by M. L. Greye
“Hey there, loner,” Emilio snickered, stopping in front of Legann.
“Hi,” he replied, moving his eyes up and down Emilio. The olive-skinned, dark-eyed kid still only came up to Legann’s chest. Apparently the summer hadn’t changed him. Legann didn’t really feel threatened by him at all.
“Where are you off to so fast? Do you need to talk to your imaginary friends again?” Todd asked. “Or is your sister out there?” He glanced out through the front glass doors, his pale blue eyes squinting. “She’s hot, like way hot.”
Legann grunted. “If you think you can date her, be my guest.”
His phone started vibrating again. Olinia was calling him. Soon, she would try to reach his thoughts. She hated waiting. It was time for him to go.
“Maybe you should introduce us. She’ll be happy to get in on this action.” Todd flexed his arms.
“I’ll put in a good word for you,” Legann returned.
Before they could stop him, Legann spun on his heel, leaving his drab school and all those inside behind him. Once through the doors, he took a deep gulp of fresh air. As he took the front steps two at a time, he noticed how hot he suddenly felt. It was still more summer outside than autumn. The weather hadn’t quite caught up with the calendar yet.
At the far end of the horseshoe-shaped loading and unloading driveway in front of the school, he noticed Olinia’s little blue car. It was where she had picked him up all during the last year of school. Legann let his breath out in a rush, marveling once again at how monotonous his life had become. Somehow during the past nineteen months, he had evolved from remarkable Saerdian warrior and Wend to average American teenager.
Trenton Alridge was fully responsible for the change. Beginning with immunizations and wardrobe, Trenton dedicated himself to the transformation and infiltration of Olinia and Legann to Ethon. He was determined to give them the full Ethon experience, starting with an in-depth culture study of the United States. Since Olinia and Legann’s accents matched the average U.S. citizen, Trenton thought it fitting to begin the Ethon life lessons there.
In order to learn both the past and current affairs of the area, Trenton decided to send the Other Worlders to the heart of American history: Virginia. He bought them their very own four bedroom house in a quaint little town about an hour outside of Washington D.C. and enrolled them both into school. Olinia was sent to a nearby university and Legann to the local high school. Why Trenton thought they needed a house with four rooms, fully furnished, for just the two of them was beyond Legann, though. They never had any guests over – excluding Trenton – so the only time one of the other rooms would get filled was when Trenton came to visit.
Letting out a sigh, Legann slid his backpack off his shoulder. He was almost to his sister’s car. That was another one of Trenton’s gifts upon their arrival to Virginia – both Olinia and Legann were purchased cars. Legann’s wasn’t brand new, as Trenton didn’t want him to stick out too much, but it was only a couple years old and in great condition. Olinia’s, on the other hand, was the current year’s model of what was deemed sensible for a college student when Trenton bought it.
Legann finally reached Olinia. He pulled open the passenger door and dropped inside. “Hey,” he said in greeting. Even though he knew she could hear his thoughts, he still didn’t feel comfortable being completely silent around her. He blamed that on his upbringing as a Saerd.
“Hi.” She smiled, shifting her car into first gear from neutral. “Welcome back to the free world.”
He groaned. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive English this year.”
“Just live for the weekends,” she replied as she pulled out onto the main road, putting more distance between them and the school. “It’s what I do.”
She had a point. The weekends were really what she and Legann looked forward to, more so than the average Ethon. It was on the weekend that they were able to fully be themselves and forget they needed to hide their gifts.
Because Olinia could hear the thoughts of everyone within a hundred yards of her, Trenton had been kind enough to choose a house for them on the outskirts of town, away from people and surrounded by trees. That way the only person Olinia had to listen to was Legann, unless Trenton came to visit. He usually came for at least one weekend every month, except during holidays when he would fly Olinia and Legann out to him.
“You haven’t been practicing, have you?”
“Huh?” Legann turned.
She sighed. “I can still hear your every thought. You told me you’ve been practicing your mental barriers.”
“Oh.” He grimaced. Another one of their weekend activities were his lessons in the Eveon ways, according to his Wend sister. Currently, she was teaching him to move objects with his eyes and to build up walls in his mind to stop the random Eve from intruding on his thoughts. Legann had a feeling though that the real reason she tried so hard to get him to improve was for her to have at least one person she couldn’t hear inside of.
“You’re right,” Olinia mused, answering his unspoken comments. “But I’ve already been inside your head. Putting up barriers won’t make your thoughts disappear from me, just dull them enough that I may overlook them every once in a while.”
Legann rolled his eyes. “I knew there was some way you benefitted from me becoming gifted.”
“You’re already gifted. I’m just having you acquire new skills.” She smiled.
They fell quiet for a moment, and Legann drifted back to worrying about the condition of his stomach. As if on cue, it growled loudly.
Olinia laughed. “We can stop somewhere for dinner on the way home.”
“No cooking tonight?”
She shook her head. “You’re not the only one drained from school. I don’t really feel like making anything. Plus, it’s the first day of a new semester. We should celebrate, right?”
He let out a short laugh. “As long as it tastes good, I don’t care.”
: : : : :
Serpents and beasts twisted and twined through the mist-covered ground. Sazx Tharrne rubbed his eyes with one hand. He had to have hit his head on something. Dropping his hand, he refocused his gaze. The creatures disappeared, evaporating into the trees surrounding him.
Sazx grimaced and continued forward, his boots making sucking sounds in the mud. Where was he? The fog around him was thick, blinding him from anything more than ten feet away. He was sure he was in a forest on some worn trail, but even that knowledge was limited to vague outlines.
He couldn’t remember how he had gotten there. The pounding in his head may have been responsible for that. His skull was filled with some sort of storm. White hot lightning flashed behind his eyes and overwhelming amounts of thunder crackled around his temples. Meanwhile, rain poured down upon him. Whether the rain was inside his head or outside his body, Sazx wasn’t entirely certain. He was in a daze.
Something had happened to him – some break in his internal being, some retraction of a vow – and this was the aftereffects of it. Sazx couldn’t remember that, though, either. All he knew was that he felt awful. His muscles were tight, the gash above his left eye was flaring, and he had a bruise the size of a fist across his side from where he had the vague recollection of being tossed into an overturned table…somewhere.
Up ahead, the mists seemed to thin, shedding more light on his path. Taking a deep gulp of air, Sazx attempted to double his pace, but one foot was caught in the mud, throwing him off balance like a drunkard. He flung out his arms to brace his fall. It was too late. His head hit a nearby log that had been invisible moments before. Sazx landed in a heap, and releasing a moan, slipped into darkness.
: : : : :
Dr. Sanders was droning again. Olinia yawned. Fortunately, she only had one more class until she was finished for the day. Sadly, to get to that class she first had to endure the rest of her current one. It still had twenty minutes to go. On Mondays and Wednesdays she had a speech class after her Anthropology one. Too bad today
was a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday or Thursday because then she could just go home.
Up towards the front of the room, three rows ahead of Olinia, the annoying blonde from the first day was staring at her new manicure, wondering if she had paid too much for it. Olinia groaned inwardly. She was debating on pulling out her music again and hiding the cords from the earpieces in her hair. The thoughts in the room were once again inescapable.
With another yawn, Olinia turned to the window on the right wall in hopes to distract herself. A few trees growing along the building had branches brushing against the glass, swaying in a breeze. Their leaves were beginning to change. Even though the warm weather wasn’t really reflecting it, autumn was definitely on its way, and Olinia was looking forward to it. In Virginia, there was really nothing like fall. The entire landscape transformed from the summer green to shades of red, orange, yellow, and deep purple. It was Olinia’s favorite time of year, except for when it rained.
Two years ago, Olinia loved dreary days. She would anticipate them with excitement. But that was two years ago – back when the color of storm clouds hadn’t reminded her of someone’s eyes, causing her inner pain at the memory. That was before she had met the Ethon who ended up abandoning her in his realm. Things were different now.
“Time to pair up to go over last night’s reading.” Sanders brought Olinia’s head around. She hadn’t been paying attention to him.
She grimaced as her fellow students began to shuffle around, finding their partners. She wasn’t really in the mood to talk with a stranger while hearing their every inner thought perfectly.
Back at the front, the blonde straightened in her seat, grinning. She was admiring some dark-haired guy who had just stood from his seat in the far back right corner. He was making his way toward her, textbook in hand. Olinia recognized him to be the straggler from her first day of class. She watched as he reached the blonde’s desk and then passed by without so much as a nod. Olinia let out a short laugh. Fortunately for the girl, her friend the farmboy was sitting right behind her, ready to offer his assistance. Olinia smiled to herself, dropping her gaze to the textbook on her desk. She secretly enjoyed moments like these.
“Hey, do you have a partner yet?”
Olinia’s head snapped up. The guy who had passed the blonde was now standing in front of Olinia. She shook her head and heard herself admit, “Not yet.”
“Awesome.” He sat in the chair to her right. “My name’s Porter Mires.”
“Olinia Reien.” She forced a smile.
Nice smile. Porter thought as he opened the book in his hands.
Why did he pick her? The blonde muttered to herself, glaring at Olinia.
“You know the reading for last night?” Porter asked out loud.
Olinia winced inwardly, forcing her mind to focus on the actual conversation she was involved in, rather than the silent rambling of every person in the room. “Yeah, pages forty-eight through ninety-seven, right?”
He nodded. “Did you read all of it?”
“I read some, but no, not all of it.” She reached for the textbook in her backpack, but her fingers slipped off its edge as she pulled it out. The book landed in a messy heap on the floor. Letting out a sigh, Olinia bent to pick it up, but Porter was faster. He grabbed the book and extended it to Olinia in one fluid movement. Surprised, she accepted the book, and noticed Porter’s fingers brush hers as he released his grip.
Almost instantly, her inner eye witnessed images of things she had seen earlier that day. One scene in particular stood out from the others. It was a picture of her and Legann in swimsuits at Virginia Beach the summer before. Trenton had taken it. That morning, before she left for school while Legann was in the shower, Olinia had opened a sort of diary she kept during her time in Ethon. Trenton had suggested she record her adventures here so that one day when she returned to the Other Worlds she could remember. He was more optimistic than she was. The picture had been inside the diary – next to a drawing Legann had done of…well, that didn’t matter. It was the image of them at the beach that was being focused on.
Confused by the sudden rush of memories, Olinia rubbed her forehead with one hand. Strange. It was almost as if someone had pulled the memories out from her, but that wasn’t very likely. Hearing everyone’s thoughts must have rekindled some of her own.
“How far did you get in the reading?” Porter began thumbing through the pages of his own textbook.
“I just basically skimmed it,” she admitted.
“Okay.” He glanced up from the book. “We may have done about the same then.”
“Has everyone found a partner?” Sanders called out to the class, interrupting his students. When no one responded, Sanders nodded. “Good. The person you’re with will be your partner for the rest of the semester. You’ll also write your final papers together, so be mindful of that.”
As Sanders turned to his briefcase, ignoring his class once again, Porter grinned. “Looks like we’re going to be with each other for a while.”
She nodded and opened her own textbook on her desk. “What should we discuss?”
“How about you?”
“Excuse me?” She blinked.
He leaned forward onto his elbows, keeping his face towards her. For some reason his thoughts were suddenly fascinated by her. “How old are you?”
“I’d rather just focus on the homework,” she replied.
“You can’t tell me your age?”
Olinia rolled her eyes. “I’m nineteen. How old are you?”
“Twenty. Where are you from?”
“Does it matter?”
“If you had done all the reading last night, you would have learned that often where a person is raised can determine how that person reacts in certain situations,” he answered smugly. He became proud of himself too easily.
Olinia grimaced. He believed that through his charm and wit he could get whatever outcome he desired from whichever woman he chose. She felt like laughing in his face at his last remark. If he only really knew where she had grown up.
Am I going to need to repeat myself? Porter thought, inspecting her face.
She sighed and decided to give him a vague lie. “I grew up here.”
The students around her began to pack up their belongings. Olinia glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was time to go – her class was finally over. She stood, grabbing her backpack.
Porter watched her from his seat without moving. “Bye, Olinia. See you next time.”
“See ya,” she murmured.
As she left the room, she saw herself through Porter’s eyes. There were no thoughts accompanying the image though. He was only looking at her. But just as she went through the door to the hallway, she swore she heard him think one word: Gifted.
: : : : :
Dishwashers were something Legann was going to miss. The Other Worlds really needed to invest in such luxuries. Living conditions would improve immensely. Legann finished loading the dishwasher with the utensils and plates Olinia and he had used during dinner before turning it on. Oh yes, he would most definitely miss it. Maybe he would look into bringing it to the Other Worlds once he returned to his realm. It could not be that difficult to construct. The civilized areas of the Other Worlds already had basic indoor plumbing so why couldn’t he bring his realm dishwashers? Oh yeah, electricity. The Other Worlds was sadly lacking in that sort of technology.
In the next room over, Legann heard the television turn on and switch through channels rapidly. He chuckled. Olinia was upstairs in her room doing an assignment but apparently wanted to search for something to watch on the main floor’s LED flatscreen television. It was a habit she had picked up over the last few months. A lazy habit. She would wait to come downstairs until she found something interesting to watch, seen through Legann’s eyes. Since she could hear and see his thoughts, she would use that to her advantage when Legann sat in front of the TV. There was no need for her to come down when Legann was there to see what wa
s on.
Legann couldn’t help but laugh a little. What a weird lifestyle he and his sister were living. If any Ethon were to randomly pop in on them, they would run away screaming at what they found.
Grabbing a can of soda from the refrigerator, Legann moved into the adjoining room with the TV. He knew it was what Olinia wanted him to do. Her homework no longer held her attention once she turned on the TV. He sat down on the couch and tipped his head back against a cushion, watching the channels change. When the channel surfing stopped on a commercial, he opened up his soda and took a sip.
“Have you heard of this place?”
Olinia’s voice made him jump. He hadn’t heard her sneak up on him. She was standing behind the back of the couch. He blinked up at her. “Are you talking about the commercial? What is it?”
“Some sort of private after-school program near here.” She sat next to him. “It’s called DS Academy.”
Legann glanced back at the TV. “What does the DS stand for?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“How’d you hear about it?”
“Some of my fellow students went there during high school,” she answered. “I’ve heard people thinking about it a few times on campus.”
The DS commercial faded into another one, and Legann gulped down more of his drink. “What’s so special about it?”
“You have to be invited to attend, first off, and even then that doesn’t guarantee admittance. You need to pass their scholastic tests after that.”
“So, it’s basically some super genius school.”
She let out a short laugh. “Basically.”
“Yeah, no thanks.” Legann grunted. He had no desire to work harder than he was already in any Ethon school. He wasn’t that devoted to his education.