by R. T. Martin
He took the can off his lap and held it in his fingertips again. He stared and let it drop.
It didn’t fall immediately. It hung in the air for a brief second before it plopped into his lap again. I did it, Parker thought. It wasn’t much, but I did it!
He picked up the can again, this time determined to make it hang in the air, even if only for a little bit longer.
With the can resting on his fingertips, he pictured what he wanted to happen in his mind: the can floating just where it was in front on him. He slowly lowered his hand. This time, the can didn’t come with it.
A big smile crept across Parker’s face. He started laughing—he didn’t know how else to react. He moved his head so he could see all angles of the can.
“This is . . .” he said quietly to himself. “This is incredible!”
He reached out to touch the can, wondering what would happen. But as he lifted his hand, there was a knock on the door. The can dropped.
His dad opened the door and peered in to tell Parker he was going to bed.
The moment the door closed, Parker picked up the soda can. This time, he didn’t have to focus as hard. It felt like learning how to ride a bike. Once he got the hang of it, things clicked into place more quickly.
He made the can float for a full minute before he grabbed it again. I wonder what else I can do.
He tossed it straight up into the air. It flew up until it nearly touched the ceiling. Just when it was going to drop back down, he grabbed it with his mind and held it. It remained suspended about a foot out of Parker’s reach. “Cool,” he said.
He got another idea. Rather than letting the can drop down to him, he pictured the can coming down slowly and gently into his hand. Once again he tossed it into the air. Slowly but steadily, the can descended into his palm.
For the next few hours, Parker tested the limits of what he could do. The more he practiced, the more he began to control his ability. He threw the can across the room, stopped it midflight, and made it float back to him. Actually moving objects with his mind was a lot more difficult than just stopping them, but it was kind of like working a new muscle. The more he practiced, the easier it became.
Soon he could manipulate other objects with his mind as well: pens, pencils, notebooks. He even got ambitious and lifted a lamp.
In his excitement, he got another idea. He brought Foster into his room, bringing Foster’s favorite stuffed monkey with him.
Using his mind, he lifted the toy monkey and tossed it across the room. It flew through the air, but Foster snatched it between his teeth and gently placed it in Parker’s lap for him to throw again.
He played this weird version of fetch with Foster for so long that he lost track of time and didn’t end up going to bed until a little after one in the morning.
***
Parker woke up still exhausted, but it didn’t bother him. Learning more about what he could do was worth more than a full night of sleep.
At school, he found himself looking forward to seeing his new friends. He wanted to show Yuan, Cole, and Drew what he could do, but he still had absolutely no intention of letting anyone else find out. He wanted to make sure they knew that.
“So how’d it go?” Cole asked when Parker walked up to their lunch table. “Did you practice?”
Parker put his tray down and slid into a seat. “Yeah.”
Yuan got an excited look on her face. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense. Show us something.”
“Not here,” Parker said quietly. “Too many people around. And before we go any further with this, I want you all to promise that you won’t tell anyone else about it.”
Yuan, Cole, and Drew all looked at one another and shrugged. “Who would we tell?” Drew asked.
“I don’t know,” Parker said. “Random people you wanted to impress, I guess?”
“Hey,” Cole said. “I have no interest in impressing people.”
Yuan snorted and rolled her eyes at him, while Drew smiled along too. Cole had been trying to keep a straight face, but he broke out into a goofy grin as well.
Even Parker couldn’t help his growing smile. “Okay, but seriously, please don’t tell anyone.”
“You got it,” Yuan said. The other two nodded in agreement.
“Okay,” Parker said. “Come to my locker after school. I’ll show you there.”
***
When Parker left his last class and got to his locker, he found his three friends already there waiting for him. He opened his locker as Drew said, “So? What are we about to see?”
Parker looked around, once again making sure that no one was watching. He put his bag on the ground in front of the locker and opened it. “Gather around,” he said, waving them toward him. They all huddled in a circle around the locker, blocking the view of anyone who happened to turn their way.
Once he was sure he was shielded, Parker looked down at his bag and used his mind power to reach out. One by one, his textbooks and notebooks floated out of his bag and arranged themselves neatly in his locker.
“I’d do more, but I don’t want to attract attention,” he said when he was done.
Yuan stared at Parker. “Do you realize what you can do with this?”
Parker shrugged. “Party tricks?”
Yuan looked down the hallway where Caroline was laughing with her friends. “You can stop them.”
Parker felt his face scrunch up. “I don’t think—that’s not—I don’t think I want to do that.”
Drew leaned in. “You’re the only person that can stand up to them. They won’t even suspect you. I mean, who would?” The other two nodded. “You have to.”
Parker was about to continue protesting, but he caught sight of MJ walking down the hall. Mark Pollack was innocently stacking books into his locker. MJ looked up from his phone, and, clearly seeing Mark, started moving a little faster.
When MJ passed the smaller kid, he purposefully bumped into him, and Mark fell into his locker. He quickly pulled himself back out and turned toward MJ. “Sorry,” MJ said in a mocking tone as he kept walking.
Mark sighed and turned back to his locker, shaking his head in defeat. Parker frowned. It was like Mark was telling himself to get used to this.
“Okay,” Parker said to his friends. “I’ll do it.”
7
He started small, with things that could easily go unnoticed. One day in chemistry, he saw Paul Thornton slide something out of his pocket—a rubber band. With the teacher’s back turned, Paul used his pen as a slingshot, preparing to shoot the rubber band at a student a few desks away. He let it fly. Parker followed the projectile with his eyes. With only a slight push from his mind, it redirected, soaring to the right of its target.
Paul didn’t seem to see that anything odd had happened. He probably just figured he’d aimed badly. He returned to taking notes as Parker chuckled quietly to himself.
Over the next few days, Parker made it his mission to protect people from the bullies’ attacks whenever he could. People didn’t fall after they’d been tripped, projectiles missed their targets nearly every time, shoelaces stayed tied.
He had to admit, it felt good to help the other students. It felt good to be a hero.
***
“You fix the school yet?” Cole said later that week, catching up to Parker in the hallway with Yuan and Drew tailing close behind.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Parker replied. “I’m sticking to little things, like flying rubber bands.”
Yuan smiled. “That’s a good start.”
“Smart too,” Drew said. “It’s probably best to stay under the radar.”
Even though they’d been talking and eating lunch together for the past few days, Parker was still somewhat surprised when the other three lingered next to him. It was like they wanted to hang out with him even if they weren’t talking about his power. Parker tried to think of something to keep the conversation going, but then the warning bell rang. They all set off toward their next classes. �
�Are you going to be at rehearsal?” Yuan asked Parker.
“Yeah,” he said. “I mean I’ll be in the workshop, but I guess I’ll technically be there.”
“Cool,” she said. “I’ll stop by and say hey.”
***
In the workshop that afternoon, Parker was painting the tree, which was a lot easier now. He thought about using his mind to control the brush, but he liked painting, and it felt better to actually do something rather than just stand there and control things with his mind.
Still . . . there was no reason not to make it easier for himself. He used his ability to tilt the top of the tree toward him. Normally he would have had to use a ladder to reach the top branches, but this was easier.
He paid close attention to the door, listening carefully for the sounds of anyone walking down the hallway outside the workshop. Once or twice he heard someone and used his mind to push the tree upright again, but no one actually came in.
He was just putting the finishing touches on one of the branches when he heard the clacking of someone coming down the hall again. He tilted the tree back to a physically possible angle and pretended to brush the trunk again, even though he’d already finished that part.
The workshop door opened and Yuan came in.
“Oh,” Parker said. “I was worried you were Ms. Frasier or something.”
“Doing your little trick?”
Parker demonstrated tilting the tree. “It would have taken me three days to do this with a ladder. I just finished.”
“It looks great,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“Are you free tonight?”
“I guess,” Parker was wiping some paint off his hands with a rag. It had been a long time since someone asked him if he was free. That’s probably why I am, he thought.
“Drew’s older brother is playing guitar at a coffee shop tonight. Do you want to go with us?”
Parker wasn’t used to being asked to go to things. For a second, he thought he should just go home like he normally would. But “Yeah, I can go to that,” came out of his mouth instead.
“Awesome.” Yuan pulled out her phone and had Parker give her his number so she could text him the time and address.
That night, Parker met the others at the coffee shop. Drew had neglected to mention that his brother, Trevor, was a terrible musician. Most of the songs were off-key and had sad lyrics about some unnamed girl who had rejected him.
In the middle of a song that basically consisted of Trevor wailing about how lonely he was, Yuan leaned over to Parker and quietly asked him to pass her a sugar packet for her coffee. Instead of grabbing it with his hand, Parker lifted one out of the little bowl with his mind. The top appeared to tear itself open then pour itself into Yuan’s mug.
His friends started to laugh but quickly fell silent when Trevor shot them a disapproving glance.
Parker was surprised at what a good time he had with them. Most of the crowd didn’t stay for the entire show, so he technically could have left at any point. But he found himself genuinely wanting to keep hanging out with Yuan, Cole, and Drew. They were funny and laid-back—so laid-back that they’d taken this whole telekinesis thing completely in stride. Parker also appreciated that they talked to him about things like games and music—ordinary stuff that had nothing to do with his mind powers.
After the show, they all told Trevor he’d been great. Outside, though, Drew turned to the others and asked, “At what point do I stop being supportive and just tell him to give up?” The other three laughed even though Drew might have meant it as a serious question.
When Parker got home, he was happy. Having friends felt good.
***
He was still smiling when he arrived at school the next day. Sitting at one of the long tables in the library for study hall, he chuckled to himself as he thought about Trevor’s terrible set list.
Most of the students in study hall took a table to themselves. Ashley Lopez was sitting at the table closest to Parker’s. Near the end of the period, she got up and left her books sitting at the table.
Devon Jones noticed immediately. The moment Ashley was out of sight, Devon popped up from his chair and strolled over to her spot. Parker wondered what he was up to.
He watched in shock as Devon casually reached into one of Ashley’s folders. Devon pulled out a worksheet, folded it into quarters, and stuffed it into his back pocket. The act was so bold and casual that Parker couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He’d suspected that Devon cheated in most of his classes, but actually stealing another student’s work was messed up on a whole other level. Devon walked back to where he’d been sitting, picked up his things, and walked right out of the library.
When Ashley returned, she didn’t notice anything had been taken. Parker was about to tell her, but the bell rang to signal the end of the period, and Ashley rushed out of the library before Parker could say anything.
His stomach twisted. I should have stopped Devon, he thought. His mind went blank for a second. That was my fault. I can’t hesitate next time.
8
It took no time at all for Parker to become bolder with his ability. In his next class that day, he saw MJ prepare a spitball, chewing up a small piece of paper and using his disassembled pen as a sort of blowgun. MJ took aim at someone across the room. Parker stopped the wad of paper in midair and let it drop to the floor. MJ watched it happen with a stunned look on his face. He nudged a friend in a desk next to him, and Parker watched him try to explain what had happened.
The next morning, Parker saw Devon again in study hall. Devon had two pieces of paper in front of him: the completed worksheet he’d taken from Ashley’s backpack and a blank version of the same worksheet. He was clearly copying down Ashley’s answers.
This is my chance to stop him, Parker thought. I need a plan. And I need to act fast. After thinking for a few moments, Parker used his ability to knock down a row of books from the shelf directly behind Devon. The papers on Devon’s table went flying. The librarian rushed over and started scolding Devon about being more careful with the books in the library. Meanwhile, Parker used the distraction to slowly slide both worksheets over to his table.
Parker got up to use the bathroom but stopped as he passed Ashley’s table. He purposely kept his gaze down and pretended to spot the sheet of paper sitting beneath her chair.
“Hey,” he said, turning to her. “I think you dropped that.”
Ashley glanced below her seat and gasped. “Oh my gosh, thank you!” she whisper-shouted. “I thought I lost that, and it’s due this afternoon. I must have dropped it here yesterday.” She grinned up at him and thanked him again.
Parker smiled back and nodded. As he walked past a garbage can, he may or may not have thrown away a half-finished worksheet with the name “Devon Jones” written on top of it.
***
Every day, Parker practiced his ability in the workshop and at home. He was getting much better at using it. He could make objects float and move in midair. He could spin and twirl them, juggling without using his hands. At home, he was able to control a pen so well, he could write his name without ever touching the pen.
After a few days, Parker decided to take his school activism to the next level. Instead of just preventing bad things from happening, he started taking some light revenge on bullies. Suddenly Devon was mysteriously misplacing most of his homework. Paul was telling people that books kept falling out of his locker for no reason. MJ reported that at lunch his plastic forks and spoons snapped in half when he wasn’t even touching them.
Yuan, Cole, and Drew all helped too. Each day at lunch, all three would discuss instances of bullying they had witnessed, and Parker would find some way for the bullies to make up for their actions. Cheat sheets fell out of books right where teachers could see them. Pens exploded in bullies’ hands just as they were starting to taunt someone.
Word was getting around. People were starting to talk about the weird things that had been
happening to anyone who tried to pull anything. More and more students had noticed that physically impossible things were happening around the school. There was even a rumor that the school was haunted and a ghost was taking some kind of weird revenge. That theory was Parker’s favorite.
He and his friends were extremely proud of themselves.
“It’s working,” Drew said to the group as they were hanging around outside before school. “Devon Jones hits me with a rubber band every day in art. Since you started,” he said to Parker, “I haven’t been hit once. I think he’s afraid of the ghost. You aren’t even in that class.”
“Paul Thornton has a thing for slamming my locker door shut while I’m getting things out of it,” Cole said. “He’s stopped doing that too.”
“No one knows it’s me, right?” Parker said.
“No one suspects any of us,” Yuan said. “I don’t think anyone even thinks it’s a person doing it. One of the sophomores named the ghost Chuck though.”
“Way to go, Chuck,” Drew said, patting Parker on the back.
***
“How are rehearsals going?” Cole asked Yuan one afternoon when she and Parker came out of rehearsal. Drew had begun driving the four of them home after school since they were hanging out so often lately.
“The show is going to be good,” Yuan replied. “It’s coming along.”
“Caroline still trying to take your role?” Drew asked as they piled into his beat-up car.
Yuan shrugged from the front passenger seat. “She’s just being her usual charming self. She made a point of telling me that she’s already learned all my lines in case I step down.”
“She’d get the part if you did?”
Yuan nodded. “If I do anything wrong—literally anything, she corrects me right in front of Ms. Frasier.”
“Does Ms. Frasier think you’re doing well?” Parker asked.
“She says she does.” He could hear the concern in Yuan’s voice. “But every time Caroline corrects me, I get a little scared that Ms. Frasier might, you know, believe Caroline might be better for the part.”