The grey gates ahead petrified me. I did not know where this place was or why I was coming to this school. All my foster mother told me was that it was a special school for special children. Those words had chilled my soul ever since. I was not sure what to do as there was no buzzer or knocker. So I just stayed there until a young man with blonde hair with strange blue eyes welcomed me in.
"You are…?" he said, his smiled, his face, angelic in the mid day sun. What was I thinking? He must be some sort of older student, I thought. I looked at the ground and concentrated on the small cracks and weeds etching out of each one.
"My name is Rae. My foster mother rang earlier saying I would be here" I uttered blankly. My eyes stayed on the ground I tilted my face upwards looking into his eyes. I swallowed and looked away.
"Oh forgive me, I haven't introduced myself, I'm Narumi, I am a teacher at the school and my Alice is to…Well, basically seduce anyone" he said, smugly.
I was confused.
"What's an Alice?" I asked, wondering if this was even right school my foster mother sent me.
"An Alice is a power. A special ability which is individual to every person. We believe that you might have one as well. You have come late into this school as I hear you've had a troubled history" he said kindly and almost, pitifully.
"Are you joking? I don't have an Alice or a power. Those kinds of things aren't real! Look I'm sorry to waste your time but I have to go" I shook my head in disbelief and turned to leave.
"Wait!" he shouted. I paused and stopped.
"Look, Rae, I know it's hard to believe at first but you must trust me, it's dangerous to leave or have any contact with anyone else outside the school. There are some people who will do anything to have anyone with Alices. That's why you must stay here, so we can determine how strong your Alice is" he said, opening the gates and leading me in.
I swallowed. The rest of my life started from here onwards.
The grounds were huge and beautiful. There were great trees, and grass all around me. Kids were running around, probably it was their break time. But most were showing off their Alices to another. Some had little party trick powers such as cards appearing, others had teleporting and I think, even time traveling. I was shocked. I never knew this stuff happened. At all.
He led me to a white, tall building and we went into a room which said, 'Staff Room'.
The teachers all turned round to see who was there.
"This is Rae, the new student. She has the Alice of…" Narumi trailed off, looking at my notes which were faxed from my foster mum. For the first time, he looked genuinely scared. He cleared his throat and repeated, "She has the power of…"
No. It couldn't be true. Was that my Alice, my power? I looked down at the floor, tears welling up in my eyes. If that was my power, it was sick. I didn't want to have it! No!
"When you touch Rae, she will play your worst fear inside your mind until you slowly go insane, like her birth mother, her father, her brother of eighteen years old and her sister of twenty years old who are all known to be staying in the Hospital of the Unwell. She has the suffering inclination Alice" he said, reading off the fax.
Everyone stepped away. They first welcomed me with wide smiles but now, now they looked at me in disgust and even…horror. The entire fifteen years of my life read out in one sentence. My secret announced to people who I didn't even know. Tears dripped off my face. Narumi tried to walk closer to me but I stepped away.
"No" I said, "I'll hurt you"