Ravela was stuck with the officers. She liked that they had taken a liking to her, but the thirst she felt and the heat she felt were chipping away at her temperament.
“We could use a guy like you in the 4th precinct. You would at least be certain to become a proper cop. It will tell my captain about you. We are going to try and get you. Lord knows we have had enough duds these last few years. With you, we wouldn’t have to worry about the guy they pick to train you.”
Another officer chimed in at that. “Buddy, if you think I’m not telling my captain at the 6th of the rookie he needs to get from the litter, you got another thing coming.”
There was a lot of heckling and banter, but eventually, the officers took count of the officers on the scene.
One officer came up with a conspiracy. “Alright, hear me out. It’s clear that a few precincts want this rookie once he comes out of the academy, so can we keep this hush-hush between the 4th, 6th, and 11th? Cone of silence about the rookie to the other precinct? May the best captain poach the rookie.”
There were nods around her, and Ravela felt awkward like she was some racehorse that just became the secret favorite for the next race. She loves being valued, but this inside view of how the rookies got evaluated and sought out was odd.
Looking at her wristwatch, she cursed. Academy would start in an hour, and she was halfway across town. The bus lanes began rattling through her mind. Only one lane would get her to the academy in time, and if she wanted to catch the bus, she’d have to excuse herself now.
“Look, I don’t mean to be ruining this gathering,” Ravela started, but one of the older officers interrupted her.
“Then don’t,” which had the other officers roaring with laughter.
“There is, sadly, this minor detail of me having to pass academy before you can get your captains to snatch me up.” Ravela made an apologetic gesture and smiled wryly.
The officers all looked at their clocks in stunned confusion.
“Oh boy, here we are chatting like the girls at the pool. We better hurry up. Come on,” one of the officers pointed to his cruiser. “I’ll get you there.”
“Ey, who said you could drive him? I’ve been sitting on that dead road out of town all night, waiting for speeding cars because the captain has it out for me. If anyone should go for a joy ride through town, it should be me!” One protested in playful banter. Ravela knew their mode of conversation already well enough to realize that the man wasn’t seriously challenging the issue.
‘Wow, am I getting better at reading people, or are police officers just easier to understand?’
She followed the man who had offered her a ride after nodding one last time at the gathered group.
“At least you’re already in uniform, eh?” The man quipped while he got to the driver's side door.
They drove off, and as soon as they stopped at the first traffic light, the officer started the sales pitch of his department. Before, Ravela had assumed they were just joking about poaching her for their precincts, but now she was sure they were entirely serious despite their laughter and relaxed conversation.
Ravela listened and nodded along as the man kept talking throughout the drive. In truth, she had stopped actively taking in his words after they had passed the first burger joint. The thought of a cold soda running down her hoarse throat overrode all the advice and stories that came her way.
The thirst was driving her mad. She’d give a bundle of her one hundred dollar notes for a person-sized soda with ice cubes.
Looking at her clock again, Ravela wagered that she’d be at least punctual for the morning roll call. She didn’t need to add the moniker Late Three to her day.
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Laena sat on the bus back to the school district, thinking about convincing Ramiel to help her enter the room where she suspected Beth was held.
Anyway, she spun it in her head. It sounded like a crazy idea. She knew it. Ramiel would know it. He’d tell her as much that she was certain of.
However, the uncertainty of what happened to her classmates after their alteration was discovered was weighing on her mind. There had to be a way she could persuade Ramiel to help her.
The bus arrived at her stop, and she got off, still thinking about a way to convince the man who had given her powers. He had taken on the responsibility all on his own.
Laena thought about that aspect more. He cared. He likes to pretend that he doesn’t, but deep down, she knew he’d do the right thing if push came to shove.
It wasn’t like she’d ask him to break Beth out of the hospital. She’d aim for something small, reasonable. Laena would sneak into the room to ensure Beth was okay, and then she’d leave. She wouldn’t tell Beth that she had powers. As far as the girl would know, she was just a classmate sneaking into the hospital, ensuring she was doing okay.
Laena thought of the odds of Ramiel agreeing to help her distract the officer in front of the door and thought she might have a slither of a chance just because she wasn’t Safora. Then again, she hadn’t exactly proven herself trustworthy beyond doubt.
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She’d need to assure him she’d not break out Beth, no matter how the girl was. Laena swallowed a lump in her throat. ‘Could I leave her behind if I thought she was being treated badly?’
On the way to her dorm, Laena was chewing on her lip. She had found herself at odds with the promises she thought of making. This situation was complicated, but she kept thinking it through.
Even if she helped Beth escape, if she felt it necessary, there would be nowhere she could take her to hide. No, this wouldn’t do at all. If she discovered something bad, she would go straight to Beth's parents. That was the only solution she could come up with, really. To Laena, it felt like a horrible way to help, but reflecting on her options, it was the only thing she could do.
She reached her dorm room and thought about skipping the school day entirely. It wasn’t often that Laena wanted to stay home instead of learning in school, but what she wouldn’t do for an upset stomach right now.
Laena thought for a moment about faking it and just sleeping till noon. It would shorten the time she could drive herself crazy by overthinking significantly.
Her eyes wandered to her made bed, all fluffy. She was just sitting there mocking Laena as she started packing her books and notes.
She sighed after she packed the things she needed for school and started changing her clothes. Sleeping on a hospital bench was just the worst.
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Ravela entered the lobby, followed by the man she knew as Officer Jin by now. She noticed the man pulled off his police hat as he entered and wondered what that was about. She was cutting it close, but she wasn’t late yet. The instructors were just entering the hall. By bus, she’d never made it through the morning rush. Turning back to the officer who gave her a ride, Ravela stretched out her hand.
“You got me here in the nick of time. Thanks, Officer Jin.” Ravela offered her gratitude.
The man shook her hand and shook his head. “You gotta be kidding me, man. You saved a fellow officer’s bacon today. You’ve seen nothing of our gratitude yet, buddy. Just you wait. What goes around comes around. Right after one of the three precincts landed you as a rookie.” He paused and winked with a sharkish grin. “Until then, I don’t even know who you are.”
Ravela smiled back, and then Officer Jin ended the handshake with another pat on the shoulder. As he turned away, Ravela hurriedly turned to her busy day. Just as she took her place with Group One, her mind flashed back to Laena and the new can of worms she planned on opening.
‘I want to take things slow, and not one day later, events started moving quickly all on their own. Brilliant.’ On the other hand, she now had more officers in the force rooting for her. That was a small step forward.
Her parched lips and mouth were by now more than a small distraction. She might start throwing things through walls if she didn’t get a soda by the lunch break. Her mood was horrible, even though she had just saved two officers’ lives.
At least her escort hadn’t led to a big scene.
Ravela stood with her fellow recruits, contemplating the morning choices that led her to this point. Swallowing dryly, she listened to Instructor Harmond’s morning revisions.
“Some of you haven’t done quite well during their lecture with the detectives. I don’t know why you’d think not paying attention will get you into uniform, but allow me to relieve you of this misconception. I prepared an evening class for the recruits flagged as inattentive.” The instructor held up a list of names. “Here are the lucky winners.”
“Alan Weipher…”
Ravela, in surprise, looked over to Alan. She hadn’t realized that he had been slacking off yesterday, but in his state, she had some sympathy for him not paying full attention. The list carried on. Ravela was waiting for her name to be called to make her day worse again, but to her relief, she was not on that list.
There was already enough on her plate, as was.
“Alright, that will be all who earned themselves a place in the ‘When you have a lecture, you must be paying attention’-class. Today, we will be driving practice. There will be a normal obstacle course. We will have instructions on high-speed driving and a course for that as well. Don’t hit any of the cardboard grannies, pets, or children. If you do, guess what? Anybody who does gets evening classes added for driving lessons until graduation.”
The relaxation she felt after not being called on the list left immediately. When Ravela thought she had dodged a bullet, a bigger gun was put in her face.
Ravela stiffened and resolved herself. She’d use her powers to navigate this course with added guidance from her telekinesis. That would give her an edge none of the other recruits had. It wasn’t cheating, not really, because she could and would use the same abilities outside to avoid accidents.
A smile crept on her face. This was a training unit where she’d have a clear advantage. Her next thought dwelled on that big soda she’d buy the first chance she got.
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One moment, Laena sat in the chemistry classroom, dozing off in the front row, and the next moment, the smoke alarm went off.
Her eyes opened wide, looking around wildly, locking onto a student smoking from the top of his head. It took her a few seconds to realize that his hair wasn’t smoldering or on fire but had just turned into a pillar of smoke. The boy looked ridiculous.
She knew it hadn’t been an accident because the teacher and all the students weren’t rushing to help the boy. Instead, they cleared out around him.
‘This can’t keep happening, right?’
“Alright, folks, stop staring at Daren and clear out.” The teacher found his voice. “Laena! Laena, lead the class outside, please.”
The teacher directly addressing her snapped Laena out of her thoughts. “Eh, yes, sure.” Laena got out of her chair hesitantly.
Daren tried to leave the classroom, but the teacher stopped him. “No, Daren. Stay for a moment. We two will leave the building on a different route. Let’s open the windows first.”
Laena saw Daren’s eyes at these words. He looked crestfallen.
“Okay, folks, stop staring at Daren and clear out. You know the fire drills, so calmly follow me!”
Laena led out the other students as they left behind a confused Daren and a teacher scratching his head.
‘Wait. That stuff could have happened to me. I’ll never complain about seeing everything in slow-motion ever again.’
She shuddered, imagining herself with a smoking head.
On the way downstairs, the news and stories were already spreading to any class or student joining the evacuation.
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Kane walked calmly with half the cash he had stolen in two plain briefcases and a relatively unassuming suit.
Continental Bank, the institution he robbed, had remained none the wiser. He had visited the bank after his robbery like a normal customer and had let the banker regale him with all the options for investments and accounts they had to offer. Throughout the day, there had not been any commotion. No stir going through the people working in the bank had given him the impression that they hadn’t the slightest clue he had lifted almost a million dollars from their vault.
Now he returned, planning to boldly open a new account with the money he had taken from the bank. He had a big smile as he greeted the bank teller.
“Good morning, Mr. Lordan. Back so soon?”
“Indeed, your pitch on the feeless accounts really sold me. Any account over 500,000 dollars, wasn’t it?”
The woman had remembered him but hadn’t expected him to open an account of that size. A nervous smile appeared on her face.
Kane spoke again before she could respond. “I’ve got my money with me, so if we could start the procedure immediately, that’d be wonderful.”
He put one of the briefcases he carried and opened it. The teller’s eyes grew big.
“Y-you walked here with all this money?”
“I like to live dangerously occasionally,” Kane said, giving her a roguish grin. The blushing young woman had no idea how dangerous he was living at this very moment.
He was regaining his confidence after a long time. There was a world full of possibilities and opportunities out there. Kane gave the teller a wink before he opened the second briefcase. There were no walls for the Specter.
As the teller got her manager to come over, he was led to the big office instead of one of the many cubicles in the main hall. Life was great.
The manager poured him a glass of liquor and toasted with him, congratulating him on his choice of bank.
“You won’t ever regret this, Mr. Lordan. I assure you, your accounts and you will have my personal attention.” The manager said enthusiastically.
For the first time in what felt to Kane like ages, he felt respected and valued by his fellow men.
The world was a wide plane full of flowers and sunshine, and he alone was walking it.