“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Troy said, shaking his head.

“Well, there’s an novel opinion,” Amanda said, zipping up her backpack. She rose from her crouch on the floor and looked Troy in the eye.

“Look, going to some secluded hideaway with a guy that freezes time and whoops ass is not my idea of a good, nor happy time,” Troy growled back, brushing past her towards the side entrance. He held the door open for Amanda as she walked out to the side of the school to wait for Austin.

“I have to do something,” Amanda responded, flopping her backpack on the waist-high brick wall that surrounded the school. The school was too cheap to afford battlements so this was their compromise. “Now you can come with me or not, but this is my problem. I have to find a way to fix it. I have to.”

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Troy hissed air between his teeth, thoughtfully. She was right.

It was no secret among Troy, Austin, and Sam that Amanda was a little odd. Sam was the only one who had no idea of what she could really do. Troy wasn’t even sure of what to call it. All he knew was that if Amanda made one more thing disintegrate or get drenched in a spontaneous matter, there would be a serious fault to their friendship.

As far as Troy knew, Amanda hadn’t had the problem before high school. He’d met her half way through eighth grade year and nothing strange had happened. Starting into tenth grade, Amanda and Troy formed a tight bond in their drama class. Gradually, that bond extended to Austin and Sam as well, though there was still some clashing of egos. Amanda confided in Troy about the problem and at first Troy had just dismissed it; Amanda had been somewhat enigmatic when describing it, and she only mentioned it once. Then the things started happening, little things that didn’t seem to be her fault. Troy would just suddenly feel damp, like he was in the middle of drying off after having been doused, or a puddle formed when there was no rain. The most threatening action of all, however, was when Troy had been watching Amanda practice throwing the discus. She’d been upset that she wasn’t throwing it as far as she could, and quite abruptly, the discus had washed out of her hands like water. It just went from a solid to a liquid in a matter of seconds.

That was where Troy had to draw the line.

Ever since then, Amanda, Austin, and Troy had been looking for ways to control Amanda’s “talent.” Mainly, it just consisted of her getting a grip on her emotions. Another problem came from that; Amanda had a bit of a crush on Sam. And Troy happened to know that he, shyly, liked her back. The last thing Amanda could stand to do was get into a teenage relationship. There was nothing so out of control and beyond reason than a teenager in love.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Of course I’m coming with you, don’t be a drama queen,” Troy finally said with just enough venom to hide the sincerity in his voice.

“Are we ready?” Austin asked, popping his head through the window of his four-runner, while pulling around the side of the school. He hit the curb.

“Yeah,” Troy said.

“How did the auditions go?” Austin asked, twisting his wheel wildly to get the car off of the sidewalk.

“Pretty good,” Amanda said, sounding happy for the first time in hours. Amanda was very proud of her acting ability. She and Troy were trying out for a part in the school play.

“I choked,” Troy said, ”Literally.”

“Well, if you’d quit smoking…” Austin began to say.

Troy slung his book bag into the trunk of Austin’s car, but decided to keep his sweater with him. It had been getting cooler and darker at early times these days. The sun hung low beneath dark clouds of dusk, about to be swallowed up by the black horizon. Like darkness descending on a bright future…

“Troy?” Amanda asked, sensing the turn in his mood, “You want shotgun?”

“Sure, thanks,” Troy smiled at his friend. She looked back at him, worried. “I’m fine, really,” Troy assured her. Amanda shrugged, but clearly didn’t believe him. Still, she let it go and climbed into the back seat of Austin’s four-runner. Troy didn’t have his Tahoe; his dad needed it to look good for a client.

The three friends drove the rest of the way to Memorial park in silence. Crystal had set up a time and place for them to meet and discuss everything. What “everything” was, Austin, Troy, and Amanda had no idea. Kaine would be there as well, to “show them a few tricks,” whatever that meant.

Sam had decided to go home instead of coming to this little “meeting.” He said he was working, which was probably true. Sam’s ambition made up for his lack of a social life. It was his ambition to substitute money and power for love and friendship. Troy sighed. Maybe that was an unfair judgment to make. Sam was their friend after all.

“He just doesn’t act like it,” Amanda said from the back seat. “Watch the road when you drive, please,” Amanda said, not moving her gaze from the window. Austin looked and saw he was about to smash into some roadwork. He swerved neatly to one side, nearly clipping a suburban, which would have totaled Austin’s car.

“Could you please try a little hard not to read minds?’ Troy asked.

“I’m doing the best I can!” Amanda snapped, her face paler than her white polo. Her hands shook as she ran them over her hair. “I’m trying….”

“Look,” Austin said. “No big deal. Maybe Kaine can help.”

“What kind of priest is he anyway?” Troy said, steadying himself on the dash. Troy refused to wear seat belts. Religious reasons, he said, which was funny because he was a prominent Atheist. “And what could he possible do that we can’t?”

“Turn his hair white, it seems,” Austin said. “Still I would like to know what that thing on his forehead is for.”

“I don’t know, but I’ve got a feeling we’re going to find out,” Amanda said as Memorial park came into view.