off the stage without being told. One of the teachers directed her where her brother had gone.

Caleb went next, and Lydia. Harmony made a bunch of birds come inside. Arjun just flew around the room for awhile until the judges got tired of watching him fly in circles.

Then it was my turn.

I could heard snickers from the stands as I marched up the steps. I held in my anger, as I always have. I stood in front of the judges and waited.

"Annabelle I. Marwick. You have mediocre grades, and--oh my. You've gotten in six fights in the past year. Do you have great strength? Because it says here you won every fight."

"No."

"Why did you fight them? Or rather, why did they fight you?"

"They insulted me and my family." I muttered through clenched teeth. I feel like they know I don't have a power, so they want to make me all the more angry. But I remember my brother's words, They don't matter.

"And can you show us your ability?"

"No."

"Can you not control it? Or is it something that can't happen inside of buildings?" One of the judges asked, eyes flicking to Sandy.

"I don't have one."

My class erupted into laughter, and the judges were shocked. I clenched my fists. I don't have anger issues, I tell myself. I think of my brother, who helped me through things like this. I'm not angry, I'm upset.

But it wasn't working now.

Just as I was about to pounce onto my closest classmate and go feral, everyone screamed and pointed at me, including the judges. At first I thought it was because I looked scary or something, but when I looked down, I was on fire.

I shrieked and dropped to the stage. Stop, drop, and roll. I rolled around, trying to get the fire off or something, but I only made the floor catch fire. The flames melted the wax from the wood floor, and the wood caught fire. The curtains caught fire, and it was then I realized the fire didn't hurt me.

"Stop! Stop it!" one of the judges cried. The only one still sitting at the judge table, actually. The others are scrambling to leave. The sprinklers finally went off and drenched the whole auditorium in water. Everyone stopped, the only sound being the rain and the sizzling of smoke.

"Annabelle."

"Yes?" I asked from the floor, clothes a charred back.

"Go. You'll be sent the information to where you're going to go when you get home."

I got off the floor and walked by my class, now lined up on the wall. They all looked at me in fear, and I couldn't help but suppress a smile.

Ignore the cub, and the lion will bite.