CHAPTER FOUR
I've driven by Salvation Center before and seen the building, but right now, standing in front of it; it looks so much bigger than I ever thought it was. I take a deep breath and follow Ginger and Bradley in through the main doors.
“Laura, this is one of our orderlies, Laden Harris. He's been with us for about five years now.” Ginger introduces me to one of the hottest guys I have ever seen in my whole life, including in magazines and on television.
I am totally in awe of him. I'm sure my mouth must be hanging open, but I just can't help it. I feel like I know him when I look into his eyes. Maybe it just because he's so gorgeous.
Why are we staring at each other? Neither one of us is looking away. He's so... I don't know if there's a word to describe his perfection. Look away Laura, you're acting like an idiotic drooling teenager.
Laden speaks without averting his eyes from mine. “Actually, it's been eight years now, and I'm almost graduated from nursing school, so I won't be an orderly for much longer.” Laden sticks his hand out for me to shake, but all I can picture myself doing is jumping on him, wrapping my legs around him and making out with him.
But I decide to settle with shaking his hand and nodding my head. If I try to speak right now, I'm pretty sure nothing will come out, or I'll say something really stupid. The smartest thing to do is just shut up.
I can't seem to look away from his blue eyes. I'm still staring. He’s looked away several times but his gaze keeps coming back to me. Maybe that’s just because I’m acting like a hormone-crazed teenager in lust. My face must be totally red... I can feel the heat. I blush at even the slightest embarrassment. I hate that about myself.
Laden gives me this hot little sexy crooked smile, and raises his eyebrows almost as though he knows what I'm thinking. Yup, my face is getting hotter; lovely.
Through a slight laugh, Laden says, “Come on, I'll take you to your room. You're going to have to stay in a single room right now, because we just don't have a roommate for you yet. Don't fret, we always have new people coming in, or graduated people leaving, so unless you like being alone, we'll double you us as soon as we can.”
Laden picks up my super heavy, over-loaded suitcase like it weighs nothing. He talks while he’s leading me down the hallway and around the corner toward the elevators.
His dirty blonde hair hangs in soft careless curls, about 4" long. It lifts and bounces when he spins around, flopping casually back into the perfect style for him... messy. I just want to run my fingers through it, and tangle the strands in my grasp. Snap out of it!
I open my mouth to speak, hoping a voice comes out, and that I don't say something dumb. “Um, no, a single room is great. I like being alone." I'm so thankful that I have sound, even if it's a little shaky. "What do you mean by graduated? Is this place like high school or something? I was under the impression that it's a hospital.”
Stepping into the elevator, Laden pushes the third floor button. “Something like that. You'll find the classes here are definitely not like regular high school. Most of the time classes usually only run for a few hours a day. You'll do one-on-one with counselors too. Each person has their own type of ability, and we're here to help you discover everything about yours. Here you're looked at as an individual; that's definitely not like high school, huh? It seems, so far, that nobody's had the exact same talents as you have, at least not quite as accurate. I mean, we've had, and still do have Seers, but nothing as advanced as you. I suppose you'll be like a test subject, but most of the kids here are, and don’t seem to mind it. You'll like it here, most do. The only real downfall here is that sometimes there are classes on the weekends too.”
"You say that I'm advanced. What do you mean by that?" I ask the sumptuous man.
"You're not a freak or anything. You just saw every detail exactly as it happened. Most don't... at least not with their first vision." His voice echo's through the elevator, and ripples through me.
The doors open, and we exit. Laden's leading me to my room. His ass is so tight. Quit looking! I ask, "So how many students live here?"
Laden says, "Well, I think we have about forty kids. Some have gone; moved on to different places. Yeah, I'd say around forty, forty-five. I'm not sure because I only care for the one wing; your wing actually. So I'll get to know you better." He pauses for a moment, stops walking, and stares at my face. "Have we met before? You just seem really familiar to me."
He feels it too? Wow, so it isn't just me. "Um, it does feels like that, but I'm fairly sure that I'd remember you. I mean, meeting you… remember meeting you." Great Laura, you do sound like a drooling teenager... lovely.
With a gentle smile, he leads me down a hallway that doesn't look anything like a hospital corridor. There's carpet on the floor; nice carpet, plush and soft. The walls are painted in soft beige with really nice pictures hung all over the place. Plants sit on end tables, sucking up the rays that float through the windows. It’s an environment that's perfect for reading. It's quiet here, like really quiet. It’s not overly bright like most hospitals, either.
Note to self: Come here to read or study.
“Once we get you settled, I can take you down to the mess hall for some dinner. I'll introduce you to your neighbor that lives across the hall from you. She's really nice. You probably haven't eaten yet, right?” Laden opens the door to room #312, leans in flips on the light then backs up to allow me to enter first. “Welcome to your new abode. I think you'll have everything you need here. If not, let me know, and I'll do my best to get it for you. You have your own bathroom; huge bonus.”
The room is nice, bigger than mine at home. The walls are painted in a soft blue. The bed sits between two nightstands; one has a lock with a key sticking out of it. The white bedspread is thick and fluffy with tiny blue flowers on it. A big flat-screen TV hangs on the wall, with shelving on either side of it. There’s a tiny little fridge that sits on one of the shelves.
Against the wall, opposite my new bed, sits a tall dresser. A walk-in closet is right at the entrance, hidden behind two sliding mirror doors that go from the floor to the ceiling.
The bathroom is a nice size, and it has everything I'll need; a sink and vanity with another huge mirror, a toilet obviously, a big stand-up shower with etched glass doors that would hide my privates if anyone were to walk in. I hope that never happens. I shudder at the thought. Ok, I think I might like it here after all.
Laden opens the curtains to a huge window, so I walk over to look out. It overlooks an amazing courtyard filled with flowers and shrubs. People are sitting outside on cement benches with cement tables. The grass is greener than any grass I've ever seen around here, especially this time of the year, fall. Usually it's brown and has not yet recovered from the blazing heat of the summer. All of this is surrounded by one building with huge windows like mine, but they reflect on the outside like mirrors do.
“Ok, I'll just leave your suitcase here on your bed and you can unpack after we get something in your belly.” I'd love it if he could put the suitcase on the floor and put me on the bed, with him! Snap out of it! Great, I'm blushing again.
We arrive at what appears to be more like a restaurant than a mess hall. Laden shows me where I go to get my food and tells me the best thing ever; the food is free here! I love food.
Note to self: Don't pig out, stay healthy!
What a spread. It's an Italian theme tonight, and there's so much pasta. I really think that I will like it here. Laden also tells me that they switch it up; every night there's a different theme. My stomach is growling now.
After I fill a plate with food and grab a papaya juice, Laden leads me over to a table of kids about my age. “Hello everyone, I'd like to introduce you to our newest addition, Laura Sadie. Laura, this is Tara Remi, Reilly Jarlen, Todd Dunkin, Jessy Bell and Sherri Harper. Tara, Laura is your new neighbor right a
cross the hall from you. Maybe you could help her get settled in.”
“Yeah, no problem. Nice to meet you Laura. Come sit. By looking at your eyes, I can tell that you're a Seer. All new Seers come in with red eyes. You'll learn how to control that.” Tara points to the empty chair next to hers, and she puts her hand out for me to shake it. I put my plate down and shake her hand, then Reilly's, Todd's and Jessy's. I put my hand out towards Sherri, and she grabs my hand and shakes it quickly. Her hand feels like its vibrating or something. I jump and let go.
Jessy smiles and giggles, “Got you, did she? Don't worry about it. Sherri's ability is to read people when she touches them. She can see what you're thinking and feeling, and your history. She tries to avoid touching people as much as possible because she hasn't learned how to shut her ability off yet.”
Note to self: Don't touch Sherri.
Sherri is really pretty. Long dark brown hair that has an almost out-of-control curl to it, but it suits her. Her eyes look black as oil. Her lips are full, pouty, and she has the smoothest, silkiest skin. She has an average build, perhaps athletic.
“Sorry, I'm sort of new here too, and he's right, I can't shut it off. I didn't mean to read you, but since I did, you don't have to fear us. We're the best group of kids here when it comes to being friendly. Well, most of us, Reilly's not always friendly.” Sherri smirks over at Reilly.
The best way to describe Reilly is to say he's pretty much an average looking guy. His hair is dark brown, along with his eyes. He doesn't look to be too tall, maybe 5'7”, and kind of chubby.
Reilly leers at Sherri, looks up at me and smiles cocky-like. “It’s nice to meet you.” And immediately goes right back to eating.
Note to self: Stay out of Reilly's way.
“Reilly's a Controller, which just means that he can put ideas into your head without you even knowing it. Like, he can make you throw your fork at Sherri if he wanted to. But he won't, right Reilly?!” Tara looks over at Reilly, who doesn't even bother to look up from his spaghetti.
Tara continues the in-depth introductions. “Todd can control your body temperature, your moods, that kind of stuff. He's a Controller as well, but his ability is a little different from Reilly's.”
Suddenly my body gets really hot. I look at Todd. He's smiling a huge smile and winks at me.
I ask Todd, “Is that you doing that?”
He replies, “It’s all me babe.” He must be taking back the hot feeling, because I’m getting back to normal.
Todd looks like he stepped out of a magazine. Black hair cut short, stunning blue eyes, about 5'10”, thin. Oh, and did I mention really gorgeous?!
Note to self: He's hot, way out of my league.
“Watch out for Todd. Don't trust your emotions when you're around him, he likes to play with them. We're not supposed to use our talents on each other, but he does it all the time. If he uses them on you, just tell me and I'll deal with it.” Tara's giving me fair warning. She rolls her eyes.
Jessy waves his arm in the air and says, “I'm a Holder. Basically I hold time. Actually, I speed up, so time seems to hold still. At least that's what we think. They're still studying me. But that's basically why I'm here.”
Jessy seems normal. He looks like a surfer kid with his blonde hair and green eyes that look like they're always laughing. He's built average, athletic, about 6' tall.
“I'm a Drifter, which simply means that I can totally leave my body and go places. It's kind of fun.” Tara takes a bite of her garlic bread and goes on to explain. “The farthest I've gone was about a kilometer. I don't like to go that far, because my spirit is pulled all that way back into my body so fast that I get a vertigo sensation, and usually puke. But that's not really dinner conversation is it?”
Pulling apart his bun, Todd asks me, “So what is it that you're gifted with exactly?”
Everyone stops eating and looks at me. They sure are a curious bunch. I can feel my face getting red again.
I'm not sure how to explain it. “Um, well, I had a migraine and I saw something, like a movie in my head, and then it came true. I don’t know if you know anything about the plane crash that recently occurred, but I saw it before it happened. The fuzzy video shown on the news is exactly how I saw it happen; only my version of it was crystal clear. It's only happened once.” I feel so out of place.
Sherri shudders and says, "Yeah, I saw it when I touched you. Definitely; a graphic scene that I hope to never see again." She looks up at me and smiles. "But you're good people, I saw that too."
Everybody goes on chatting about me, my vision and the crash itself. I'm just glad the attention is more or less off me, and I can eat in peace.
Colours In Blackness - A New Life Page 4