Janelle

September 3rd, 2007. 6:32 p.m. Night time. We are driven to Vinny’s in a university van via chauffeur. It kind of takes me back to my high school prom. I’m even wearing the same dress. It even still fits just as well… I am not sure if that is good or bad. Not that it even matters since I have to hide it under this thick coat. We are shuffled into a reserved room and sit at a big circular table. Lit candles held inside golden candelabras. Fancy silverware with three different kinds of knives and forks wrapped up inside. I feel like a princess. My team takes one half of the table and Will’s team takes the other half. Everyone except A.D. sits down. He just decides to Rock Lee it and stand at the table with his knees bent. Vivian, A.D., and Angela are dressed… not well. They’re all far too casual. Vivian’s even wearing shorts. How could she wear shorts to a nice place like this? My mom would have slapped me if I even suggested wearing shorts to dinner. Yuko on the other hand looks amazing. What black magic did she use to fit her chest into that dress? I need to know… She, Joshua, and Will look like movie stars babysitting children. Joshua is sitting to my left. Will is sitting to my right. Joshua is dressed in what he says is his usual long sleeved suit. Will looks like he’s about to attend a wedding. They both look… wow... Their arms look ready to just burst forth from their silky fabric. Josh’s beard looks so soft and fuzzy… I want to rub it. I know Will was kind of a dick to me earlier, but he could have just had a bad day or maybe I really was just getting in the way… Regardless, he looks real good…

The waiter hands out the drink menus. Without even opening his drink menu, Joshua turns to the waiter. “We don’t need those. Could you just give me an Old Fashioned?”

“Oh tough guy, huh? Anything else?” the waiter jots down the order. “Anything else?”

“3 cranberry cosmos.”

The waiter pauses. “How would you like those?”

“Drier than an evening in July.”

The waiter’s eyes widen, his arms stiff up, and he immediately collects the menus. “R-right away, sir. I’m so happy you could join us this evening.”

“Happy to be here.” Joshua smiles and leans back in his chair.

I turn to him. “Ummm… you want to explain that?”

“My grandma always told me to never question a blessing.” Joshua takes a napkin from the table and places it on his lap.

Sejong’s eyes shift to Josh. “Hey, Josh. I’m… really, really glad I’m on your team now. Just thought you should know.”

“Wha happun?” Angela looks up from her DS. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid.” Joshua chuckles and pats Angela on the head. “Just go back to your game.”

“Oki doki.”

“Hey, Josh.” Yuko rests her elbow on the table. “Could you give me another cig?”

“We don’t smoke inside restaurants, Yuko. It’s impolite to the other patrons.”

“What are you, my dad?”

“I could be anybody’s daddy.” Josh grins almost makes me go into cardiac arrest.

Yuko, Will, and Sejong recoil.

I feel disgusted… but also kind of aroused…

The table falls into silence. Horrid, horrid silence. My eyes wander, but they always go back to Will.

“So,” Vivian breaks the silence. “How old is everyone here? I’m 20.”

“25.” Will declares.

“23.” Yuko taps her fingers against the table.

“I am also 23.” A.D. nods.

“I don’t gotta tell you that.” Josh shrugs.

“...” Angela’s still playing on her DS.

“Kid.” Josh pokes her cheek.

“19.” Angela says without looking up.

“25.” Sejong winks to me.

Everyone turns their eyes towards me.

“... 30…”

“Whoa… you’re old…” Angela peers at me and smiles.

Fire shoots out of my shoulders.

“Whoa!” Will recoils and puts some distance between him and me.

“Angela.” Joshua looks down at her.

“What? I never said that was bad. I’m just not used to having classmates 10 years older than me.”

“And I’m not used to being classmates with children.” I retort.

Angela opens her mouth, but no words come out. She rubs her chin before shrugging her shoulders and returning to her game. “You got me there, granny.”

“There’s nothing wrong with starting late.” Vivian looks at Angela then turns to me. “As long as we’re all here to be heroes, we should all get along just fine.”

“I agree.” Will and A.D. say in unison.

“I’m here because I need a job.” Sejong adds.

“I’m here cause she’s here.” Josh points to Angela.

“I also need a job.” Angela still doesn’t pry her eyes away from her DS.

“I don’t even want to be here.” Yuko rolls her eyes.

This is going to be a long four years.

The table falls into silence again as a waiter brings us a basket of bread. I don’t recognize half of the loaves, so they must be fancy. It isn’t too long until everyone breaks off into their own little conversation cliques and starts snacking on the bread. A.D. and Sejong talk about sneak attack techniques. Yuko tolerates Vivian talking to her about… I can’t even hear Vivian over everyone else. Angela starts talking about her game to Joshua and Joshua seems super interested. Perfect. Leaves me with some opportunity to talk and make up with Will all by myself. Maybe we can get off on the right foot this time.

“You seem to be in a better mood. Why?”

“Hm?” Will turns to me with a chunk of bread still in his mouth. He raises his finger to me, swallows his bread, and begins to speak. “What do you mean?”

“Not to be rude, but you were kind of an ass at the entrance exam.”

“Ooooh that. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I just like to be as efficient as possible when I’m working. I just find that I work better alone. I have no qualms breaking bread with ya’ll off-duty though.” Will checks his watch. “I do wish the waiter would hurry up though… I could be on patrol right now.”

“Uhuh. Okay.”

“Thank you for saving us back there by the way.” Will flashes a genuine smile for a split second. “You literally saved my bacon.”

“Thank you.” His smile’s so cute. “Wh-”

“How did you do that anyway?” Vivian interrupts us.

“I would like to know that as well if you don’t mind.” Will turns his entire body to face mine.

My eyes shift between Vivian and Will. “I might as well give you a formal introduction.” I reach towards a candle with my finger and poke the fire. The fire sticks to my fingertip before rolling down to my elbow. “My Tech lets me store, manipulate and shoot fire whenever I want. The fire I shoot doesn’t get extinguished either unless I reabsorb it.”

“That sounds stupid OP.” Vivian says. “Is there a downside?”

“Yeah. I can only store so much fire inside me and the more I shoot, the colder my body temperature gets.”

“That’s fair.” Vivian nods.

“Thank you.” I slide the fire back into the candle. “Your turn.”

“I’ve been waiting for this.” Vivian smiles. “I can grow and shrink anything to any size I want.”

“Her Tech is my favorite.” Angela smiles wide. Too wide.

“The only downside is that I’m limited by conservation of mass. Say if I want to add five pounds to something, I have to take five pounds away from something else at the same time.” Vivian put her left hand around a candelabra and her right hand on Yuko’s shoulder. “Observe.”

“What are you doing?” Yuko’s eyes widen.

The candelabra shrinks down to the size of Vivian’s palm.

“Whoa…” mused everyone.

“That’s quite impressive.” I nod. “But wh-”

Before I could continue, Yuko grew three cup sizes and nearly burst out of her dress. Everyone’s eyes became locked on her. Even Angela poked her head up from her game.

“W-what in tarnation?” Will tries not to look.

“Nice.” Angela’s grotesque grin somehow grows even wider.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Vivian.” Yuko grits her teeth and closes her eyes. “You have two seconds before I-”

“Relax, relax.” Vivian reverts everything back to its original size. “It’s just japes.”

She lets go of Yuko and leans back in her chair. “Alright, Yuko-chan. Your turn.”

Yuko leans over to Vivian and whispers something in her ear.

Vivian’s eyes slam shut and her forehead collides with the table.

“There you go.” Yuko slaps Vivian on the back of her head. “There’s my Tech. Anyone else want a taste?”

“Uh…” Sejong points at her. “Is… is she dead?”

“I wish. No. She’s just sleeping. She’ll be up soon enough.”

“Shouldn’t we wake her up?” Sejong asks.

“No. Let her sleep.” Yuko insists. “You go next.”

“Okay.” Sejong nods. “Name’s Sejong. I can shapeshift into anything… but I maintain my mass. Check it.” Sejong morphs into me.

I don’t like this at all. He got every detail down. My jacket, my cheeks, even my piercings…

Will peers at Sejong. “He’s near identical… that’s mighty frightening.”

“Yeah… could you please change back?” I squirm. “It’s really starting to freak me out.”

“Aw… I like this form” Sejong frowns. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfy.” He closes his eyes and morphs into his previous K-pop looking form. Only this time, he has much longer hair and feminine features. Breasts, hips, slimmer neck and cheeks. Everything.

“Before I get even more confused-” Will speaks up. “Could you just show us your original form so we have a frame of reference. Just in case you get lost or anything.”

“I don’t know what my original form looks like.”

“Oh.” Will blinks. “Carry on then.”

“Will do.” Sejong squeezes his? boobs and winks at Will. “Your turn, William.”

“Thought my time would never come.” Will rubs his hands together. “I can basically make anything as sharp as I want just by touching it.” Will begins slicing a loaf of bread effortlessly with another loaf of bread. “Objects, terrain, even other people. Can make them sharp as a sword folded a thousand times over.”

Angela looks up. “You know those swords were folded a thousand times over because of a lack of quality iron ore deposits, right?”

“No…” Will continues slicing. “Be quiet. It makes the sword stronger. And cooler.”

“Suuuuuuure.” Angela chuckles before going back to her game.

“My brain’s hurting just by looking at that.” Yuko scowls at the sharp bread.

“I can also remove the sharpness of anything I made sharp. I can’t just dull anything. Learned that the hard way.” He rolls up his sleeve to reveal a small cross shaped scar on his big, strong, firm… bicep… “Anyway, Joshua was it?”

“Indeed.” Joshua nods.

“You’ve been purty quiet. Why don’t you go?”

“My pleasure.” Joshua raises his hand and a bread loaf flies out of the basket and into his hand. “I can pull anything five pounds or under to my hands. Only caveat is that the range is about fifty feet and I need a line of sight between my hand and the object.

“Only five pounds?” Yuko rests her head on her hand. “That doesn’t seem very useful.”

“You know what else is under five pounds?”

“What?”

“Your fingernails.” Joshua smiles.

Yuko smiles and slides her hands under the table.

“Relax, relax. We’re all friends here, right?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Will shakes his head.

“Mmhm.” Yuko nods and smiles through pursed lips.

“Then we all got nothing to worry about.” he turns and pats Angela on the head. “Angela, why don’t you go?”

“Kay.” Angela turns into a cloud of electricity and travels into her DS.

Joshua picks up the DS and shows us a small pixel version of Angela waving to us on the screen. “She can go inside technology and edit stuff inside. Just think of her as a hacker girl and you’ll be fine.”

“I see.” Will smiles. “That should prove mighty useful.”

“Oh you have no idea.” Joshua lightly shakes the DS. “You can come back out now.”

Angela busts out of the screen, sits back in her chair, and resumes playing.

“All that leaves is… A.D., was it?” asks Will.

“Yes indeed. My tech is fighting games.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“Fighting games!” A.D. flexes his admittedly impressive biceps. “Meter, super armor, throws, parries, anti-airs, projectiles, recovery cancelling. Only downside is that I need meter to use at least half of those.”

“Meter?” Will looks above A.D.’s head. “Oooh… I was wondering what that bar above your head was for.”

I hear a faint knocking behind me. “Mr. Dominguez, your food is ready.” The waiter from before walks into the room with two others carrying a plethora of plates, food, and alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. Before I knew it, the table was filled to the brim with lasagna, pasta plates, sides of cheese and crackers, and a five pound T-bone steak smack dab in the middle.

“Thank you very much, Antonio.” Joshua gives the waiter a firm pat on the shoulder. “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing at all, sir. Please accept this as a… thank you for helping my sister.”

“Will do.” Joshua shakes Antonio’s hand and sends him off. “Alright, so what does everyone want? We got chardonnay, vodka, red wine, white wine, even a couple of cosmos.”

“Gimme vodka.” Yuko holds out her hand.

“You got it.” Joshua begins to take off the cap.

“I never said give me a shot. I said gimme vodka.”

“If you say so.” Joshua shrugs and hands her the whole bottle.

“Hell yeah.” Yuko’s mouth begins to water. She twists off the cap and gulps down a fifth of the bottle in a single go. “HOOO!” She slams down the bottle and wipes her mouth. “Aaah… hnngh… I needed that…”

Vivian awoke upon Yuko slamming the bottle to the table. “Huh? Wha?” She looks around the table with half-open eyes and a bit of drool hanging out of her mouth. “Uuh… cosmo please.”

“I dunno, Viv.” Will crosses his arms and smirks. “Aren’tcha a little young to be drinking?”

“I will shrink your dick if you get between me and a good cosmo.”

“Relax. I’m just pulling your leg.” Will turns to Josh. “Give me an old fashioned. Please and thank you.”

Joshua gave us all drinks besides Angela and A.D. I must’ve drank at least half a bottle of wine throughout the night… I’m quite drunk now. Not drunk enough to collapse, but waaaay too drunk to think or walk straight. The food was simply divine… The cheeses blended perfectly with the meat sauce. The meatballs were plump and juicy. The noodles were cooked to perfection… I’m going to get so fat from this… worth it… After we finished our meals, we all shuffled outside and waited for the bus to take us back to campus.

Joshua was a bit tipsy, but still functional. William had one old fashioned and that’s it. Yuko was blasted to all hell. She downed an entire bottle of vodka and somehow managed to not die. She must have a tolerance that’d make my mom impressed. Vivian had to carry her on her shoulder into the van. Vivian was plenty drunk, but still lucid enough to not stumble and only slur her speech occasionally. Sejong just turned into a drunk little pillow so that she’d be easier to carry. I can respect that.

We trudged into the van and began travelling back to school. Joshua and Pillow Sejong were riding shotgun. Vivian, Yuko, and AD were in the middle row. Me, Will, and Angela were in the backseat. I could feel myself falling asleep… My entire body felt heavy… I can barely even keep my eyelids open. Now’s my chance. I lean my head against Will’s shoulder, shut my eyes, and drift off to sleep.

Vivian

9:46 p.m. We got back to our dorms just fine. All of our stuff was still sitting snug in our suitcases. I never actually got to take a good look at the dorm until now. It’s… serviceable? I mean, I would’ve expected more from a university like this, but as long as there’s running water and no stank, I’m sure I’ll be just fine. Yuko’s still slobbering all over my shoulder and muttering something. I can’t quite make it out and I’m not entirely sure if I want to. Regardless… she’s super heavy, so I need to get her to bed. My back can’t take much more.

The dorm room’s basic beyond basic. Two two person bedrooms, two sinks. One shower… One… toilet… You can do this. This is fine. You’re an adult now. If you can’t handle this, how can you save civilians? Plain white fridge. Plain brown table. Plain carpeting that looks like it hasn’t been changed or cleaned since the 80s. One sofa, two chairs, and a TV that looks like the one my dad refuses to throw away. I rest Yuko on the couch and try to turn the TV on. Still has that old satisfying sizzle. The hairs on my arm even stand up when I poke the screen. Nothing but static shows up. I sigh, turn it off, and pick Yuko back up.

Bill is at the sink brushing his teeth while A.D. is getting dressed to go running. “The hell are you doing?” I ask A.D.

“Hm? Running of course. Would you like to join?”

“Can’t we do that in the morning? It’s a little late for that.”

“You’re welcome to join me for my morning run.” Bill says with a mouth full of toothpaste.

“Alright, what time?”

“Five.”

“... Yeah… I’m good.”

“Thought you’d say that.” Bill spits out his toothpaste and retreats into his room. “Night.”

“See ya.” A.D. smiles and heads out the door.

I glare at Bill for a moment before retreating into my room. I lay Yuko down on her bed, keep her on her side and check her temperature. She’s still breathing, but reeks of booze. I get a cup of water from the kitchen sink and put it at her bedside just in case. Fish my toiletries and pjs out of my suitcase, try to organize the utter mess of a sink, brush my teeth, wash my face, equip pjs, lights out, bed time. No A.C. Cheap mattress creaking. Pillow’s too small. Blanket’s too thin. This is not my room. This is not my home. Don’t let it set in. Do not let it set in. Cold. Nothing. Swelling and swirling around me. My throat swells. My eyes get wet. My nose grows runny and red. What the hell? Why? Why? This is what I wanted. I’m going to go home again… my family’s still there… Everyone will be waiting for me when I get home. Why does it still hurt?

I guess I’m still just a kid…

Sejong

Everyone got back into their rooms safe and sound. Well, everyone but Angela. She got tired and had Josh carry her out of the car like my parents used to. He tucked her in and retreated into his room. “If you need me, knock, alright?”

I nod.

Janelle’s busy brushing her teeth.

I had nothing else to do, so I just stood outside our room awkwardly. The door’s still ajar though… One little peek couldn’t hurt. Fortunately, the door doesn’t creak when I peer in. I see Josh changing out of and neatly hanging up his shirt. His entire upper body is completely covered in tattoos. I don’t mean the trashy kind either. I mean the classy tattoos you would see in gangster movies. The kind of tattoos big bosses wear. The kind of tattoos that paint a rich tapestry of accomplishments, deeds, and history. I can see crimson roses, lovingly over-detailed calligraphy, and petite murals etched into his shoulders. I can’t tell if I’m looking at a man or a personification of the Sistine Chapel. Who is the artist? Where can I find them? I need this art to be preserved. I too must become a walking exhibit to inspire all of humanity! And don’t even get me started on his back and arms. This king among men is shredded. I feel like a brick would crumble if he just stared at it long enough… What’s his diet? What’s his routine? I must know… I mean… I know I can just shapeshift to have muscles like that… but I want them to be functional as well… I twitch in excitement. I must study those muscles and feel their supple roughness.

Josh turns around to the right and reveals a massive, x-shaped scar along his right side. I’ve ascended. Scars… nature’s tattoos. Everyone would look better with a scar. I do not trust anyone who does not have their flesh marked with a scar. They show wisdom, experience, hardiness! And they look utterly badass! As gorgeous and stunning as his tattoos are, that scar is a center piece to the museum that is Josh’s body.

As he puts on a long sleeved, cozy-looking pajama top, I quickly duck back towards the sink and begin brushing my teeth.

I got the coolest roommate. Hands. Down.