I'll say this for the world, and civilization: The whole hot-shower thing totally worked for me. Reluctantly, I turn off the water and get out, then wrap myself in my own personal towel, Dove fresh. On the other hand, civilization had its own quirky demands: remembering to brush your hair, wearing different clothes every day-details i'm not used to.
But I'm dealing.
I slip back into my old clothes and tiptoe downstairs to the living-room only to find it abandoned. Odd. The sound of the TV catches my attention so I take a seat on the couch.
"Next on In the Know, Sharon Shattuck uncovers the truth behind the growing number of enhanced humans among us. Created for the greater good, are these genetic anomalies an advanced race or an unpredictable risk? Heroes of science or botched experiments? And what do we have to fear? Stay tuned to find out!"
I grab the remote and snap off the TV. My mouth twists in annoyance. We aren't the problem.
Some one stifles a cough behind me and I spin around. His eyes are such a strange shade of green: bright, crystal clear, piercing in the most alarming way. His hair is a mess of thick curls, the richest slice of gold; his frame is lean and unassuming.
"Hey." His voice is unerringly smooth.
I smile. "Hey."
Alex takes a seat next to me. "The others seem to like it here. I know the girls are ecstatic about having their very own rooms. And last time I saw Tyler he was ogling over the computer set up in his room so he's happy. Dannys outside meditating. And Logan...well, he's playing Call of Duty."
I shake. We'll never get him off of it.
I run my skinny fingers through my brother's hair blond curls affectionately. For the people out there that are reading this and have a 'less than smooth' relationship with your siblings, let me tell you something. Get your head out of your asses. Your sibling isn't going to be around forever. And when your time runs out, you don't want to have regrets.
"Mr. Q seems nice. He says he taking us out shopping tomorrow which will be nice and..."
He pauses in the middle of his sentence and frowns. His eyebrows pull together in an irritated manner and he looks around the room in search of something. He looks up at the wood ceiling and his eyes narrow into small narrow slits. A scowl forms on his face.
He waves his hand at the ceiling and tilts his ear upward. Perplexed, he raises his hand again an performs several twirling gestures with his hands. He flings an imaginary object across the room and smile. Obviously content with whatever he was doing.
There's a shout from directly upstairs which is later followed by the sound of heavy footstep. Tyler flies down the stairs, muttering under his breath, and storms around house; unable to remember the layout of the house.
I look questionably at Alex and he shrugs.
Alex finds the living room. "Yo! Alex!" Tyler holds up a piece of technology I fail to recognize. "Quit screwing with my signal man! Getting all the channels is hard enough without you rerouting the signal!" a vein in Tyler's forehead bulges and I watch as he turns red in the face. "I mean, come on! Seriously?! Now I gotta start all over!"
Alex jumps up from the couch. "Do you even know how annoying it is to listen to your technology send out signals all day! I've listened to the chatter all day and I can't listen to any more! You can continue doing what ever you were doing tomorrow man."
I look from Alex to Tyler rapidly. A smile slowly forms across my lips. In case this is your first dip into the deep end of the ol' freak-of-nature pool, I'll just put it out there: We can do things other people only dream about. Take now for instance. What you just saw was Alex rerouting the signal of Tyler's technology. With a single thought.
Ya. Fun times.
Tyler screws up his face and storms back up the stairs, past the girls, and back to his room.
"Can you actually hear the signal?" I ask Alex curiously.
He nods at me. "I can see them to. Right now there are seven radio signals being sent from this house. You see, each radio emits a signal that looks and sounds completely different. Kind of like finger prints. Typically, the sounds are quiet and steady, but the r-waves Tyler was sending out were really high-pitched. "
"That's really cool."
Tyler shrugs his shoulders. "It has its ups and downs."
A door opens in the kitchen behind me and I glance over my shoulder. Mr. Q's and Danny's voices echo through the walkway.
"Your house is very nice Mr. Queen." comments Danny "What did you say you do for a living?"
"I'm a paramedic."
"I had no idea that they make so much money."
Pause. "Well, they don't. My father left me this place and a large amount of money when he passed away. My mother died when I was very little and, being an only child, I inherited, well...all of this."
Pause. "Your father must have been a very rich man."
"My father was Arthur Queen; the founder of Queen industries. So, yes, he was indeed a very, rich man."
Hmmm. Note to self: google 'Arthur Queen'.
Mr. Queen walks into the living room and leans against the wall. He's sweating and his previously blond messy hair is plastered down to his head. "So, how are you two settling in?" he asks as he takes a sip of a glass of water.
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