by Tamara White
“Wow I wish my parents would let me leave. It would be awesome not living at home.” Crap I didn’t mean to say it like that now they will probably think I’m a nutcase.
“We all have gym next” Michael says after a brief silence.
I look up to see them looking at me with compassion in their eyes. Maybe these guys won’t be so bad to have around.
Plus, they’re all super gorgeous. If only I was as pretty as the cheerleaders, then I might stand a chance with one of them, but I can dream. I sigh longingly.
You are beautiful, sweetheart, and we’ll show you just how much we believe that.
Crap, I’m still making up voices to reassure myself. Really wish my brain would stop that. “I have gym next too and I’m pretty sure the bell is about to ring. I am going to walk that way now, but you are welcome to walk with me, if you like, otherwise I’ll see you there soon.” Getting up I grab my bag from the ground.
“Here let me carry your bag” Michael says, grabbing my bag. He doesn’t give me a chance to reply, just grabs my bag as if it’s the normal thing to do.
“Thank you, Michael,” I say.
“Evie, you can call me Mike. Teddy can’t have the only nickname,” he grins at me when I laugh.
“Thank you, Mike.” I can’t believe how nice the guys are. I hope it’s not an act and that we can become friends. I already know they would be amazing friends.
Dane
I’m glad the guys warned me before meeting Evie because I’m sure I would have let something slip. It’s going to be hard to explain everything to someone that has been living as a human, I just hope she has an open mind.
I meet the guys in the cafeteria and we go talk about our next move at a table inside but it doesn’t last long. Girls and guys keep coming up and interrupting us so we decide to go outside where we see Evie sitting under a tree at the edge of the courtyard.
We should go over and get to know her. We still need to find out when her birthday is so we can explain everything to her, I project to the others.
We all agree to head over and just before we get there, Teddy says, She’s going to be powerful. I’ve already felt her powers reacting to her emotions.
Chapter 3
Mike
I don’t know if the guys realized this, but Evie used Air element at lunch. When Teddy asked about why she wouldn’t say his name, I felt the air surrounding her like a force field as if it could protect her. I don’t understand why Teddy would ask when she had shared a memory of what happened with them in class, even if it was unintentional that they saw it. However, I think he’s right she’s going to be extremely powerful. I can feel it.
Evie
I can’t wait to see what sport we have today. Gym may not be my favourite class, but it’s a close second. I love the adrenaline rush and the feel of power when you score a point or goal. Plus, most sports are so competitive that the guys don’t know how to handle it if they lose, especially if there is a girl on the winning team. We go to our separate locker rooms to get changed into gym clothes.
The gym uniforms are red and black, the official school colours. Some of the girls have ripped and tied their shirts so it shows their belly buttons, not that it really matters as I’m usually the only girl that plays. The rest would rather sit and watch then do anything that may get them sweaty or dirty. I walk out and sit on the bleachers and think about the creative writing project I have for English. How am I going to organize study days around my parents?
The guys all come out and sit next to me while we wait for Coach Callahan to come out and tell us what sport we are playing today. Once the class is all sitting on the bleachers, Coach Callahan comes out of his office “Ok everyone. Today we’ll have two sports playing. We’ll have soccer outside and basketball inside. Decide what you want to play and go to either the field for soccer, or the inside hall for basketball.”
Then he walks over to the soccer field. I get up and make my way over to the hall. Basketball is more of an adrenaline rush for me then soccer, so I figure I’ll play basketball today.
I go into the hall and sit on the side of the court while I wait to see if anyone else is playing. As I sit down I notice the guys have all followed me into the hall.
“Um hey guys you know soccer is on the field, right? Basketball is inside here.” No way would these guys want to play basketball, they definitely seem like the sort to play contact sports like football.
“We know,” Teddy says sitting down next to me. Ok then. Seems like I read these guys wrong. I’m going to have to work on not judging a book by its cover it seems. Kylan takes a seat to my right. Teddy is on my left and Dane and Mike are behind me. We sit and wait.
There are five other guys in the gym now. We’re waiting for Coach Callahan when he comes in carrying three basketballs.
“Ok listen up, guys and girl. There are more people on the field than in here, so once I leave you will be on your own until end of bell. I’ll come in and check the score occasionally, but for the most part I’ll be monitoring the soccer game. So today we’ll split you into teams and play. And as normal, the person with the most points scored will get to choose the sport tomorrow.” He says that looking at me with a grin, because he knows I’ll win. I’m too competitive not to. With that said, he turns and leaves the gym.
“Evelyn, we’re going to play my group against your group,” Liam sneers at me.
Liam is the typical jock who thinks because he good at one sport he must be good at all of them. I’m not ashamed to say I take pleasure in beating him whenever we are on opposite teams. He is always saying stupid things to me as I pass him in the hallways, and he has been the source of a few malicious rumours about me being spread around the school. The latest one being that I give head for money.
“That’s fine, Liam. Are you sure though? I can ask two of the guys on my team to sit out so it makes it fair on your team?” Liam looks like he’d love nothing better than to throw a basketball at my head right now. He probably assumes the guys are football players too because of their build.
He turns and talks to his group before facing me again “Ok Evelyn, keep two players on the court and two off but you have to play the whole game.”
Ugh, I hate when Liam says my name. It creeps me out and makes it sound dirty, but the last time he called me Evie I punched him in the face. I’m pretty sure everyone in the school learnt only my friends can call me Evie.
“Give us five minutes to plan the play, then its game on,” I smirk at him before turning to talk to the guys. They’re all staring at me with an unfamiliar expression on their faces.
“What?! Sorry guys but I am competitive and love to win. So now we need to decide which two of you will be starting the game with me? I don’t know what sports you have played so speak up if you’ve never played basketball.” All the guys remain silent watching me. I think I may have frightened them with my competitive nature. That must have been the expression on their faces before, apprehension.
“Evie, we know how to play basketball and have played before. Dane would be the weak link, only because he hasn’t played in the last 6 months, but I doubt that will stop him from beating the other team,” Michael says smiling.
Kylan looks at me “How about Mike and I play with you from the start, then if you want to swap us out you can?”
“Ok sounds good. Oh, and guys, be careful. Liam plays rough. He’s never beaten me, and he can get pretty irritated the more the game goes on and the further ahead in points we are,” I tell them.
Last time, Liam kept purposely kicking my legs out on me while we played soccer. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to go on the field again. That day when I came home with bruises my father was furious and decided to add to them.
Kylan is looking at me and clenching his jaw. Looking at each of them, I notice they’re all clenching their jaws, and Mike seems to be opening and closing his fists. Wonder what’s got them so worked up? Walking over I pick up a basketball with K
ylan and Mike following me on to the court.
Kylan
After telling Evie that Mike and I will go on the court first we get flashes of an older man beating her. She’s on the floor with tears running down her face but not fighting back. What the fuck?! What has happened to this poor girl? We need to talk to her!
I can see the other guys trying to remain calm, but it’s hard seeing that happen to such an innocent girl.
Dane’s the one to rein us in, I agree we need to talk to her, but we need to time it right. We don’t want to scare her away.
We agree to leave it for now and discuss everything after school.
Evie
The game starts out friendly enough. The boys have swapped a few times, but Kylan seems to enjoy the game the most. We have 10 minutes left before the bell and decide to take a break since we’re leading 28 points to 19. Liam looks furious, so I imagine the next half is going to be brutal.
“You’re really good Evie. If I didn’t see it myself, I wouldn’t believe you could play like that. You could go pro if you wanted to,” Dane says to me.
I blush and mumble thanks. Dane doesn’t realise it, but that is the nicest thing anyone has said about my sports playing skills. Everyone else just calls me a freak and laughs at me for enjoying sports so much.
“Ok who is going in first next half?” I look to the guys. I figure it’s easier letting them decide among themselves.
“Ted and I will go in next game to start,” Kylan says to me. I involuntary shiver when Kylan says Ted. We head back onto the court and continue playing.
There’s only 5 minutes left in our class so we rush to score our final points. My team is dribbling the ball to the hoop, and I’m just to the 3-point line. Teddy throws me the ball to make the shot, and I’m blindsided by Liam.
He doesn’t swoop in to steal the ball, he bulldozes into me making me land on my side. First thing I feel is pain in my ribs. It’s so going to hurt tomorrow.
Next thing I notice is a feeling of unimaginable rage but, weirdly, I’m not angry just disorientated. I look up to see Kylan looking flushed and standing over Liam. He must have hit him after I got knocked down because there’s blood rushing from Liam’s nose. Part of me hopes it’s broken, Liam deserved it.
I don’t know why, but I get up and walk in front of Kylan who looks a couple seconds away from losing it. My instincts are screaming at me to help him even if I don’t understand why. He doesn’t seem to realize I’m there yet. I can feel heat coming off him like he’s so worked up it’s in his aura.
I grab his hand “Kylan? Are you ok?”
He looks to his hand, then at me, then to the other guys. I see him visibly relaxing.
“Are you ok Evie? I saw you get knocked down and I got angry. I’m sorry,” he pulls his hand out of mine and walks back to the guys.
I’m left standing there wondering what the hell just happened.
I watch Kylan whispering to the guys and I hear him mutter furiously “Why didn’t you stop her she could have been hurt!”
“We were too shocked, and by the time we realized what she was doing, it was too late,” Mike is arguing back. Great so apparently, the guys think of me as a girl who gets hurt easily.
I walk over to the guys “Don’t worry about me guys I’ve had worse and survived.”
Teddy
Seeing Evie go down, we all just freeze. Before any of us have a chance to react, Ky has stepped up and punched Liam in the face. We hear the crack, and Liam drops to the floor cradling his face, looks like his nose his broken.
We’re all so busy staring down at Liam, that we don’t notice Evie get up before she’s in front of Ky.
Holy crap! I can feel the others panicking too. If Evie touches him, she could die from the heat of his anger. Too late. She grabs his hand, obviously to calm him, not knowing the consequences. I step forward ready to help but nothing happens.
Are you guys seeing this? I thought you said she was Air, Mike? If she was Air, she wouldn’t be able to touch Ky like that. Dane’s just as confused as I am. Mike told us before class that he could feel the air react to her. Kylan assures Evie that he’s fine before coming to us.
“Why didn’t you stop her? She could have been hurt,” he s clearly angry we didn’t step in, but I don’t think he realized how close Evie was that she heard him and Mike. She stalks over and what she says nearly breaks me.
Chapter 4
Evie
I grab my things and head over to the showers. I can’t believe I was so bold saying that. Never have I said anything about my home life to anyone, but these guys seem to be bringing out everything. I was so furious that they thought of me as a weak little girl that couldn’t handle falling over. Yes, Liam pushed me, but I have endured so much worse.
Going into the locker rooms, I pull up my shirt to look at my ribs. There is a nice pink blotch starting so by tomorrow morning it will be a dark purple bruise, I’m sure. I get showered and change back into my jeans and singlet before going to my art class. The last class of the day. I still have a free period after that and I would usually go to the library to study or do my homework, but I might just go to my field of peace and unwind before going home and facing my parents. I can still do my homework there if I want to, but at least I will be in the fresh air instead of a musty library.
Once I reach my class, I take my assigned seat on the far side of the room near the window. Our art teacher, Mr. Graham, assigns our seating for this class, otherwise I’d be back in the dark corner of the room. The class is almost full now and the tardy bell will ring soon.
Mike walks in with Mr. Graham. I hear Mr. Graham tell Mike to choose a spare seat and that is where he’ll remain the rest of the year when he’s in art class. Mike turns around and his eyes immediately land on me before he heads to the spare seat next to me. Sitting with my pastels and paper ready for whatever task the teacher will set us, I try to ignore Mike the best I can.
I know it’s not fair to ignore him, but I’m still upset with the guys. I’ve been through more than they could understand, and I’m tired of being considered a weak, insignificant girl!
I’m sorry Evie. Great, why is it that hearing the voices apologize inside my head make me feel slightly better.
The voices really sound like the guys’ voices. Earlier I could have sworn it sounded exactly like Dane’s and Kylan’s voices. That time it sounded like Mike’s voice. I sigh inwardly. I really need to get away from these guys and let my muddled brain come back to reality.
From the corner of my eye I see Mike turn towards me, “Evie?”
“Yes?” I ask wondering what he wants.
“We’re sorry for treating you that way at the gym. We were waiting to apologize together when you left the gym, but you must have gone another way because we didn’t see you and we didn’t know what class you had next. We all agreed that whoever saw you first would apologize on behalf of all of us. We want to be friends with you Evie, and we are really sorry if we may have ruined that. Will you forgive us?”
This is too good to be true. My heart says to give them the benefit of the doubt. I honestly don’t know why, but I feel like if I’m not friends with them I’ll be missing out on something amazing.
“Look Mike, you don’t know me, so you naturally assumed I wouldn’t be able to handle it, but I’m fine and I can handle whatever sports I play. I love playing sports, there is nothing more exhilarating for me. So, you can tell the guys I accept your apology.” Smiling at him, I see the relief in his eyes. He must have worried I would refuse.
I just hope they don’t make me regret it. He smiles back at me before digging through his bag and pulling out his art supplies.
Mr. Graham tells us today our activity will be to draw our favourite memory. I’m not a bad artist, but sometimes it’s hard for me to interpret things into my drawings. I usually end up with drawings that look like a camera moved while it was taking a picture. The majority end up blurry, and the ones that don’t ar
e like some kind of fortune telling.
I once drew a picture of myself lying on the ground broken and crying with bruises up my arms and legs. Not even two days later I had a terrible beating from my parents. I don’t believe I’m psychic, but it’s a weird coincidence to draw something like that, then to have it happen exactly the same way. All the bruises in the picture I had, were in the exact same spot. I couldn’t talk to anyone about it because one, I would have to talk about the beatings and two, who would believe a girl when she said she thought she could see future events. I didn’t want to end up in a lab with them dissecting me.
I have done multiple drawings of myself with bruises and the longest time difference between me drawing them and them happening was roughly two weeks. I thought I was lucky after a week of nothing happening. Days after I drew that picture, I thought for sure I must have been imagining the psychic stuff because nothing had happened. Then a week later I found my birth certificate and I got the beating I’d predicted in the picture. I shake myself out of the horrible memories and focus on my activity. Gathering my materials, I start my drawing.
I don’t exactly have a good memory to choose from, so I let my mind draw what it wants. Mr. Graham already knows not to expect much from me. He kept me back one day and told me he thinks my art is a kind of therapy for me, which is why I never get the desired result. I put all my emotions into my drawings, but because I can never focus on one emotion, it comes out distorted. He’s one of the few teachers that may suspect about my beatings and I think that’s only because he managed to see a few of my drawings. He’s never brought it up, so I assume he doesn’t know how to handle it or would rather ignore it.
I’m so absorbed in my drawing that the bell scares the crap out of me. After packing up my supplies I go to reach for my drawing when I hear Mike gasp. I look over at him to see why he gasped. I don’t see anything noticeable, but he has a look of shock on his face, and he’s so pale that it looks like he might be sick. He’s looking at my drawing and staring. I reach out to grab my drawing, wondering why he looks so shocked.
