— Samantha Eve Wilkins —
*RING*
"Oh wow, would you look at that? Time flies when you're having fun!" Mr. Benzley chuckled. Everyone kept a dull, unamused face as they began to pack their things and head out of the classroom. "Okay then students, enjoy the rest of your day, and don't forget to study for the upcoming test on the parts of both plant and animal cells!"
A chorus of groans sounded as kids walked out of the class, meanwhile she made sure to wait up for her new friends.
She walked over to the three boys who were still packing their stuff and watched as they conversed with one another.
"I heard you got the new limited edition Seance Dog comic, Mark! Can I read it, pretty please?!" William asked Mark with a look of desperation.
"No way, my dad got me it!" Mark shook his head, looking almost offended by the request.
"Please, dude, you know I'll give it back!"
"I said no!"
Eve smiled as she watched the two exchange glances. She had almost forgotten how nice it was to have a friend, and now she had a group to spend time with.
It warmed her heart—and hurt it at the same time.
More than once, she gave into the feeling of familiarity with others, and every time it came back to bite her.
This time…she hoped it would be different, but hope has never led her anywhere good.
"You coming, Eve?"
Eve snapped out of her thoughts and looked toward the door where Darius was standing with a confused expression. She looked back to where Mark and William had been to see they were gone.
How long had she been lost in her own mind?
"Y-Yes." She breathed out and forced a smile as she made her way over to the door.
Darius waited, and they both began walking to the bus once she reached him.
She couldn't tell him…she couldn't tell anyone about her powers. If she did—they'd leave her too.
And she couldn't risk that.
The two eventually caught up to Mark and William. The latter was still begging for the former to give him the comic for a little while, with Mark refusing every time.
As they walked to the buses, suddenly Darius stopped.
"Darius, is something wrong?" Eve asked, concerned that she had messed up somewhere.
"No…I just remembered we're not taking the bus today." He said with a frown.
"Wait, it's today?" Mark asked in surprise.
"I thought you both knew." William chuckled.
Eve didn't know what they were talking about, but she didn't like not being included.
"What are you guys talking about?" She asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"We're going to the movies tonight. The Seance Dog Live action is airing, and it looks really good." Mark grinned, reaching into his bag and pulling out three tickets.
"Yeah, but since it's happening tonight, we're gonna spend the entire day going around the city until it's time to watch it," Darius added excitedly.
She looked at the three in surprise before clenching her fist. She hadn't been their friend for long, so she didn't have any right to feel jealous or betrayed for not being invited. She sighed and looked back at the three with a forced smile.
"I understand. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
With those words, she began walking to her bus. The smile she had forced onto her face crumbled immediately as a downcast expression consumed her features.
"Wait, Eve."
She heard Darius call from behind her. She paused and turned around, putting the fake smile back on her face one last time.
"Yeah, Darius?"
"...Do you wanna come?" He questioned, surprising her and the others.
"Don't we only have three tickets?" William said frantically before pausing and looking at Eve. "Not that I have a problem with you coming or anything."
Eve nodded slowly and looked at Darius who crossed his arms and grinned. "I can just buy another ticket. The theater should be full, but I'm sure my dad can make something work.
"Mr. Johnson can?" William asked with a bit of surprise, earning a nod from Darius. "Oh wow, I had no idea he had such pull."
"He does when he wants to." Darius nodded. "I doubt he would mind doing it either…so what do you say, Eve? Want to come?"
Eve's face lit up, and she nodded quickly, earning laughs from the three boys.
"Who knew you were a fan of Seance Dog?!" Mark beamed. "This movie is gonna be awesome with four people!"
"Hell yeah!" Darius pumped his fist in the air, and the four of them began walking deeper into the city.
Eve walked just a bit behind the three boys. She watched them with a small smile on her face. She didn't know how long their friendship would last, but she knew that she'd enjoy every moment she could.
— Two Weeks Later —
"How the hell are you so smart?!" Mark asked with unconcealed jealousy as he compared his test scores with Eve's. He had barely passed, while Eve had almost gotten a perfect score.
"There's this new magic ability granted to us by Seance Dog called studying. You should try it!" Eve beamed at Mark, making him mutter something about wise guys.
*RING*
The end of the day bell rang and a smile enveloped Eve's face.
The movie with Mark, Darius, and William was great! She hadn't really ever had a big interest in comics, but that changed after the movie.
According to the three boys, the movie was the worst piece of "dog shit" they had ever watched, but it wasn't the movie itself that made Eve enjoy it. It was the time they spent together as friends.
Never in her life had she imagined that having friends and doing stuff with them could be so fun! When she and Val would hang out, they'd never do anything interesting besides talking in the tree house, but going out was different.
Experiencing new things with people she cared about…it was so much fun!
After the movie, she could tell that all of them had grown closer, which allowed her to open up a bit more. She was hesitant at first, but when she saw the others accepted her and all of her weirdness, it made her even happier!
They weren't even weirded out by her ability to understand atoms. The worst she heard from them was Darius calling her a "smartass", and she knew he was joking more than anything. For once in her life, she found a group of people who didn't find her weird.
She was happy, and she wouldn't allow anything or anyone to take away this happiness she was finally experiencing after so long.
The group walked outside and started walking toward their buses, all while happily chatting away. Eventually they arrived at her bus and she had to say goodbye, promising to text in their newly formed group chat when they got back.
As Eve got on the bus, a group of girls began conversing with her, asking her about her day, and how she did on the test. She spoke with all of them and enjoyed her time on the bus, as she had come to start doing recently, and once her stop came up, she said goodbye and hopped out.
Her smile lasted until she opened the door to her house and saw her dad sitting on the couch along with her mother.
"What's got you so happy?" Her father asked, glancing at her for a moment before looking back at the TV.
"I just made some friends at school." She said and paused when she noticed how her parents were staring at her in surprise.
"Friends?" Her dad asked, a frown beginning to work its way on his face. "Are these the same friends who you went to the movie theater with without telling us?"
Eve crossed her arms and looked away from her father. "They are."
"Good friends wouldn't drag you along somewhere without your parent's permission." Her father said as if it was an absolute fact. "Don't talk to those friends of yours anymore."
Eve clenched her fists in shock and anger. "How could you say that?! They're my friends, they make me happy! Why would I stop talking to them?!"
"I won't repeat myself!" He shouted, rising to his feet. Eve stared at him with unshed tears in her eyes and ran away.
"Dear!" Her mother called after her, but she didn't stop running. She ran to her room and locked the door. Tears dripped from her eyes as she sat down in her chair.
It wasn't fair. That thought circulated through her head over and over again. She had finally managed to find friends she could enjoy spending time with, and her father was trying to take that away from her.
Did he thrive in seeing her in despair?
She wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled out a book—her diary. It had been a gift from Darius when she opened up about her parents a bit. She didn't tell him even half of the problems that she faced when it came to them, but she did tell him that they had problems.
He recommended she get a diary and when she refused, he got one for her.
As she wrote in it, she had to admit, it helped a lot. Reflecting on the good and bad things throughout the day was a great stress reliever. One that immediately took her mind off of her father's words.
As she added the last entry and closed her book, she let out a tired sigh and made her way to the bathroom for a shower.
She hopped in after stripping and turned on the water, feeling the relaxing warm water drip down her body brought even more comfort to her mind.
A look of determination crossed her face as her father's words replayed in her mind.
"Don't talk to those friends of yours anymore."
She wouldn't listen to him, not after she managed to find friends she feels good around. As she turned off the shower, she activated her powers, making her towel float over to her and using it to dry herself off.
She needed to have more courage. The courage to stand up for herself when things weren't going her way, or to stand up for others who couldn't for themselves.
Eve walked back into her bedroom and began putting on her clothes. As she did, she caught sight of her pink hoodie and stared intently at it.
She used her powers to float it over to her and put it on, then she used her powers to make a mask that covered her eyes.
She knew what she was doing was stupid and reckless, but sometimes reckless stupidity was necessary to do things that one isn't brave enough to do.
She didn't have the courage, not yet, but she'd throw herself in the deep end and gain it!
She opened the window to her room and formed a platform with her powers. She jumped on it and slowly rode it out of her room and into the night sky.
— Chapter End —
Beta Reader: Basilisk Dragonboy1