Chapter 2
The Incident
"What's wrong with her?" Tom thought, bitterly, as he shoveled a lumpy spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. He was seated at breakfast, busy complaining to the only person with any sense around this wretched place. Himself. Unfortunately, he was finding it difficult to complain about his little problem with only himself sympathize and listen.
It had been exactly one week since the arrival of the strange new girl, Frankie Dickson (he had stolen her file from Mrs. Cole's office, trying to get information on her and her last name was pretty much all he discovered). She was currently the only thing occupying most of Tom's time and thoughts. Not because he had come to like her in anyway, but because she was still foolishly attempting to try and befriend him. No matter how many times the other girls had tried to warn her of him and pull her away, she just kept springing back to him like an elastic hairband. She had some kind of sickly desperation to be his friend. Tom really wanted to know exactly what her deal was. Why did she want to be his friend so badly? He was a wicked, evil demon that could easily curse her to fall down a flight of stairs if he wanted too. Why could she not seem to comprehend that? Did he honestly look like he was desperate for companionship? He would've asked her some of these burning questions and tell her off once and for all. However, at this point, it probably wouldn't do him any good. Since she was still following him around after a whole week, she seemed to be the tough, headstrong type of girl that didn't cry easily no matter how cruel you were to her. Besides, initiating anymore conversation other than simple one-worded answers, would probably just provoke her affections more and he couldn't have that.
"I suppose, if I use my powers on her, she'll finally leave me alone…"
Tom got up from the dining table, after mindlessly consuming the food that had been in front of him. Normally, he didn't eat. There usually wasn't much to begin with and what they could manage to get couldn't be considered the most appetizing of meals. He didn't have cravings or favorites. Tom ate just enough to keep himself living. However, that girl had distracted him so much he just wasn't thinking about the fact he was properly eating for once. He'd actually managed to get somewhat full. Tom grabbed his book off the table and started to walk toward his usual corner, pondering this unfamiliar feeling in his stomach and surprisingly unaware that he was being followed. He only noticed, after he settled down in the corner, that Frankie was staring down at him. He mentally recoiled in shock, however, his expression remained cool and composed.
"What is that book you're always reading?" Frankie inquired, trying to read the book right out of his hand.
"Nothing of interest." Tom sighed, turning the book and covering it with his arm, to try and to conceal the words from her.
"Then, why do you read it?" she asked, curiously. Tom remained silent. He didn't really have an answer for a question like that. Why did he read it? Well, why did she need to know? Why was she doing this? He had absolutely no intention of being friends with her whatsoever. She may have been somewhat different from the rest of the dumb, idiotic orphans here, but she certainly wasn't different like him. He had these powers that someone like her could never even dream to understand. Perhaps, now was the perfect time to demonstrate his superior abilities, while also getting her off his back for good. Once he made her into another one of his victims, she would no longer try so desperately to be his friend. She would leave him alone, like everyone else, and he could continue to live his life out in peace. Besides, it would be lovely to see the abnormally cheery girl in tears, as he set her long hair ablaze. One other thing Tom had learned from Frankie's file was that her entire house was burned in a fire and her parents had perished with it. He'd bet anything, if he had anything to bet in the first place, that she was afraid of fire. Tom focused his powers. It wasn't that hard. He'd gotten a lot of practice from torturing the other orphans that lived there, after all.
"Are you okay, Tom? Is there something wrong?"
Once again, he did not have an answer to give her. Although, there was some better reasoning for him not to this time. There was something very, very wrong with him. Tom was sure he had just used his powers on her, part of her hair should be growing flames right about now. She should've been screaming and crying her eyes out. However, Frankie remained completely unaffected by his curse. He didn't have time to think about why his powers had failed him for the first time ever, though. Billy Stubb and the rest of his gang suddenly started to crowd around them. They shoved Frankie out of the way, saving her from Tom's wickedness, like the righteous heroes they thought they were. Even though she was equal part in this appending conversation, it wasn't her they planned on hurting.
"So, you're trying to curse the new girl now? Have you no humanity? She's only been here a week." Billy argued. The other boys nodded in agreement, while Tom remained in a silent resilience. He pretended they were not there and continued to read his book. Why add onto their stupidity? They clearly had enough of it already. Besides, he had already tried to 'curse' her. It didn't work. Like most boys their age, Billy took Tom's silence as a sign of insubordination and a resistance of the status quo. A couple of misguided attributes that could only be washed away through severe pain. Billy ripped the book from Tom's hands and kicked him hard in the stomach. Tom cursed the abundance of food he'd eaten earlier as it threatened to come back up. The boys laughed, and Billy tossed the book out of the circle, just like Frankie, so Tom once again had nothing he could hide behind.
"HEY! I'm talking to you, freak. And when I'm talking, you'd better answer me." Billy yelled, cocking his fist for another attack. Tom tried to get up and fight back with his powers, but his stomach lurched again. The first attack had gotten him by too much of a surprise. Billy's second attack was heading straight for him. Tom shut his eyes and braced himself, but the punch never came. He hesitatingly looked up to see what was going on.
Frankie had jumped out in front of him, blocking him from the attack. At first, Tom thought she had foolishly taken the punch for him, but in closer examination she had been a whole lot smarter than that. She had picked up his book, blocking herself from the attack as well, and Billy slammed his meaty hand right into it. Billy clutched his buzzing red fist, howling with the pain the hardcover had brought him.
"Leave him alone." Frankie commanded, defiantly. Tom and the other boys were marveled speechless at her foolish resistance, while Billy stopped his unbearable howling to shoot a sickly smile at her.
"You're defending him? Why? You can't possibly be friends with Riddle. He's demented." Billy sneered, getting mere inches from her face. Despite the slander raised against him, and the truth that they were not friends, her decision was resolute. Frankie stood tall even though she stood no chance. He was the size of a baby whale and she was as small as his pet rabbit in comparison, "You must be mental too, if you plan on siding with him. That's a shame. I was just starting to like you…"
For the first time, Tom felt something for the girl that wasn't confusion or anger. He wasn't sure exactly what the feeling was though. A mix of pity and admiration, perhaps. Admiration, for proving in just minutes she had strength and cunning. The girl was brave. No one had ever challenged Billy Stubb before and no one would dare do such a crazy thing for Tom's sake. Although, he didn't need anyone standing up for him, the gesture did not go unnoticed. However, Tom also felt an immense amount of pity, for what he knew what was about to happen to her for having these valuable personality traits. Billy pushed her aside without breaking so much as a sweat. Her body hit the floor with one resounding THUNK and she was down for the count again.
Tom wasn't allowed to pity her fall for long because now no one stood between Billy and him. Billy raised his fist one more and Tom braced himself once more. He shut his eyes tight and waited. But, the punch never came. Tom slowly opened his eyes again, wondering what had stopped him this time now that Frankie was disposed of. It was an astounding sight. The likes of which the orphanage had never seen, even with Tom around. Billy's fist had come around and punched himself in the face. He tried to swing it back at Tom, but it just kept swinging back around and clocking him in different parts of his own face again and again. After a few rounds at himself, clearly unable to stop punching himself uncontrollably in the face, Billy's nose eventually started spurting blood. He started to cry and ran to go tell Mrs. Cole, leaving nothing but a scarlet red trail behind him. Meanwhile, Tom and the rest of the boys stood frozen, looking completely and utterly bewildered.
What the hell was that?
All of them turned to Tom, naturally. Billy's actions just had to be another one of Tom's infamous curses at work. This certainly wouldn't be the first time odd, unexplained things happened around him. However, noticing Tom looked just about as surprised as they did, they realized that for once he was not the culprit to this unfortunate accident. Then, Frankie sprung back to life from her apparent unconscious state, trying to hold back big chuckles of laughter, and they all immediately turned their attention on to her. She flashed a devilish grin that took all the blame with pleasure. The boys were horrified.
"She cursed him!" Eric Whalley accused, pointing at her with his shaking finger.
Then, it had struck him. Tom quickly got up from his corner spot, grabbed Frankie by the wrist, and pulled her away with him past the group of frightened boys. They ran across the room, up the stairs, until they finally reached his room. Tom closed the door behind them and stood against it. Escape was impossible. Well, not really, if his new suspicions about her were correct. However, it would keep her there, for the moment at least. Now, after what just happened, he actually wanted her talking to him.
"Alright, now speak! I know you did that, but how?" Tom ordered, pointing his finger at her, accusingly. Unlike Whalley and the other boys though, he was not afraid of anyone. Even if it was someone who could possibly rival the likes of him. Frankie stared blankly at his demands, playing innocent and doe-eyed, but it wouldn't fool him, "Who are you? What are you?"
"I suppose there's no use hiding it, after that gruesome display downstairs," Frankie sighed, with a sort of somber expression. It was not something she planned to reveal, especially within her first week at the orphanage. She was frightened about how the other kids would see her. A freak. Tom would probably run away after she told him. Unlike all the silly rumors about him and his curses, her curse was real, "The truth is that I've had these strange powers, ever since about two years ago. I'm pretty sure I was born with them, but I can't be too sure. I can't remember much…"
Tom was silent, which worried her deeply.
"It's really quite harmless, though. I promise," she assured, his paralyzed silence. "I can create little fireworks in my palm, make flowers bloom in the dead of winter, all sorts of peculiar abnormal little things. However, I assure you, I'm not dangerous. I won't hurt you!"
He wasn't listening to her pleas of innocence, claiming she wasn't dangerous. That's not what really mattered to him. It was all unbelievable, absolutely incredible. Tom knew that she was slightly different from all those other lowly orphans, but he never imagined she was different just like him.
Tom was in a sort of stunned silence for a good couple minutes. He had obviously never met anyone else like him and still wasn't sure how to react to it, react to her. He didn't know how he could possibly answer her, to tell her they were somewhat the same. However, he knew that he could show her. Tom walked over to his desk and pointed his finger to the pen lying there. It sprung to life and started writing graceful loops in midair, little drops of ink falling to the floor as it wrote. He turned around to see her reaction. Would she happy? Angry? Frightened? She had suddenly changed from dead serious and a little worried to totally ecstatic.
"Wow! You can do magic too, that's incredible! I've never met someone else like me, before…" Frankie exclaimed, stepping closer to Tom and the fluttering pen. He lost control, causing the pen to clunk on to the floor in a final bleeding pool, probably broken. However, the mess wasn't his concern, at the moment. Magic, she called it, like it wasn't something horrible. Tom had never thought of his powers as magic before. They seemed too dark to be thought of something so wonderful.
"We can be friends now, right?" she grinned, happily. Tom just stared blankly at her simple request. This absurd friend nonsense again. He didn't need any friends, he had always told himself that. Certainly, after his powers came in and the other boys turned on him, at least. No one else was worthy of him. However, she certainly came as close to the best as he was going to ever get in a place like this. A girl with supernatural powers, just like him, how could he possibly ignore someone like that?
Tom could always have accepted her, if not a friend, then an accomplice or a partner of sorts. She was capable of dangerous things and, with her by his side, they could do so many more extraordinary things then Tom could accomplish on his own. Make the normal suffer.
He answered her, "I suppose I don't hate you."
And that was the end of that.
