Elements

8. terrarium

I wake suddenly to a loud bang on my door. I was just getting into a good dream, fuck.

I slowly get up and today there is a black hoodie laying folded on the ground, are they just going to slowly fill my wardrobe? I pick it up and slide it on before walking out the door into the common area where Jesse and Aaron are already sitting waiting for me.

"You look cheery" Jesse says sarcastically as I sit down with my hood up.

"I'm tired" I say and the ladies suddenly come around the corner before placing our food around for us to eat.

"Thank you" I say softly as they walk away again. I've been here 4 days now, what the fuck is happening. I just want to go home.

"There he is" Jesse says smirking as Malek comes around the corner in just his sweats.

"Dude" Aaron says as malek sits down, his ribs and side of his body are so bruised from yesterday I wouldn't be surprised if his ribs were broken. What the fuck did they do to him?

He doesn't say anything and continues eating like he doesn't look like someone took a baseball bat to his side.

We finish up and me and Aaron gather the dishes and take them to the designated area. A while later they call me for my session with Dr Martin. I watch Malek eyeing me as I enter into the room to find Dr Martin sitting in his chair with a clip board.

"Ivy, how are we today?" He says as I go and sit on the metal table facing him

"Fine" I say and he nods

"Ivy today we are working on pushing your growth" he says before standing up "follow me" he says before walking across the room towards a strange door?

I hop off the table and follow him as he flashes a key card that unlocks the door leading to a stairwell. We slowly go down a level onto the main floor when he key cards another door before opening it to a large high ceiling terrarium looking room, it has grass and a small pond area but nothing much growing

"This is where I want you to use your powers and practice growing a beautiful terrarium full of life, creatively it's up to you what you decide goes here" he says before holding his hand out signalling me to go ahead and begin.

I walk out to the middle of the room and sit down. I look back and he's sitting on a chair near the door writing in his notes. I refocus and place my hands on the ground and close my eyes before breathing out and starting. I feel the flow of energy leaving out my fingertips and when I look the area around me is now a small patch of sunflowers. It actually did what I wanted it too?

I continue and shut my eyes again and imagine a tree with bushes, a large tree, from the Amazon. I picture a field of poppy's and when I open my eyes I realize I'm no longer on the ground and lose my focus and fall?! Infront of me is a slightly larger tree than the last time I tried but the poppy field is their just as I pictured it, I need to put more energy in.

I turn around and Dr Martin is rapidly writing notes and watching me.

*

I continue working on the tree and growing it to size, I'm able to almost get it their after significant focus that keeps getting easier the more I get the hang of it when Dr Martin calls my name.

"It's been 2 1/2 hours Ivy, it's lunch" he says and I refocus and fall back onto the ground from my elevated state. Shit. That's cool that I can float?

I stand from the field of sunflowers and walk to him as he takes me back up the stairwell to the main office.

"What happened to Malek yesterday?" I ask as we walk across the room and he stops and turns to me

"He.." he starts. "He's difficult"

"Why is he bruised so bad?" I ask again

"He started my jacket on fire, he tried to kill me so they hit him... with a baton a few times, we where trying to get him to stop, if he's hurt he knows he can come to any of us and we will help him. It escalated and it shouldn't have to" Dr Martin says and I just nod.

I continue out the door to the common area as Malek, Jesse and Aaron are sitting around having lunch. Malek watches me as I cross the room and sit down.

I start eating and listen in as Jesse tells a story about some kid from her high school. Lunch past by quickly followed by Jesse going in for her session while I layed down on the couch out alone as Aaron and Malek have disappeared off somewhere.

Just as I'm resting my eyes and about to fall asleep I hear Malek come out around the corner into the living space as he goes and lays down on the opposite couch.

Okay.

Moments pass before I look over at him as he just lays their when he starts to suddenly form a small ball of fire in his palm.

I continue watching as he grows the flame from small to large and gets it burning so hot it turns blue when he looks over and catches me watching him.

Instead of pretending to ignore him like my anxiety told me to do I layed out my hand like his and focused on growth and a small pile of moss formed with vines intertwining my fingers. That's actually really fucking cool.

I look over at him and he's watching me when suddenly my moss and vines start to burn up and wither and it gets so hot I have to drop it on the floor.

"What the fuck" I say under my breath confused looking over at him when suddenly Jesse walks out from behind the doors and rejoins us, Aaron also rejoining the group from his room.