Psychic Chapter One: School In the point of view of William I laid awake in my bed. Everything was dark. Only the dim light from the moon lit up my room. I couldn’t sleep. Out of boredom, I looked around my room. There was my desk in the corner. It had been there as long as I could remember. My incredibly old laptop was sitting on top of it, along with a desk lamp and a couple of notebooks and pens. The desk had a folding chair sitting underneath it. My closet was wide open. Clothes were strewn everywhere inside of it. Resting against one wall was my old guitar. I had tried playing it a couple times, but music was never really my thing. It had a string missing from the last time I had attempted to play it. The string broke off while I was trying to play a chord, and whipped me in the face. I still had the scar on my chin. My shoes were on the floor, along with a couple shirts and pairs of jeans. My mom would probably get after me tomorrow for not cleaning my room. I sighed. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I would start my first day at school. It had been years since I went to an actual school to learn instead of being taught at home. My older sister, Lindsey, had told me what it was like. My head swam with images of the school. Tons of people flooding the halls, the groups of friends eating lunch together, the different categories that people would fit into. Yes. She had told me all about that. She said the first day was crucial. That was when everyone decided what group you would fit in. There were popular people, the nerds, the jocks, the goths, the normal people and so on. I wanted to be one of the normal people more than anything. My family and I were so… different. We were psychic. We could read the thoughts of anyone we could see, or if we concentrated hard enough, people we couldn’t see. We could also communicate telepathically with each other. It came in handy, but we couldn’t read each other’s minds. We blocked each other out. The dog sleeping in my lap twitched. He was dreaming about chasing chickens. CJ was the best dog in the world. He had been my best friend ever since I had been taken out of school at age ten. That was when I got my psychic powers, and when Lindsey got hers. Psychic people don’t actually get their powers until they turn ten years old. Then they need to be removed from society until they can learn to control their powers. For my sister, it had been easy. She got the hang of it and was quickly put back into school. I had a harder time. I had only just learned how to control myself. It took me almost seven years to accomplish it. Now I was seventeen, and I was going to start back up in school. Normal school. I hadn’t felt normal for so long. I was excited to finally be stepping back out into the real world. Also nervous. I didn’t know how I was going to adjust to this. Finally, I decided pretending to sleep wasn’t going to help. I wriggled out from beneath CJ, and wandered out into the kitchen. Maybe food would help. I trumped down the stairs to the kitchen and walked across the cold lenolium floor in the dark. I opened the refrigerator. “Hungry, William?” came a voice from behind. Startled, I whirled around. “Oh. Lindsey. It’s you.” I said. My sister stepped into the kitchen, her blonde hair in a bun and her hazel eyes glittering with amusement. She stood in her pink pajamas with her hands on her hips. I turned back to the open refrigerator. “Just a little. What are you doing?” I reached for a plate of lasagna left over from dinner. “I was grabbing my laptop. I left it in the front room.” She said. I picked up a fork from a nearby drawer and started to eat. Lindsey wrinkled her nose. “You’re going to eat that cold?” she asked. I nodded wordlessly. I was too busy eating to talk. She shrugged her shoulders and went into the front room to look for her laptop. When she returned, I was already rummaging through the refrigerator for something else to eat. She scoffed. “Do you eat a lot when you’re nervous?” she asked. I emerged from the cold with a jar of pickles in one hand, and closed the refrigerator with the other. Lindsey gave me a disgusted look. My insides twisted. “Um, yeah.” I said. “It makes me feel better.” I unscrewed the jar and fished out a pickle. I bit into it. It made a satisfying crunch. Lindsey’s face turned sympathetic. “You’re really nervous?” she asked. I lifted my shoulders into an almost shrug. “Well, I haven’t been to school in seven years.” I replied. She nodded. “It’s really not that bad.” She said, watching me eat my third pickle. “You get used to it eventually.” I looked down at the floor. “Thanks.” I mumbled. I was sick of eating pickles. This wasn’t helping. I shoved the pickle jar back into the refrigerator. I looked around the kitchen. I needed something else to do. Eating was not the answer apparently. Lindsey came closer to look at me. Even though she was older than me, I was much taller than she was. And bigger. I had always been a fan of working out. Working out! Maybe that was the answer! I’d just do it until I was tired enough to go to sleep. Lindsey squinted at me through the darkness. “Are you okay? You look kind of pale.” I stepped past her to the stairway that led to the basement. “I’m fine.” I replied. She followed me into my dad’s and my weight room. There was random excersise equipment spread out on the floor. I grabbed hold of the chin-up bar and I hoisted myself up. Lindsey flicked on the light switch. I could now see the worried look on her face. Was she really worried about me? I continued to do chin-ups, pretending I couldn’t see her. She watched me go up and down for a while. “Aren’t you tired?” I grunted. She shrugged. “A little.” She admitted. “Then why are you still up?” I asked. She wavered, apparently trying to decide if she should go to bed. Finally, she sighed, “Well, okay. Go to bed soon, though. You’ll need your sleep.” I didn’t answer. I was trying to keep up my pace. She left. Soon after, I let go of the chin-up bar and dropped to the ground. I looked around the room, searching for something else to occupy myself with. I saw my reflection in the giant mirror on the far wall. Wow. Lindsey was right. I really was pale. I stepped towards my reflection and inspected my drawn and weary face. My thick, brown hair was a matted mess on my head, and my usually electric blue eyes were a dull indigo color. Aw, what the heck? It seemed that there was nothing else to do but try and sleep. I went back to my room and gently pushed my feet back under CJ. He was a heavy sleeper. He didn’t wake up. I suddenly realized how tired I was and slowly drifted off to sleep, images of what tomorrow would be like floating in my head. The next morning, my appetite had returned. My mother was making waffles and my sister was in her room getting ready for the day. I walked into the kitchen, ready for breakfast, and was greeted by my smiling mother. “Good morning, sweetheart! Are you ready for your first day of school?” I smiled and nodded, grabbing a plate and burying it in waffles. My mother eyed me uneasily as I ate. “You’d better hurry and eat all that, William! You’ve got to get to school by 8:45!” “Okay.” I said through a mouthful of waffles. I quickly finished my breakfast and went upstairs to get ready. I closed my bedroom door behind me, accidentally waking up CJ. He stretched and yawned. he asked. Dogs. They’re very interesting animals. They’re more intelligent than most people take them for. I, being psychic, could read the thoughts of animals. So I could communicate with CJ. I’d talk to him, and he’d send me back telepathic messages. I pulled on a blue shirt. “Sorry, buddy. I didn’t mean to wake you up!” CJ shook his big, floppy brown coat. CJ replied. I smiled down at him. I couldn’t have asked for a better dog. As I was tying my tennis shoes, CJ picked up my backpack in his mouth and brought it over to me. He said. I laughed. “Yes, mother!” I said, rubbing CJ on his head. I scooped up my phone and keys and shoved them into my pocket. CJ followed me down the stairs to my car. I tossed my backpack into the bed of my shining blue pickup truck just as Lindsey called my name from the front door. “William!” she jogged out to meet me. “I need to take you to the office before school and get you registered for your classes.” I sighed. “I can do it.” I muttered. Following my older sister around was not how I wanted to be seen on my first day of school. Lindsey smiled ruefully. “Trust me. They won’t even know we’re related.” I considered that. In truth, we looked nothing alike. I was a brown-haired, blue-eyed guy who loved to work out, while my sister had blonde hair and hazel eyes. My skin was even a little lighter than hers. Finally, I consented. CJ followed my pickup as I pulled out of the driveway. I waved at him as I left. Lindsey’s yellow slug bug led me to school. I memorized how to get there so I wouldn’t have to keep following her every day. The high school looked old. I hadn't expected anything better, though. It was made out of red brick and looked similar to that of a prison. Above the front doors was a sign that read, "Home of the Bobcats". I parked a few spaces away from Lindsey's car. As soon as we walked into school, I was amazed at how many thoughts I heard. I’d never seen so many people at one place in my life. I eagerly sifted through some of the thoughts floating through my head. <… and some English assignments I still have to do…> <… wonder if he’ll ever ask me to the dance…> <… pizza for lunch. The cafeteria food tastes like…> <… sometime later. Oh! Hey! A new guy!> My head snapped in the direction of this thought. I saw a guy about my age with dark hair and blue eyes looking at me. He had a white ‘My Chemical Romance’ shirt on. He grinned and waved at me when our eyes met. I smiled and waved back. There was something about that guy’s smile that made me want to smile too. I hoped we’d meet again later. But right now I had to follow my sister. She was a ways ahead of me, walking in the direction of the main office. I hurried to catch up to her. We walked through the floresent-lighted cafeteria. There were tables and chairs everywhere. Students were laughing and talking with one another in the giant room. When my sister and I got to the office, she went up to the lady at the front desk. “Good morning, Mrs. Taylor!” the grey-haired woman looked up over the rims of her glasses. She smiled. “Why, hello there, Lindsey Duncan! What can I do for you today?” she asked. Lindsey politely smiled and put a hand on my arm. “Well, my little brother is starting school this year a little late and he needs to register for his classes!” the elderly woman looked at me for the first time now, a surprised look on her face, as though I had just magically appeared there. I smiled down at her. I couldn’t help but read her thoughts. That made me smile even wider. I liked to be mistaken for older than I really was. Mrs. Taylor turned to her computer. “Yes. Well, what is your name, young man?” she asked. “William Duncan.” I replied. She typed in my name as I spoke. Her face clouded. “Hm. I’m not finding you in the school records, Mr. Duncan!” she said. Lindsey stepped in. “Um, that’s because he was homeschooled ever since he was in fifth grade!” she said. I nodded in affirmation, but shot Lindsey a quick, irritated look. I insisted telepathically. She answered. Mrs. Taylor, oblivious to our silent conversation, typed in her computer. Her eyebrows rose. “Ah, yes! Here we are! William Emmett Duncan!” I started. I glanced around the room to see if anyone had heard. I hated my middle name. I searched the minds of everyone in the room. Nobody seemed to hear, so I relaxed. Lindsey was smiling widely. I grimaced at her. My middle name was so ancient- sounding, it made me sound like I was from the 1800’s. Mrs. Taylor looked up at me. “Alright then, William! Let’s get your schedule set up, shall we? Then you can go to class! Speaking of which, Miss. Lindsey…” she said, glancing at my sister. “The bell is about to ring!” Lindsey nodded and left. Mrs. Taylor turned to her computer. “What classes do you want to take this trimester, William?” she asked me. I glanced at her computer. “Well, I need credits for Science, English and Math.” I said. “I also would like to take a gym class.” I suggested. She smiled. “You still have one more class to fill.” She told me. “Let’s fit the classes you’ve already said in and then see what’s available.” She began to type again. A few minutes later, she looked up. “Alrighty, William! I have you set for Biology first hour, Geometry second hour, English third hour and P.E. fifth hour. Which leaves fourth hour open.” She turned her computer screen towards me. “Here’s a list of what’s available for you during fourth hour.” I looked at the words on the screen. Band, Orchestra, Choir and a computer class. I had no musical talent whatsoever, so I went with the only thing left. “I’ll take the computer one.” I said. Mrs. Taylor smiled. “Not in the music business, I take it?” I smiled sheepishly. “No, not really.” She laughed quietly. “Computers it is.” She said, typing the information into her computer. Suddenly, she stopped smiling. “Oh, dear. It seems that the computer class is full!” I frowned. “Does that mean I have to be in a music class?” I asked uneasily. Mrs. Taylor consulted her computer again. “Well, you would need to audition to get into choir, and you would need to know how to play an instrument to be in band or orchestra.” I frowned again. “So what do I do?” I asked. Mrs. Taylor thought for a moment. Then she picked up a green post-it note and wrote something down. “Well, I guess I can give you a free hour today and I’ll work things out with the principal for what you’ll do for the future.” she said, handing me the green sticky note. “In the mean time, You hurry on to first hour. You have Mr. Hill in room 201. Here’s your late excuse.” I nodded, smiling. “Thank you very much, Mrs. Taylor.” I said. She smiled warmly. I walked out of the office. I found room 201 fairly quickly. When I stepped inside, the teacher was sitting at his computer desk and the class stopped their work to look at me. I felt embarrassed. Had I interrupted the class while they were doing their assignment? I might as well have been standing in a spotlight. The teacher looked up at me and smiled. “Ah! Very good! Mrs. Taylor just sent me an e-mail that we were getting a new student!” he walked forward. I handed him the green post-it note. He took it with a smile, then turned to the class. “Everyone, this is our new student, William Duncan!” I half smiled and raised my hand. Some of the kids smiled back. Mr. Hill pointed to an empty desk. “Here, William! You can sit there. I’ll get you a science book so you can get started.” I sat down in the desk. It was kind of small. Mr. Hill returned with a yellow Biology book and set it on my desk. “Just read chapter 3 and answer the questions on page 124.” Then he faced the class. “I need to go print something off in the library. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” As soon as the door closed behind him, the other students began to talk. I rolled my eyes and smiled as I started on my assignment. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and recognized the dark-haired, blue-eyed boy from earlier. He grinned. “Hey! So you’re William? My name’s Jackson Bennett!” he held out his hand. I smiled and shook it. I sub-consciously heard what he was thinking as well. I smiled again. As it happened, I did like baseball. “Where did you move from?” he asked me. I blinked. “Uh, actually, I’ve lived here all my life. I was just homeschooled.” Jackson looked confused. “Why were you homeschooled?” he asked. I grew nervous, but did my best to conceal it. “My mom homeschooled my sister and I both.” Jackson nodded. “Who’s your sister?” I sighed. The secret was bound to get out sooner or later. “Lindsey Duncan.” Jackson’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? I would never have guessed. You two don’t look much alike.” I smiled. Another boy walked up. He had blonde hair that almost covered his green eyes. He smiled. “William Duncan? I’m Steve Adams.” I shook his hand. After that, the other classmates opened up, and I was able to meet other people. Jackson and Steve stayed by my side. Suddenly, I heard Mr. Hill’s mind approaching the room. “I think Mr. Hill is coming!” I said. At those words, everyone was back in their seats, pretending to have been working the entire time. I smiled as I quickly began my assignment again. Mr. Hill walked in the room. “Ah!” he said, smiling. “Nice to see everyone working so hard!” I continued to work. I already knew how to do this. My mother had taught me. I got halfway through the assignment when the bell rang. I stepped out into the hallway. Jackson and Steve immediately found me and walked down the hall with me. Jackson smiled. “What do you have next?” he asked me. I was pleased to have found friends so quickly. I smiled too. “Geometry with Mrs. Blunk.” I replied. Jackson frowned. “Aw, man! I have Chemistry.” “Me too.” Steve said. I laughed. “Well, I’ll see you later, then.” I said. Steve and Jackson nodded. Suddenly, Jackson seemed to remember something. “Oh, hey, if you need a locker, you can share with me!” I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting this much generosity. “Well, thanks! That’d be great!” Jackson led me to his locker and opened it. Inside were pictures of him and a girl with short black hair and bright, sunflower-like eyes. Jackson flushed a dark red color. “Oh, I forgot about those.” He muttered. I grinned. “It’s fine. You have a girlfriend?” I asked. Jackson nodded. “Hannah Stevensen.” He replied. I could see pictures of her in Jackson’s mind. I smiled. “Is she nice?” I asked. Jackson grinned. “She’s probably the friendliest person you will ever meet.” I found that hard to believe, now that I had met him. I smiled and put my stuff in his locker. Jackson ripped off a strip of paper and wrote on it. Then he handed it to me. “Here’s the locker combination. I’ll see you later!” I smiled. “Thanks again!” I walked to my next class, following the directions I asked for along the way. I stepped into the classroom and was surprised to see Lindsey. I pretended like I hadn’t seen her and sat down in an empty desk. Lindsey sent me a telepathic message. I grimaced. I replied. She answered curtly. Well, that was just great. Mrs. Blunk cleared her throat. The students who were talking quieted down. “Alright, class! As some of you may already know, we have a new student with us. Mr. William Duncan, are you present?” I raised my hand, feeling the eyes of everyone on me. Lindsey smiled. I sent her a quick glare. I probed the room, searching everyone’s minds to see what they thought. I rolled my eyes at this thought. I looked up. Who was April? And how was she looking at me? I discreetly looked in the direction of this thought as Mrs. Blunk began the lesson. It was Hannah Stevensen. I recognized her from Jackson’s pictures. She had longer hair now, but her bright, sunflower eyes were the same. Who was April? Where was she? Reluctantly, I faced the front, but I kept tabs on Hannah’s mind. I was surprised to realize that I was anxious to know how this April person was looking at me. Halfway through the class, Mrs. Blunk asked, “Does anyone know the answer to number 26 in the packet? April?” My ears pricked. Mrs. Blunk pointed to the girl sitting right next to me. I was surprised I hadn’t noticed her until now. The girl looked down at her packet. “X=37.5 squared.” She answered quietly. Mrs. Blunk nodded and continued. I watched April out of the corner of my eye, waiting to see if she’d give me what I was watching for. The look. She didn’t look up. Not once. She must’ve felt my gaze. I looked away. Alright then, I’d just have to read her mind. That way I’d know what she was thinking when she looked at me. Huh? Wait! What? I couldn’t understand. It was as if she were thoughtless. Like she was thinking nothing at all. Was there something wrong with me? I quickly swept through the minds of everyone in the class, except Lindsey. I heard all of their thoughts. All of them except April’s. What was wrong? I gripped my desk. My head swam in confusion. Did I have selective hearing? Impossible! Psychic was psychic. There was nothing selective about it. Suddenly, I got a telepathic message from Lindsey. Did I? I struggled to gain control over myself. No way was I going to make a scene. I took a deep breath. Lindsey gave me a confused look. I looked fixedly into her hazel eyes. I commanded, discreetly jerking my head to the girl sitting next to me. Lindsey’s eyes flicked to April. I watched Lindsey’s face. At first, it was normal. Then confused. Then frustrated. Then she looked at me. she thought to me. I shrugged. She looked thoughtful. A wave of relief washed over me. It wasn’t just me. Lindsey couldn’t read April’s mind either. Whatever was stopping me from reading April's mind, it wasn’t me. It was her.