Chapter 1 Highway to Hell

I swear life is out to torture me, honest to god, my life is rapidly going downhill. I want to have a normal life, doing what I want, but instead, I have two irritating, hard to control powers and a little brother to care for. My name is Mercy Hood. Welcome to my shit life.

I am currently 20 years old and I live in Denver, Colorado going to Denver university to study to be a general science teacher. I have a younger brother, Jamie, who is 18 and is studying a literature major so that he can be a writer.

I suppose I should do visual description of myself. I'm 5ft 8in, skinny, I have raven hair and emerald-green eyes. normally, I wear dark skinny jeans and a brightly colored top. Apparently, I'm really pretty because boys watch me and ask me to dances and such but I usually bunk off because I can't be bothered, I mean, why would I if I have a soulfinder who could make me happy? But it's a little harder than I thought.

Studying sciences has always been my dream since I was 7 and my dad explained how different shapes effect airflow around it and that sort of thing. One of my gifts is super speed so I can understand information easily and move quickly. It makes my life easier because I can do an hours worth of homework in 5 minutes, including checking.

It's quite helpful because I can hep Jamie with his stuff because I'm majoring in Sciences but minoring in literature so that it's easier to write essays and such. My other power is mind manipulation.

I've been in Amsterdam visiting my parents for Christmas and making sure that I have all of my study plans finished for the new semester. We have a new chemistry lecturer so that means that we have some new curriculum to brush up on. I've had too much time so I could all but sit the end of semester exam on the first day. Gosh, I'm such a loser, I spent my christmas break studying things I was going to learn. Oh well, I guess that what happens when your mind runs too fast, I've read all of the fiction books in my local library in Denver.

My life is quite boring sometimes, and now I feel like a nerd because I actually want to go back to school and be able to do something, anything better than moping around my (and my brother's) apartment with nothing to do. Generally, I've been cooking and baking for the sake of it. I'm cleaning items around the place like there's no tomorrow. Even my bookworm for a brother commented on it.

Hey Merc, you okay? You're acting a bit weird at the moment…. He'd asked me telepathically one morning while I was cleaning the kitchen.

Yeah, fine. Just need to do something with my hands until I can just do real work at school.

Nerd. He sent back teasingly.

You aren't much better, bookworm. I sent back, laughing out loud.

Oi!

Chill, I'm messing with you! The good thing about Jamie is that we're friends more than siblings so living with him is more like having a roommate than living with your brother.

School at the very least keeps my mind occupied when my mind goes too fast. I mean, I already understand everything that we're learning but it's nice to have to slow down when there are others around. I was still fastest in the class but I wasn't going so fast others couldn't see my hand which would cause suspicion. First I have a literature lecture talking about Shakespeare's sonnets and the meaning of them. Then the biology and physics revision sessions and lunch which for me is hanging out in the library reading a random romance novel about love at first sight or some such thing.

After lunch, I have Chemistry Lab where we have a new teacher and new lab partners. I must say that I'm glad because my last partner was an ass and a half so it sorta made it difficult to actually work together.I'm a bit skeptical though, because most of my class are idiots and don't give a damn about the work, they're here for the parties and stuff. I arrive a few minutes early and go to look at the partner arrangement to find that I'm partnered with Will. Freaking. Benedict. Asshole of the century at the moment, he's really cold to anyone outside of his elite circle of "friends" who are still overly obsessed with how other's see them still after high school where they should have stopped caring. Ugh. Kill me now, he's probably gonna flirt with me and try to get under my skin and such to distract me from the task at hand. God. I plop down in a seat and make sure that I don't look like a total idiot in my skinny jeans and sweater, then I set up my stuff as the rest of the class file in looking at the partner plan and chatter away to each other. This is going to be a slow afternoon. Oh goody! (note the sarcasm) Will has found hi way over to me and is slouching over next to me looking at me as though I'm the most fascinating thing ever.

"Will Benedict." I hear as a hand comes in front of my face. I scowl at him.

"I know who you are," I say rolling my eyes at his efforts to be friendly. He's hopeless, I think to myself as I go back to looking around the room, waiting for the professor to arrive.

"But do you know what I'm studying?" he questions smirking at me.

Sighing, I bite, "No, but I don't care, I need to do well in this class, okay? Let me just ignore you."

At that moment Professor Markson came in effectively ending the "conversation" we were having. Instructing everyone to get the kit that he wrote on the board he told us to find which metal oxides turn red when burnt. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at Will's confused expression because this is seriously easy for college work but it seems like I'm the only one who thinks it's easy. God. What am I gonna do?