Extraordinary Individuals : Josiah Rising

Chapter 1

Living in a house of superhumans could be frustrating. Both of my parents were superhuman, all my siblings had powers and I just happened to have the strongest ability outta them all. Mornings could be hectic, especially when our mom would teleport from room to room waking everyone up.
"Josiah! Up, now!"
I huffed under my breath and rolled over onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. Judging by the speed of Mom's teleportation, it was Monday which meant school which meant me going through the self torture of managing my stress level so that my powers didn't go berserk. I sat up and looked at the mirror hanging on the back of my bedroom door. To most people, I looked exactly like my mother. Warm caramel skin, amber brown eyes that changed to light brown in the summer, and curly dark brown hair. I kept mine cut into a drop fade so that my sides and back would hang. I was lean but muscular from working out to be able to better handle the physical backlash my powers would often give me when I first started learning how to use them. I had the scars to prove it. My door moving forward jerked me from my thoughts and I saw a head of curly dark hair coming towards me. The face of my seven year old sister was grinning at me.
"Good morning, Jocelyn," I said, chuckling as she climbed into my bed.
Jocelyn was the youngest of my parents' five children and had yet to hit puberty so she had no powers. She was lighter than me but we shared the same facial features: thick eyebrows with the right one slightly tilting upward, strong nose and high cheekbones.
"Morning," she yawned back.
This was her morning ritual and my way of starting off my day. She would wake up and stumble her way into my room where she would sit with me while I got ready for school. This morning was no different. I proceeded to get ready for school by brushing my teeth and doing my hair. Next, I picked out my clothes. The high school that I attended didn't have a uniform so we were allowed to dress how we wanted. I had a particular liking for joggers so I threw on a pair of charcoal grey moto joggers, a maroon V-neck T-shirt, and my favorite burgundy hoodie with the word "Blessed" written across the front in Japanese kanji and English. I put my favorite pair of diamond stud earrings in my ear and proceeded to head downstairs to the kitchen with Jocelyn right behind me, dragging her favorite blanket behind her.
"Breakfast?" I asked, sitting down at the table.
My Pops chuckled and slid me a plate of homemade waffles and bacon. My Pops was a year younger than my mom with light brown hair he kept cut low, light brown skin and green eyes. He was muscular and fit with his ability being 100% muscle usage. He could exert 100% of his body's muscular strength which made him as strong as someone with a high degree of superhuman strength. I quickly ate my breakfast then proceeded to grab my shoes. They were a pair of Air Jordan 1 mids, my favorite shoes in the world. They were the "Black Metallic Silver" colorway and had been a gift from my Pops. I slipped them on and grabbed my backpack, ready to head out, when I hesitated. School was a tricky thing for me. I wasn't exactly popular among my peers because of my reluctance to show off my powers. As a result, I was often harassed and bullied. To counter that, my Pops taught me self defense so that I would be able to hold my own even against another superhuman in my school. I shook my head, clearing away the negative thoughts.
You'll be fine. You'll be fine. Remember what mom said.
I ignored the knot in my stomach and proceeded to walk to school, taking the long route to avoid any kids from school early in the morning. The generally held belief that my peers had about me was that I had a weak ability but if they knew the truth....things would definitely be different is all I'll say.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice that my name was being called. I looked up towards the source and grit my face break into a grin. The voice belonged to my best friend Ashley White. Ashley was a short girl who was equal parts chubby and curvy. She had brown skin, round chocolate eyes and full lips. She also had a slight gap between her front teeth that I found cute when she smiled. Her hair was pulled into a curly and puffy top knot that brought out the roundness in her face. She was dressed in black leggings, Jordans and a grey North Face hoodie that she had taken from me the day we became best friends. I jogged up to her and enveloped her in a warm and tight hug.
Good morning.
I jumped a little when I heard her singsong voice in my head. I often forgot that Ashley was telepathic due to her rarely using her ability other than to pull pranks or tell me something she couldn't say out loud. She smirked at me, her eyebrow cocked slightly and I laughed a little bit. Ashley had the ability to put my mind at ease when I was nervous. And she supported my decision to only use my powers when necessary.
"We'd better get to first period," I said, falling into step beside her.
"I hope you did your homework cause I'm not letting you copy mine and you better had studied for Mrs. Grey's physics test," Ashley chided, pinching my cheek lightly. I laughed lightly. Maybe today would be alright. Little did I know how wrong I would be.