The sun beat down on the plaza, illuminating every crevice that the stony ground had. It was twelve o'clock sharp, the sun exactly overhead as the crowd stood in shock. Sam Temple had recently—less than three minutes ago—given the entirety of Perdido Beach, as well as the few kids from Coates Academy, a speech. Powers. People had developed powers.
Andria Jones, along with the majority of the people in the plaza, couldn't believe what they had heard. Of course, there had always been talk about the 'magic tricks,' but this was the first time anybody in a place of authority, especially Sam Temple, had admitted to it. All of the littles had been gathered up from their roughhousing and naps to hear the spiel, and they were probably the most enthusiastic group there.
A child, Andria estimated to be about age six, broke the silence. "Just like Spiderman! Sam, what power do I got?"
Sam's response was slow. "Well... You see, not all of you might have powers. Some started awhile ago, and some are just showing up. To be honest, even I'm still getting used to it."
An older kid spoke up this time, a mocking tone to his voice. "So, what power do you have?" It was obvious that he didn't believe.
Sam didn't speak, he just raised his hands up as an answer, and then, almost timidly, his hands started to radiate. Green orbs seemed to float in his palms as the crowd gasped. It was the color that Andria would describe as a meadow shade. A green, the exact shade of the grass that used to reside in Perdido Beach's gardens. Except, unlike the grass, Sam's vivid light didn't dull to an ugly shade of yellowy brown when not looked after. At the same time, it looked like uranium.
"Ha! So what, you can glow. Next you're going to tell me that I can make flowers sprout just by thinking about it." It was the same boy who had asked him what he could do. His face showed scorn, disapproval.
Sam's voice was grave. "These are weapons, and that's why I'm asking people who've noticed that they have powers to refrain from hurting anybody." It wasn't exactly a demand, nor a threat, but it had the air of authority that Sam carried everywhere he went. Of course, he wasn't the main person in charge. Caine was. Sam was just doing the speech.
"Doesn't look like a weapon to me. What're you going to do, blind me to death?" Once again, it was the boy who had spoken before.
Sam turned around, his back now facing the crowd. He raised his hand higher, palms aimed towards an abandoned shop's sign, no kids anywhere near it. In an instant, green shot from his hands, towards the shop. It hit two meters away from his target, leaving a large black scorch mark in its wake.
Sam turned back towards the boy, and replied, in a joking tone, "Guess I missed." The boy had ticked him off, yet Sam had still kept his composure.
That's why he's one of the leaders, Andria thought. Always keeping it cool. She forgot about everything else, and headed her attention at Sam again. He was speaking.
"That's about it." He said, relieved that it was over. He had started to walk away, but a pointed glare from Astrid had stopped him. "Oh! And, we're kind of short on town helpers, so if you're interested in helping out, stop by the town office. And trust me; we need a lot of help." Half of the crowd had left by the time he finished it, uninterested about working. Even Andria had started to leave, but she had still heard it.
I guess I'll just have to accept it. Andria thought, dumbfounded. I wonder if I'll get a power. I hope so, it would be cool. Wait... What if people notice me because of it? I take it back. I don't want a power.
Alexandria Jones had always been bland, at best. She was smart, yet not a genius. Pretty, yet not gorgeous. If the townies of Perdido Beach had been casted in a movie, she would have been an extra. She barely even liked to be seen. She accepted that, welcomed it even. She had even made people call her Andria, since she didn't like her full name, thinking it was too long and too bold for a girl like her. Even 'Alex' seemed too flashy for her.
Andria considered her worst trait to be her self-consciousness, and at the same time, it was her best. That fault would make her strive for perfection, in fear of getting mocked. In the end, she did things almost perfectly, but she was fearful of everyone who looked at her, if only for a second.
Stop that way of thinking, Andria Jones! She thought, giving herself a mental pep-talk. It's a new world now, so start a new life. Be a new person! Ride on your own spirit, not on the coattails of Stephanie!
The thought of Stephanie brought a sour cringe to Andria. The sisters were the exact opposite: while Andria had always liked to be in the shadows, Stephanie had been in the spotlight. Stephanie, being a loving sister, had tried to make Andria more approachable, but she had just rejected any offer of help.
When people thought of Andria, which was rare, they thought of Stephanie. After all, Stephanie had taken her under her polished wing. When Andria had reached high school, she'd had no friends. Stephanie had given her more than a place to sit at a lunch table. She'd given her a shred of self-confidence, which, for Andria, was a lot.
Andria compared herself to the Moon. The moon only showed one side of itself to the public, and only came out at night, with the rare day appearance. To make things even weirder, the Moon reflected the sun's—Stephanie's—light. The moon itself had no glow, whatsoever.
Stop being such a downer! Her inner social trainer said. Fresh life, remember? Now, go haul your sorry behind to Town Hall and get a job! Maybe if you did your part, people would think of you as nice!
The inner pep-talk voice had gotten to her. Andria started walking towards Town Hall, only to realize that she didn't know where it was. She'd never even been there. It was the place you went if you had a problem with the way things were, and she'd been perfectly content with how the things worked. A person couldn't even find it just by looking at the buildings, because it blended in with the size of buildings around it.
She knew what had to happen next. She dreaded it. She had to ask for directions.
It took her two tries. The first time she asked, she had gone up to a boy three times the size of her. She stuttered for what seemed like hours, but what had actually been seconds. In the end, she ran away. The second time, she went up to girl. Thirteen or so, around her age. Or maybe a tad younger. Andria prepared to be rejected, but the girl had simply pointed and smiled. Andria, shocked, had mumbled her thanks and walked away towards Town Hall.
The building's inside was crowded with busy teenagers. Diana Ladris stood, wide-eyed, behind the mahogany receptionist counter in the corner of the room. Andria could tell that they weren't here for jobs. They all had frowns on their faces, and about ninety percent of them were yelling. All were boys, because girls would've had more class with the matter. Complaints were being screamed, every boy trying to be heard over one another.
"Why is the Church still messed? Someone needs to fix the cross!"
"Where is all the ice-cream?"
"How come Caine isn't doing anything?"
Loud opinions rushed into Andria's ears, and she instantly sent her hands to her ears. Something was wrong... The sound was way too loud, and there seemed to be double the voices as kids in the room.
Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Diana, taking the pathway with the least kids in the way. She was cut short by a voice, Diana's voice, yelling.
"Everybody out!" It was the loudest voice there, and the only feminine one. A hush fell over the room as Diana Ladris stepped out from behind the receptionist counter. "If you're not here for a job, get the hell out of my face!" The boys complied.
Only Andria was left standing, and she knew she had to make the first move.
"You look like you need a receptionist." She said, with one of the rare smiles she gave out to friends.
"Are you offering?" Andria had meant it as a joke, but Diana didn't take it as one. Take it, just please, take it. The inner voice urged. But... the voice wasn't hers. She must have just been hearing things.
"I guess I am, so will you hire me?" She asked, tensing for rejection.
Diana walked over and held out her hand. "Diana Ladris." Oh, please. Andria thought. As if you need to introduce yourself. Everybody already knows who you are. Regardless, she took Diana's hand.
"Alexandria Jones." If she was going to start anew, she would get rid of her old nickname. Alexandria sounded more professional, anyways.
"Town Hall opens at six in the morning. You start tomorrow."
Yup, life will get better. But still, deep in the back of her head, Andria couldn't stop thinking about what could go wrong.
A/N: Started off slow, but the next chapter will get better. I just needed to introduce things, and this felt like a good place to cut it off. And, as I said, there miiight be romance in the later chapter. If I ever get out of this damn writer's block. :l