After his last Biology lesson, Leland stayed in the school library to study, going over notes he’d made during the day. Once finished, he folded his arms, leaned back in a swivel chair, and thought about Mark’s words.

Leland was well aware of his tendency to overthink the simple things, but this was different. Going to university was a chance for him to reinvent himself and create a brand new yet authentic persona. Everyone at school saw him as the shy, reserved, nervous ass-kid, but he didn’t want to be that anymore.

Things need to change. And quickly.

How could he knock down the wall permanently? How could he speak fluently and create a great first impression for university? He sighed heavily, flicking through his notebook with strategies that apparently helped increase fluency. All the tips were gathered from relentless research on the internet and advice from former speech therapists. Eventually, he buried his face in his hands before slowly banging his head against the table.

*Bang*

Nothing works.

*Bang*

You’re never going to make a friend again. A stutterer trying to become a doctor? How hilarious. What a joke.

*Bang*

----------------------------------------

Leland briskly walked around his hometown in London, circling around parks and pacing back and forth on random streets. While the chilly wind bit into his skin, he tried to muster the courage to talk to a stranger.

Maybe he could never defeat his stutter. Maybe his desire for fluency was an impossible task and the brick wall was impenetrable. But, at the very least, he wanted to eradicate the fear associated with talking to new people. He hoped that exposure therapy would do the trick; by talking to multiple strangers each day, his fear would subside… theoretically.

That is, if he had the balls.

Leland sunk onto a wooden bench in a park and stared at the grass, face emotionless. There was not a star in sight, all of them completely dissolved by the city’s light pollution. The distant sound of a dog barked in the background.

A middle-aged woman trudged past him.

Now’s your chance. Just greet her. Bring up conversation. Quick!

The woman continued down the gravelly path, eventually disappearing from sight.

Leland closed his eyes tight. When he opened them, his vision was blurry. He sniffed twice in quick succession to stop snot dripping from his nose, and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his coat.

Maybe you should give up.

Just as he was about to stand up, a woman sat on the bench right next to him, and even with sunglasses on, Leland knew who she was.

He gasped with a jolt. “H-holy shit. You’re Staress.”

The woman meshed two gloved hands together, raising one leather booted leg over the other. In a very classy fashion, she raised her sunglasses and smiled at him, her eyes glistening.

“That’s correct.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Leland gasped again. The single action left his mind in a spiral, momentarily leaving him lost for words. There was no better way to say it—Staress was stunning. Her tanned brown skin glowed. Every facial feature was perfectly symmetrical, refined and pretty. Even her shoulder-length highlighted green hair was spectacular, and Leland had always thought he didn’t like dyed hair.

And the eyes. Goddamn, the eyes.

“Are you okay, young man?”

“I-I’m a big fan of your discography!” Leland blurted.

Staress grinned. “Really? That’s great to hear.”

Leland’s face heated. The fanboy inside him had erupted before he even knew what was happening. Staress was one of his favourite hip hop artists, and he had heard every one of her songs. In fact, one of his dreams had been to go to one of her concerts. Apparently, she was one of the few musicians who truly sounded better live and created a chilling atmosphere that you had to be there to truly understand.

“W-what are you doing h-here?”

“I’m taking a walk,” Staress replied. “Don’t you just love walks? They help clear your head.”

Leland nodded slowly as a question burned in his mind. It was one she had probably heard over a thousand times, but he couldn’t help it. She was right next to him. There was no way he couldn’t.

“When’s the album d-dropping?”

Staress’ eyes narrowed. “It’s coming out whenever it’s coming out. Everyone always asks that question, but I hoped you would be different. Shame on you.” Before Leland could respond, she elbowed him in the ribs. “Only kidding. It should come out in a couple of months, but it also might not come out at all, to be brutally honest with you.”

“Why?” Leland asked. “Are you quitting? No w-way!”

“Not by choice. It’s just that I can’t release a project out to the world if there’s no world to begin with.”

Silence fell between them. The chilling wind whistled, entering Leland’s clothes. He softly snorted. “W-w-hat?”

Staress nodded. “Yup. There’s a good chance that before I release the album we’ll be dead. Rotting corpses. Finito. It’s not too pretty, but I feel like we had it coming and we had a good run, you know? Now, of course, you don’t believe me. That’s totally natural so let me prove it to you by letting you in on a little secret, one that will make a lot of sense if you use that clever little brain of yours—I can foresee the future.”

Leland wasn’t sure whether to laugh or frown. He stared blankly, waiting for more words to come out of her mouth but there was none. He considered the feats she had achieved, and how she had done the seemingly impossible time and time again. Her bold claim almost made sense.

Before starting her fruitful music career, Staress was the host of the wildly popular eponymous hit known as “The Staress Show ',' where she competed against a professional in a one-on-one contest in the field of their expertise. Somehow, defying all odds, she was able to obliterate the experts. It was not staged, completely real, and at the time, she was only sixteen years old.

The girl had been a prodigy among prodigies, surpassing the ability of those who had spent decades working hard to master their crafts, from sports to big-brain professions to silly hobbies. It didn’t matter what the discipline was or who she was facing—Staress always won. The show had gone on for five seasons, each one gaining world-breaking views. It was a cultural event that almost every Western family had watched for a period, sitting cosy on their couches.

Forecasting the future could potentially explain some of the success, but still…

“P-prove it.”

Staress took an umbrella out of her handbag, raising it above their heads just as a torrent of rain heavily poured down. “Okay, do you see that tree northeast of you?”

“Y-yes.”

“In three seconds, you will… see…”

Lightning zapped the tree, destroying several branches. Bark and leaves darted in every direction.

“Holy shit. You r-really can—”

*BOOM*

Leland yelped while Staress stood up and laughed, rotating the umbrella slowly. “The thunder always gets them. Never gets old.”

“Okay, if this is all true, w-why are you telling me this? You’re talking to the wrong guy.”

“Not at all,” Staress said. “Your superpower could save the world, don’t you think?”

“I h-have no idea w-what you’re talking about.”

“You will.”

Leland stared at Staress, squinting his eyes as he waited for a sign that she was joking. There was none. Only a smile.

“O-oh, I get it now. I must be really hallu— ow!”

Staress kicked him in the shin. “I’m real. Well, technically, neither of us are, but let’s not go down that rabbit hole.” She flashed a quick grin before walking away. “One last thing. You would be wise to follow Mark after school tomorrow!”