Act I Chapter I
A group of 14-year-old kids with special powers set foot in their new school and new class, and get to know each other.
It was a dark and stormy--
No, actually it wasn’t. It was a perfectly fine Monday morning, birds were singing, flowers were blooming, etcetera. You’ve heard enough of these stereotypical story openings already. Now, let’s get back to the plot.
A bunch of 16 kids just got to their new class. They were each told to assemble in their classroom, labelled with a modest ‘1/S’ on the door. S, of course, because although they didn’t know it then, everyone in their new class was special.
At 8.30a.m. sharp, there was a message from the computerized noticeboard on the classroom. (No human teachers in this universe, by the way. They were rendered obsolete and those who were fortunate to keep a place in the school got moved to the Student Welfare department.) Five words on the board, for them to see:
Introduce yourselves to each other.
That’s settled, then. Another message was flashed on the board, this time a picture of numbers, each kid assigned to one number. As per the usual getting-to-know-each-other procedure, they arranged themselves in a circle according to their numbers.
It wasn’t as if all 16 were strangers to the other 15 of their peers, but it was still incredibly awkward. They all proceeded to stare at kid number 1, waiting for him to get the ball rolling. He’s moderately short, donning a long, dark red sweater and his hair is dishevelled. About 23 seconds of furtive, silent glances later, the boy finally speaks.
???????: Is no one going to start speaking? Really??
???????: Y’all are just gonna wait until I introduce myself. Is that it?
He speaks with twice the amount of vigour as any regular person should have.
???????: No hard feelings though, I’m feeling pretty OK today.
KRANYON: Anyway, name’s Kranyon.
KRANYON: Nice to meet you guys, I guess??
???????: Cool. Guess I’m next.
The second kid speaks up. It’s a girl, with a short ponytail and wearing a singlet. She also has those arm sleeve things?? She’s a bit taller than Kranyon, although he won’t notice for now.
ADELPHI: My name is Adelphi.
ADELPHI: I like to do sports. Usually ball games, you guys probably already know a bunch of ‘em.
ADELPHI: Ok that’s enough let’s pass it on to the next lad.
The ‘next lad’ isn’t actually a lad. She also has a sweater, but it’s much thinner than Kranyon’s and probably not meant for such heavy thermal insulation.
??????????: hello everyone!
CASSIOPEIA: the name is cassiopeia. remember, there are two ‘s’s.
CASSIOPEIA: usually cassiopeia is a mouthful for people so you can call me cassie!
KRANYON: Nice, I was beginning to wonder whether I really had to say out all 4 syllables.
CASSIOPEIA: :-)
The 4th kid just speaks. No awkwardness. Seems like this guy’s got quite the bravado.
????: Yo, sup guys.
ATOM: Name’s Atom. I would say it’s nice to meet you, but that’s too uncool.
ATOM: It is nice though. Totally lookin’ forward to spending the next 4 years with ya’ll.
ADELPHI: That’s obviously sarcastic.
ATOM: No shit, sherlock. I don’t exactly know any of you yet. Maybe in 4 years, things will change. Nobody knows.
Nobody knows indeed. The 5th kid is a tad shy, but she also looks quite lost in her own thoughts. Psychic energy trickles from her body in barely noticeable sparks.
?????: oh it’s my turn
?????: hi guys
NEXUS: my name’s nexus and i’m a totally normal person
The room silently allows the sarcasm to pass. Little do they know, everyone’s big secret is what they have in common as a class.
The 6th kid is nervous, but one can also tell he wasn’t the best at being social to begin with. He sports a long sleeve shirt and long pants, and both have way too many pockets.
?????: What’s up?
CASSIOPEIA: the sky
?????: Ha ha, very funny. Is it just me, or is everyone nervous and awkward here?
All 16 of them unanimously agree.
ARWEN: I’m Arwen. Enough said for now.
The moment he stops speaking, he looks extremely relieved to have gotten out of the awkward spotlight.
The 7th kid is really shy, even more shy than Arwen.
?????: uhhhhhhhhh
?????: (what do i say here?)
NEXUS: come on man it’s not like everyone else here is normal either
?????: what??? what are you talking about
NEXUS: oh please.
NEXUS: everyone here in this room has special abilities.
Everyone else in the room is surprised, to some degree.
NEXUS: yeah did i mention i’m a psychic
NEXUS: and like apparently i’m pretty powerful
NEXUS: so i may have looked into all your minds for a second or two each ever since ya’ll came in here
ATOM: Hold on, what?
NEXUS: but now we don’t need to be nervous at all! everyone isn’t normal! that’s a secret i think everyone had to hide from the outside world
ATOM: Well that settles it then. Secret’s out, guys.
ATOM: So come on, man. No one is gonna judge you here. We’re all equally weird.
?????: oh ok
?????: that’s swell, i guess
MORAN: my name is moran
MORAN: it’s a bit better to meet you guys now
The mood in the room lightens up quite a lot. The 8th kid steps into the conversation with a little more confidence than she would’ve otherwise.
???????: Hi everyone
???????: I guess since it’s been established that we’re all outliers…
She points to her neck to emphasise two small, green dots.
A vampire.
ARWEN: W-wait, you’re a vampire?
???????: Yep!
Nexus giggles, barely audibly. The only other thing apart from the abilities thing that Nexus managed to see in Arwen’s mind was that he had a slight fear of vampires.
She’s snapped out of the moment by mystery vampire girl.
???????: Nexus, was it?
NEXUS: yeah
???????: I have a small question
???????: How much of everyone’s brains did you see?
NEXUS: not much
NEXUS: mostly it was the powers thing i was looking out for
NEXUS: but if you also have something that you don’t really want others to know i probably have some recollection of it somewhere. sorry
Nexus glances directly at Arwen, who produces a slight, forced smile.
???????: Okay, sure
GALINDA: Oh, I almost forgot to say my name. Galinda. That’s my name.
That wraps up the first half of the kids. The 9th kid speaks. She has a long sleeve shirt and jeans, but rolls the shirt up to elbow length.
???????: hello everyone!
???????: i guess since everyone is straight up revealing stuff, then…
SAMSARA: firstly, my name is samsara.
SAMSARA: secondly, i’m a shadow. y’all know what that is, correct? i believe we’re relatively rare.
??????: Cool, cool
The 10th kid also seems to have gained an aura of level-headedness around him. Guess the collective revealing of everyone’s secrets had a better effect on some than others.
??????: Aight, I really don’t know anyone here
??????: Except for my man Nef
????????: (dude, you havent even introduced yourself yet. dont make me jump the gun.)
He’s right.
????????’s wink in response pierces straight through the fourth wall.
Anyway, back to ??????.
ZENITH: The name’s Zenith, folks. I guess now we’re all cool since we’re weird and all. I’m a psychic too.
ZENITH: Nef and I came from the same school before this year, but I really hope we’ll all make nice memories in the next 4 years.
ZENITH: Well that’s all I have to say, actually. Imma pass on the conversation to this guy next to me.
The conversation is effectively passed on to the guy next to Zenith.
????????: well it wasnt a conversation to begin
????????: but ok
NEFFERIN: im nefferin and obviously, im an undead
NEFFERIN: oh and as for my weird powers,
Nefferin disappears and reappears in the centre of the cicle.
MORAN: woah
NEFFERIN: i do teleportation stuff mostly.
GALINDA: Hey that’s pretty cool
NEFFERIN: thanks
NEFFERIN: okay, next person
Nefferin gets up and walks back to his place inside the circle. The 12th kid speaks.
??????: Hi guys!
AURORA: My name is Aurora. Or you can call me northernBorealis, which is also coincidentally my username on my art page.
SAMSARA: man, that was smooth.
ZENITH: Yeah, nice self-promo you got going on.
AURORA: Hehe! I think that’s all I’ve got to share though.
?????: It’s fine, I guess I’ll speak now
The 13th kid speaks, and his voice is pretty soft for his stature. Like, this guy is gonna grow up to be, what? Almost 11 feet tall?
?????: Uhh
ONNYX: Hello guys my name is Onnyx
ONNYX: You might be wondering why I’m tall
ONNYX: And to that, I say puberty
ARWEN: Yes, I’m pretty sure puberty is hitting us all right now haha.
ONNYX: Well yeah but it’s not just puberty
ONNYX: Long story short I’m an undead, but not Nefferin’s kind
ONNYX: Basically, I’m quite a lot bigger (and stronger, I think) than average
Nexus shoots a tiny glance at Onnyx at the mention of ‘stronger than average’.
ONNYX: But yeah, I think I’ve been hogging the spotlight for relatively too long
ONNYX: Let’s move on, shall we?
The 14th kid is pretty tall for a girl her age.
????????: sup guys
TENEBRIS: name’s tenebris
TENEBRIS: and i’m a shadow
NEFFERIN: thats what she said
SAMSARA: nice.
TENEBRIS: ayyy
TENEBRIS: i guess that’s all we needa say right
TENEBRIS: like, there isn’t any lower limit to this self-intro thing
???????: Ok, guess it’s my turn then.
The 15th kid interrupts rather rudely, but it doesn’t really matter to Tenebris.
CANDELL: My name is Candell. I have light powers?
CANDELL: You guys are pretty cool, I guess. Well, maybe some more than others.
????????: Oh play nice, Candell! We’re here to make friends.
CANDELL: Are we really, Ferr?
If Candell had just ran into the metaphorical conversation room, then ???????? just straight up drove a train into it. Candell doesn’t really care though. The two of them have been friends for years now.
????????: Hello everyone! Sorry for interrupting just now.
FENFERRA: My name is Fenferra, and like Galinda,
Fenferra tries to be scary, and it works somewhat.
FENFERRA: I ‘ m a v a m p i r e t o o.
ARWEN: (Oh no.)
Fenferra’s eyes trail around the room for a response, and looks at Arwen, who is currently looking like he’s not feeling so good.
FENFERRA: Oh Arwen, don’t be intimidated.
FENFERRA: Vampires aren’t normally scary. I was just putting on an act!
GALINDA: Yeah, no one really is like that anymore
GALINDA: We could show you ‘scary’ if you wanted
ARWEN: Haha no it’s fine ladies just uh stay right there-
It’s pretty obvious that Arwen is slightly comforted, and simultaneously also slightly disturbed. It would’ve caused a notably awkward silence if not for the jarring noise of the school bell followed by another message from the notice board.
Break time. Assemble back here in your classroom in 1 hour.
KRANYON: Great.
ATOM: See you guys in an hour, I’m off to check out the food.
TENEBRIS: ok well bye guys! catch ya later
They each individually leave, except for Candell and Fenferra who immediately start talking the moment they pass the classroom door on the way out. Nexus notices Nefferin still gathering his things, and takes the chance to talk.
NEXUS: hi! you’re…
NEXUS: oh what am i doing i can read your thoughts
NEFFERIN: oh right you can
NEXUS: well
NEXUS: the interesting thing about you is
NEXUS: you’re the only person whose mind i actually didn’t manage to get far enough inside to reveal to me that you had special powers
NEXUS: i mean, i had minor issues with moran, but his psyche was substantially weaker than yours
NEFFERIN: so you judged by my reaction
NEXUS: yes, i did
NEFFERIN: cool
NEXUS: usually the only trouble i have when reading into minds is when the person has self-doubts
NEXUS: i mean, i can’t be sure of your thoughts when you aren’t sure of yourself
Nexus holds out a hand for a handshake. Nefferin looks at the hand hesitatingly, face devoid of emotion like it usually was.
NEXUS: so i hope whatever it is you got on man, you have it sorted out
NEXUS: and we’ll be here to help
Nefferin accepts the handshake, the slightest smile on his face.
NEFFERIN: thanks
NEXUS: actually, i should be the one thanking you
NEXUS: by offering a point of physical contact i broke quite easily into your mind
NEXUS: and i must say i understand what you’re going through, even though it is indeed a small thing
NEXUS: it just can’t help but bug you sometimes
NEFFERIN: well played
NEFFERIN: ive been fooled
NEFFERIN: took the bait straight in the face
NEFFERIN: although i get the feeling this handshake scam wasnt very premeditated
NEXUS: haha don’t play dumb, i knew you tried to read my thoughts
NEXUS: the handshake for support was a real idea my dude
NEXUS: as valiant an attempt as your attempt to get into my head
NEXUS: you would’ve succeeded, if i hadn’t noticed almost straightaway and blocked half of your brain from getting in
NEFFERIN: half?
NEXUS: that’s why you got a feeling, not knew it for sure
NEXUS: there’s a lot about psychic stuff you still don’t know
NEXUS: maybe i’ll find the patience to tell you what i know someday
NEFFERIN: heh
NEFFERIN: well its been nice talking to you. zenith is down the corridor mind-pestering me to go check out the food here.
NEXUS: it’s been nice talking to you too
NEXUS: see you later!
NEFFERIN: cya
-end of chapter?-