Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Nyline
Nyline grabbed her backpack as she walked down the faded wooden steps of her childhood home; they creaked slightly as she placed her weight on them. The sound was familiar and made her smile. She bounced slightly as her feet hit the bottom and turned to the large kitchen. The black cabinets were offset by the white marble counter tops and stainless-steel appliances. On the other side of the island was a small table with two chairs that sat next a large window looking out on to the street.
Nyline plopped her backpack on the ground and walked to the fridge. Her reflection caught in the polished stainless steel fridge for just a moment before she ran her tongue across her teeth, getting a glimpse of the dark skin, hair, and eyes that felt so wrong before she forced the door open causing her reflection to vanish.
After digging she found the box of frozen waffles that were stowed in the back and pulled them out popping two into the toaster that was in between the oven and fridge. She leaded against the counter and looked out the front window. It was just like every morning; kids were leaving their houses and heading to school, parents driving to work. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue with only wisp of clouds. Just another normal day in her life.
"Morning," Nyline jumped a little as her eyes refocused and she turned to see her uncle John walk into the kitchen. John was a tall man with dark brown hair that he always wore in a mop on the top of his head with sharp hazel eyes. He wore a pair of jeans and a tight-fitting t-shirt showing off his slender but muscular frame.
"Morning," Nyline spoke as the toaster popped and she put them on a plate. She paused before handed the plate to him. She turned loading the toaster up with more.
"Well," John spoke as he took a bite of the waffle holding it in his hand. "I've got an early shift, so I'm leaving." he picked up the other waffle, so he had one in each hand. "Did you want a ride to school?" The toaster popped, she pulled them out and stacked them on each other.
"Na, I'll be fine walking." Nyline turned and placed her waffles on the island as she pulled out a pair of striped black, grey and pink arm socks. "We need more waffles these are the last four." She spoke as she pushed up the sleeves of her baggie hoodie and pulled them on before returning her sleeves to their normal position.
"Alright," Uncle John smiled at her, "I'll pick more up from the store on my way home." He paused for a few seconds as he looked her up and down. She wore, like she did every day, a large baggie hoodie with her arm socks covering her arms underneath. She had on her normal jeans and once white sneakers. "Hurry up and go before you're late." He spoke with a smile on his lips as he turned and started towards the door.
Nyline smiled as she grabbed her backpack and threw it over one shoulder, it thumped loudly on her lower back as she turned back to the now empty doorway. The front door opened, "Have a good day at school." He shouted.
"You too!" Nyline half shouted as he closed the door behind him, and she picked up her waffles so she could follow him out. She paused at the kitchen door and looked around the entry way to the large house that she and Uncle John lived in for her entire life. The staircase was to her right; it went up several steps before it bent at a landing followed by more steps to the second floor. There were four rooms up there: hers, uncle johns and then two open rooms that had shut doors that they never opened. The downstairs consisted of the large kitchen, a sitting room, a study, laundry room and finally, the door that went to the back yard. There was a finished basement below with the door that was in the laundry room that was also empty.
After taking a deep breath to smell the mix of Uncle John, soap, and dust she smiled. The only real reminisce that Uncle John lived there was the faint smell of his soap. He was an extremely quiet person inside his mind and out. With or without John the house always seemed empty, which is something that she savored every minute of. She took another deep breath before she turned and walked out the front door, enjoying the last minutes of silence she would get until she returned hours later.
The sun was bright on her eyes as she squinted to see the lock as she shoved her key in and turned. Uncle John honked the horn of his old grey beater as he pulled out of the driveway and off down the street. Nyline waved as he went before she turned and started to walk down the drive. As she maneuvered her waffles so that they were sticking out of her mouth she pulled out an mp3 player and plugged her headphones into her ears.
The world around her was always full of people's unspoken thoughts, but the music tuned out the noise enough so that she didn't go crazy. When she was smaller, she had a lot of problems going to school and would often cry about not wanting to even set foot inside. It was difficult to be around people when she was able to hear their thoughts. She found it increasingly hard to make friends as their outer appearance and their true voice seemed to conflict in every person that she met. Even teachers with their calm friendly faces could sometimes lash out in their mind and that used to scare her a lot. For a length of time she had been constantly afraid of disappointing anyone in any way.
Uncle John had been different. Even when she did catch a slimmer of his thoughts, they were never different then what he was speaking outwardly. It wasn't that Uncle John didn't have a lot going on in his mind, but he was able to somehow quiet his thoughts or at least make them hard to hear.
Nyline walked down the couple blocks before her school came into view. It was a large brick building that was shaped like a U. The entrance and lunchroom were at the bottom and classes were held in each of the wings. The entire building was two levels the lunchroom being on the bottom along with the gym, taking up the last part of the right wing. As she munched on the last piece of her waffle, movement caught her eye and her step faltered. In one of the large trees that were in front of her school there was a boy sitting in the taller branches. His gaze was focused down at the students, a thumb nail in his mouth as he focused. His black pants hung loosely off of his thin build and his tight white shirt showing off his build. He had brown hair that fell around the top of his ears.
As if feeling her gaze, he turned and looked right at her. Nyline unfocused her eyes and acted as if she was very interested in a cloud that was right behind him. She could see him staring at her out of the corner of her eye for a long moment before the streetlight changed, with the corresponding chirping noise. She crossed the road quickly only to look up and see that the boy was no longer there. Nyline cocked her head to the side as she pulled out her phone and opened her text app. She chose the long thread that was titled Uncle John only glancing at the older messages from the day before.
There was a kid sitting in the large tree outside of the entrance to the school, odd way to start off my day.
Did you make it to work okay?
Nyline slid the phone back into her pocket for just a second before it went off and she pulled it back out.
Yes, walking in now. You make it yet?
Was he doing anything? Or just sitting there?
Nyline stared at the text before she started tapping away at the screen again.
He was just sitting there looking at the school, but he was gone by the time I crossed the street. It might just be a kid messing around before school starts.
Yeah, I'm walking in now. Have a good day.
Nyline put the phone back into her pocket as she walked up to the entrance to the school. As she shouldered the door open her phone went off again and she pulled it out as she maneuvered around the other students, careful not to touch anyone. The text from her uncle popped up on her screen.
Well let me know if anything seems off, do you recognize him?
You too, don't work too hard ^.~
Nyline smiled at the little face her uncle had sent her. He didn't do it often but when he did it always made her laugh. He wasn't super electronic savvy, but he tried. She glanced up at the main hallway that was lined with blue lockers and wooden doors as she entered the right wing. She was rather early so that she could get to her first class and avoid the mass of students that normally mulled around their lockers speaking loudly to each other. Nyline quickly typed the message out to her uncle as she passed a group of girls who were giggling loudly at each other.
I didn't, however I also don't know every student that goes to this school, so there's a chance that I just don't know him. I'll keep you updated if anything else comes up.
Haha you too :p
As she pressed send then turned it to vibrate as the closest girl's thoughts floated over into her mind. The stress of the girl's mind mingled with her own thoughts as Nyline turned her attention to the girl. The stress became thicker as the root of the girl's problem started to surface. Her father was going to take away her phone is she didn't pass her next math test. She had made a bad decision by going to a party over the weekend instead of studying. She thought that she might do okay, but still worried. If she lost her phone that would mean she wouldn't be allowed to go out with her friends or go to the mall by herself.
Nyline couldn't help but smile as she pulled away from the girls' stressful thoughts and allowed her mind to taste the general air. The girl next to her was what caught her mind next. She was laughing at the events of the weekend. Nyline couldn't help but smirk as she received a flash of the memory. It was one of the more annoying football players; he had drunk too much and ended up falling off a porch. Everyone else at the party seemed too drunk to care as everyone erupted in laughs as the football player stumbled to his feet and fell off the small porch.
"OI freak!" Nyline turned to see an overweight boy with greasy blond hair; his brown eyes were fixed on her. Nyline sighed as she tried to get away by darting though another small group of people, but his meaty hand grabbed the hood of her jacket and pulled her back. "I was talking to you." He pushed her up against the wall, his rank breath over taking her nose "Where's my English paper?" Nyline sighed as she turned and looked into his dull green eyes.
"As I have told you before Ben, I am not doing your homework." Nyline spoke looking at him head on. "You will learn nothing if you don't do it yourself." Ben's face started to turn an ugly shade of red as he glared at her. He grabbed the neck of her shirt and pulled her face closer to his.
"We had an agreement," Spit flew from Ben's lips and landed on her cheek. Ben's fist that was holding her jacket touched her chin and the images started to flood into her mind. Nyline knew instantly what she was looking at. She had seen different variations of these memories throughout the years.
Ben's father was standing over his mother; his fists were bloody as she curled into a small ball. Ben was shouting at his father as he turned on him and pushed him against a wall and screamed in his face. Ben didn't back down but yelled right back, that's when his father punched him across his face. He shook it off as he pushed his father backwards and punched him in the face back. His mother jumped up off the ground and got in between them pushing them apart yelling. Everything was a blur as his father swung to hit Ben and hit his mother again in a swift one two motion.
The skin contact was gone and Nyline shook her head slightly as she looked up at Ben again. She could tell where he had been punched last night as she looked at his face. Part of his cheek was swollen and there was dried blood on his ear.
"I don't think you understand the definition of an agreement." Nyline spoke calmly. "An agreement is when two parties discuss a topic and come up with terms that both sides agree with." She took a deep breath, "Now I have agreed to help you with your English paper, which you have not come and asked for help, so I have not helped you. There was no agreement for me to do the entire thing by myself." Ben pulled his fist backwards in a threat. "Beating me up won't get your homework done, nor will it fix your home life." Nyline spoke on a sigh as Ben's face turned from a deep red to a slight purple as he pulled his fist back father.
"Ben Sherman!" A high-pitched woman's voice spoke, "Release Nyline this instant." Nyline turned to see Mrs. Jones walking up. She was one of the stricter teachers with her black hair pulled back into a tight bun on the back of her head. Her dull blue eyes looked at them from behind her black framed glasses. She wore a pressed white shirt with a collar and half sleeves. Her shirt was tucked into her high wasted skirt that went down to her knees. Ben dropped Nyline and took several steps backwards, his eyes going to the floor. "Is there an issue?" She spoke as she stopped next to Nyline and pressed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"No there isn't Mrs. Jones," Nyline spoke with a fake smile on her lips. "Ben was just asking me for help on an English paper." Mrs. Jones eyes turned into slits. Nyline kept her composed face on. She knew full well that if Ben's parents were called that it would just cause more problems for her in the future. Mrs. Jones surveyed them for a long minute her eyes darting between the two. When she realized that Nyline was not going to tattle on Ben, she sighed.
"Ben get to class," Mrs. Jones spoke her voice sounding annoyed. Ben paused for a moment his eyes lingering on Nyline before he sucked in a breath and lumbered off. "Nyline take off your headphone so we can talk."
Nyline cocked her head to the side as her thoughts reached her. She could tell that Mrs. Jones was had concern as to why she allowed Ben to bully her no matter what the teachers said or did. When the off chance that they caught Ben in the act of bullying her and took him to the principal's office; Nyline went out of her way to ensure that he had not done anything. It made her angry and very deep down she had a pang of uselessness that she was unable to help one of her star pupils. She just didn't understand why someone would put themselves into that position. She desperately wanted Nyline to talk to her about her bullying so that they could come to a conclusion and fix things.
"Mrs. Jones I can hear you just fine." Nyline spoke with a smile on her lips. Mrs. Jones seemed to pause as she pressed her lips together. Nyline could tell that her anger was starting to boil as Nyline stayed calm and kept smiling. Mrs. Jones let out a long breath as she tapped her finger on her hip and looked off into the distance, choosing her words wisely.
"Look," she leaned in, her full attention on Nyline as they looked each other in the eyes. "If he is bothering you, you can tell someone." Nyline laughed. "We can help you; you just have to speak up," And not defend him later. The last part was the ending to the unfinished sentence that reached Nyline's mind softly.
"I'm not the one who needs help," Nyline shook her head as she spoke. She wanted to help Ben get out of his home situation but putting him into the system and leaving his mother would only do much, much worse. His mother was one of the only things that kept him going and since she would not leave his father, he would stay and defend her. Nyline knew that Mrs. Jones' had a hunch about Ben's home life but just like the situation with him and Nyline, he wouldn't ask for help.
A soft breeze waft down the hallway and into each classroom, the air seemed to be charged and thick with something that Nyline was unsure of. She took a quick look around to see that nothing had changed. The two girls were still chatting next to their locker as if nothing had happened. Her mind did a double take as she focused on what they were talking about. Her mind stretched out as she heard the name Jake. Apparently at the party he had rushed over to the football player to make sure he was okay. He had even helped him up and taken him inside to get some water. Nyline felt herself mentally pause, the story that they had been telling and its direction had completely changed.
"Nyline," Mrs. Jones voice brought her back as she turned and looked at her teacher, she had a worried expression on her face. Nyline focused for a second and was surprised to feel that Mrs. Jones' emotions and thought process was the exact same as it had been before that odd wind had entered the school. Her train of thought was still solely focused on Nyline and Ben; her concern still on her sleeve.
Nyline let her focus slip slightly as she let her mind wonder to the people that were close to her. The normal pattern of the school had been disrupted. Nyline looked up at Mrs. Jones and smiled slightly.
"I'm alright," She spoke making her voice sound different as she changed the pitched to a calmer confident one. "I better get to class." Mrs. Jones opened her mouth but Nyline turned and walked away from her. On her short walk to class Nyline focused a little more on the people around her to find that the flow of chatter was different than normal but, in some situations, it was simply that the person's thoughts had felt odd. As she walked into her class, she pulled out her phone and looked down at it as she took her seat in the back. There was a new message from her uncle. She placed her bag next to her chair as she opened it.
That is true; keep me informed if anything else happens.
Nyline looked at the text for a long moment before she started to type out how the air had seemed to change in the school, but she quickly deleted it. If she sent that her uncle would show up and take her home. Not that it would be bad to go home, but she wouldn't be able to go back to school until he figured out what was wrong. Which in previous situations had been nothing and she didn't want to worry him. She stared at the text stream for a few more minutes under her desk as the rest of the students started to walk in slowly. Her mouth fell open as the boy that had been in the tree earlier walked into her class and sat down two rows down from her. The seat was recently vacant from a kid who had moved away. He turned and started up a conversation with the boy that sat behind him and they laughed as if they had known each other for their whole lives, not just meeting for the first time. She glanced back down at her phone as the bell rang overhead. She typed quickly.
Tree boy just walked into my first period.
Nyline pressed send and shoved the phone into her pocket, then watched the boy out of her corner of her eye. She pulled her bag onto her lap and found her textbook and opened the page to where she was. She tried to focus on the chapter that she had last left off on and not think about how odd the day up to that point had been going. Placing her bag under her chair she took a moment to press her headphones further into her eardrums as the main thrum of people reached the class. She was further ahead than the class and had she felt as though the class went rather slow for her. In truth, the class went rather slow for her and she was ahead in all of her classes. It had bothered her teachers when she was little, but soon the teachers stopped complaining because she still ended up getting all A's in the end. It was around that time the school had figured out that she had a photographic memory and was able to remember anything that she read only once.
Her English teacher, Mr. Nelson, walked in carrying his bag as he dropped it off at his desk and walked to the front and started to write on the whiteboard. He had an average height with short blond hair that was streaked with grey. Just like any other day he was wearing a pair of khaki slacks and a button up shirt with a collar, today it was a light blue with a black tie. His watery blue eyes turned and faced the class.
Nyline eyed him for a moment as he started to take role, wondering if he was going to mention the kid. He called her name and she silently raised her hand and said "here," Mr. Nelson didn't even glance her way as he continued down the list, his pencil making marks on the small piece of paper.
"Jake Dunley," Mr. Nelson spoke and Nyline looked around as the new kid responded as he sat back in his seat. Nyline watched him before she shook her head, something felt off about the entire situation but as normal she didn't want to deal with it so she returned to her book. "Alright everyone, please pass forward the paper that is due today." Mr. Nelson spoke as he placed his student list against the white board.
Grabbing her bag again she pulled out her folder, then the paper. She had written and printed it months ago. However, if there was one thing her teachers didn't like and that was receiving homework before it was due. They all agreed that they would lose it and she had to hang onto it until it was due. Dully she looked up at the people who were panicking because they had either completely forgotten about the assignment or hadn't printed it. Hands shot into the air as they pleaded with him to use one of the computers in the room or run to the library.
Glancing to the side she saw that Jake had just handed a piece of paper that was completely blank. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as her eyes landed on Mr. Nelson. He finished collecting the papers and started looking at them as he walked slowly back to his desk. After a minute he had gone through all of the papers and had not asked Jake why he had handed in a blank sheet of paper.
Nyline forced her mind into calm as she pressed her earbuds deeper into her ears and returned to her book, but she wasn't really reading it. There had to be a way to tell her uncle what was going on without him freaking out and locking her in the house for the next year.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone