Chapter Three - Unavoidable
I watch anxiously as Will stands on the platform, rocking back and forth, looking anywhere but at Coach Boomer. I fight desperately to stay where I am, knowing that Will wants to handle this on his own, but it's difficult knowing that with a few words I can save him from all this embarrassment. Why? Why does Will have to be such a guy and not ask for help when I'm practically begging to. The room is silent as everyone waits in anticipation for the son of the Commander to demonstrate his powers… If only it were possible. Eventually, figuring he has to do something, Will calls Coach Boomer to him and whispers something in his ear.
"What do you mean you don't know what your power is?" The Coach wonders, taking a step back in surprise. Will just stands there, chuckling nervously and looking vulnerable. I stare up at him, hoping to catch his eyes so he can see just how willing I am to make this all go away. But he ignores me, instead choosing to do this on his own. "I got it. You're messin' with the coach, just like your old man." Coach Boomer says, walking a few steps away then looking towards his remote making me panic a little. "Car!" He calls and I scream, bringing my hands up to cover my face as I watch the old, banged up and graffitied car fall on top of my brother. I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to see the result of the collision with Will's tiny frame. I hear lots of murmurs around me, but I don't pay them any attention, not wanting to hear about what just transpired. He's gone. By big brother is gone. Crushed by a dingy old car in Power Placement, thanks to a crazy Coach.
"Are you insane?" A familiar voice calls, and following the orders from small voice in my filled with hope, I open my eyes and peek through my fingers. A massive sigh of relief as I see Will crawl out from underneath the machine. Never before in my life have I been more thankful to the fast reflexes passed down to us from our mom. "I don't have super-strength!" I almost laugh at his words, too relieved to do much else as I watch the car slowly raise back up to it's original position above his head. Will stands up, brushing himself off.
"Oh, I get it." Coach Boomer's words have my panic levels back up to an all time high. What does he get? I sure as hell hope it's that Will really doesn't have any powers, but I'm doubtful. "You're a flyer, just like your ma. Why didn't you say so?" At the sight of him pushing another button on the bloody remote again I scream out.
"No!" But it's too late. I watch in horror as Will is thrown across the room, hitting a supporting beam, non-too-gently, and collapsing onto the ground. I rush over to him in a heartbeat, helping him up.
"Kid, come on. Quit messing around. I haven't got all day." The man says as though he's done nothing wrong. I glare at him, standing up straight and walking up onto the stage.
"Stop it already! He can't show you his power because he doesn't have it right now!" I practically yell in his face, anger and fear for my brother clouding my judgement.
"What do you mean, 'he doesn't have his powers right now'? How's that possible?" He asks, glaring down at me.
"I took them away!" My shout resounds throughout a dead silent hall. All the murmurs stopping and everyone freezing at my words. They all stare at me, but I don't have the patience for any of them at the moment, considering the fact that my brother was almost crushed then thrown across the room by this man in front of me who simply stared at me in confusion.
"You… took them away?" He asks in a surprisingly quiet tone.
"Yes I took them away! Hi, I'm Jamie Stronghold and I have the power to take away super powers which I'm currently demonstrating via my brother. Happy?" I say, too annoyed to care anymore. All that matters is that Will isn't thrown around the place anymore.
"How?" Coach Boomer simply asks, confusing me to no end, stumping my anger for a moment.
"What?"
"How does your power work?" He clarifies and I can't help but just stare at him for a while. Are we really going through my Power Placement now?
"Um… If I touch someone I can take their powers away for an hour at the minimum." In the back of my mind, I notice everyone except Will, taking a step away from me. But I choose to ignore it in favour of getting this stupidity over with. Taking a deep breath, I decide to simply get it all out into the open now, instead of waiting. "I anchor it to my hands most of the time for easy access, which is why I'm always wearing these stupid gloves. It only works with direct skin contact. Depending on how much power I put into it, as soon as I touch someone their powers and everything associated with it, such as invulnerability, goes away and I instantly know everything to do with their power. Strengths, weaknesses, limitations, the whole shebang." I finish, glad that it's finally out in the open, but trying to ignore the fact that everyone is staring at me in horror. Even the Coach.
"It's just through direct contact right?" He asks, unsure, yet apparently hopeful and for once I'm happy to burst someone's bubble.
"The knowledge part yes. But I can send out a small pulse, temporarily rendering everyone close to me, powerless. It doesn't last as long as a touch, but it does the job." Coach Boomer pales and visibly takes a step backwards along with the rest of the class. I glare at him and continue. "Now if that's over, can you stop throwing my twin around the place and just place us already?" I almost growl. My anger returning to me with a vengeance, fuelled by the fear I can almost feel radiating off of everyone in the room. It takes a few seconds, but eventually, Coach Boomer takes control again. Clearing his throat to gain everyone's attention back.
"Right. Will Stronghold, Sidekick until your powers come back." I see Will visibly relax upon hearing those words. Layla even smiles a little bit at me and I feel as though not everything is lost. "Jamie Stronghold, you on the other hand are in Hero class. Next up! You! Blonde girl." He says, pointing towards a wide eyed Luci who won't stop staring at me as I walk back over to Will, ignoring everyone as they step out of the way. Slowly everyone else is sorted, Luci receiving the next Hero class with her power to manipulate water and bring it back from ice and mist, but not freeze or evaporate it. But unfortunately, their fearful stares and clear avoidance of me never stops, even as I step onto the bus. Layla being the only person willing to sit near me. I knew this would happen from the moment I woke up this morning. It was simply unavoidable.
As soon as I enter the front door and Mom sees my face, she knows. Her expression turns sombre and she leads me into her room, indicating for me to sit on the bed with her. She embraces me in a hug, letting me cry to my heart's content. I'm not normally this depressing, but Mom and I both agree, that after a day like today, it's alright. Honestly, I'm not too sure how long we stay like that. All I know for sure is that when all my tears finally dry up, my mom is there to welcome me back with a smile. I give her the best smile I can manage, which admittedly isn't much of one, but she accepts it for what it is. A promise that I will be alright eventually. Smiling, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small object, placing it onto my open palm. Looking down, I spot a glimmer of light and stare closely at it. Upon realising that it's a locket I give her a real smile and practically jump on top of her, hugging her tightly. A happy tear following the tracks already made.
"It used to be my mom's and hers before that. It's been passed down through the generations for years now and now it's your turn to hold onto it until you can pass it down to your daughter on her first day of Sky High." Mom explains, her last few words causing a blush to spread across my cheeks that she of course notices. "Already have your eyes on someone?" An image of Warren pops into my head making me redden even more. "Do tell." As much as I hate to admit it, Mom is a massive gossip and although annoying sometimes, it can be really fun.
"I met him at the Paper Lantern. He's a Super and he didn't freak out when I accidentally touched him without my gloves." I confess, playing with the locket in my hands.
"Is he cute?"
"Mom!" I yell in embarrassment.
"Just asking."
"Yeah, he is. He's really tall, dark hair, eyes and skin, and his arms and smile are to die for." I practically swoon at the end.
"What's his name?" I freeze at her words, suddenly wishing the subject had never been breached. She notices and frowns. "What is it honey? I'm sure whatever it is it can't be that bad." Mom tries to comfort me.
"That's the thing. It shouldn't be that bad, but it is. He hates our family thanks to Dad." I admit, looking at the ground so I don't see her face and the expression she makes at my next words. "It's Warren Peace, Mom. He's not as bad as everyone thinks. He's really nice to me. Or, at least he is until he finds out my last name."
"I was afraid of this." My mom's words shock me and I'm too scared to look up at her until she reaches an arm around me and pulls me towards her. "I always knew the day would come where who we are affects you in a negative way. I just didn't think it would come so soon."
"You mean, you don't mind that I like him?" I chance I look up at her, only to see her looking at me with and expression I can't read.
"Oh, Honey. If you believe he's a good person, then I trust your judgement." She hugs me tight, lifting my emotions.
"Thanks, Mom."
"Now how about I show you something that I've been dying to show you for years?" She asks, standing up and grabbing my hand. With that she practically drags me out of the bedroom and through the house until we end up at the very back, with Mom almost bouncing for joy. And here I am, thinking I was the child.
It turns out that Mom definitely has a reason to be excited, for when I finally discover that she is finally showing me the 'Secret Sanctum', I have to say that I honestly squealed like a little girl. The place is amazing. I can hardly believe that all this lay underneath us all this time. Apparently Will shares my view, for after Dad showed him around after he finally arrived home, we actually joked about how Mom and Dad mustn't actually go to work most days, but instead spend their time down there. It definitely made sense to us since we already planned on spending a lot of time down there, trying to beat Mom's record on the pinball machine.
That night, I lay in bed reflecting upon the day. Honestly, for a first day of high school, it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. Even if I did make a friend just to lose her by the end of it, at least I managed to get a smile out of Warren.
A/N: First day over! Unfortunately this didn't turn out how I wanted it to, but at least I got it done and posted. I may go back and change a little bit of it later... I'm not entirely sure. Oh well. For now, I hoped you enjoyed it a little at least and thank you for reading. Reviews are always, and I mean ALWAYS, loved. Until next time. :)