Sasha was greeted the next morning by the rest of her foster family as she came downstairs. She wasn't necessarily greeted, more like confronted. No one told her that the rest of her aunts and uncles, cousins and others would be coming to visit as well. Sasha stood dumbfounded in her pink pajamas as she saw the many people move about in the kitchen like ants to a crumb. She didn't even know these people, never met them in her life. It felt awkward.
To escape from it all, Sasha got dressed and headed outside to look in the first fountain for a clue or treasure. After searching every inch over twice, she continued to the back and began investigating the fountains there. Sasha was too busy looking in the water and climbing the statues to notice a group of boys gathering on the porch to watch her.
They were just as old as she was, and all three were brunettes. One had his hair shaggy, while the other two had closely shaved hair. They were rather goofing off and talking about needless things.
"That weird girl out there climbing that fountain, is she Sasha?" one boy asked.
"Yeah, probably."
"Hey Sasha!" the third shouted. She stopped and turned to look but when she saw the possible threat, she turned back to her search.
"Doesn't want to talk to us," the shaggy boy said.
"She's probably a mute," another suggested. Unanimously, they all walked up behind Sasha and watched.
"Found it!" Sasha exclaimed when she saw something shiny in the water at the very top level where a cherub poured his vase's contents into a flower. She fished out the silver dollar and held it up to see the reflection of the sun. It was so pretty!
"What do you got there? Can we see it?" a boy asked.
"No," Sasha muttered, climbing down the fountain.
"Come on! We're family. You have to share," he told her, reaching to grab it. She pulled back and hid it behind her. They closed in on her and her legs were backed up against the fountain. She had nowhere to go. Two grabbed her arms and the other tried to get the silver dollar.
"No! Stop it!" Sasha yelled, trying to kick them. It only seemed to make it worse. As she kicked, her grip on the silver dollar lessened and the boy took it from her. Then, in a quick instant, they pushed her into the water, before running towards the house. Sasha was so angry. She was close to tears because she was humiliated and that they took her treasure. She wanted to tie them down and push them in the water like they did to her. She wanted to scratch them up like what she did to Luke. Sasha sat up and gazed intensely at them, wishing those hateful things and sure enough, the trees began to move. Roots shot up from the ground and grabbed the boys around the ankles, causing the one to drop her silver dollar. The roots dragged them back down the sidewalk towards the fountain and Sasha got up out of it. She walked over them and picked up her silver dollar, pocketing it in her sweater before turning around to see the boys being lifted up and dunked into the water, again, and again. She laughed, hearing their bubbling when they were dunked, and their screams when they were lifted out. The trees gave them a good shake and tossed them to the ground. Sasha stepped aside as they ran past her to go tell someone. Sasha didn't care. If it meant people would stop picking on her, then so be it.
There was the sound of someone clapping behind her and she turned to find Van Kleiss applauding her with a warm smile.
"Very nice, Sasha. It was rather comical," he chuckled and came up to her.
"What did I do? Did I really do it? How?" Sasha unfurled the questions. Van Kleiss was taken back by this.
"Yes, it was all you, Sasha. You're an EVO, one blessed with an ability available to you through the nanites in your body," he explained.
Sasha was suddenly saddened. "So I am an EVO… What if I mutate like the ones on the news? What will happen to me?"
"Those unfortunate souls were annihilated by the wicked Providence. But you Sasha, you have potential. I can prevent that from happening. There is a haven for people like us," he laid his normal hand upon her shoulder. "You can leave this place of mockery and be somewhere where you can be loved and cherished like you have always deserved," he smiled, bending over so his face was right in front of hers. Sasha's heart was pounding.
"But I love my aunt and my parents," she whimpered.
"After what you did to those boys, I don't think they'll be happy with you anymore," Van Kleiss told her.
"SASHA!" a woman's voice screamed from inside the house. Sasha cringed. She had never been yelled at like that before. Van Kleiss stepped back away from her.
"Think about it," he told her before turning around and walking away. Sasha opened her mouth to say goodbye, but another yell pierced the atmosphere.
"SASHA! COME HERE NOW!"
Sasha shook as she ran into the house. She found the commotion in the hall where the three boys stood, sopping wet with towels wrapped around them, and several angry adults circling them. Aunt Beatrice stood a way off with a neutral look on her face.
A huge, bulbous lady turned at the sound of Sasha's arrival. "Little girl, you have some explaining to do!" she yelled, red in the face. By the sound of her voice, she was the one who had been screaming.
"Let me talk to her, Beth," Aunt Beatrice said calmly and started up the stairs, waving for Sasha to follow. As she followed behind her aunt, Beth's eyes were burning through her. Sasha couldn't stand it. That lady set her on edge.
Aunt Beatrice led Sasha into her lovely bedroom with the calming curtains and dark wood furniture. Beatrice sat down at her vanity and Sasha stood in front of her.
"Sasha, tell me what had happened. Include as many details as you can," her aunt told her. Sasha swallowed hard.
"I was exploring the fountain and found the silver dollar you hid. The boys came up and wanted to see it, but I told them no. I didn't trust them. I don't trust anyone except you and my parents, Aunt Beatrice. Everyone picks on me, and well, recently I've had enough of it. Those boys pushed me into the water and stole my silver dollar and I got so angry!"
Sasha squatted down and covered her head to try to calm down. "I wanted the same thing to happen to them as it did to that boy at school. I thought hard about it and suddenly, the trees took the boys away and began to dip them in the fountain. I got my silver dollar back and let them go," she mumbled into her knees. She then looked up with a pleading look. "Please don't stop loving me, Aunt Beatrice! You're so nice to me! Van Kleiss warned me that my family would stop loving me because I'm an EVO."
Suddenly, Beatrice's face was twisted into surprise. "An EVO! You're an EVO?"
Sasha's heart pounded against her chest, wanting to burst out and land on the floor, anywhere away from Beatrice's expression. It was like telling her that she had murdered two million people.
Her expression changed into worry as she got up and walked to the door. "Go to your room. I must talk to your parents," she said sternly. Sasha had never heard her Aunt Beatrice speak that way so she hurried out the door. As soon as she reached her room, she locked the door and jumped into her covers, smothering herself in her pillows. She hoped things would be alright, but she knew they weren't.