"What the fuck do you mean it doesn't matter if you like them or not?" the boy shouted while he slammed my locker shut. "How in the hell does a bozo like you even have powers then?" he roared while his face glowed bright red. "Geez…relax dude." I muttered back with my hands splayed in front of my chest, "To each their own, right? It's not like there are any laws saying you have to like them." On that day I had felt it was going to be a decent morning then a random guy just had to show up asking me a bunch of questions like the police. I had no clue what that dude was going on about or what he was even trying to accomplish. People had pressed me about my opinions all the time but I had never even talked to him before that day, and the more that I had thought about it, have we even met before? I don't even think I could guess his name.

       "Woah woah buddy, you gotta calm down" a concerned but familiar voice chimed in from behind. The boy's eyes started to shift briskly, realizing he had now caused an audience with both teachers and students. As he began to notice that all eyes were on him, he clicked his tongue with his face still looking like a ripe tomato and proceeded to do a swift one-eighty storming down the hallway towards the football locker room.

 A heavy exhale was let out by my savior, "Nolan you can't be causing this much commotion so early in the morning and this close to the spring field trip." "Listen, Brooke," I started mildly annoyed. "It's no surprise that everyone at East Bellevue High School practically hates me, but that guy definitely has his issues he's gotta work out, I didn't even do anything to him he was the one who approached me in the first place!" She let out another sigh, "Are you sure you're going to be ready for all this? I have never seen you look this stressed out ever in your life up until this past week before the trip." I turned my head a bit towards the lockers still kind of annoyed and mustered up a semi-convincing response, "I'll be fine, you just worry too much."

 Before I could even attempt to make Brooke worry less I heard a comforting voice say "What up Big Nole," with a planted hand on my shoulder. I couldn't help but smile while I responded, "What's up, Liam?" I said clicking my fist with his free hand. "Whatcha guys talkin' about?" he asked as he pulled out his phone. "Don't tell me Brooke is bothering you about more relationship stuff too" he teased. Back to our regularly scheduled program, I thought. Brooke's lips puckered, "What we're talking about is really important Liam." she replied sharply. "Uh huh…cause you liking boys and girls should be doubling your odds if anything, statistically there really shouldn't be any issues," he said while scrolling through his phone. Right after Liam said that I noticed Brooke's fists balled up and her face began to light up just like that random interviewer boy. "Drop it, Liam!" she shouted while stomping her right foot. "We were talking about the field trip to the old farm, I didn't bring up any of that stuff!" She barked back.

     I tried to think of something to switch the subject now that she was riled up. Brooke always seemed worried about something, and that was especially true when it came to talking about her dating life, but before I could attempt to switch topics Liam came to the rescue. "My bad, Brooke" Liam said in a monotone voice, after a slight pause he continued, "Congrats on making it in the running though." After he switched up so suddenly like that I got extremely confused. Usually, he would annoy Brooke a bit more than that if he decided to joke with her, though he never really used the dating stuff to pick on her. While her eyes widened and her mouth quivered Brooke had gone from cherry-red to ghostly pale in just a matter of seconds. "What happened? What did you start running for?" I eagerly inquired. This girl was stressed out damn near 24/7, so how would she be able to run for class president or lead any school clubs? I had to know what she had got herself into. I waited a few seconds for some type of response but Brook didn't answer, she had become Bellevue High's anxious statue.

 Then that's when Liam showed me what he was glued to on his phone. Now I had become the one with my eyes widened, paired with no words coming out of my mouth. I bet I looked like plastered artwork too. I double-checked just to make sure what I saw was correct, and I began to read the name aloud, "Brook McGowan" Her name was somehow on the small list of people with unique abilities at my school. She was granted the 14th position on the ranking of talented individuals, which happened to be dead last but that didn't matter at all, just being on the list is something a lot of people could only dream of. "Brooke you awakened your-" The bell rang before any of us could process this set of information.

 After that kind of news, I could not concentrate on a single thing in my Algebra class. Our teacher who teaches the gifted and talented must've noticed the change in Brooke, he's the only one who could have in the entire school. He and the principal were responsible for the editing of the list but he's the only one who could've added her name to it. Liam must've seen the list before he talked to Brooke because he teased her extra hard that day. Not only that but he's always been kind of envious of everyone who's on that list, even me.

    I was so astonished at Brooke's accomplishment that it didn't even cross my mind to look for my own name on the list, but I figured my spot out quickly when it came time for lunch when I saw Liam analyze the ranks like he always did. "Let's gooooo!" He cheered loudly, "Dude you're number 2 now on the list, that's so dope man! I told you it was only a matter of time til you entered the top 3!" Liam was beyond ecstatic and wriggled in his seat, but I didn't care too much about where I was on the list. It had never mattered to me at all, it just meant that this year is guaranteed to be worse than my last two years here at school. Especially when all it came with was random football players yelling at me in the morning. "He'd be number one if people weren't so rude and distant from him" Brook murmured in a sharp, yet cold tone. Liam quickly settled down in his seat and we could both tell she was in a bad mood now after the earlier news. She probably didn't want to talk or even think about the list. "Come on…try and lighten up Brooke, this could be big for you!" Liam continued anyway "There are almost 3,000 people in this school and 14 people got chosen, students and staff included, that's more than any other High School in Washington, we might be on the news or something now!" "GAAAH" a cry for help erupted to cut Liam off. "Nooo please no!" Brooke whimpered and groaned while she dug her face into her arms on the table. "I don't want the news or 3,000 people knowing anything," she grumbled all muffled up in her sweater.

She really really hated having unnecessary attention on her. In fact, she had been trying to break out of her shell by changing her appearance, she had gone so far as to dye half of her hair blonde and the other half black, straight down the middle. Even before school started that year she had gotten a nose piercing in her right nostril. "Come on Brooke…" Liam said scratching his head. Now Liam didn't care too much about his looks, he always had a beanie or bucket hat. He'd be in a jacket most of the time unless it got cold then he'd start to wear hoodies. He was always in some beat-up Nike tennis shoes no matter what. "Or maybe not… I mean maybe no one will notice since you're all the way at the bottom."

Brooke didn't move an inch. She just kept groaning as Liam tried to lift her spirits. "You know, it could be pretty fun figuring out what your powers are gonna be," I chirped, trying my luck. Liam perked up "He's right! You could have crazy abilities like the dudes in 'Powerz BR'." One thing about Liam is he is never gonna shut up about that Battle Royale, or any of his favorite video games for that matter. He's always going on and on about how it's "historically accurate" and "balanced perfectly" but I couldn't really blame him because I played it too and it was super fun. At first, what we said didn't garner any reactions, but after a small pause, she let out a shriek, "But I don't want ANY Potato Powers guys." I was afraid she was going to say that and I could tell by Liam's face he had a similar worry too. Brooke had every right to not want powers, given her family history. Her Great Uncle was tortured and killed for having the amazing ability to heal almost any illness in the world. Too many people wanted to have this power for themselves so he became a big target, which ended up becoming a problem for anyone connected to the McGowan family name.

     "Don't say that!" Liam blurted out. "You are the only person in the world who would say something that crazy Brooke." I wanted to intervene and break up the conflict, but Liam is never this enthusiastic in any conversation unless it's nerdy gamer talk. He was beyond passionate about powers so I couldn't help but just let him do his thing. "I know you don't like bringing up your family and I get that…but just think about what my brother Jason did with his powers. He was able to stop a whole building from collapsing from a fire with his silly little dirt ability, he saved my Mom and a bunch of other people…he became a real hero that day." I could tell Liam had gotten worked up since he was stood up with his jaw clenching. His Mom and Brother were all he had and he almost lost them both. Ever since that day Liam has wanted powers so he could protect himself and anyone dear to him. He won't say it out loud but Brooke and I could tell. There was a silence at the table now, Liam might've forgotten to breathe because afterward he took a couple of deep breaths before he sat down and Brooke's head was poked back up, a little surprised.

      We had all finished eating at that point, and I took the time during that awkward quietness to take my daily supplements. Usually, I would have taken them in the morning but the field trip stress had made it harder to sleep which ended up making me forget. I whipped out my 'Tato Vitamin Gummies' from my backpack and popped two into my mouth. "Ya know, that dude earlier today hated the fact that I take these," I said as I shook the bottle and broke the silence. "Wait… that's what he was yelling about the whole time?" Brooke wondered with mild confusion. "Yeah I guess he heard a rumor saying I don't eat potatoes and I told him that I don't necessarily like them but I don't hate them either… Y'know I just don't eat them, so I take these" I shook the bottle of gummies once more. Brooke chuckled a bit and even Liam giggled some while on his phone. 

"Man, I always forget you don't eat anything with potatoes in it, not even fries or chips. That's honestly kinda crazy dude," Liam went on nonchalantly "Whatcha gonna do tomorrow on the field trip when we're served only authentic potato stuff?" Brooke still giggled a little bit but managed to reply for me. "He told me he was gonna pack meals for the entire thing." That one must've gotten Liam good cause he started cracking up which then made giddy ol' Brooke start laughing more too.

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 I instantly regretted breaking the silence at the table, my attempt at comforting just ended up with my friends laughing at me the rest of lunch that day. Turning away free potatoes in this day and age will get all sorts of reactions from people, especially if they are organic or cooked by a pro chef. Old people would get angry and scream a speech about tradition, Mom and Dad would get concerned and maybe take you to a doctor, but your best friends? Yeah, they will just sit there and laugh their assess off. While both of them chortled and snorted away with glee, I found myself aimlessly looking around the whole cafeteria. I noticed as I gazed around the loud and open expanse of lunchtime freedom that it was exactly how it always was. It was what you expected of people to indulge in every day... I saw the common salted fries in every assortment; Waffled, wedged, curled, and straight.         Alongside fries, there were potato chips at almost every single table making it the second most popular thing in the lunchroom. As I continued my search the only things I saw were the potato pancakes, the potato stuffed crust pizzas, and the school's favorite mashed potato burgers at everyone else's trays. As my eyes continued to shift from table to table my stomach had begun to sink deeper and deeper, and I knew for sure that it had nothing to do with hunger or appetite. I had realized that time and time again I was in the minority or rather I was the sole outcast in this world. I was the guy who never ate potatoes. This had never bothered me in middle school and I never felt truly secluded until this moment in time. In this tater tot and hash brown jam-packed cafeteria of students, I felt completely alone.

 The solitude that I felt during lunchtime lingered throughout that day. I tried to hide what I was feeling so none of my friends would worry but I couldn't tell if I did a good job or not. I probably didn't. I could barely pay attention to anything around me and I didn't know what was going on in any of my classes after lunch. That is until I got into my favorite class at the end of the day with my favorite teacher ever.

      The Potato Powers class was easily the best because of Mr. Wilson. He catered to all the kids in the class and he made learning about powers super fun. It was also the only class I shared with both of my best friends. I sat down in the second to last seat in the back corner of the classroom right in front of Liam just as class started and Mr. Wilson lectured. "Okay, class! We've got the big spring field trip tomorrow, so why don't we do some refreshers before we go to Idaho!" Everyone in the class had perked up to the mention of the spring trip. "Let's start with what makes potato powers come to fruition" the teacher started. I noticed that Brooke had sunk in her seat in the periphery of my right eye. I figured that Mr. Wilson did this "refresher" so that he could help Brooke figure out how her newfound abilities were going to work. "Can anyone tell me the unique ways some powers come to fruition?" A hand shot up eagerly to answer in the front row. "Take it away for us," Mr. Wilson said pointing his teaching fry stick. I think the name of the kid he chose was Flynn or something, I don't talk to anyone in the class besides Brooke and Liam so I am not good with their names, but I still remember more there than in any other class. "One of the unique ways your Potato Powers can come to fruition is by having something you love or are passionate about more than Potatoes themselves." the boy answered like an encyclopedia. "Nicely said Flynn!" Mr. Wilson exclaimed with genuine cheer. "I will be the one to demonstrate."

Mr. Wilson took his free hand and splayed it with the palm facing upwards. A small glow began to form around his arm and it became a very pale yellow translucent aura. As the mystical aura formed it slowly waved back and forth like a gentle flame on a candle. The aura started to look like it had been sprinkled with starch and the texture started to look more and more like cotton candy. Finally, being fully formed, the magical aura that once surrounded our teacher's hand had turned into a pale yellow cloud that floated and circled his head. "Now class as many of you may know my favorite thing to do in the entire world is to go cloud watching. I love clouds more than anything and it shows through my powers. Potato Powers are an amalgamation of one's body, mind, and spirit."

     As he reiterated the beginner lesson I noticed that a potato cloud he made had drifted right next to me with some sheets of paper on it. I grabbed the paper with my name on it and watched as the potato cloud floated down the row of students back toward the front of the room. I scanned the quiz I got handed back and spotted that it gleamed with a "100" in the top right corner. I turned around in my seat to face Liam behind me to make sure he got the same grade, and of course, to no surprise, he got a perfect grade too. Liam was one of the main reasons I retained so much information in that class. He never shut up about the stuff we learned and he studied his ass off for that class. I enjoyed it too and most of the curriculum comes easy as well but none of that stuff really mattered. It boiled down to Mr. Wilson being a dope teacher in all honesty. It's like every time he needed to explain something he had the perfect analogy or metaphor that just resonated with you. "Though it's very important to remember class, most Potato Powers don't always get to a stage like mine. As you all know, most of them will just pertain to the potato or a part of the potato. You may not find something you like more than potatoes and that is completely okay!" I groaned once I heard Mr. Wilson bring up the mandatory inclusion of enjoying potatoes. "Yeah, unless you're like some kind of freak show who doesn't eat potatoes at all!" a kid shouted from the opposite side of the room. After that comment, some students in the class began to snicker and I think I saw a high-five go up too. "Mr. Dermot please refrain from making any more outbursts in the classroom." And just like that Mr. Wilson had silenced the laughter completely. I was not surprised that Brian had made that joke towards me, every single opportunity he had gotten to clown me for not liking potatoes he had taken. The Potato Power's class was filled with 20 students, all of whom I thought hated me. Even though we had that many students only nine other people in the class had potato powers in that class other than me. With Brooke having unlocked her new powers that made that number ten.

The other students without powers are in the class because they are probably related to someone who has powers. Apparently, that made a person more likely to unlock powers themselves so the school required every student to take the class if they had a relative with potato powers. It is also supposed to prepare them as parents since they are more likely to have children with potato powers, or at least that's what statistics say. No one for centuries has proven that Potato Powers are one hundred percent hereditary.

        While the lesson was going on I noticed Brooke bouncing her leg and fidgeting in her seat. Her eyes were trained to the front of the room like a dog eagerly awaiting for their owner to get home. I had guessed that she had wanted to learn more about her new abilities after all. Liam smiled ear to ear like he did at every lesson as the refresher went on. I couldn't help but think about the spring trip and being around every student in the class. I wondered if I was going to be okay around the other Potato Power users we were potentially going to meet. As I pondered on that thought, I had become drastically more anxious knowing that I had never gotten along with any Power users. On the way home that afternoon, the thought of interacting with other Power users crept into my mind constantly, no matter how hard I tried to think about other things.

      "Nolan sweetie! Welcome back," a high-pitched angelic voice called out from the kitchen. I felt my tense shoulders ease up as I heard the familiar voice and smelled the pleasant aroma of my mother's homemade cooking. "How was school today? No one bothered you or gave you a hard time right?" she expressed in her concerned motherly tone. "Well there was only one person for a little bit, but it wasn't a big deal, I don't even know the guy's name and my friends helped me out anyway," I muttered. "Oh no! Do I need to call the principal again, he didn't try to hurt you like the last person? I pray there wasn't another fight," she continued in a concerned falsetto as she firmly hugged me. I told my Mom nearly everything about what happened to me at school, she has been my only outlet since I awakened my own Potato Powers. 

     Ever since my troubles in middle school, she had been there to protect me, she may be a bit overprotective at times but she only does what she thinks is best for me at all times. "I know you have been feeling uneasy about this field trip, so I made you one of my specialties!" I could already tell based on the smell of garlic, peppers, and tomato sauces what she had made. It was her iconic homemade lasagna without any hint of potato chunks especially made for me. I felt my appetite reach its peak as I skirted into the kitchen to get myself a plateful.

      "I can promise you hun that the field trip will be fine you don't have to worry so much," she said trying to comfort me. "When I talked to your teacher Mr. Wilson he assured me he would keep the students away from any dangers or harms and he seemed pretty certain of himself." That's right! I thought to myself. Mr. Wilson was going to be the main chaperone. If he's there he can stop any fights with Potato Powers happening between anyone in the class or anyone I ended up meeting on the trip. I was too busy lost in thought, wondering about all the enemies I ended up making. I had never thought about the allies on my side. Leave it to my Mother to make all my worries go away with just some lasagna and a few words.

      "Thanks, Mom," I grinned back to her. "No worries love," she bubbled smiling, "after you finish your food there's some cheesecake in the fridge, I have got to get some more stuff ready before you leave for Idaho." After I thanked her she was gone with the wind, At the time, it felt like my Mother had been way more busy for some reason, a lot more than usual. I guess she had wanted to help me get through this scholastic excursion with no injuries. The more I had thought about it, it'd be the first time for that.

       The cheesecake and lasagna combo had filled me to the brim. Worrying the entire day had not done me any favors, my body and mind were at their limits and I was ready to go to bed. After I showered, I sat in my room thinking about how meeting Potato Power users never went how I planned. With the help of my Mom, Mr. Wilson, and my two best friends it could go very well for the first time. I pondered for a while, and lost track of time wondering how everything could go wrong, but also for the very first time ever in my life I thought; how everything could go right.