The meals at Coates were shit. No good meals got served, so a lot of people sneaked down to the McDonald's in Perdido Beach for lunch. Fights between the Perdido Beach kids and the Coates kids sometimes aroused, but they weren't particularly serious most of the time. Occasionally people may break a bone, but no permanent damage every occurred.
It was Friday when he talked to me about it, the wonderful last day of the week. I was sitting alone, because Zara had was at the Shrinks office, I had no idea why, and I actually never asked to be fair. Back then I wasn't really interested in other people, going back to the superiority think. I wasn't interested in why they had to be there, I just knew they were there. Simple.
A tray suddenly appeared next to mine, being controlled by Caine Soren. He was unaccompanied as usual. He quickly glanced around the room, making sure no one was watching, then took a seat next to me.
"Excuse me?" I asked him. "This isn't the Coates Friendship Bench. Go away."
He rolled his eyes at this. When I got more annoyed, I usually got bitterer and less original when it came to witty remarks, but that one wasn't that bad.
"I would like a favour" he said. "And maybe, an accomplice" I nearly laughed out loud. Who was the posh boy talking about accomplices? I work solo, and I told him as such, but in a slightly different wording.
"Original" he said smirking. "But trust me; you want to be on my side when it comes down to it. You know what is going to happen, you have seen it"
I racked my brain quickly before coming up with an answer to that. I didn't come up with much. "Sorry, but no thank you. And by the way?" I stood up suddenly, to go eat somewhere else. "Fuck off"
I knew as soon as I had started walking I hadn't tripped on anything. Nothing was there. But for some reason I ended up in the floor all the same, with a ham and mustard sandwich splattered on my chest, leaving a disgusting yellow stain.
Everyone was snickering at the perfect Diana Ladris falling over, and getting food all over. My Diet Coke had opened and was spilling on my four hundred dollar heels. I got up with as much dignity as I could muster, and went straight for Mr Smug Soren laughing over me.
"Ah, I see we have resorted the Kindergarten way of doing things" I said sneeringly. "What the hell was that about?" He almost seemed confused about what I was saying, but he was always a pretty good actor.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "I am all the way over here". He did have a point back then, to be honest. He was at least five feet away, far away for someone who didn't have the power of telekinesis to trip someone up. At that, I couldn't argue anymore, so I just left to change my shirt before fifth period. But I wasn't going to let him get of that easily. I wasn't quite above petty pranks either.
Ruining all of Caine's clothes was still a memory that made me smile, even though it was insanely childish of me. It was nothing compared to what he could do, but he all he had to wear was his pyjamas for the next week.
He immediately stormed into my dorm at 8 o'clock holding a shredded school shirt in one hand and a t-shirt that had been dipped into a bucket of paint. His dark hair was in an unbelievable bedhead, which was matched with a furious look on his sleep filled face.
"What the fuck Diana!" He yelled. "I have nothing to fucking wear at all. At all! You couldn't have just tripped me up as well, or maybe thrown a fucking pie in my face you bitch! What the hell!"
I smiled. Without knowing it, he had just given my crucial information. It was funny seeing him entirely oblivious to the fact that he had just told me a secret.
"So it was you that tripped me up from that impossible distance" I manipulated. "I wonder how?"
"Fuck off, Ladris" he said, angrily. He turned to go, before hesitating, and facing me. He looked amazing when he had just woken up, as sleep had just left him, giving him the 'I just woke up' look that was gorgeous.
"Leave me alone, I don't want to talk to you" muttered Caine before walking away. I watched his retreating back with curiosity, unsure of what just happened. I rolled my eyes and contemplated skipping class like always. It was French, something that I most definitely didn't want to learn. I don't give a fuck about learning a new language, I was fine with speaking English.
I ended up going to class, and having a very weird conversation. Well, I have had weirder, but in the Fayz. Talking about superpowers, radioactive slime and concreting kid's hands makes every other conversation seem pretty ordinary.
I sat next to Zara in French, with two quiet girls sitting in front of us. Throughout the lesson, I could barely take my eyes of Caine. Mind you, he did stand out in pyjamas, so I had an excuse. But he also seemed so distracted, making sharp glances around the class, warding away prying eyes. But I was fairly sure he was avoiding making eye contact with me.
"What do you think of the new kid?" inquired Zara when she noticed me looking at Caine. I stared at her, curious about the meaning behind the question. Her dull eyes filled with longing, like she fancied Caine. I felt strangely defensive, like I didn't want Caine to go out with anyone. But I had no idea why I would feel that at that point, when I hadn't become Caine's accomplice.
"He isn't that new, he has been here for a couple of weeks" I pointed out, but Zara barely even noticed me talking. Zara wasn't particularly pretty, nothing special. She owned the average blonde/brown hair that everyone has, and washed out blue eyes. Also, her features were very disproportionate, her nose too big for her beady eyes and thin lips. Her nose was like an adult amongst toddlers. It was an odd look, and not one boys really fell for.
"He looks cute" she sighed, barely breaking her gaze even when I grabbed her jaw to make her face me. "I wonder if he is seeing someone"
"I would stay away from him if I were you" murmured the girl sitting across from me. She had never spoken to me or Zara before now, which made me curious why the Caine situation made her open her mouth. I raised my eyebrows at her, immediately making her blush. She hid her face behind her French Vocab book, but I snatched it from her stubby fingers.
"What is so bad about Caine, then?" I questioned, locking her eyes onto mine. Her empty lips moved slightly, an effort to speak that was wasted. "Well?"
"Drake had been spreading around rumours that Caine has some freaky power" the girl next to her supplied for me. My frosty glare made her hide behind her books, making me return my gaze to the shy girl. I noticed that her eyes were filled with tears, sprouting a some guilt in my mind. I brushed that aside and kept my gaze fixed.
"It's not just that" she whispered, a tear gliding down here cheek. "I am his neighbour, back at home" She stopped to sniff back the tears that had developed into a stream down her cheeks. "I live across from him and his family in Santa Barbara. But it's strange, you see. He got sent to Coates for nothing. He hadn't down anything bad. His parents just shipped him of with no explanation"
I laughed at her, perhaps a bit too loudly. "So? A bunch of people get sent to Coates for nothing. They are just rejects" I shook my head and got back to my work. Silence fell over the table for a couple of minutes before the shy girl spoke up again.
"But Caine's parents loved him" she said, causing me to look up from my reading assignment, which I was very behind of. "He was there pride and joy, they spoiled him unbelievably. For his thirteenth birthday, they bought him a car. A car! It's crazy, he can't drive"
"Anything else?" I questioned, sitting back in my chair. I was very curious, and by the way Zara looked up she was too. I didn't think I liked him back then, so there wasn't too much of a reason for me to be so interested. I usually showed of a don't care-ish attitude, which was basically real anyway. I wasn't fake; not totally, but some of the things I did where slightly rehearsed.
"His parents seemed afraid of him, and that's why the sent him to Coates" She added, avoiding all eye contact with me. "They always seemed nervous and scared around him, but it only started this summer"
That made me interested. I liked to know everything, and when I didn't know everything, I got really irritated. I loved knowing every dirty secret people at Coates try to hide. It makes them do things for me, since they don't want whatever I know to be leaked to everyone. I know its blackmail, but Coates is a bad environment. You either sink or swim, and I chose to swim.
Just then my thoughts got interrupted by the teacher. She was a slut, that's all I can say. She wore high heels, tight skirts and too much make-up to be healthy. Rumours spread like a disease about Miss Thomson and her boyfriends and husbands. According to Zara, who got it from some weird kid called Bug, who got it from Alicia who paid him to do a dare, who got it from Taylor (obviously) she had been on her fourth husband. I could believe it.
"Diana Isabelle Ladris" she bellowed, making me wince. I didn't hate my middle name, but I wasn't fond of it being broadcasted the entire class. "Did you make Lucy cry?"
I was always under the impression that she was jealous of me, which was probably true. I don't want to boast, but I was naturally beautiful and gorgeous. Miss Thomson was not, even covered in foundation and highlights. She picked on me for the smallest things, like using a fucking blue pen when she wanted the class to use a black pen. Bullshit right there.
"I wasn't aware that that thing had a name" I commented, making Miss Thomson look startled. It wasn't the first time I had talked back to her, but I have to say that one was quite vicious, causing Lucy to cry even more.
"Detention!" screamed Miss Thomson. I rolled my eyes. I hated detention; it was such a waste of time, writing crap for an hour was really just not necessary. I could be doing something ten times more interesting than detention. And Miss Thomson will be watching over it, causing it to be a hell. She made so not witty remarks the entire time, picking on me, chanting school rules till I nearly fell asleep. I left the detention hating that slut ten times more than I did before, which I personally didn't think was possible.
I was walking back to my dorm when I bumped into Caine. He didn't appear to be waiting for me, but I got a sense that he was, but I didn't know why. He couldn't have heard me talking about him in French, since he was on the other side of the classroom. I doubted Zara would have talked to him, or the two dorks sitting opposite me, so I didn't know why he would want to talk to me now.
"Your little friend has been talking to me" he said, beginning to walk with me back to my dorm. "I am kinda guessing you have been hearing rumours"
"Ah, yes" I replied, stopping in the middle of the corridor. I didn't want to take him back to my dorm room particularly, it was quite a private place, plus boys aren't officially allowed in there, though everyone ignores the rules. "Your own parents becoming afraid of you. Don't worry, I am also quaking with fear from you"
"Look, I need your help, and no doubt you will most likely need mine in the near future" he said, grabbing my arm as I tried to turn away. "So hear me out please. I won't disappoint"
We headed off to the library, as he had to show me something, which sounded very suspicious. I would be able to defend myself if he attacked me or something worse, but for some reason I trusted him. Anyway, it wouldn't be the first time I would have to defend myself from boys at Coates. There were some proper weirdos there.
Seeing Caine's power was one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen. I can see why we went to the library, as almost no one goes there apart from nerds and occasional teachers. We hid in the history section, where there was a study table between the shelves. Caine got a random history book, and stood it up on the table.
From about five feet away, Caine knocked down the book. I didn't want to look too surprised when it happened, but it wasn't something you saw everyday. Caine looked very impressive when he knocked over the book, very proud. It was one of his few characteristics.
"Never seen that before" I said simply, not wanting him to know that I was kind of impressed about what he could do. Well, how many times a day do you come across someone with telekinesis? Not many.
"So, will you help me?" he asked, wanting to know. To be honest, I had completely forgotten that he wanted me to help him with something. Become accomplices was what he said, but after he tripped me up I hadn't really give much thought to his offer.
"What would such a job entail?" I asked, mocking him in his posh ways. Back then, he was a pompous twat, but in a good way at the same time. He was so confident, as if there was nothing he couldn't do. A trip to the Gaiaphage changed all that, and I don't really know if I miss it or not.
"Some thug has been getting in the way" he proposed his idea to me. "I think he has some idea that I can do something impossible, and he can't know that. If you could get him to stay silent, I would be very grateful, and give you immunity over everything"
It didn't take me long to decide. I had a good instinct, and I had a feeling that this was the right thing to do. With that power, he could easily take over, and I didn't want to be on the opposing end of his telekinesis. Back then, I didn't care about the who, the what, the why, the when, the where about his gift. That was something for someone like Astrid to work out. I, just jumped onto the train, and dealt with it.
"Consider it done" I smirked. It wouldn't take me long to get any boy twisted around my finger, they were all so clueless. Beneath his mask, I could tell that Caine was the same. Not someone that could handle himself well around hot girls, someone that gets flustered and says stupid things to try and impress the girl. So cool.
"It is Drake Merwin" he told me while we left the library. "Just an idiot that thinks violence is the answer to everything, a psychopath. He would be useful to keep people in order, but just get him in line for now"
I tried so hard not to laugh. Caine acted as if it was a war or something, and he was some evil dictator. All the things about keeping people in order, and getting people in line literally made me feel like a soldier or something. But I needed for Caine to take me seriously, so I kept a straight face.
We were just about to part at the end of the corridor when I leaned in slightly. No one was in sight, not one to see me manipulate this poor boy. I moved quite close, but not close enough that he would get the wrong idea. He gulped and looked confused, unsure of what to do. I took some locks of his dark hair, stroking it slightly. He was a quite a bit taller than me, but he seemed very nervous.
"See you around, Fearless Leader" I said slightly seductively, before sashaying down the corridor, leaving Caine bemused.