"Rose," Mrs. Gregory said, "Would you please stay after a moment?" The lunch bell had just rang, so the rest of the class flooded out. Everyone except me. I stayed in my seat.
Mrs. Gregory came over and stood above me. "Rose, how long did you study for my test?"
I had to look down before I could answer. "I didn't."
She laid a packet of paper on my desk. The test. My test, actually. 100% was written at the top and circled in big red marker.
"Your first test here, on your first day, and you got a perfect score. You even did the EC and essay questions. Perfectly."
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, pretending to be confused. But I knew I'd get a perfect score on every test. We all would get perfect scores, just because of what happened to us so many years ago.
"No, not bad. Just…" she hesitated, looking for the right word. "It's just different. This was a pre-test, a pop-quiz, if you will, for the unit we would start tomorrow, and it looks as if you all ready know all the information. Not even my advance class does this well—they only score in the 90s."
"Oh," was all I could manage. Then, gathering some courage, I asked, "May I go to lunch now?"
She thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, you may." She took the test off my desk and walked back to hers at the front of the room.
I gathered my books into my bag and walked out the door.
I walked quickly down the hall. During lunch, you weren't supposed to be in the hallways without a hall pass. I was locker number 1013. When I got there, I speed-dialed my com, 33-21-5, and hung my bag on the small hook. I took a purple elastic from around my wrist and put my long, dirty-blond hair into a high pony tail. I sighed. Even with my hair up, it still flowed, very wavy, down to about my waist. I grabbed my Sunkist™ off the top shelf, closed the door, and speed-walked down the hall, towards the cafeteria. I didn't know exactly where it was, so I just followed the smell of melting cheese, cooking chicken, and fried-food.
Once I entered the big double doors, voices immediately rang in my head. Most of them suggested that the Montoyas were crazy, sitting at the Masens' table. I looked around for them, and saw four familiar heads sitting at said table, next to the east wall and towards the back exit.
The crazy ones. The Montoyas. My family.
Ashlie and I were twins; Jamie and Drew were brother and sister. Taylor was Drew's girlfriend, and someone the four of us had known for a very long time.
I tried to ignore the voices ringing in my head as I wound through tables and chairs, making my way towards the table that supposedly belonged to the Masens.
They were sitting in the order we normally sat in: Ashlie on the end, then Jamie, Drew, and Taylor. There was an empty chair next to Taylor. My chair.
"Hey, guys," I said as I approached them.
"Hey," Jamie replied back. Her red hair was pulled back into a neat French braid.
"Hi," Ashlie, usually so unnecessarily complicated, surprisingly kept things simple.
"'S'up?" Drew responded just like he was responding to anyone who said 'Hi'.
Taylor was the only one to greet me with more than one syllable. "We saved you a seat." She pointed to the empty chair beside her.
"Yeah, I can see that," I sat down and put my Sunkist™ on the table in front of me. "So, who's heard the latest gossip?"
"I'm sorry, but the rest of us seem to lack the Power of mind reading." Ashlie said it like I should've known. And I did.
The five of us, Ashlie, Jamie, Drew, Taylor, and I, were…special. We've been alive for the past couple of centuries. Ok, more like three-and-a-half centuries. When we were born, some freaky mad scientist dude mixed our DNA with a bunch of other DNA. Different formulas for each of us, but in one way, we all ended up the same.
We were mutated freaks.
In the other ways, well, that comes down to our different formulas. We each got our own, unique Powers.
Even though Ashlie and I were twins, our Powers were nothing alike. I can read minds. Most people would love to do that. Well, those people, who think it's great, are wrong. I admit, at certain times my Power came in handy, but mostly, it sucks. With a capitol sucks. I hear everyone. It's like being in a room filled with people all talking at once. And some thoughts are whispered, some are shouted. I tried not to listen, knowing I had no right to be in someone's mind, but I can't stop it.
And because of it, it was my responsibility to know the reactions of the people around us. I acted as lookout, for lack of better word, for my family. To protect us. If anyone ever grew suspicious of us, I would give us an early warning and an easy retreat. It happened occasionally—some human with an overactive imagination would see in us characters of a book or a movie. Usually, they got it wrong, but it was better to move on to somewhere new than to risk scrutiny. Very, very rarely, someone would guess right. We didn't give them a chance to test their hypothesis. We simply disappeared, to become no more than a frightening memory…
Ashlie, on the other hand, was telepathic. Her Powers were telepathy, the way of talking with the mind, and telekinesis, the way to move inanimate objects with your thoughts. So, in a way, Ashlie could read minds, but someone had to call out to her directly with their mind in order for her to do it, and she could send thoughts to other people. And the telekinesis, well, that was just plain fun. But still, Ashlie didn't get anything that would slowly drive her insane.
Jamie was so much more different than Ashlie and I. She was Psychic. She couldn't see the future, but she could hear it, hear what people will say or other noises, and she could feel it, feel whether it will be good or bad. She was also very specific. She could pin-point where and when it would happen, and occasionally she was a few feet or minutes off, but always right. Indecision wasn't much of a problem; it just made things a little harder.
Drew was a…there isn't a word for Drew. He's just an explanation. Drew can see relationships, and can influence or break them. He couldn't do much, but he was glad he could at least do something.
Taylor was the most amazing of us all. She just had to think of something—anything—and snap her fingers. And out of nowhere, whatever she was thinking of would be right there, right in front of her. It worked the other way too.
She could also Sense what others' Powers were. If we were getting suspicions on someone, if we started thinking they were MFs like us, we'd ask Taylor to do a Sense on them, and she would tell us if they were or not. Most of the time they weren't, but there were a few occasions where we'd find one. When we do find another group of our kind, we usually clash: Power vs. Power, Sight vs. Sight, subtle things like that—that somehow always end in death for someone. And if you did have Power, you're Gifted. So Taylor could do more than all of us could.
Taylor's thoughts were the ones I tried not to listen to the most. Her thoughts were extremely sensitive; she could tell if I was in them on purpose, or just on accident. I tried staying out of the others' thoughts as well, but it wasn't as easy.
Try as I may, still…I knew.
Ashlie was always thinking about what outfit she would wear after school or for school tomorrow.
Jamie was usually looking ahead to see if we'd have to leave soon, or if we'd get some unwelcome visitors.
Drew was always thinking boyish thoughts, but there were a few times where I'd catch him worrying on something else.
And, even though I tried harder than I usually do to stay out, I always heard Taylor's.
Taylor was always thinking about something different. One day, she'd be thinking of rain, how it felt nice after a hot day; the next she'd be thinking about a hurricane in Florida!
So, since I was the only one who could read minds, I've been the only one to hear the latest gossip.
"Ok, get this," I chuckled just a little. "We just happen to be crazy." We all started laughing—we were already on the road to insanity. This wasn't very new.
"'Kay," Drew said as the laughter died, a grin on his face. "So why are we crazy this time?"
"We are crazy because, apparently, we are sitting at the table that belongs to the Masens. Who these Masens are, I don't know. But we're sitting in their seats."
"The Masens' table?" Drew asked, pretending to be confused. "I don't see their names on it. Or on the chairs, either."
Ashlie snickered. "Well then, I guess the Masens will have to sit somewhere else."
"I nominate you to say that to their faces," Jamie told her. It didn't sound like she was joking very much, but her thoughts said otherwise.
"She just did," a deep voice said.
We turned our heads towards the sound and stood up, but didn't leave the table.
There were four of them: two boys, two girls. In a boy-girl pattern. Ugh. How kindergarten-ish. But we knew who, and what, they were.
The Masens. Other mutated freaks. They had to be: their appearance and confidence around us gave that away.
Most humans shied away from us because we were so 'extraordinarily beautiful' and 'a different kind of strange'. They were smart. But the Masens stood tall against us.
I started on my right. He was big, had short, dark hair, and was wearing a gray hoodie. The voice probably came from him.
Why are they here? At our table? Nothing too threatening. I moved on.
She was about average, not too tall but not too short. She had long, curly blond hair, and she obviously cared more about how she looked. Her thoughts weren't about the table. They were about Ashlie.
Why is she prettier than me? She's human! Wow. Now that is a dumb blond. We were anything but human. You'd think a mutant would know that.
The next boy had very curly hair, very dirty blondish.
Amazing. They aren't backing away from us, or worrying. They're completely calm. Could they be part of our kind? It's possible they're just overconfident… Well, he was right on one thing. We were overconfident. And it usually got us into trouble. Either that or my sarcasm did.
The last one was short, kind of pixyish. Her shoulder-length black hair was curled out at the ends, making it look spiky.
What are they doing here? she thought. Should've one of the humans here warned them that this is our table? Her thoughts were much different from Blondie's.
Drew interrupted my evaluating. "You must be the Masens."
"And you, the Montoyas," Pixie-girl said. "Look, we don't want any trouble, but this has been our table since the beginning of the school year, and the year before this," her musical voice was full of reasoning; I would've believed she didn't want any trouble, but her thoughts gave her away. "So can you please sit somewhere else?"
"We could," Ashlie said, emphasis on 'could', "But isn't the rule, 'First come, first serve?" She probably saw my tense posture from Pixie's question and was following.
"Exactly," said the big one; I was right, the deep voice came from him. "And since we were at the school first, we get the table."
"But what's the fun of playing by the rules?" Jamie asked sweetly. Ashlie must've sent out a warning to her, which meant Drew and Taylor, too. This was going to get interesting.
The entire cafeteria was quiet now, all eyes on the ten of us. They were too intrigued by our confrontation; all they could do was stare. But their thoughts were everywhere, and focused on us.
Rose. Ashlie called out my name mentally. My head didn't turn like it usually did; I knew Ashlie's 'voice' well enough. Find out what Drew sees. Translation: she told Drew to find out about their relationships, if there were any.
Obediently, I went to Drew's mind.
The big one and the blond girl have a strong relationship, but the boy in the middle and the black-haired girl has an even stronger one. As for the bronze-haired boy, well, it seems he's grieving over a lost love. Drew stopped for a second. Ashlie told me she already told Taylor to Sense them. What does she say?
I stopped a moment.
Bronze-haired boy? There was no boy with bronze-colored hair here. The Masens only had four.
I moved into Taylor's mind.
The three on the left are the only Gifted ones, but the big one on the end is very strong, physically. The boy in the middle can calm everyone down, or excite them. He can feel what others are felling as well. The black-haired girl next to him is Psychic, like Jamie, but she can actually see the future, along with hear and feel. The bronze-haired boy is exactly like you, Rose. A mind reader. He's already gone through our minds, but it seems he can't get into yours…are you doing that? Can you get into his?
I wanted to scream. Why were they doing this to me? There was no bronze-haired boy! There were only four Masens: the big one, Blondie, the curly-haired boy, and Pixie. No bronze-haired boy anyw—
But my thoughts were stopped short. Right next to Pixie, standing exactly two feet in front of me, sure enough, there was a boy with bronze colored hair.
I stood shocked. Taylor said he couldn't read my mind. I wasn't doing anything, but he was just a regular mind reader, so he couldn't do anything either.
So what was going on?
No wonder I didn't see him at first. I was listening to thoughts, and since I never heard his, I didn't notice he was there. But it felt uncomfortable. Right where his thoughts should be, I heard…nothing.
And the nothing felt so good, yet uncomfortable at the same time.
I folded my arms across my chest. His arms had been folded there the entire time. We just stared at each other, eyes narrowed. The more I concentrated on listening to his silent thoughts, the less I heard from the rest of the room. I wondered if it was the same for him as well.
We kept on staring. His green eyes bore into mine, and my blue into his. For a split second, I looked at the other four. Their eyes were blue. Various shades of blue, but still, blue. I quickly returned to his gaze.
"Guys," he said, his eyes still on me, "Let's go. It's not worth it." His voice was lovely, like silk. Or velvet.
"What?" the big one demanded. "Erik—"
"Ethan." The bronze-haired boy, Erik, cut the big one, Ethan, off. "It's just a table." He broke our gaze to look at him, then at the girl next to him. "Aliss?"
Pixie-girl sighed. "Erik's right. It's just a table." She took the hand of the curly-haired boy and dragged him towards the exit. "Come on, Jayson. Let's go get a bag of chips or something before the bell rings." They disappeared out the door.
"Whatever," Ethan sighed, clearly not over it. "Let's go, Rose."
I froze. But Blondie answered him.
"I can't believe we spent the entire lunch period arguing over a table," she complained. But without another word, they turned and walked out.
Leaving us with Erik.
The cafeteria burst into conversation, wondering how on earth we were actually able to stand up to the Masens. And survive.
For the first time since the 'gossip', I spoke. "Her name is Rose?" I asked Erik.
"Rosalynn," he corrected, "We just call her Rose for short."
Taylor sighed. "Well that will get confusing." She and Drew sat down, then Jamie and Ashlie. Erik and I were the only ones left standing.
"How?" Erik was obviously already confused, but for a different reason.
"My name is Rosalinda," I explained. "So they call me Rose for short."
He unfolded his arms and put his hands in his pockets. "Wow. That will get confusing."
The bell rang. Students hurried across the room, throwing trash away and rushing out the exit, giving their best attempt to make it to class on time.
"Well," Erik said, "I guess I'll see you around." And with that, he turned and walked out the door. And for some strange reason, I kept staring at the exact spot he left.
"Alright," Jamie stood up. "Let's go." Ashlie, Drew, and Taylor stood and started for the door, leaving me standing and staring like an idiot. "Don't forget your 'Kist, Rose." I grabbed my forgotten, unopened soda and followed my family out the door.