I wonder what's for lunch today.
The kids probably aren't even paying attention.
James just passed a note to Leslie. I have to tell Emily.
I wonder if this is going to be on the exam.
Max had heard the thoughts of the people around him for as long as he could remember. He supposed it was because he was a healer – after all, neither Isabel nor Michael had the ability to hear thoughts.
In recent years, Max had learned to refine his ability. When he was younger, the thoughts at times would overwhelm him, forcing him to remain at home for days at a time. He would find himself in a sea of incomprehensible images and phrases in which he would lose his own essence until his mental barriers would suddenly reappear, allowing him to once again recover himself. For the first couple years of his time on Earth, his parents always fussed over him as a result of these episodes. They took him to doctors who could not diagnose him, and they sought ways to keep the episodes from occurring.
Max's first breakthrough came when he realized when he was about nine years old that he could explore his own mind when closing his eyes, allowing him to build mental barriers that would allow in more or less information based on their size. While at first this practice required an hour or so to complete, Max gained the ability over time to change the shape and size of the walls in just the span of a blink. Instead of simply allowing others' thoughts to increase or decrease in volume, Max could allow in certain individuals' thoughts and not others' or capture more information from certain individuals while only letting in the most superficial thoughts from others.
Max found he rarely needed to dig below the superficial level. After all, most people's passing thoughts included everything he needed to know. However, it helped to be able to dig deeper if someone seemed to be lying to him or if he wished to capture images in addition to words from others' minds.
MAX.
Max looked up quickly, startled. Was there a fire? A gun?
Max looked to his sister Isabel, the source of the mental shout. He quickly checked her for physical injuries. Finding no external causes for alarm, he let in her thoughts, wondering why she used a mental shout to break into his thoughts.
Mr. Jackson asked you a question, she thought pointedly, raising her right eyebrow knowingly, The answer is The Civil War.
Max looked up at Mr. Jackson, finding his eyes already on him.
"The Civil War?" Max asked quickly, hoping not too much time had passed since Mr. Jackson asked the question.
"Yes," Mr. Jackson said, turning back to the chalkboard, "The Civil War."
As Mr. Jackson continued with his lecture, Max looked back over to Isabel, giving her a quick nod in thanks.
You're welcome, she thought. You know, you really should pay attention, though. Our exam is next week.
Max let out a soft chuckle, knowing that his lack of attention was not the wisest choice. Yet, he also knew Isabel would let him know if his attention was needed. Michael and Isabel had both learned over time how to deal with his telepathic abilities. They had both learned how to directly aim some of their thoughts towards him as well as shield some of their thoughts from him – a learned ability which he understood the necessity for. Max always tried to be aware of individuals' privacy, but in the times when he was more open to others' thoughts, it was easier to capture sensitive information from people who were not aware that they should attempt to shield their thoughts.
Similarly, Max and Michael had learned some ways to respond to Isabel's gift. She had always been sensitive to others' emotions. Max had seen images in her mind of the way she saw people's auras around them colored with their moods. As she grew up and her ability matured, Isabel gained the ability to alter others' emotions. She described it as painting a new color on their auras, but she had to be careful of the speed and extent to which she applied the change. When she made too extreme of a change, individuals began acting crazy, dangerous, or just plain weird. When she changed the emotions too fast, the change was apparent to both the individual and those around him or her. They began asking questions, wondering how or why their moods switched. Oftentimes, they began worrying that they had some kind of a disorder as generally "an alien did it" was not the first response to changing moods.
Michael, on the other hand, had a greater power over objects than both Max and Isabel. While all three could change the molecular structures of materials, Michael could do so without touching the items. Additionally, he could sense the presence of objects without seeing them. While at a young age Michael often used his ability for pranks, leading to unexplained physical changes that Isabel would have to control the curiosity of onlookers about, Michael had learned the importance of subtlety as he matured. While he still enjoyed his pranks, he now messed with lockers and showerheads instead of erasers and chalk – leading to people coming up with reasonable alternative causes.
As the bell rang for lunch, Max searched for her voice in the school. While he knew her schedule and could practically pinpoint her location at any point, Max knew that her time in class would be spent thinking about algebra, history, or science depending on what class she was in. Yet, during lunch, her thoughts were freer.
Max stood and headed towards the door, wading through both the physical bodies of the other students heading towards the cafeteria and the busy thoughts of his classmates while he mentally sought out her voice.
He felt Isabel beside him as he stepped up to his locker. He was surprised he hadn't heard the voice he was looking for yet. Her Spanish class had just let out; yet, she didn't appear to be near the classroom or her locker. He shut his locker, frustrated.
He turned towards the cafeteria and immediately ran into someone walking in the opposite direction.
"Sorry," he heard a soft voice say quickly.
Hearing the voice he had been looking for – albeit mentally and not actually audibly – Max looked down quickly and found himself staring into chocolate brown eyes.
It was her. Liz.