See Only Evil [gxg]

2-The Replacement

"Where do the evils like corruption arise from? It comes from the never-ending greed. The fight for corruption-free ethical society will have to be fought against this greed and replace it with 'what can I give' spirit." ~A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

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Tailor looked at me, as if she was expecting me to say something about her problem. I just kind of gave her a slight glare. It was her powers that were missing, so it wasn't my job to speak out about them. She got the message and looked down a little, letting out a deep sigh she had been holding for a while.

"My powers...the manipulation ones, they're missing. There's a source out there that is draining me dry. Raychel and-"

"Ray," I couldn't help but correct her. Why would people even bother to go out of their way to say anyone's full name anyway?

"Yeah...sorry. Ray and I," she corrected herself accordingly, "have tried figuring out what could be the source. So far, no luck has come across us," she winced a little, like there was a bad taste sitting on the tip of her tongue. I knew it hurted her to lose a unique gift like that, but I couldn't emphasize with it.

The other two boys glanced back and forth between Tai and I. It looked like Casper was going to say something, but then sealed his lips. He fidgeted around with the godforsaken screwdriver in his hand, brushing the metal apart against his nail. He was always doing and always acted nervous for some reason, like the world was going to fall apart any second now.

Ron, surprisingly, was the first to say something about the situation, "Well, I guess that means our plan is a bust. We are going to live the rest of our lives as starving young adults. We can't just steal things like a normal person."

"Wait..." Tai held up a finger, "why can't we?"

"Because smarter people exist," Casper plainly stated. "You wonder how so many criminals get caught. Authorities are much more intelligent than a bunch of dumb fucks. Without the power of manipulation, we are bound to get caught. We can't just trick them or deceive them with the special ability. Better call ourselves homeless in a few months." He crossed his arms.

"Or living with our parents," Tai shrugged. I guess she was only hinting towards herself, because the rest of us didn't have parents or they kicked us out of their own home. My apartment rent wasn't too high, but I surely wasn't going to last more than a year at this rate, so Casper was right.

Ronnie looked over at me, before averting his eyes to the side. He knew my flat was much better than my wimpy one, but there was no way I was letting a hunk like him stay over at my place. Boyfriend or not, there wasn't a single ch-

"Ray-ray~" he gave that signature look when he wanted something from me.

"What..." I muttered, not even glancing over at him.

"Pretty sure you have this thing called a 'guest bedroom'. Maybe you can let me...you know...stay with you for a while, until we get this financial issue all settled out. My place would only last a few more rents."

"Hell no. I have my reasons," my slightly parted lips let out a despairing sigh. "You would use up all my hot water, trash the whole place, and leave your dirty boxers everywhere."

"I'd probably only do two out of three of those things, to be honest..." he quickly said, rolling his eyes. Funny that I already knew which two things those were.

"And that's why the answer is no. Want me to say it spanish for you?"

"No..."

"Exactly," I ended the conversation before it could get any more stupid. He already knew what the answer was. He just wanted to test me.