Three years on a desolate island doesn't exactly enhance one's social skills but there I was, sitting in a classroom with almost thirty other students my age. Potential victims a voice in the back of my head nagged as I tried to focus on the classroom and controlling my power.

A month ago, Commander Weselton had explained to me that while I did learn to manage my powers on the island, I needed to learn another type of control. Restraint. According to the Commander, there was no better place to practice this skill than in a city full of thousands of innocent lives. The month before school started was stressful and unbearable at times. The weeks slowly rolled by as I tried to contain the storm inside before my final test. I was never allowed to show any sign of my power outside of the confines of my modestly sized room, which was hard enough when I didn't leave my new home, but a full day of school could prove to be impossible.

When the day arrived, I kept my head down as I clumsily navigated the halls towards my first classroom. Thankfully I was the first student to arrive, so I took a seat at the back of the classroom. The teacher arrived soon afterwards and was clearly startled by my early appearance. He was a large man, impeccably dressed in a black waistcoat over a dark green button-down shirt. He let out a small shriek of surprise at the sight of me and I felt the cold inside me try to push its way into the classroom.

Control it I told myself as the teacher approached me and began asking me questions. He had gathered my name and status as the 'New Student' from the attendance sheet he was given, but he seemed overly interested in where I was from, how long I had been here, my hopes, goals and aspirations, my strengths and weaknesses and an assortment of other probing topics. When I was finally able to respond to his rapid-fire questioning, I could only answer the first question. No sooner had I let the word 'Norway' escape my lips than he began a separate flow of questions about the countryside. I gathered that he was from Norway as well, and that he had been living here for 15 years. The class began to file in and Mr. Bjorgenhoff (As I had learned his name was) retreated to the front of the class to welcome each student as they came in.

I wanted to relax, but the growing crowd of people filling the classroom made that impossible. I regained my stance from earlier, making myself as small as possible and avoiding all eye contact. An eternity passed before Mr. B began to speak to the class as a whole. I was thankful that I had somewhere to direct my attention for a moment, until the teacher uttered the phrase I feared most in that moment.

"We have a new student joining us today. A fellow Norwegian, Elsa is the newest addition to our class. I hope you all will make her feel at home here."

I could feel the gaze of the entire class burning a hole through my quiet defences. In that moment, I wished I could hide behind an ice wall of my own creation but revealing my powers would have been a drastic mistake to make on the first day. For my own safety and the lives of those around me, I controlled the feeling rising up in me until Mr. Bjorgenhoff began speaking again.

Although this was the final year of compulsory education, all the subjects taught were surprisingly easy. Hans had made sure I received a good education on the island, teaching me the ways of the world from what we knew of the smallest particles to complex math equations that were the foundation of modern architecture and beyond the planets of our solar system. But none of that education could have prepared me for social interaction. Near the end of my first day of class, one of the popular kids, who introduced himself as Nicholas, asked me to attend a party he was hosting that weekend. I thought back to my new home with Commander Weselton and how proud he would be of me if I accepted. I answered in the affirmative, my throat aching as the words escaped my nervous lips. It was the first time I had spoken that day. Slightly embarrassed, I quickly turned away and retreated into the hallway. How am I going to be able to do this? There was no doubt going to be a lot of people there and I couldn't risk showing my powers to them. On the other hand, I didn't want to disappoint Hans or Commander Weselton...

The rest of the week flew by, with more anxiety piling on day by day. I tried my best to open up more, acknowledging greetings in the hallways and trying to walk with my head up more. I was called on to answer questions in class, which always startled me but always elicited the correct answer. Although I was beginning to become more confident in my social skills, the process was moving much too slowly and before I knew it, I was standing on the doorstep of Nicholas' house, listening to the sounds of the crowd beyond the door.

There was no way I could prepare for what was about to happen.

I entered the high roofed foyer, a crowd of intoxicated teenagers welcoming me. I knew at once that this was a terrible idea. At school I could at least avoid contact with people if I ever felt uncomfortable or if my powers were becoming difficult to manage. Here I was completely exposed to the throngs of people that had no idea what danger they were putting themselves in. I kept my head down, avoiding eye contact until a hand grabbed mine and dragged me through the crowd. I glanced up to see Nicholas pulling me towards the kitchen and suddenly he was asking me what I wanted to drink. I was able to choke out the single word "water" eliciting an obvious confusion, but adherence nonetheless. I could not remember anything that he said while he filled my red cup, because the noise of the crowd grew louder and louder. Parallel to the noise of the room, the chaos that I had tried so hard to control began to rise up like bile in my throat. I backed away from Nicholas and towards the counter, searching for an escape route but finding none.

My inattentive state led my hips into the kitchen counter, causing my right hand to shoot out and grab behind me in order to steady myself. As soon as my hand touched the cold metal of the sink, I felt the familiar feeling of cool energy releasing itself from my fingertips.

No...Not here!

There was no doubt about it; I had just revealed my powers to an entire crowd of senior students at the High School I attended. Before I could think of an explanation, my feet carried me out the door and onto the suburban sidewalk.

I stopped and took a deep breath of the chilly end-of-summer air. My feet were bare, but that was no issue. I would rather walk home barefoot than return to the house I had escaped from only seconds before.

I took a step forward but froze in place when I heard someone shout my name from the doorway. I turned to see a tall and thin girl with dark hair pushed back by a pink headband running down the driveway carrying my shoes in one hand.

I recognized her from class, but her name escaped me. I stuttered out thanks as she passed me my shoes, leaving a gap in my dialogue for her to fill in her name.

"Violet" she answered to the unspoken question.

She knows...

I bent down to tie my shoes, unfocused and frightened. I had seen it in her eyes that she saw what happened...So why is she standing so close to me? Does she have a death wish? ...but there was something else on her face: Happiness. Still knelt down, I heard the girl speak with a tone that contrasted the words spilling from her mouth.

"I saw what you did back there"

Why aren't you running the other way then?

"No, don't worry!" she attempted to reassure me, "I'm the same as you."

Impossible...I'm a freak. I'm alone and there's good reason for that.

Then, confusing me even more, she offered me her hand to stand up.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I replied shakily, trying to focus on the storm inside me and making sure it didn't explode from my fingertips. She merely smiled and looked down at the hand still holding mine. Still lost in confusion, I glanced down and gasped at what I saw. Her hand was gone! I could still feel it, but it wasn't there anymore. Stunned, I pulled my hand away and stared at the enigmatic girl. None of this made any sense. How could anyone possibly do something like that!? Hans told me that there was no one else out there like me. Hans was never wrong. But the evidence in front of me was undeniable. Questions swirled around in my mind as Violet lifted her handless arm and the missing appendage reappeared instantly.

Nothing made sense anymore.

"Where do you live?" Violet inquired, but I was too stunned to answer.

After a moment of awkward silence, a prompt from the girl in front of me and an unusually direct compliment, I turned around and let her walk me home.

The last thing I remembered was the pain of a needle being inserted into my neck as I walked through the front door.