Chapter One:
Running
Monty Petrelli
Oak Hollow, North Dakota
My name is Monty, Monty Petrelli, and I am one of the runners. After my half-sister, Claire Bennet. revealed herself to the world six years ago, the scope eyeing people like me zoomed in much closer. The only way to hide is to run. My brother, Simon, and I live with our grandmother, Angela in a relatively rural town in North Dakota, known as Oak Hollow. We moved here less than a month ago, to hide our true identities. My grandmother has an ability, she can dream and see the future. My brother Simon, who is older than me has demonstrated the ability to control and create flames, and me, I have been gifted with the ability to teleport myself, and people anywhere I wish. I discovered this ability when I was twelve years old, when I teleported myself to my mother's grave site in New York City. When I returned home, my grandmother knew it was time that we move, that we get one with our lives, before the government discovered my father had left us more than trust funds.
Today, I began my junior year at Oak Hollow Academy, where I will use the name Monty Moore. I have always been pretty social, and open, but honestly, I was not looking forward to meeting new people, or starting at this new school. I think my grandmother was more worried that I would accidentally teleport some bully to timbuktoo. I think the hardest thing for me, was that I was going to have to remain out of the spotlight, I am usually the first one to raise their hand, and always the class clown. Ya know, life was usually good to me. My brother, Simon, was the good guy, the one who always studied hard, he graduated before we had to move, so lucky for him, he get's to live in a stuffy dorm at Princeton University as Michael Moore.
"Don't forget your lunch…" my grandmother looked at me, handing me a lunchbox as I opened the car door at the student drop-off zone.
"Gram, most guys get hot lunch." I chuckled. But she stopped smiling.
"You need to watch yourself. One slip up could reveal who you are. Do not be funny, and do not make yourself known. Your one job is to stay in the background. No spectacles." She said sternly, but directly after put her shoulder on me. I lightly smiled and huffed a little, attempting to reassure her I had most things under control. I got out of the BMW, and readjusted my tie, and closed the car door. But before I walked away… she rolled down the window and said "Remember who you are, Monty Moore!" And rolled it back up, and drove off. I hated this name change for sure.
I started walking toward the school building, a magnificent old-fashioned brick building with vines crawling up the front. It was architecture I wish I could see more often. I walked into the main foyer, and saw many kids dressed like I was. It was very evident to them that I was the new kid apparently, I got more stares in the one walk to my first period classroom, than I did when my father became Senator of New York many years ago. The staring eventually became laughing. What was so funny? When I walked into my first period classroom, everyone was seated with books out. I kind of stood dead in my tracks.
"And you are?" the middle-aged woman standing at the electronic white-board said.
"I am, uh, Monty Moore. I am, uh, new." I gulped. I had never been so nervous. Especially with the lying. Everyone laughed at me, probably due to the fact that my parents blessed me with the name Monty.
"Well Monty, you are late for you first day of class. Not a good way to earn respect here at Oak Hollow!"
"My apologies, ma'am." I shrugged slightly. I couldn't help but be a little sarcastic.
"Mhm.. Well, I guess you can sit there next to Carissa Calloway." Ms. Faulkner huffed. Carissa Calloway, was absolutely, and undeniably gorgeous. She had beautiful long brunette hair, and green eyes that glistened when she faced the window. I would not mind sitting next to someone so beautiful. But, being the new kid. I wouldn't be so sure she'd enjoy sitting next to me.
"Oh, and Mr. Moore!" Ms. Faulkner interrupted my teenage daydream. "Your hairstyle is not meeting the dress code! Hair gel is not allowed!" Everyone started laughing, including Carissa. I said softly but loud enough:
"I'll keep that in mind tomorrow." and smiled. Carissa looked at me, and I looked at her. She lightly smiled, and quickly went back to reading the assignment.
Lunch time came around,after I finally found the cafeteria. I took my bag, and went down and sat at an empty table, and took my grinder out, as I started to eat, I got a push on the shoulder.
"You're in my seat." I heard a deep voice say. It was a tall, very buff, jock. He was wearing his sportcoat over his uniform. I strongly considered telling him to piss off, but my grandmother's cold face popped into my mind. I got up and said:
"Sorry, didn't know." They all laughed at me. I packed my lunch up, and scanned the cafeteria. Not one table was empty. I walked passed Carissa and saw her with a bunch of other Barbie dolls. She didn't even notice me pass her. I found a long table that had two other people at the very end of it. I sat on the opposite end. I took out my iPhone, and wrote a text to my grandmother. "Gram, everything is good, I haven't made a blasphemous fool of myself yet :)." I smiled as I sent it because I knew she'd roll her eyes at that.
"You're new here aren't you?" a voice came from the other end of the table. I glanced up, and looked at a girl with thick glasses, and braids. I realized I hadn't responded and just nodded quickly with a smile.
"Don't let Carson Calloway scare you, I saw what he did to you over there. He's just a jock." she said. I smiled at her again, and continued looking at my phone. "I'm Lily. Are you going to just sit there and ignore me, and continue looking at your news feed, or are you going to acknowledge that I'm a person." she said pretty sarcastic. I liked this girl's tone!
"Sorry, I'm just nervous, it's my first day at this school. I'm Monty. Monty Moore." I sort of waved.
"Hah- what kind of name is Monty?" She laughed. I smiled, just because I was realizing no matter where I went, Monty would never be a cool name.
"One that my awesome parents decided to give me." I laughed.
"I'm joking, it's unique! I like unique. But anyway, you are one of those pretty boys. Don't you play sports?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, Lacrosse and soccer, but… well… I'm not allowed to play here." I got a pit in my throat.
"Why… Oh shit, man, you into pot?" She seemed so serious.
"Haha- No, I'm just not supposed to make a spectacle of myself. I don't want to stand out or anything." I didn't know what I would say if she asked why. Luckily she didn't. Instead she rolled her eyes, and took Wuthering Heights out of her bookbag, and opened it. Unknown to every other person, I enjoyed that book when I read it sophomore year. It was dark, but moving. Kind of like my life has always been. I smirked at her. I could see her staring at me out of the corner of my eye.
"What, is it queer to read at lunch time?" Her words attacked like a french army!
"No! I'm smiling, just, 'cause, well, I like that book. Not that I'd tell any of the guys that. But yeah I enjoyed it." She looked at me with disbelief. I could tell she thought I was trying to make fun of her. She put it down on the table.
"Okay, well tell me who wrote it." She covered it with her lunch tray.
"Emily Bronte." I smiled. She nodded, still with disbelief that I had read it. But before I could say anymore. The lunch bell rang.
"Sit here tomorrow. I wanna quiz you!" she said as she trotted toward the exit.
Chemistry. God help me. I hated anything sciency. It made me want to teleport myself across the country and drop into a hot cauldron of lava. Well, maybe not quite that bad. But, I did hate science courses. And it became all the worse when I realized I had been assigned to work with Carissa Calloway.
"There has got to another way. I always work by myself in this class!" I heard her say to the instructor.
"I'm sorry Miss Calloway, you are the only free lab partner this semester. You'll have to work with Mr. Moore." She looked at me, and rolled her eyes. I heard another one of her friends say "I am so sorry, Riss". I decided I could potentially have a little fun with this. I went over and plopped my textbook and binder on the lab table, and didn't look at her. I saw her iPhone on the lab table and teleported it to another lab table. She turned around and started searching for it. When she went around the room looking I teleported it back to the table. She looked at me with disgust. I was most definitely laughing inside. She started to read the lab directions. I looked at her and said:
"I'm sorry I am burdening you." She looked at me with no denial that my statement was true. I was burdening her.
"It's not you, it's me. I like working alone in this class." she started pouring the contents of the erlenmeyer flask into the beaker.
"Why's that?" I questioned.
"Oh… I have my reasons." she said as she began to stir the contents with a stirring rod. I respected her candor. At least she wasn't mad at the fact it was me, and not someone else.
The rest of the day went by relatively slow. Nothing out of the ordinary happened other than I got shoved in the hallway by another jock. Typical douche bags. I went outside after the dismissal bell rang, and saw Carissa heading towards her very own Volvo, and with Carson Calloway. Oh damnit, they're siblings! It explains some things. Why wouldn't both of them be total ass holes?
I noticed my grandmother pull up. I hopped in, and threw my bookbag in the back seat.
"Well, how'd your day go." she questioned.
"Boring, uneventful." I said with a huff. "Exactly as you asked." I said with extreme sarcasm.
"It's boring and uneventful or exciting and disastrous. Make your choice, Monty!" She yelled. "Good god, there is too much of your father in you. Not enough of your level-headed mother." We started heading home in silence. Angela Petrelli was always the one to break that silence.
"You didn't use your ability at all today, did you?" I started thinking about how I teleported her phone. I didn't even think about the consequences at the time. I doubt anyone noticed.
"Of course not. I know how awful it could be, Gram." I rolled my eyes a little to make it seem like I did as she asked this time.
"Good man, because that could cause some terrible thing to happen. Believe me you wouldn't enjoy what would happen.
We arrived at our home in the woods, away from civilization. It was perfect because no one would see us in our day to day activities so we could kind of be free without people seeing us. I went over to the landline phone, and clicked the voicemail button. There was a missed call from Simon. Gram told me to play it. She would always get nervous. It was just a message explaining he had made it safe to Massachusetts, and was unpacked in his private dorm room. Only the best for Simon.
"Am I allowed to make friends at school?" I asked my grandmother as she began setting the table for dinner.
"Yes, but not close ones… You cannot let them gain access to your private life." she said. Definitely not the answer I wanted to hear. By friends, I meant girlfriends… I wanted a love life more than anyone. I was probably the only 17 year old virgin from my school in New York City. Definitely was missing out on a lot. Now it was going to be ten times harder here. How was I supposed to get laid if I couldn't let people into my personal life.
Having no one close to me other than my grandmother was going to be the hardest part of this transition, this hiding bullshit. I wanted someone to hold, someone to just embrace. I hadn't had someone to actually hug since my mother died six years ago. My grandmother never hugged me, she was too cold for that. These thoughts are selfish though, and to stay alive, I have to eliminate my petty desires, and just live with this. It was for the good of my entire bloodline, this includes Claire who is hiding in the jungles of Vietnam. I don't know where my Uncle is, I don't know where Noah Bennet is, I don't know where most of my fellow evolved humans are. But this plan will work. I want it to work. Please let it.
TO BE CONTINUED