Dylan's POV

I can almost hear my taste buds yearn for the tantalizing apple. It's like they know it's the only thing the school offers that's actual food. I clumsily stumble around the cafeteria, my eyes scanning for a seat that is yet to be claimed. Then I hear someone call my name. I pivot in my sneakers and see Bree waving at me. I crack a smile that fades before it reaches the corner of my lips and trip over to the table that she's sitting at with her brothers.

"Hey Dylan," Chase greets as I sit between him and his step-brother, Leo. I flick my eyebrows up to return the message.

Leo rummages through his backpack and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. "Bree, can you sign this?"

"What is it?" she asks, extending her arm to retrieve the paper.

"Oh, you know, just some paperwork..."

"Leo, why didn't you get Tasha or Mr. Davenport to sign this?" Bree scorns. My eyes slowly rise until she is in my vision. Davenport.

"Big D would've grounded me," Leo defends himself.

The next couple seconds are filled with silence until an ear-wrenching megaphone screech fills the room and Principal Perry's raspy voice is amplified through the speakers. "Listen up, germ wads!" I wince at the sound of her voice. "I've been thinking of ways to make you even more miserable and I've made the decision that starting tomorrow, the entire student body will be required to wear school uniforms."

A chorus of groans and gasps come from all around the cafeteria. I, myself, contribute to the ensemble as the closing act. I stand on my seat and elevate myself above everyone else. "Principal Perry, we are not going to sit here and let you force these unfair rules on us," I say. Everyone is silent and their fear is heavy in the air.

"I don't get it," Adam utters from behind me. "How would uniforms make us miserable?" Chase, Leo, and Bree roll their eyes.

"Well, Toolbox," Perry spits, "instead of wearing that nice shirt you have on, you'll have to wear a much worse shirt."

Adam thinks for a minute. "Oh, that does sound miserable."

I turn around to face him and make sharp hand gestures at him. "Adam, stop talking," I command. The bell rings for next period and everyone starts to exit the cafeteria. Perry left without a word.

Chase takes my hand and helps me down from the chair. "You must have some gut to talk to Perry like that."

"Not really," I say, cracking a grin. I take my tray and head for the garbage can.

"Hey, let me take that for you," Adam suggests, taking the tray out of my grasp.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." I gaze into his big, brown eyes and can't help but smile. Adam returns the expression.

Chase notices our telepathy and swiftly barges in between us. "She's right, Adam. You don't have to do that," Chase grunts, snatching the tray away from his brother. "But I do." The unsettling tension between the brothers doesn't come across as unusual. Adam grabs the opposite side of the tray and abruptly pulls it towards him, but Chase doesn't let go. I awkwardly stand aside and watch the two play tug-of-war until the runny mashed potatoes tumbles off the tray and splatters all over me. I'm frozen with an unknown emotion churning in my blood. I wipe the food out of my eyes only to see Adam and Chase still fighting. Suddenly, Adam's eyes turn bright red and blazing lasers shoot out of his eyes, melting the tray, barely missing Chase's hand.

I step back in shock. "What just happened?" I know what happened, but I play dumb so they don't know about me. I can't take any chances even though I have my suspicions about them.

"Adam!" Chase, Bree, and Leo shout in unison.

Adam glances at me and soon realizes what he did. "Oh," he says.

The three boys all run out of the cafeteria in a panic, but Bree comes over to me with a napkin and aids me while I clean the potatoes out of my hair.

"No offense, but you really should've seen that coming. You are the shiny new girl," Bree explains.

I pout and try not to whimper. "Is it always like this?" I rake the mashed potatoes out of my long, dark hair with my fingers and throw it on the ground.

Bree insouciantly drops her shoulders. "Hey, why don't you come over to my house after school?"

"Sure. That sounds fun," I respond as I wipe my hands with a napkin. "Thanks Bree. You should get to class. Don't want to be late."

Bree giggles and picks up her backpack. "I'm not worried." A weird expression spills over my face, but I manage to sneak in a smile. Bree is my first real friend, but it turns out, we're actually so much more than that.

I turn around to retrieve my backpack and a gust of wind sends my hair sweeping across my face. My vision is blurred, but when I turn back around, it is clear that Bree is gone. I pull my hair back into a tight ponytail and follow the dark skid marks that are left on the wood floor.

Chase's POV

"Adam, what were you thinking? You could've blown our entire secret!" I hiss at him in a way that's hardly audible or comprehensible.

"I'm sorry. I shoot lasers. That's just what I do," Adam answers breathlessly. I sigh to myself. He always pulls that same, lame excuse.

"Alright, just don't let it happen again. We've already had too many close calls. No one can know about our bionics," I sneer. Adam lazily nods to say he understands.

Bree runs up from behind us and screeches to a stop. "Dylan's coming over to our house after school," she says. My eyebrows knit together.

"Why would you invite her over?" I snap. I attempt to ignore my angst, but it's still there like a hot poker in my gut. Bree takes a minute to gather her words.

"I think we scared her before. We need to convince her that we're totally normal."

"But we're not normal," Adam sneers.

Bree scoffs at him, but he's right. We're not normal, and the hardest thing to do is be something you're not.