“Wow. So what do you all have that the Governing Body wants?” said the boy I didn’t know. He was scrawny looking, with messy, shoulder-length, brown hair falling over his face. “What could I do that could possibly be a threat to another planet?” he asked as he shook his head at the enormity of the concept.
“How about who you are for a start?” Jonaz grinned. He leaned back in his chair again, resting his legs insolently on Zarian's desk. Honestly. Didn’t he know how to use a seat properly?
“I’m Mekai,” he replied, and after a pause. “I guess I may as well show you.” I stared in amazement as I realized that he was already levitating at least a head in height from the ground. He sailed a quick circuit around the circumference of the room, then came back to casually hover mid-air in front of us.
“Hmmm,” said Jonaz. “So what are you going to do in combat, rise above the enemy?”
“At least I’ll be in combat, not standing on the sidelines with a repair kit.” Mekai shot back. I gave Mekai a big encouraging smile. We were going to get along.
“Whatever,” Jonaz shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I just do what I do, I’ve never thought beyond it.”
“Has anyone?” I spoke up. “I mean, we’re not even one hundred and eighty moons yet, and it’s not like we’ve ever had to use our powers for defence before.”
“Oh yeah, Twell, that little maneuverer you pulled in the pod park this morning wasn’t defensive at all,” Jonaz retorted. Darn him.
“What do you do, Twell?” Marz interrupted me mid-scowl at Jonaz. As everyone leaned eagerly towards me, I baulked, totally unready to reveal this part of myself to strangers. But, the choice had been taken away from me. Six sets of eyes stared curiously at me, building up expectations of me that I was sure to fall short of. My cheeks started to burn from the unwanted attention.
“Yeah, Twell, why don’t you show them what you got?” Jonaz taunted. Folding his arms, he pushed his feet against the desk so that his chair tipped back on two legs. His provoking expression was just too much, my powers humming to life in response. Before I could think about it, the orb on the desk rose up until it was mid-air, and flew with precision and speed at Jonaz’s crotch. His hand shot out, grabbing it just in the nick of time, but he lost his balance in the process. His arms flailed wildly for a second, his face a picture of panic, before his chair slammed back down with a bang. “Oi!” he roared in outrage as everyone broke into laughter.
“Whoa, note to self, do not mess with Twell,” Marz joked, pretending to tap the warning into his wristband. Mira snorted. Typical. I knew she just couldn’t stand the attention focused on me. We all turned to look at her. Okay, I admit it. I was busting to find out what she could do.
“Oh no. I don’t perform on request,” she sniffed disdainfully. “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” Jonaz raised his eyebrows, but no one else dared challenge her, too intimidated by her glowering expression. I was seriously annoyed with myself for showing her my power and giving her the upper hand. Paranoia kicked in as I stressed over what she might be able to do.
“What about you, then?” Mekai interrupted my thoughts, as he addressed Sazika. She blushed the exact shade of her hair, shrinking back in her seat.
“Go on, it’s okay,” Mekai encouraged her gently as she darted a nervous glance at me. “We’ll find out soon enough when we begin training together anyway.” But Sazika shook her head mutely; her horrified expression conveying this situation was pretty much her worst nightmare.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I assured her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” She looked at me gratefully, her face still a mortified shade of red.
“Stelli, why don’t you go then?” Mekai suggested, looking disappointed as he continued to stare curiously at Sazika. Stelli hesitated as attention was turned to her. She glanced at Jonaz who nodded slightly back, still looking amused.
“This will be good,” he told us knowingly. Oh boy, he was so annoying. Stelli stood up in front of us. Already the generous curves of her figure, the easy, confident way she held herself, captured our full attention. She was truly gorgeous; the expression on her face holding the self-assurance that must come with being constantly told as much.
Tossing her long golden hair, she struck a pose, hands on hip, her head tilted, and her wide amber eyes gazing at us all in a provocative manner. ‘What is this?’ I wondered with amusement. ‘Flirting power?’ I experienced a not so tiny twinge of jealousy as all the boys nearly fell off their own chairs at the same time, leaning towards her. Was she going to seduce the enemy for planet’s sake? Oh please. That wasn’t a special power; we’d all endured years of having to watch the likes of Jonaz seducing his way through the entire female population of Caran.
However, after a moment I realized something strange was happening. As I watched her beautiful face, I noticed no one was moving an inch, and as Stelli’s gaze fell on me, I found with a shock, that I couldn’t even blink. I stared helplessly back into the flaming depth of her glowing pupils as they locked onto mine, warm and inviting, mesmerizing. I tried to tear my eyes away, but I felt her drawing me in further. My head spun with the sensation of moving towards her, whilst realizing I actually couldn’t move at all. I felt no fear, only an intoxicated fascination as the glowing fire in her expression lured me into some sort of trance.
Vaguely I realized how deadly her power could be. She could freeze her enemies with one sassy look and dispatch them however she pleased. She could kill us all right now and I wouldn’t have been able to do a thing about it.
Stelli giggled, shaking her head. I felt the calming haze around me slowly lift away. Mira cursed under her breath while I blinked in bewilderment. The boys all groaned in unison, Jonaz turning to Marz and slapping him on the shoulder.
“You see that? A guy has no chance!” he was grinning like a maniac again. Stelli just laughed and flopped back down on her seat. Obviously these two knew all about each other’s abilities before today. They grinned at each other like they were sharing a great joke. I bet they’d shared more than that, since I was getting the impression she must be his girlfriend of the week. I wondered what would happen next week when he dumped her. Maybe if I asked nicely she might freeze Jonaz for me, then I could do something fun, like put him in the courtyard at break with his pants around his ankles.
“Well now, I think I’ve seen everything,” Marz muttered. I nodded dazedly. I just couldn’t believe the way this day was turning out. It was ridiculous.
“We haven’t seen what you or Marz can do though Jonaz,” Mekai pointed out.
“I guess you’ll see tomorrow,” Marz said. He sounded slightly resentful and I wondered if he might be as reluctant to conform as I secretly was.
“Jonaz?” Mekai pressed. His persistent presence was large, for such a small guy.
“I guess you’ll see soon enough, but I really hope not,” Jonaz said. He was no longer smiling, but scowling, and the mood in the room seemed to sober. I smiled meanly to myself as I observed his discomfort. It must have been a real blow to his ego that he couldn’t impress us. Despite my rampant curiosity, I’d rather be thrown into a pit of spitting serpents than ask him to show his power.
“Well, what now?” Mira demanded, looking around at everyone except me. “Do we just go off to classes now like nothing has happened, because this is not exactly what I was planning on for my last year of schooling.”
Jonaz grimaced, “Can’t say it was on my agenda either.”
“Yes, how would you fit it in, what with juggling girlfriends and dodging the ones you’re done with?” I muttered under my breath again. Jonaz turned his head sharply towards me, his brow furrowing.
“I mean,” Mira’s high pitched voice re-capturing my attention,“as if graduation, the final moon ball, and getting partnered wasn’t enough for us to deal with...well this better not ruin my social life.”
“Is sucking face with Chaz every moment of the day considered a social life?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. Oops. There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Mira reacted. Jumping up so fast her chair crashed to the floor, she actually hissed like a spitting serpent, drawing herself up before my eyes. It was kind of funny because she still only came up to my shoulders. Around me I felt the others tensing up while Marz muttered ‘uh oh’ to himself. I stood up too, at the very least to enjoy the sensation of standing over her.
“You’re too tragic, Twell,” she spat. “Just because you’re burning up with jealousy that he’s never wanted you!” Sazika shrank back in her chair again while Stelli giggled nervously. Jonaz on the other hand appeared delighted with this stinging piece of information, much to my horror.
“Poor Mira,” I returned, “I know you’re threatened by me, but you really have nothing to worry about. We’re just friends. I’m sure if you’re matched he’ll never get tired of your crap personality and whiny voice.” Gasps erupted around the room, and then somehow everyone was standing. Okay so I’d possibly gone a wee bit too far. Not the smartest idea considering I didn’t even know her power. But, she really knew how to hurt me. By telling the truth. Well, the fake civility had been dropped. It was on.