Chapter 1: The Biotic Freak – Isabella Aged 10

"Why did you do it!" head carer Anna Crezik yells at me. "They were asking for it." I replied simply. Totally true but since I accidently used my biotics on them it immediately became my fault.

Twenty minutes earlier:

I am standing in front of the full length mirror in mine and Sasha's room at the Patricia's house in London (aka the place where you leave the children you can't or won't look after). Looking at my refection and what do I see? The same scrawny girl, small for ten years old with baggy second-hand clothes that still don't fit a year after having them dumped on me after another girl got adopted with messy red hair at shoulder length that looks like it could do with a cut. I don't normally look at my reflection but as its visitor's day I thought I should at least make an attempt to look presentable. I try not to look at my worst feature, the one blue eye and one green eye. One of the reasons no one talks me (the other being my biotics.)

"You look great as always Izzy" Sasha sighs. "I don't. Stop lying!" I reply angrily. With the look of hurt on her face I go over and sit at the end of her bed. "You are wayyyy prettier than me. If you let them I am sure someone will come and talk to you." I say with a smile. I mean it too with big blue eyes, blond eyes and a nice clean dress. If she didn't stick like glue to me most of the time she could have been out of here three years ago. But for reasons I could never understand she won't leave without me.

"Not if they don't wanna talk to you too." She says to me sulkily. I try to think of something to say back to her but it never works and to be honest, I just want to get this over with.

So I stand up and say with forced enthusiasm "Let's go and see if any of the posh gits want to get to know us." Sasha takes my hand and we go and join the other 5-10 year old girls that are lining up in the hallway.

At 10am one of the assistant carer's takes us all to the play room before all of the adults arrive. The other girls go off to pick up and play with their favourite toys or to play some game where half the pieces are missing or is played on our only onmi-tool, I meanwhile take Sasha over to the small bookcase in the corner so I can go and read a book that I haven't read 20 times already and pretend that none of this is happening and sit with my back to the door. "What are you doing! If you do that, the good people will all go and talk to the more interesting kids." Sasha states to me quickly. "Don't care." I respond "Come onnnnn Izzy if have to at least try."

I did the first few times 'the house' had one of these days. I would go and play with the other kids, talk to the adults, smile lots and try to look adorable. If they could get see past my eyes, the next step would always cause them to run a mile. When they tell them that I have biotic abilities (I glow blue and can sometimes when really angry push things). The smiles that they had worn would disappear and then they would state that they couldn't deal with a child with my 'difficulties' (or for the less enlightened minds 'me no want freak'). So after 5 years here I have stopped trying.

"You go if you want Sas, I am quite happy here thanks." I glance from the book I was deciding to read and see her face turn red with anger. "FINE I WILL! I'll fine some nice people and they'll take me away from your stupid face!" Then she storms off and joins some of the other girls playing with the latest holo-game.

I try not to let her get to me. After being left at a hospital after being diagnosed as a biotic at 5 years old I am seriously slow to trust or let anyone in any more. (Sasha got there before I totally hardened.) So I go back to reading while the others start enjoying themselves.

Ten minutes ago:

They'll start letting in people soon, the carers like us to look happy before they let the adults in. As I start trying to shut out the rest of the world while I read, I hear Sasha scream.

I look at her as she starts to cry as two of the other girls (who I call pugly because she's ugly and farty because she farts ALOT) stand between her and the game. "How did you do that!" pugly shouts. "I-I only moved the piece where I could… not my fault you didn't protect your castle probably." Sasha sniffs. "Liar, liar" farty sings songs as she pushes her over.

I get angry. No one treats one of my few friends like that, so I march over to them not even noticing the blue energy dancing between my fingers. So as pugly and farty go to pick Sasha up I push them with the biotic energy I didn't realise I had been drawing and they go flying to the other side of the room and hit the wall with a crash. As they slowly get up I can see blood dripping down their heads from where they hit the wall.

"Wh-Why did you do that? You know what they will d-do. I-I could have handled them." Sasha cries to me through her tears. Both pugly and farty sneer at me and in unison shout "HELP!" before putting on fake tears.

The door bursts open and I can see the adults through the door and even though there are a number of girls in the room the head carer yells at me "Isabella! Go to my room!"

Now:

I sit there and listen bored out of my mind as Anna berates me for 'protecting' my friend.

"What am I going to do with you?" she sighs, I shrug my shoulders unsure what to say at this point only knowing that I am in deep trouble. "Confining you, extra chores, exercise and talking to you. Nothing I do stops this behaviour. We might have to seriously consider getting outside help, no one seems to know what to do with you biotics." Looking at me with tired eyes "go to your room. STAY there until further notice."

I smile sweetly at her and walk out.

Halfway back I bump into John, the only other person I can tolerate in this place, little over 11 years old with brown eyes and brown hair. Learning against the wall smirking he looks at me. "In trouble again? Visiting's only just started." "They were bullying her again. I hate bullies." I shoot back.

We walk back to my room in silence then he sits next to me on my bed. Our hands touch and I can't help but blush. Why does this happen whenever he is near? He looks me straight in the eyes. "We don't fit here do we?" I know what he means, no one want him either. Just because his parents did some bad stuff, they think he's bad too. So I nod back at him.

"Why don't we run away?" he states to me seriously. "We can do it. We're smart." He gets up and starts pacing the room. "We can find a place where we belong."

I can't help but wonder if he is being serious? Run away? "You're joking right?" He shakes his head. He looks straight into my eyes, pleading for me to agree. So I start thinking about it. Going through scenarios. Thinking of places we could go. How to get food, water and money. I know we will end up back here in even worse trouble. But I think I want to try. So I jump up, take his hands and say "Sure why not."