Chapter 2: Part 2
"Briiiiinnnnggg!!"
The sighs of relief filled the classroom as the bell rang, letting us out of our last class of the day, and year. Summer was finally here!! I had planned to go home and just chill, but I had gotten an invitation to an after-school pool party, and Kate had made me swear to be there. So I was going, but I would not be getting in. Little did she know, I had no swimming experience. I was never a fan of water, so I never went. My parents didn't push me. They had had bad experiences with pools themselves, so they never went either. But, none of this mattered to Kate. She was only going because Drew was going. I never understood why she was obsessed with her. She was so mean to us. Me, especially. But Kate never seemed to notice. And Drew never said a kind word to anyone in her life. So, what chance did Kate stand? None, if you ask me.
. . . .
Against my better judgment, I thought that the party wasn't that bad. A lot of people took the time to say hi to me, which kind of shocked me. No one said hi to me. No. One. But, as always, I kept my feelings hidden. No one wanted to hear of my problems, so they got their wish. Although, it might be nice to talk to someone who will just hear me out. I wonder if there is someone like that out there.
My thoughts kept drifting but were brought back by the sight of appetizers. Food, I thought. Finally. I was the first person to get some, even though I had to walk the length of the entire pool to get there.
I ate my food there. I didn't want anyone stealing it. But, I had to face away from the food. So, from where I was, I could see the whole pool. Kids jumping in, splashing around. So much of the surrounding area around the pool was wet, I couldn't believe that there was still water in the pool. But, it is a pretty big pool.
Around the pool, a lot of people were in pairs, either talking or going further. I looked away as soon as I saw. But, everyone was being appropriate. We may be teens, but we're not stupid. As my eyes traced the backside of the pool, I saw the lifeguards. Three of them, standing ready. There was only one chair, and in it, I recognized Alex Gaines, head of the swim team. Which, made sense, honestly. The captain being a lifeguard. He could save you if you needed it. The only way that I knew him was that I was the manager for the swim team this past year. We barely talked, which was fine by me. I had Kate, and she was enough. Speaking of Kate, I couldn't find her. She's probably trying to find Drew, which made me a little red, but it was her choice.
As I walked back to my spot, I heard something close by. It sounded like giggling, but I dismissed it. That was my biggest mistake yet. As I walked by a large set of bushes, Kate jumped out and pushed me into the pool! I sank almost immediately, but somehow I knew that I needed to push off of the bottom as soon as I touched. I did that, and I saw Kate laughing her head off when I surfaced. But I went back under again. I resurfaced a couple more times and felt my legs getting weak. I was about to give up when I felt strong arms around me. Next thing I knew, I was on the sidewalk, being comforted by Alex. I tried to avoid eye contact because last year I had figured out that that was how I could see into others' dreams. I didn't want to go inside of his head either. But he made me look at him.
"Are you alright?"
"Huh? Yea, I'm fine."
"What happened?"
"My friend pushed me into the pool."
"Why didn't you just swim to the shallow end?"
"I've never gone swimming before."
"You what?!" Kate screeched. "You told me you had!"
"No, you just assumed when I said that I'd go to this."
At that moment I realized that everyone was silent. I was being recognized by everyone in the school. And I wanted out. "I'm going home" I announced.
"You're shivering" Alex noted.
"I'll be fine" I replied. I didn't want to be here any longer than I had to.
"Forget it. I'll be taking you home. Get into dry clothes so you don't get hypothermia. And don't question it."
I was shocked. Why would anyone volunteer to take me home? Unless..no, that was foolish thinking. When I was 12, I vowed to myself that when I graduated high school, I would go and live in the mountains, as a hermit. It was a place where no one could hurt me. But also, where I couldn't hurt anyone.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone