Morning classes kicked off, and the usual crowd - Dwayne, Jerry, and Jane - had already bailed for their advanced placement courses. Being in the top 10 had its perks, I guess. That left me stuck with Ashylene.

She didn't waste any time, asking the girl next to her to swap seats. The girl practically tripped over herself to comply. I bet it had something to do with Ashylene's family reputation. Come to think of it, the bullies had backed off since Ashylene and I started hanging out. Funny how that works.

Just as everyone settled in, Mr. Josh strode into the room. The chatter died instantly. You could hear a pin drop.

Now, Mr. Josh isn't your average teacher. Picture this: 6 feet of pure military muscle, squeezed into a suit that's barely containing his biceps. He's got this whole ex-special forces vibe going on - something about taking down terrorists in the capital. The girls swoon over him, calling him a snack or whatever. Me? I just see a dude with nice glasses.

"Books out," he barked. "Pop quiz time."

The class erupted in hushed whispers. "He was serious about that?" "Why do we even need this crap? We're all joining family businesses or the military anyway."

Mr. Josh's eyes narrowed. "Pipe down," he growled, his mouth twisting in disappointment. "Ashylene, our new student. Enlighten your classmates on the importance of book smarts."

I smirked. Serves them right for slacking off.

Ashylene stood up, cool as ice. She launched into this whole speech about how book smarts apply to real life, even in combat situations. By the time she finished, you could've heard a mouse fart. Everyone scrambled for their books.

I glanced back and caught the twins glaring daggers at Ashylene. Damn, that's some serious hate.

The test itself? A breeze. All that late-night cramming paid off. As I blazed through the questions, I couldn't help but think, "This is too easy."

Before I knew it, the bell rang for break. As everyone rushed out, I hung back, wondering what drama the rest of the day would bring. High school, man. It's a whole other world.

"Let's hit the training room," Ashylene said, jumping up from her seat.

I stared at her, my mind racing. "Shit, why's she want me to tag along? Can I weasel out of this?" But then Sarah and Tanaka walked in, and suddenly, following Ashylene seemed like the lesser evil.

"Yeah, okay," I muttered, dodging the evil twins as we headed out.

We were barely in the hallway when Ashylene dropped a bomb. "So, I've been meaning to ask you something."

My eyes went wide. "Uh, what's up?"

She smiled, all innocent-like. "Are you really hiding your power?"

That stopped me dead in my tracks. "What makes you say that?"

"This morning, when Dane and his goons were giving you grief, I felt this energy spike. Just for a split second," she said, her smile not matching the weight of her words.

My brain short-circuited. No way. She caught that tiny slip? Is she bluffing? But why make that up? Damn, her electromagnetic abilities are scary good. I can't just admit to holding back. That'd be a whole mess of trouble.

"Nah, I was just charging up my ability," I lied, scratching my head like an idiot.

Ashylene tilted her head, brushing hair from her eyes. "You're a terrible liar," she said, then suddenly sped up to greet some girl ahead of us.

I stood there, shell-shocked. Crap. This is bad. Really bad.

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"Hey, Tinashe," Ashylene called back. "Meet my best friend, Sandra."

I snapped out of my panic, managing a stuttered, "H-hey, how are you?"

Sandra smiled warmly. "I'm good. How about you, Tinashe?"

I gave her a quick once-over. New school tracksuit. Probably another newbie. Then I noticed everyone in the hallway was staring at us. Great, more attention. Just what I needed.

As I fumbled for a response, my mind was still spinning. First those thugs, then that girl, now Ashylene. My secret's hanging by a thread. What the hell am I gonna do now?

"Ah, crap," I muttered, ducking my head. "Spotlight's on us again."

I cleared my throat. "Uh, Ashylene? Training room?"

"Oh, right!" Ashylene chirped. "Sandra, let's hit the training room. It's break time, so we can see what you've got."

Sandra nodded. "Sure, let's do it."

As we walked, I was surprised to find Sandra actually talking to me. She gave off a different vibe than Ashylene - more of a 'mess with me and regret it' energy, like Jane or Sarah. But not quite as intense.

Weirdly, I didn't feel like a third wheel. They both seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say.

Suddenly, Ashylene flashed me that disarming smile of hers. I stumbled a step back, and she leaned in close. "Don't worry," she whispered. "Your secret's safe with me. You've got your reasons, and I respect that."

We pushed into the training room, and Sandra let out a low whistle. "Damn, this place is huge. Bigger than back home."

"Yeah, beats our town's setup too," Ashylene agreed, tossing Sandra's bag on a bench.

I plopped down, watching them scope out the place.

"Let's spar," Ashylene said, tossing Sandra a wooden sword.

Sandra caught it with a grin. "A year apart and the first thing you want to do is fight? You're impossible, Ashylene. How do you put up with her, Tinashe?"

I shrugged. "Well, she did fight my best friend too."

"Tinashe!" Ashylene pouted. "You're making me sound like some kind of bully."

Her eyes flashed gray, and I felt the surge of energy around her fists. Show-off.

I sized up Sandra. She was packing some serious power - maybe even close to Dwayne's level. But against Ashylene? I had my doubts.

As they squared off, I couldn't help but wonder what I'd gotten myself into. Just another day in this crazy school, I guess.

"You ready?" Sandra called out. Ashylene just nodded.

I did a double-take. Ashylene's stance was totally different from when she faced Dwayne. Wait, is she taking this seriously? Does that mean Sandra's a monster too?

Before I could finish that thought, they vanished.

Suddenly, the room exploded with noise. Loud bangs echoed off the walls, and gusts of wind strong enough to send Sandra's bag flying whipped around us.

"What the actual hell am I seeing?" I thought. These two could easily outclass most of the top 10.

They materialized in front of me, meters apart. I blinked hard, trying to process what I'd just witnessed.

"Looks like you've stepped up your game," Ashylene said, a hint of respect in her voice.

Sandra shrugged, dropping her now-broken sword. "Call it a draw. My weapon's toast."

My mind raced. "Energy infusion," I realized. The ability to amp up a weapon's durability with pure energy. It's rare as hell, and usually tied to one specific family.

Ashylene plopped down next to me. "In case you're wondering, Tinashe, Sandra's from a rival family of ours. The Terylin Family."

I jumped to my feet. "Hold up. What?" I turned to Sandra. "You're from that family?"

"Yep," she said casually, tossing the broken sword pieces in the trash.

My head was spinning. The Terylin Family? Here? Where the hell was I when all this went down?

As I stood there, trying to make sense of it all, I couldn't help but feel like I'd just stumbled into something way bigger than I'd realized. Just how deep does this rabbit hole go?

After an hour of getting my ass handed to me in their insane workout, we dragged ourselves back to class. When the final bell rang, Ashylene hit me with a curveball.

"Hey, Tinashe, wanna grab some ice cream with us?"

I couldn't help but grin. "Hell yeah!" Free fancy ice cream? Sign me up.

We piled into Ashylene's ridiculous family car. Sandra ditched her ride, saying Ashylene would drop her off later.

The ice cream shop was swanky as hell. Everyone stared as we walked in. I puffed up a bit, thinking, "That's right, I'm rolling with the big dogs now. Maybe I'll even catch a cutie's eye."

Ashylene ordered for us. "Three mega cones, please."

My eyes nearly popped out. Those things cost a fortune!

"Flavors?" she asked.

Sandra went for vanilla. I fumbled like an idiot, "Stra- uh, chocolate."

Ashylene joined the vanilla club.

While we waited, the girls dove into some family politics chat that went way over my head. I tuned out, focusing on the mountain of ice cream headed my way.

Thirty minutes later, we rolled out. I was stuffed to the gills, having inhaled every last bit. The girls couldn't stop laughing.

"Damn, Tinashe, where do you put it all?" Sandra giggled.

"Heh, yeah," I mumbled, scratching my head.

"This was fun. See you tomorrow!" Ashylene said as they climbed back in the car.

"Later, Tinashe!" they called, waving as they drove off.

I waved back, then turned towards home. "Hope Ashylene keeps her mouth shut," I thought, cutting through my usual shortcut. I sighed, hands in my pockets.

"At least those two guys are my only problem now. Though maybe I should've-"

Suddenly, the world started spinning. I hit the ground hard, struggling to keep my eyes open. Six shadowy figures loomed over me. Three looked familiar.

"Remember me, you little punk?" one snarled. "Today, you die for what you did to us."

As darkness closed in, my last thought was, "Ah, shit. Here we go again."