Thursday
Jess slunk into history class and through herself in the desk in between Will and Cornelia, ignoring their questioning glances. Her mind was running over the argument she had had with her foster parents Tuesday when she had got home from Halcyon Haven.
"Jessica where have you been?"
"None of your business!" she had snapped.
"Young lady, we've told you that you should tell us where you are going, before you leave, and how long you'll be gone." Richard, Vicky's husband, said entering the kitchen.
"Fine, whatever." She began to back up towards the stairs. "I'm going to my room now. I will be back around breakfast time. That better?" Richard glared at her.
"You had better straighten up that attitude, little girl, or you are out of here."
"Good! I hate it here anyway." Jess knew that had been a lie. Richard leaped at her, grabbing her by her shirt collar and slamming her into the wall.
"Listen here Jessica! You will not talk to us like that. We are your parents, and we deserve some respect."
"You are not my real parents."
"Thank God for that!" He yelled, releasing her. She slid down the wall, her hands on her back. I'm not going to cry, Jess willed herself. I will not give him the satisfaction. She wasn't sure what she wanted to cry from more: The pain in her back, or the sting of his words.
"Jess!" Will said nudging her. Mr. Collins was leering over her, the test in his hand. Oh yeah, review, Jess thought.
"I was saying, Jess, can you answer the question I just asked the class?" Jess racked her brain to remember the question, but failed. She guessed.
"Uhh,…false?"
"The question was, miss Marshall, What was the purpose of the first amendment?"
"Uhh…freedom of speech?"
"Try religion." Jess sank lower in her chair. "Can you tell us the significance of this amendment?" Jess looked to Will, who was mouthing, 'colonists' over and over again.
"The colonists where sent here as prisoners for not following the same religion that the monarchs decreed?"
"Well, at least Will pays attention. Maybe you can fit her in your backpack for the test." Mr. Collins then left to badger another student. Will and Cornelia looked at her with concerned glances.
"What's your deal today? You usually, at least, pretend to pay attention." Cornelia hissed in her ear.
"I've got a lot on my mind ok? Mind your business." She hated snapping at her friends, well Corny was an exception, but she didn't feel like talking. She leaned her back against the chair and winced at the pain from the bruises on her back. Will was staring at her again.
"What's wrong with you back?"
"Nothing," Jess snapped, pulling the jacket tighter around her. The bell rang and the girls retreated to gym where Jess, ignoring the alarmed looks from her fellow guardians, pulled her book out of her bag.
"Aren't you hot in that jacket?" Taranee asked.
"No. Quit hovering."
"What's wrong with you today. You're being really cold." Hay Lin asked. Jess rolled her eyes and ignored the question. Irma playfully shivered.
"Come on, Ice Queen. Thaw yourself out and come join us in humiliation station, otherwise known as gym class." Irma through an arm around her back and Jess, feeling a spark of pain, shoved Irma off of her.
"Let me go!" she yelled. The lights in the gym flickered and the bulb above them popped.
"Shhhhh," Will said gently, putting her hands on Jess's shoulder, "relax." Ironic, Jess thought, my powers make me have to control my temper. She had first noticed her powers when any electrical devices around her starting shorting out whenever she was angry. It made it harder to hide her anger when this happened. She had once been so good at hiding her emotions, but…
Jess got up and walked off, thinking vaguely of telling them about her back when she, literally, ran straight into Uriah and his gang. "Watch it!" He snapped. She rolled her eyes and tried to step around him. "Where are you going, Jessica?"
"None of your business. And it's Jess." She shouldered past Kurt, who was about three or four times her size. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she whipped around, her fists raised.
"Are you challenging me?"
"Well, it looks like it. You got a problem?"
"Yeah." His fist flew towards her nose, and she dodged easily.
"That all you got?" Jess felt another hand on her shoulder as Will and the others came up behind her, Irma cracking her knuckles.
"Is there a problem?" The water guardian asked.
"I know what his problem is. He's trying to figure out how outnumbered he is, but he can't count to six with his hand in his pocket," Jess answered, feeling much bolder with her friends behind her.
"Break it up!" the teacher called from across the gym. Jess nodded in his direction and began to walk away.
"Too bad your mother left you. Somebody needs to teach you to act like a girl-"
Wham!
Jess's fist made contact with Uriah's jaw before he even finished his sentence. Before anyone knew it, Jess was on top of him, flailing punches at him. His cronies stood, dumbstruck, and Will and the rest of the guardians pulled her off of him. He sat up, nursing a bleeding lip.
"Crazy Bitch!" he yelled, and it took all of Will's strength to hold Jess back as she thrust herself forward again.
"Why don't you go crawl back under your rock, Uriah?" Cornelia snapped. Meanwhile, Jess's anger was making the lights flicker again, "And quit picking fights with girls half your size who can still beat the crap out of you." Uriah lunged at Cornelia but Jess pulled away in time to nail him in his already bleeding nose. Uriah, surprised by the attack, fell on his butt. Laurent and Kurt stepped in front of Jess, who, if she was afraid at all, refused to show it.
"BREAK…IT…UP!" the gym teacher hollered, breaking in between them. Will and Irma shuffled Jess away as the bell rang.
"Jess, your lip is bleeding." Hay Lin said, extracting a paper towel from her bag and pressing it firmly to Jess's lip. "You knuckles are bleeding too."
"I'm fine Hay Lin," Jess said gently.
"No you're not. We should have my grandmother look at you."
"We've still got two hours left at school."
"Oh, Now you're having scruples about skipping?" Hay Lin giggled as a wry smile appeared across Jess's face. "Come on,"