[IC] Crestwood Hollow - A Superhuman Roleplay

T H E F I R S T E N T R Y I N T O A B R A V E N E W W O R L D

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| C | R | E | S | T | W | O | O | D |
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| H | O | L | L | O | W |

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^{| ◼ G M: Lord Wraith | ◼ C O - G M ( S ): None | ◼ G E N R E: Superhuman, Modern Fantasy, School, Slice of Life | ◼ T Y P E: Linear with Sandbox Elements |}

S U M M A R Y:

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S E A S O N O N E : N E M E S I S

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The bell has rung kicking off a brand new year at Mather Memorial High School, the largest secondary school in the sleepy city of Crestwood Hollow. This school year signifies the start of Jonas Lehrer's career at Mather Memorial, a recent addition to the school's staff. An ambitious and seemingly overqualified teacher, Jonas has arrived at Mather Memorial with plans to inject new life into the school, starting a pioneering program aimed specifically towards Hyperhumans. With Hyperhumans from all walks of life joining the class, Jonas has put together a group consisting of students from all grade levels. Due to this, it seems the students aren't necessarily going to get along as cliques and rivalries quickly form on the first day of class.

Currently ongoing...

[Lord Wraith]

N O R T H O F C R E S T W O O D H O L L O W:

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^{Three Nights Ago}

The sound of metal slicing through the damp soil broke the silence of the dark, quiet night. A thick fog hung low over the dark horizon, hovering just above the cool, wet grass. The stillness of the dark was suddenly broken as a dull thud echoed through the forest. Freshly overturned soil fell from a raised shovel before hitting against the dense moss-covered forest floor.

The faint call of an owl in the distance only helped to enhance the eerie atmosphere as the shovel dug into the freshly exposed dirt again. A muffled sob came from behind the hooded figure holding the shovel, interrupting the steady toil of soil against grass. Behind the figure sat a teenage girl, her mouth gagged and her hands bound. She sat on her knees, frozen in fear as her bloodstained face was forced to watch the hole grew larger with each additional strike of the spade while her captor continued to dig.

“Down in the valley,” The deep gravelly voice sung as he dug, “Valley so low.” More soil fell from the shovel as the girl began to sob harder, tears mixing with blood from a gash above her eye, staining the rag that muffled her dread.

“Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.” The hooded man continued to sing, the hole becoming deep enough that he could stand in it now, prompting the man to climb into the opening. As he stood in the hole, he lifted the shovel to widen the walls, all the while continuing to sing his lullaby.

“Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow,” His voice grew louder as the man climbed back out of the hole, his head turning towards the girl as the pale light of the moon illuminating a smile on his stubble covered chin. “Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.”

Taking a step towards the girl, a long thin blade slid down the hooded man’s sleeve and into his hand as he neared her. A gloved hand took a hold of the girl’s chin, lifting her eyes to meet his before he leaned down, whispering in her ear.

“Roses love sunshine, violets love dew. Angels in heaven know I love you,” The knife tapped lightly against the girl’s throat as her sobs became heavier. As he continued to sing, the man lowered the knife, its blade slowly moving down her sternum, opening her shirt and exposing her chest.

“Know I love you, dear, know I love you. Angels in heaven, know I love you.” Suddenly the man’s leather-clad hand moved from the girl’s chin to her neck, tightening around her throat as the blade dug into her skin. Her screams were inaudible as the gag staying firmly in place while the man carved into her chest.

“Writing this letter, containing three lines,” He continued to sing gently as the girl’s body struggled against her bindings. “Answer my question, ‘Will you be mine?’” Smiling as he pulled the bloodied blade back from the woman, the assailant stood, lifting the girl by her throat before turning towards the hole he had dug. Releasing the girl, the hooded figure tossed her inside all the while his haunting voice continued to echo in her ears as his resumed his song.

“‘Will you be mine, dear, will you be mine?’ Answer my question, ‘Will you be mine?’” The sound of his singing was interrupted by the sound of metal sliding through dirt. A shovelful of soil suddenly landed on the girl as she quickly realized was happening. Shovelful after shovelful began to rain down on the girl as she desperately fought against her bonds but it was to no avail. Her eyelids began to grow heavy as the taste of dirt saturated her mouth.

“Down in the valley, valley so low. Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.” The man smiled, resuming his song while continuing to bury the still living girl. Her head quickly disappeared as the dirt rose over her. The surface layer shaking as the last of the girl’s fighting spirit continued to struggle for air. More and more soil was piled on top until the man stopped, resting on the shovel as he watched the earth cease to move, a satisfied smile crossing his face.

“Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow.” He whispered before turning away and walking into the thick forest. His voice echoing between the trees as he vanished into the darkness of the night.

“Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.”

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 08:16 am | Teacher’s Lounge}

The morning sun shone over Mather Memorial Park as the American Flag blew proudly in the gentle Atlantic breeze. A new day had dawned on Crestwood Hollow and a new academic year upon Mather Memorial High School. The gentle lull of birds gleefully chirping was broken by the steady roar of an older motorcycle as it made its way towards the school. Pulling into the school parking lot, the rider made his way into the faculty parking spots before dismounting.

Removing his helmet, Dr. Jonas Lehrer ran a hand over his smoothly shaved head, tucking the helmet under his arm as he walked around to the rear of the bike. Unclasping a pair of buckles, Jonas freed his leather messenger bag, swinging it over his torso before entering the school as he pushed open the set of double doors.

Numerous students lined the hall as they checked through the various postings on the walls, looking for their name and assigned homeroom class. Though Jonas quickly noted that none of them seemed to be in any particular hurray as the hallway quickly grew crowded. Those who had found their names stood in the way of those who had come later, blocking their fellow students from finding their own homeroom assignments, while they caught up with their friends who they hadn't seen over the summer.

“Welcome back, Mather Memorial Ravens!” The student radio was clearly broadcasted over the din of noise in the hallways as the host continued to speak. “I hope you all aren’t having any trouble finding your room assignments if you are look for the Student Council members in the black and blue. They’ll be happy to assist in any way they can!” The student's voice said with a slight chuckle as Jonas continued to walk the hallways.

Unzipping his heavy leather jacket, Jonas noticed several of the students giving him a strange look. It was to be expected however, he wasn't a returning teacher, he was a new face and this was his first term at Mather Memorial. Turning into his office, Jonas took a seat at his desk, placing his messenger bag on the desk before gently running a hand over the embossed leather.

Opening the bag, he reached inside, pulling out a rather new laptop before logging into the school’s network. Loading the daily schedule, Jonas noticed he had an assembly to attend. A soft groan escaped his lips as he leaned back in the chair. 'Welcome Assemblies' were hardly exciting, and as a teacher, he didn't look forward to them any more than the students did.

“...And in local news, the search for Kaitlyn Stewart still has no leads. Local authorities are asking for any and all information that friends and family might be able to supply…” Jonas suddenly realized the radio was still playing as he began to listen to the student announcer’s words. A hand absently scratched at the five o’clock shadow on his chin as he rubbed his tired eyes with the other.

Standing up from his desk, Jonas moved into the Teacher’s Lounge, the rich, earthy smell of a fresh pot of coffee immediately drawing his attention. Pouring a cup for himself, Jonas took a sip from the sharp, black liquid before returning to his desk. Time seemed to have flown by as the bell rang suddenly, signaling not only the start of Jonas’ day but the start of a brand new school year.

Taking a deep, final swing, Jonas swallowed hard, gulping down the remainder of his mug before putting it down and standing up to leave. Rolling up the sleeves on his collared shirt, Jonas straightened his tie as he left the office and made his way towards the auditorium. The dull roar of students chattering to themselves filled the halls as the student body proceeded towards the auditorium. Taking his seat on the stage, Jonas looked out over the gathering crowd before he closed his eyes and gently massaged his temples.

With such a large gathering of people, there was no doubt in his mind that they'd be more than a few Hyperhumans among them. In fact, it was Crestwood Hollow's significant Hype population that had been one of the primary draws for Jonas when he had approached Principal Fitzgerald regarding the Hyperhuman Social Conscience Program.

Jonas had pitched the in-school program as a way to encourage ‘gifted’ individuals to grow and develop within their community, finding a way to contribute to society with their own gifts in their own way. Though if he was being honest with himself, that wasn’t exactly what Jonas had in mind.

"...And please give a warm Mather Memorial High School welcome to your new faculty member, Mr. Lehrer!" Principal Fitzgerald's voice echoed out through the auditorium. Leaving both his seat and thoughts, Jonas stepped forward replacing Fitzgerald at the podium overlooking the student body.

"Greetings Mather Memorial. I think we can all agree this year, the school will truly spread its wings." Jonas' gravely voice dictated, a slight chuckle appearing midst the traveled accent as he elicited a combination of groans, cheers, and laughter from the students with his reference to the school's chosen mascot.

The Mather Memorial Ravens.

"It's a pleasure to be joining the faculty here, this year. To some of you I'll be teaching physics, to others I'm sure I'll meet you later this year on the court as the new basketball coach. Still, more of you will be participating in my advanced calculus class but there is a specific handful of you I'm really looking forward to meeting." Pausing for effect, Jonas flashed a smile as he extended a hand towards Principal Fitzgerald.

"If it wasn't for the generosity and open-mindedness of Principal Fitzgerald I wouldn't be able to have founded my pioneering Hyperhuman Social Conscience Program here at Mather Memorial.” A slight hush fell over the crowd at the mention of the Hyperhuman-centric program as Jonas continued to speak, hoping to win their affection back with his following words.

“Despite the controversial topic, I am quite pleased with how many of you have opted sign up for the program in lieu of pursuing other credits, and I do hope all of you take the time to attend. Again, I want to express my deep felt gratitude to Principal Fitzgerald and my new home here at Mather Memorial High School for allowing me this opportunity!" He finished, raising the microphone into the air as the student body exploded into cheers before Jonas returned the microphone to the Principle. Turning away from the student body, Jonas allowed a small, satisfied smile to appear across his face before he took his seat, quickly returning to a stoic expression as he turned to face the student body again once sitting.

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 10:40am | Physics Laboratory}

The rest of the assembly went by rather quickly, which was surprising given the events that followed his speech. The student council performed a rather awkward skit on the dangers of unprotected sex, sexually transmitted infections and the meaning of the word ‘no’. This, however, was topped by a closing rap performed by the school’s elderly librarian who somehow managed to twerk with a collapsed hip. Thankfully it didn’t go any further beyond that and Principal Fitzgerald hastily dismissed the students to pursue the rest of their day and the start the new school year.

Checking his watch, Jonas inwardly groaned at the agonizing wait he was still faced with until he could formerly meet the students who had signed up for his program. While he was sure there would be some who joined later, those who had registered in advance, Jonas had taken the time to look into and read their files.

Leaving the auditorium with the rest of the teachers, he took the stairs to the upper floor of the east wing, the air immediately becoming cooler as he entered the school’s newer addition. Heading to the physics lab, Jonas entered the room with the rest of the students before standing behind the podium and addressing the seated class.

"Welcome to introductory physics, please take your textbooks out and turn to page twenty. Notes will be posted online so please follow along and the first person caught on their cellphone…” Jonas stopped mid-sentence, his eyes surveying over the room with a steely edge as the excited students fell quiet.

“Will, regret it.” He concluded before his eyes fixed on a girl in the corner, her head hanging over her lap as a small smile crossed her face as the subtle clack of manicured nails against glass echoed through the tense room.

"That said..." Jonas paused as he ran his hand over the top of his bag before reaching inside and drawing forth a small object. Throwing it, the object ricocheted across the room until the girl in the corner cried out in shock as her cell phone clattered onto the floor, the eraser Jonas had thrown landing exactly on target.

"There is always one student who isn't listening." Jonas said with a cross smirk. "Now then, as I have all of your attention, I should explain that physics can be exciting. I can teach you how to do what I just did and we can do a lot of lab work that you will learn from and excitedly explain to your friends no matter how nerdy it makes you sound." Jonas took a breath, placing a hand on the course textbook in front of him. "Or, physics can be incredibly dull. Even painful to sit through and you'll dread coming to every class.”

“But that decision is up to you.” Jonas said as he extended his arms towards the class. “You respect me and my rules, I'll respect you. Disrespect me, and you'll do the time." Smiling, Jonas placed both hands on the podium as he looked at the class.

"So what will it be?"

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:20pm | The ‘Loft’}

As the bell sounded signaling the last break of the day, Jonas packed up his things and left the calculus classroom behind. An eager smile crossed his face, it was time to make his last introduction of the day, but it was also the introduction he had been most looking forward to all day.

Walking the aged hallways of Mather Memorial, Jonas made his way to the top of the main building. Unlocking the door to a musty, old classroom, Jonas coughed slightly as a cloud of dust met his nostrils as the door swung open. Entering the room, Jonas placed his bag on the antique desk as he turned and looked towards one of the school’s last operating analog clocks.

Within the next fifteen minutes, those attending the Hyperhuman Social Conscience Program would be coming through the very door he had just unlocked. While originally the room had been set up with aged single piece desks, Jonas had arranged a more comfortable situation and instead the classroom was now made up of several large leather couches arranged in a ‘U-shape’ adjacent to his desk. Opening the pair of windows at the far end of the classroom in an attempt to make the room breathe, Jonas moved through the room, placing a passcard and syllabus at each seat cushion. Walking over to the storage closet in the back corner of the room, Jonas opened its doors as he found a new package of chalk before returning to the head of the room.

Turning to the blackboard, Jonas reached lifted the tab on the new box of chalk, pulling a piece out before quickly writing out a question on the sun faded blackboard. As the bell rang signaling the start of class, the students began to file into the class, taking their seats as Jonas stood leaning against the desk with his arms crossed as he studied each and every one of them. As the group settled, Jonas cleared his throat before he began to address them.

"Allow me to welcome you to the first class of its kind,” Jonas said as he extended with arms to add some showmanship to his introduction. “The Hyperhuman Social Conscience Program and as you should all be aware of by now, I am Mr. Lehrer but that’s far too formal for my liking.” Jonas stated as he shook his hand beside his throat.

”Please, call me, Jonas instead." He said as he boosted himself onto the desk, taking a seat on the edge while alternating between rubbing a hand on either of his wrists.

“Beside you, on your seat, you’ll find a passcard and a program syllabus. That card will allow you access to this room should you ever need it. I hope you’ll come to find this room to be something of a sanctuary.” Looking over the class, Jonas could see their minds at work, curiosity was a driving trait among them. They were just as interested in studying him as he was them.

“The syllabus, on the other hand, outlines our class and my expectations for you. Those of you who have taken have no doubt noticed that we’ll be drawing on a broad scope of subjects in order to find understanding of what exactly social conscience is and how a Hyperhuman can find their place in a world that so obviously doesn’t want them.” Jonas paused before continuing further. “I’ve also included some helpful websites and other information on the back, the Hyperhuman and Human Alliance or Triple ‘H’ ‘A’ as they call themselves is on there if you ever need a support line and can’t call me.”

“Now then, as some of you might have already noticed, I’ve written a question on the board that I want to use as an icebreaker and to begin to get to know a little about each other. It’s the last class of your first day of school, I’m not going to work you too hard today” He chuckled while pointing over his shoulder to the chalkboard behind him.

”If you were a Hyperhuman, what ability would you have?” He asked quoting the question behind him. “While some of you might already be Hyperhumans, that doesn’t mean you necessarily know or like your so-called ‘god given’ abilities. So I’m asking for what would you have wanted if you had the choice.”

Jumping down from his desk, Jonas began to pace the front of the classroom as he extended his hands in an open invitation. "So what brave individual wants to be the first to take a crack at answering the question? Any ability you want, I just want you to say it and a quick reason why." He stated turning the floor over to the class.

[Aeolian]

B E N J A M I N H O P E

Benjamin's Theme : First Train Home

'G I V I N G H O P E' P R I V A T E P R A C T I C E:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 7:52 AM | Georgette Hope's Office | Interacting with} Georgette Hope

A convenient 15-minutes away from Mather Memorial High School was the 'Giving Hope' Private Practice, a small practice specializing in psychotherapy and Hyperhuman therapeutic affairs.

The gentle mist licked the air as the morning sunlight gleamed through the windows of the office. It was still fairly early in the morning, about another hour or so before the practice opened and her first scheduled appointment would commence for the day. Many of her clientele were hyperhumans of course, some of which were students from Mather High, too afraid to reveal their true nature to their friends or family. Doctor-patient confidentiality kept firmly intact of course.

Standing in the doorway of her office was Benjamin, his satchel strapped across his thin frame and a book held firmly against his chest. He was staring. No no...more like glaring, his gaze clearly perturbed by something his mother had said to him moments before. Georgette seemed unconcerned though, her focus on her work as she shuffled through patient documents. "Sweetie, don't scowl. You'll end up wif those horrible facial lines" she remarked, applying hand gestures around her face for greater affect.

His eyes rolled, unamused by her quip, "Can ya be any more dramatic mum?". Georgette looked up for a moment and smirked, "I can if ya want me ter be me dear."

Ben smacked his lips after a heavy sigh, "Mhmm...", his eyelids closing as though he wanted to suddenly dissipate into thin air, "Mkay, well, I need ter go. Soooo...see ya la'ta then? I'll probably head ter the library once school is over.", he said to her, his head tilting as he made his way out the door.

"Uhhh..."

He could practically see his own brain, "Yes?" he groaned, turning back around. "Yer gonna be fine okay?", she tried to reassure him. But based on her dipping countenance, she was clearly concerned. So much so, that she stood from her desk and walked over to him, rubbing his ear affectionately like she always had when he was younger.

"Sure..." he feigned quietly, looking down to the floor.

There was a moment of hesitation, but a mother usually has her keen intuition when it comes to her children. "Look..." Georgette began, releasing her hand from around his ear, "I know this be a big change for you and yer brothers but, believe me when I say, its fer the best." Ben cocked his head to the side, taken aback, "Fer who exactly?" he asked sharply.

Georgette reeled her face back, eyebrows furrowing in tandem, "Don't get smart!" she snapped, her head wagging. "This is what's best fer ya. Fer all of ya", she said, returning back to her desk and the paperwork that cluttered it. "You'll see."

Ben shook his head as he looked at her, the frustration following him like a shadow, "I'm sure it is..."

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 8:15 AM to 2:25 PM | Auditorium ➙ General Classes ➙ The 'Loft' | Interacting with} Malachi Hope, Mr. Lehrer (Jonas)

He was the new kid, though this was not a title he had wished to claim. It made him feel more like an outsider than he already was. And as he walked up to his new school, that reality of it all sunk in like a bag of bricks. Even still, he took a deep breath and remained calm as he took his first steps in. His younger brother Malachi had arrived before him. Ben certainly fumbled a bit of course, unaware of where to go initially. He was so out of touch with his new environment, that he hadn't even noticed the announcement about the missing girl. As he finally made his way to the auditorium, he'd suddenly perceive one advantage to all of this. These people didn't know him. They didn't know who he was, or rather, what he was. And he hoped to keep it that way indefinitely.

As he took his seat next to no one in particular, he'd chock his participation in the 'special program' to a heightened desire to better understand the hyperhumans, while hopefully not revealing himself to be one in the process.

Quite frankly, he didn't too much care for his powers, despite their practical applications. It wasn't worth all the baggage. In any case, the assembly was meh. It was what an assembly usually is. However, once Dr. Lehrer come forth, his attention peaked. This was the man who'd be teaching the new program. Not quite what he had expected, but the man seemed presentable enough. Though, there was something oddly mysterious about the man, a feeling that was hard for Ben to pinpoint, even to himself. After the assembly, he relinquished those thoughts to the ether and continued on to his classes for the day.

They were your standard classes. Nothing particularly challenging, at least not for him. He hated having to stand up in the front of his classes, His teachers introducing him as the new student from England. A rather annoying formality, yet perceived as necessary by his instructors.

He walked his younger brother, Malachi, to his next class, though apparently Mal was getting on much better than himself. Making new friends and talking with a group of boys as though they'd been friends for ages. Although, Ben couldn't help but notice a peculiar figure. Another student. Probably within his grade, though his frame was notably taller and more muscular than his own. It was but a passing glance in the hallway, but Ben had sworn he had seen this guy before. Maybe someone from his neighborhood? He wasn't sure quite honestly, but the guy's mug continued to linger in his thoughts throughout the rest of the school day. That was until more pressing matters came to the forefront and removed the familiar boy from his consciousness.

It was time. Time for THAT class. The one he was dreading the most. Math was easy. Science was easy. Geography was cake. But this. No way. He was not keen on participating, though considering what his mother is capable of, he'd muster up the remainder of his energy and head in. It was definitely different from the other classes, much more casual. And with couches. He was one of the first to arrive it seemed, giving him a chance to really take a closer look at this Dr that he had previously seen at the assembly. He gave the man nothing but a passive glance as he took his seat in the left corner of the U-shaped couches and remained silent as other unfamiliar faces started to file in. For some dumb reason, he had hoped to see that familiar-faced boy again, but that didn't seem to be the case. Not yet anyways.

He placed the passcard in his pocket and the syllabus in his satchel as the instructor began to speak. Not all the seats had been filled yet. Stragglers perhaps? In any case, he continued to listen quietly as Mr. Lehrer spoke. Ben generally wasn't one to interject. Especially not with what this professor was asking. What ability would you want? Ben couldn't help but glare at the man for asking such an impertinent question. Hyperhumans are being treated like second-class citizens and this professor was making some kind of fantasy out it. None. I don't want any abilities, Ben wanted to say aloud. But he remained silent as other students responded to the question.

At this point, Ben had already clocked out; a book for self-empowerment firmly gripped within his hands. His gentle brown eyes were unwavering from the text that filled the pages.

[BoyMom69035]

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BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-

Ivy’s hand slammed down on the alarm clock that blared in her ear, a groggy groan emerging from the lump of blankets on her bed. Monday. The first day back to school. That had to be like, the worst combination of days ever, in the history of forever. Ivy laid in bed for another moment or so before throwing her blankets off of herself, huffing in frustration. Again, she laid in bed for another moment, staring up at the ceiling, when she pushed herself up into a sitting position, and flung her leg over the side of her bed. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and yawned, stretching her stiff muscles. ”Alright, let’s do this,” she said as she hopped up off the bed and began her “school morning” routine. Brushing her teeth. Fixing her hair (which today, was a messy bun). Applying the small amount of make-up she wore: eyeliner, mascara, and powder. Then she went and dug around in her closet. Ivy grabbed a pair of jeans and a band tee. Quickly pulling them on, she snatched a pair of socks from her drawer and say down on her bed. She then proceeded to put those, and her tennis shoes on.

Again, hopping up from bed, she grabbed her messenger bag and tossed it onto her shoulder. Ivy grabbed her phone from off of her night stand and hit the home button, effectively unlocking the device. 45 minutes. It took her 45 minutes to get ready. With a smile, Ivy nodded her head in approval, then tucked the phone into her back pocket. Heading out of her room, Ivy made her way down the stairs and was went into the kitchen. There was no one there. Which, it wasn't wasn't big surprise with her mom working at the hospital and her dad being a Fire fighter. There was however, a sticky note on the fridge. Ivy furrowed her brow and walked over to it, her eyes scanning the note.

Have a good first day baby girl. And don't kiss any boys you don't know

Ivy laughed and rolled her eyes. That was from dad. The funny thing about that, was that she knew most of the boys at school. She chuckled again and touched the note with her finger tips in an affectionate manner before parting from it and leaving out the door to head to school. It was only a short walk from her house.

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As she entered the school, Ivy was greeted with many familiar faces. Of course she would, she grew up here. The majority of them though, looked at her as if she were some sort of outcast. Which, in a sense, she was. She was Hyperhuman. Ivy released a heavy sigh and ignored the faces of disgust and hatred. She made her way over to the tables to pick up her schedule and such. The first day was always tense. Always stressful. Especially being what she was. However, she managed to find a way to push all that aside. At that point, she heard Noah’s voice over the speakers, welcoming everyone to a new school year. Ivy looked up at one of the speakers and let a small smile part her lips. Noah. She missed him. Missed their talks. Missed their adventures in the high seas and in the dragons mountain. The memories made her laugh softly, but she quickly pulled herself together and looked over her schedule. With another sigh, she made her way to homeroom. Today was going to be a long day.

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Ivy stood outside the doors that lead to the class that she was almost dreading. The day had indeed, gone by slow as shit, and here she was, about to walk into yet another class. The Hyperhuman class that was supposedly here to help people like her. People with… abilities. She averted her eyes down to the ground and ground her teeth together. The urge to turn away and head home was strong. How could someone help them? She quickly shook her head and pushed herself forward, moving into the room.

The man running the program, Mr. Leher, was ready there as well as another. A boy she recognized, but had no idea he was a hyper. She stared at him in mild surprise before looking away and finding herself a seat. It wasn't long after that, that the others started piling in. Ivy remained quiet and to herself, but she looked at each and every person that entered the room. She knew (and by knew, it was mostly acquaintances), just about everyone that was in the class.

It seemed like forever before the class actually started, and when it did, Ivy half listened to the introduction and welcome to the class. She wouldn't believe anyone could help her, until she saw it happen. So, she would stay, for now. Mr. Lerher’s question caught her off guard though. Ivy looked over at the man and narrowed her eyes a bit. The question got her to thinking. If she could have any ability, what would it be? The answer came to her relatively quickly, and she stood, gaining the attention of everyone.

”Uhm… if I could pick my own ability, it would be able to change into an animal.” Ivy looked down bashfully for a moment, then looked back up to Mr. Lerher. ”For the simple reason that I seem to get along better with animals than I do my own species.” Her first thought was of Shadow, the stray that had befriended her and been her best friend… since Noah. With that out of the way, she sat down and kept her gaze down, hating having attention on her. Especially when she wasn't normal. Sure, this class was full of Hypers, but it didn't matter. She still felt like the outcast, even among her own kind.

[Tackytaff]

C H L O E B R O N S E

B R O N S E R E S I D E N C E:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 7:40 AM}

There hadn't ever really been a time when morning in the Bronse household had been calm, but adding a one year old to the mix made the already too-small kitchen downright chaotic. Both patriarch and matriarch tried to develop a plan for the day by way of speaking over each-other while the former attempted to put on a jacket while eating buttered toast, and the latter negotiated with the baby to keep his bowl of banana on the highchair. It at least worked out for Chloe, who was able to survey the scene with a large mug of usually forbidden coffee, sweetened to a point that would bring her dentist to tears.

"Well I'm off then, have a good day." Curt Bronse leaned down to lay a crumb-laden kiss on his wife who pointedly pushed him away.

"Your face is already filthy. And wish Chloe luck, its her first day back today." Chloe put down the mug and looked for an escape. But the door was on the opposite wall, and two giant arms wrapped around her before she could make any movement.

"Dad-"

"I know, I know." He released her and offered a far more acceptable grin instead "I'm walking to work today if you want to take the car."

"You're walking because Thomas has an appointment with the pediatrician in an hour. Sorry Chloe, do you want a ride?"

The only thing worse than taking the family's decade old sedan to school would be to get dropped off in it. Chloe shook her head vigorously and changed the topic as her father sent his last good-luck wishes and headed out the door.

"What's wrong with Thomas?"

"I think his rash is coming back and he coughed last night." The both waited a brief moment, listening for some demonstration of suffering. Thomas took the opportunity to knock his bowl to the floor.

"My cue to leave." Chloe drained her remaining coffee and escaped the final few well wishes for her first day of senior year.

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 9:48 AM}

Despite her best efforts, the assembly was still going when Chloe got to school. She'd taken the long way out of the Port, a route which had the added benefit of keeping her from smelling like the morning's catch when she got to school, and stopped for her second coffee of the morning. Not the wisest decision she soon realized when her hands began shaking as she opened her locked. Other few student, stranglers or fellow hooky-players roamed the halls. A few made passing marks of greeting which Chloe returned with little more than and icy stare that sent one poor freshman sprinting.

She was preening herself in the locker mirror when the bulk of students were dismissed from the auditorium. Physics, Biology, Lunch, English, and Chemistry. The last class of the day was decidedly put out of her mind since the moment she signed on for it. A thing easier said than done when the new teacher -the only exciting thing to happen in the Hallow all summer- was teaching her first class.

"Isn't he kind of hot?" Gabby, a short and too-perky blonde who continuously proved immune to Chloe's unapproachable demeanor had joined her in the back of the class.

Chloe looked at the tired-looking, bald, middle-aged man, then back to Gabby with a skeptical brow. She was brushed off in response.

"You know what I mean, he's got that smart, professor look. Besides its not like we've got a wide spread here. Everyone know Mr. Lindsey is unavailable. Good choice taking that weird extra-credit class, maybe I should sign up?"

Chloe didn't get the chance to ask how the hell Gabby had heard what classes she was taking before Mr. Lehrer himself began the lecture, but was left with a distinct smugness when Gabby was forced to leave the class with a new crack in her phone.

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:30pm | The ‘Loft’}

The first day of classes was always tedious -what with teachers trying to discern where the previous one had left off and the students unaccustomed to the monotony of school life after the summer. It didn't help that after cooping herself up since the beginning of the month, Chloe was already well ahead in most of the classes. By the time Chemistry had rolled around she'd grown bored enough to swipe Mr. Oswall's wallet from his desk on the way out. The man had it coming; too old for even Gabby's standards and well past the point that should have called for retirement they'd barely covered anions after a full hour.

It took eight minutes to lose Gabby at last break, she kept insisting Chloe join 'the group' on an outing to some cottage or other over the weekend. Eventually, she made it to the top floor of the school alone. She kept looking over her shoulder, paranoid someone would see her. Not that there was anything for her to hide; as far as anyone was aware she was just taking the easy bird course with the ignorant new teacher to lighten her heavy course-load.

She walked into the classroom, grimacing at the look of the place. Mather Memorial wasn't exactly state of the art, but no classroom she'd been in before had a such distinct smell. She took a seat by one of the open windows and examined the pass card and syllabus before carefully scanning the small class, avoiding prolonged eye-contact with anyone, until Lehrer began to lecture.

Every mention of hyper-humans had Chloe resisting the urge to shrink into her seat. Eventually she settled for staring out the window, trying her best to look mildly bored. It became genuine when the lecture was turned towards the class, and she actually rolled her eyes when the first kid stood to give an answer. She turned to see Ivy, hyper-human social outcast of the senior year. Even when she was the ugly bullied kid, Chloe had been careful to avoid her. Now she scoffed.

"Isn't the whole idea that no one wants to be hype in the first place?"

[Lionhearted]

F E L I X A L E X A N D E R B R O O K S

B R O O K S R E S I D E N C E

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 08:00 am}

The morning sun peaked through closed, blue curtains and onto the eyelids of a very tired, teenage boy. As he opened his eyes to the harsh rays of sun, he winced, turning over to his alarm clock that was probably going off for the past fifteen minutes. His bare arm reached over to his crowded nightstand to try to operate the alarm clock, but without much luck of being able to turn it off with it's controls, he eventually grabbed it and threw it aggressively against the adjacent wall, falling harshly on his messy floors. In that small event of frustration, he became awoken with a dreadful reality crumbling down upon him, causing his stomach to churn uncomfortably. As the time to step back onto school grounds drew closer, his mind began to rush from one regretful memory to the next, haunting him worse than any experience he'd ever had. Laughing, name-calling, fist fights -- these echoes in his head are the usual morning reminders of who it is that he's become. After staring at his ceiling for quite some time, a resulting groan escaped his lips as he maneuvered towards his bathroom to enjoy a hot shower before school.

This morning routine was so familiar to him, but now that they're under much worse circumstances, he couldn't seem to find any appreciation in it like he used to. If anything, the motions seemed to only enhance his growing anxiety. Once finished, Felix found himself staring at his own foggy reflection, letting the discomfort of nervousness and stress boil within him in a taunting manner. His appearance didn't match that of last year since he wasn't proudly wearing his Letterman jacket, causing him to scoff pitifully at himself. In it's place was an expensive leather jacket that helped switch his identifier to match the trouble kids at school, whom didn't even bother to befriend him either. Underneath were simple dark-wash jeans, a plain navy long sleeve, and timberland boots. As always -- his hair was styled up and nice, freshly cut from the other day.

Felix left his room and proceeded through his brightly lit home, shamefully passing all the family photos that marked the hallway walls, each photo mocking him in a painful torment of his changing identity. It wasn't long before he'd reach the kitchen in which an instantaneous tension built bluntly within the room, forming between him and his preoccupied parents enjoying breakfast in the nook of the spacious kitchen. Felix made his time quick to save from any unnecessary comments, rummaging through the pantry and cupboards to find something small to eat.

His father broke the silence, choosing not to look up from his newspaper, "Your bracelet on?"

Felix didn't reply, choosing to ignore him as he scavenged a banana, a granola bar, and a cheese stick -- packing them within his pocket. His mother looked over, her highlighted hair flipping over her shoulder to reveal her heavy make up and blue eyes, heavily arched brows helping add to her sharp glare. She spoke under her breath, "He couldn't take it off even if he wanted to."

A taunting remark -- laughing at his inability to remove his bracelet without a key to the latch. The hindrance of his hyperhuman abilities was like a controlling power move in their eyes, seeing it as an opportunity for discipline and an example of ownership. To Felix -- he tried not to care, denying the disciplinary aspect of it since he had no appreciation of his power, blaming it for ruining his life. Without any comment back, he went out the door after grabbing his lightweight bag, slamming the door behind him and beginning his walk to school.

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 08:30 am - Football Field}

By now, Felix was used to the morning chill, ignoring the discomfort of his throbbing, cold ears as well as the numb, redness of his cheeks. Instead, he paid more attention to the rising sun that gave a welcoming ambiance within Mather Memorial's football field, creating a hint of warmth and solitude to help mask his fear of facing his fellow students. Felix would try to cast it all away one last time -- all of his regrets, his embarrassment, his constant agony -- dissipating with the gentle mist of the air. It felt comfortable and familiar, as if he's come back to his home away from home. He would hold onto the feeling for as long as he could until it was stripped away by yet another familiarity -- a voice that pulled his heartstrings with an array of emotions.

"I knew I'd find you here."

Felix whipped around as his heart skipped a beat and his stomach filled with butterflies. A blonde beauty stood before him with matching crystal blue eyes and charming features. Despite her relatively short stature, she was like a runway model with her tan skin and toned body, her face seeming to be sculpted carefully by the gods -- high cheekbones, sharp jawline, plump lips, and seductive eyes. Although Felix was familiar with her body and her charm like the back of his hand, he would always get the same butterflies like the day they first met. While his lips were already parted in this instance of awe, it took him awhile to finally form any words, "Claire." The name pierced hard through Felix's heart like an arrow fired from Cupid himself, only to remind him of the love story that he let fall from his fingertips. Claire was his highschool sweetheart, and their relationship topped every other in the whole damn school district -- hell, he thought it topped the whole damn world at times. However, a relationship capable of being broken by lack of popularity and the presence of oppression doesn't make for a stable one.

They exchanged a moment of silence as they shared the same expression of sadness, although Claire's was much more pitiful and Felix's was full of guilt and shame. Claire sighed, hugging a stack of books close to her chest and shivering underneath her cheerleading uniform. She spoke softly, "Every time something bad happens, you always get poetic and nostalgic. So I'm sure you're trying to remember back to when you weren't -- like this," she would move towards the railing of the bleachers to stand next to Felix before continuing, "I remember cheering for you on this field." Claire seemed to be taken by the same nostalgia as Felix, stirring up a faint smile to form on her face, "Out of all the people on the stadium, it was like it was just me and you -- the whole time."

The words resurfaced his feelings that he was previously trying to discard, feeling worse as he's become a person that Claire can no longer seem to love. Felix had no more words on the subject than what was already expressed the night of their breakup, so he tried to change the subject. He took off his jacket to expose his thick, toned arms and his protruding chest from his tight shirt, "And you never wear jackets. You're gonna catch a cold." He swung his leather jacket over her narrow shoulders, the jacket draping over her like a heavy dress that ran past her short, cheering skirt. Felix quivered for a moment as his hand accidentally touched the softness of her skin, trying not to react from the memory of her once-loving touch. "Why aren't you at the assembly anyway?"

He leaned over the railing, choosing not to look at Claire to save himself the sadness, but instead enjoying the presence of her for the short moment that they had. Claire spoke up shakily, "It's not like I'm going to be here for long. There's just -- there's something I need to tell you." Felix could pick out the shaking in her voice, matching it with underlying sadness that he was all-too familiar with. Without reply, he simply turned over to look into her eyes that stared blankly at the horizon as she spoke again, "I thought of you the other day. . . How I always put that weird cream on your chest and your forehead when you get sick. I swear my mother swears by that thing." She pauses with a light chuckle that died back down to her stern, pained expression, "But for some reason, it didn't work on me this time. It was like I couldn't shake off this damn flu, puking almost every damn day sucks. So I thought -- 'maybe it only works if you add a little love to the process'."

Felix interrupted in an attempt to get a little humor into the subject, a sly smirk forming on his lips, "You want me to rub cream on you again?"

Claire shook her head in disappointment, hoping he would catch on to what she was trying to express. Nevertheless, she spoke bluntly, "I'm pregnant -- Felix."

In this instance, his heart plummeted out of his chest and into the cold, icy ground of the football field where his grave already lies. It was hard to tell if it was beating really fast, or not at all, but regardless, it was like the words slit his throat resulting in a blood-filled death. Perhaps that's how he'd rather imagine the moment, a swift death to end all of his accumulated stress, but instead he stared with his eyes wide open at the girl he still longed for. Claire's tears fell heavily, crashing down like tsunamis onto his broken and bruised heart -- he couldn't bare to see her like this, but he struggled to find anything comforting to say as he was petrified by her statement. "Claire, are you- are you sure?"

Claire gathered herself to prevent herself from hyperventilating before speaking one last time, "I got tested the other day. This isn't just some fake pregnancy bullshit." With that, she tore off the jacket and let it fall to the ground, storming off towards the school while wiping her leftover tears from her face.

The bell rang through the air harshly like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard. The reminder to get to class, except Felix was stuck in his tracks, unsure of what actions to take next. He formed a simple word in hopes to kick-start his movement to face the student body, "Shit."

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 010:00 am}

Walking through the front doors of the school was like walking through the gates of hell, expecting to be lit up in flames by the wrath of the student body, each student holding such a greater power than Felix could ever have, backed by justifiable oppression towards his new identity. Each dreadful step through the halls began every walk of shame he would undergo through his days of attending this school, keeping his head down to avoid eye contact, and his headphones in to ignore any hate comments yelled across the halls. Felix reached the front office, in which he was lectured for being late on his first day before receiving his class schedule with the numbered classrooms.

It took a moment of deep breaths and small pep talks to gather a carefree confidence to bear through the school day. While it would ease any torment he would face, he was pleased to realize that Mather Memorial was kind enough to place him in classes in which his torment was minimal to none. His schedule went accordingly: Statistics, Biology, Lunch, History, Spanish. The schedule was easy and the workload was kept small since the classes weren't at advanced levels.

The day dragged, with his mind stuck on Claire and what she told him in the morning. His mind rushed from possible inaccuracies of the testing, or perhaps a different father, but everything added up perfectly to really place the cherry on top of a shitty milkshake. As the school day would reach it's end, he would do his final walk of shame to a class that hopefully possessed something remotely good in it. As he ascended the stairs with little hope, he walked slowly through the halls with his music blaring in his ears and his bag slung on one shoulder.

Opening the door to a rather grungy room that actually appealed to Felix, he carefully eyed the room as he took out his headphones. The room had a stuffy feeling to it, but it also held a faint comfort of privacy and safety. The couches were a nice touch to the class and would hopefully be more comfortable for sleeping than his other classes' desks. Soon after his examination of the room, he realized he was late to the class. Felix walked slowly into the room and found an empty seat without paying much attention to any of the fellow students besides the red-head that was standing up. Looking down with his usual remorse, he made himself comfortable before trying to discern what the class was doing.

[Mirandae]

_{F a t h e r ?}

---

Her eyes fluttered open. The scene before her was divine, yet ruthlessly alien. Shimmers of amethyst and cerulean drizzled from a sky of void. Modest swells of water caressed a smooth surface where her feet remained half sunk. A duo of immense astral bodies clad the canopy above her frame with matching hues of the glowing flakes all around. Esther tried her voice and to her horror, it sung with vibration and waves. In all of her dreams and imaginary spaces, imposed or natural, she was always able to speak as a normal person. It was a telltale sign. If all other visual and auditory evidence contradicted fantasy, Esther could simply try her deepest wish and if it came true, none of what her senses experienced were real.

But surely, there he was. The man stood a rock throw’s distance away from her on the darkened beach. Two years had passed since they last shared a reality together. Esther’s breath halted for a fraction of a second upon laying her eyes on him—her father—a surge of both fear and relief slashing throughout her veins. With an aroma of doubt and hesitation, she approached that long lost patriarch in awe and wonder, a thousand questions galloping through her mind with rumbling confusion and agitation. Yet, something seemed different about him, something seemed off and derailed from the usual. He was calm, collected, harmonious.

“How are you doing this?” Esther asked with a stern voice. She kept a watchful eye on the man, who slowly approached her. He did not appear to have any answer, as he just gazed on the brightly colored planets visible in the sky above them. “I’ll ask again: how are you doing this?” Esther said with a harsher tone. She was obviously not happy with his sudden reappearance in her life, but at the same time glad that he had not vanished forever. “It’s not over yet, pumpkin.” Sebastian finally spoke before the entire setting decayed.

✕ ✕ ✕

_{T u e s d a y M o r n i n g}

---

Esther was slow to wake. The morning routines were sparse. She always felt slightly groggy after deep dreams and hallucinations, mirages, illusions—whatever one could call them. The wobbly state of her consciousness and befuddled coordination were imposed by the distorted perception of time in such encounters of the mind. Some of the longer and more complex journeys of the subconscious her father had dragged Esther into seemed to have lasted for weeks or months, even if they physically occurred for no more than a few hours. However, and luckily, the brief encounter just moments ago had not felt as extensive.

Sounds of breakfast escaped from the kitchen downstairs. Esther’s mother, Lieselotte, or Lisa, always made sure that the youngling of the house ate before any manner of adventures. However, the matriarch was in a hurry as usual. She held a rather important position in a far reaching corporation, with one of its local branches in the city. Although, Esther was not quite sure what her mother did there, exactly, other than that it was something business-y. Eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice awaited the young girl as she came striding into the ooze of the kitchen.

“I have to go soon,” Lisa said. She set the table with two plates, cutlery, and a glass. All of it was sparkling clean, of course. “Do you have everything that you need for today? Do you have money? Do you have your charger with you? Is your phone charged?” A thousand mom-questions came rolling out as she unloaded the frying pan and orange juice container, along with some ice cubs from the freezer. Esther calmly waited for her mother to even look at her after asking all the questions. It was as if the woman had forgotten that her daughter cannot speak.

“I have everything. Don’t worry,” Esther signed. Her expressions were a bit sloppy. But, then again, Lisa understood sign language perfectly by now. Usually, Lisa would accompany her daughter to new and old places in order to translate, if needed. However, this time Esther had specifically asked to try things on her own. Naturally, Lisa was a bit worried and nervous about it all, but she also knew that her daughter could express herself in multiple ways. “I will text you if I forgot something,” Esther signed before digging into the serving. Lisa hastily threw everything she could fit into the washing machine and turned it on, gave Esther a kiss on the cheek, and ran out the front door—“See you later tonight! Love you!” She shouted. It was a typical morning.

✕ ✕ ✕

_{T h e L o f t}

---

Most of the day was as it usually played out. Esther kept her earplugs in with music playing as much as she could. She listened to what the teacher had to say and avoided having to answer anything. She had kept herself as invisible as she could during breaks and during the morning chaos in the hallways. Esther felt rather sad about that poor girl, Stewart. She spent some time reading about it on her phone. Even if she had never met the parents, Esther could sympathize with their agony—no matter where they were. The thought of doing something for that family occupied her mind the entire day. Esther just did not know what she could do. She figured it was a matter for the police, not her kind. That was one of those issues that bewildered Esther. Was she supposed to uphold some kind of moral duty because of what she was? It was a difficult question for her. Perhaps she would learn the answer in the last class of the day.

Excitement or Fear—Esther was not sure which to feel. Perhaps there was a bit of both as she flowed into that crumbling space. She removed her earplugs as she sat down in one of the seats decorated with a passcard and syllabus. Esther made sure to tuck both items into her bag right away, lest she would forget or lose them the first day. However, she was quickly distracted by the humps of skin poking out of the ripped slivers of her tightly fitting jeans. Esther was not awfully self-conscious about looks, but there was usually a desk that covered her somewhat fleshy thighs. She discretely tried to cover her lap with her clearly oversized sweater—a dark texture with an Oktoberfest graphic on it. Trying to forget about her predicament, Esther had a quick look around at the other students that had already arrived, and those who were still coming in. Some faces were new, others were familiar. Most of them seemed to be seniors.

Esther kept a positive expression and listened to the teacher’s introduction with great focus. He seemed rather determined and firm—she liked that. The question was a bit odd, however. Esther understood why he asked it, but perhaps the way in which he asked could have been better. She thought that if someone was to be cursed, it would be a bit better if one could choose which curse to be afflicted by rather than to have it be random. But, usually, when people thought of ‘icebreakers’, they thought of things like someone’s favorite food, and not what kind of life-long curse they would like to have. Esther thought that it would, indeed, be cool to be able to turn into an animal, as the ginger girl said. The responses from the students began to break out. The next one came from a dark-curly haired female, who pointed out what was probably on everybody’s minds. Esther hesitated at first, but eventually felt the need to express herself to be greater.

She modestly caught their attention with a tiny waving gesture. A peculiar smile remained upon her lips, but never breaking free the radiant pearl resting beneath. Her hands began to sign out of instinct, out of pure reaction, but she interrupted herself right away. She was positive that none of those present knew sign language. However, at least everyone could guess that she was unable to speak in a normal fashion. Esther indicated with a fast gesture of a finger for them to wait just a moment, as she retrieved her notebook from her bag. She quickly wrote down what she wanted to say, and then she held it up so that they could read: “I think it’s like if you are going to be cursed, isn’t it better to be able to choose your curse?” Esther slowly put the notebook on her lap, awaiting a response from whoever that wanted to interject. During that small window, she pointed to herself and extended her arms as if she was flying. She mimed with her lips the words: “I would like to fly”.

[Hillan]

Marcus Weston

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 6:55am | Weston Residence}

The penthouse suite lit up with a pleasant light, feigning sunlight before the curtains automatically pealed off the window and a soft melody with ambient forest sounds played. "It's a new day, Marcus. It is now 6:55, it's a pleasant 64 degrees outside. Mild breezes and no rain on the forecast. Good morning." The female, artificial voice announced as the pale teen turned over in his bed. His eyes shooting open, as the A.I went on to go over the relevant news since the night before, celebrity gossip and the stock market. Marcus crawled out of bed, the room decorated in gold and ivory, being a mostly clean area with a lot of open space, sans the king sized bed in the middle of the room, a desk with three monitors and a computer all in white, with matching keyboard, mouse and headphones.
"That's enough, Sarah." He softly cut the A.I off while it was reading the latest news, stopping mid-sentence. He wearily put on a pair of shorts and a tank top from the floor walking towards the entrance to the room where the doors slid open revealing the elevator.

Inside of the elevator where a pair of sneakers that Marcus groggily put on. He hit the lowest floor and would spend the next 30 minutes in the gym running and doing some strength exercises. The pull-ups were always his favorite part of working out and one of the few parts of his morning routine he really did enjoy.

From the Gym area, he quickly walked into the shower room in the neighboring room and walked out again some ten minutes later, now wearing nothing more but a towel around his waist, another in his hands drying his hair. He stepped onto the elevator again and went back to his room. He quickly changed and styled his hair. He was wearing chinos, a V-necked T-shirt and a blue sleeved sweater. Walking to the computer, he pressed the space bar to wake the computer up, and opened a GUI window called "Dronie". Pressing the start button, a small disc shaped drone began buzzing from the other end of the room and came hovering. Inside of the drone was a sophisticated camera.

"This is Marcus, day 22 of using my 'gifts'. Let's see what I can do today." He softly began, the drone flying next to him and panning towards where he was looking. His eyes began glowing with a soft golden hue as he moved his hand with determination. An empty water bottle on the other end of the room began to levitate without determination, going upwards and down as if it couldn't make up it's mind.
"Creating centralized gravity that matches Earth's own has become quite a lot easier over the course of the past three weeks. " He explained, as he visibly struggled a little and quickly pulled the bottle safely into the air, four feet above where it had been. It was no longer levitating, rather just standing flat upside down in the air. "Even exceeding earth's gravity become a lot more manageable. Even for heavier objects." His words cut short as he took a step forward, falling upwards. Walking upside down he took one step. "Levitating myself was tricky, and I've not yet fully gras-" He was cut short by his powers failing him - and falling down onto the floor, landing on his stomach. "Shit." He exclaimed in frustration, putting his fists to the floor with determination, pushing himself off the ground and climbing back to his feet.

He turned to the water bottle and opened his hand, almost grasping the bottle in his palm, and then curling his fist. The bottle was crushed together from the increased gravity. "Destructive capabilities still far exceed what my father expected when he thought my powers were telekinetic in nature. According to Weston Tech's Hyperhuman database, there are no known Hyperhumans who possess the same ability as me. I am the sole wielder of one of the four fundamental forces of the universe." He solemnly, not taking much pride in this observation, trying to remain as objective about it as he could. That's a lot of responsibility.

"Marcus, signing off." And with those words, the drone went back to it's hiding place, the video showing up on his computer screen to be re-watched at a later time.

Sarah's voice came back over the audio system. "It's now 7:50 A:M, and you are going to be late to school."
"Have Lambo pull up front." Marcus told the computer, referring to his driver as he walked towards the elevator which doubled as his walk-in closet. A compartment opened up and his leather jacket came out on it's hanger, fresh from the dry cleaner. His latest SMART-Glasses plus his 4,000 dollar watch came out of another compartment. The watch was a gift from his father - a Hyperhuman suppression device - and fashionable. He put on the black rimmed glasses and the gadget lit up, showing him his normal feed, synching to the phone in his pocket.

"Due to the protests outside of the school, thanks to the new program starting today, your father has deemed it unwise for you to arrive by car. Additionally, you shouldn't be late for your first day. The Helicopter's waiting on the roof." Sarah told him. "How gracious of the old man.." Marcus sighed, his father away on business - as always.

He arrived on the rooftop and walked towards the Helicopter with it's rotors running. It was an old army chopper that had been put into the private sector. The pilot was an old military Pilot - Gus.

"Morning Gus." Marcus told the grizzled old man who in his black suit, sunglasses and headgear smiled "Morning, Champ! You ready for a new semester in school?" He asked and Marcus nodded. The helicopter taking off for the couple of minutes worth of flight it would be across town to the school grounds.
At least as ready as he could be.

Arriving at the school, Marcus could peer out onto the parking lot where there were hundreds of people quite verbally protesting the new semester - in particular Mr. Leshner's Hyperhuman program. A bold move that hadn't been very popular city-wide, Principal Fitzgerald was certainly going against the grain on this one. Marcus for one was grateful - he needed all the support systems he could get right now. The protesters were holding plaques with different Anti-Hype slogans.

Some of the parking guards had cleared a spot for the Helicopter to land, gathering the appropriate attention from the students, protesters and people passing by.

Thanks, dad. I definitely wasn't planning on keeping a low profile.

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 10:40am | Physics Lab}

"Good morning, Ronald!" Marcus waved to Ronnie, a fellow Jock, popular kid and one of Marcus's friends throughout the years. He was far from his best friend, but they still got along quite a bit. Ronnie envied Marcus due to his wealth and it certainly was one of the reasons the latter had become friends with the now-revealed Hyperhuman back in Freshman year. Ronnie didn't even respond to Marcus's greeting, only grimacing at him. Marcus knew Ronnie had a disdain for Hyperhumans, but he wasn't expecting quite this cold of a shoulder. Evan walked up to him and Marcus smiled slightly. "Oh, hey E. I was getting worried people wouldn't talk to me after uh, y'know.." He said, stretching out his hand for a high-five as had become tradition for the two, and Evan looked at Marcus's hand and grimaced.
"Don't touch me, Weston." He said, bumping his shoulder, the other four jocks in their letterman jackets, Ronnie among them, walked past and around Marcus, in passing leaving some snide remarks. Marcus was of course hurt - a little bit dumbfounded, too. But ultimately, not surprised. When he had made that ball float in the air and then pop like a balloon with his brain - he knew his life would be changed forever. He took a seat at a lone table in the middle row of the classroom.

Marcus kept mostly quiet during the Physics class. He liked Jonas so far. His little bit with the eraser was incredibly impressive and Marcus was fairly sure that there was no way in hell he could do that twice in a row - he wasn't gonna ask the teacher to try, though. Not after the rather sobering experience he had faced running into his 'friends' earlier.

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:20pm | The 'Loft'}

Finally, at the end of the day, it was time for the class he had been looking forward to the past month - maybe finally all of the secrets of the universe would be unlocked. Maybe Mr. Lehrer would blow his horizons wide open. Instead, he was met with an after-school special spiel and the least interesting question about life as a Hyperhuman he had ever heard off.

Patience, Marcus... He thought. After the girls had spoken their peace - Esther had written hers, he, with surprising amount of uncertainty - a feeling he wasn't used to feeling - he hadn't been anxious for a test or a presentation in years. Yet now, he found himself wanting to not bring attention to himself. Had Evan and Ronnie really done such a number on his confidence? He wanted to challenge the Chloe's claim that nobody wanted to be a Hype - but even he had just been shown a very sobering reminder of what life's like as a Hyperhuman out of hiding - his 4,000$ watch wasn't gonna shield him from that truth. Not anymore.

Trying to block out these thoughts, the normally well spoken Marcus blurted out a half-cooked response"Technopath!" Letting the word linger in the air. "I'd like to be a technopath. They are the ones that have pushed civilization forward with their gifts the most. With technology, everyone can be super-powered. A Phone today would blow people from all parts of history away." trying to back-up what he said and regain some of his confidence.

[Lord Wraith]

N O A H G A L L A G H E R

---

C R E S T W O O O D F O R E S T:

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 06:52 am | Mather Park}

The greenery of Crestwood Forest flew past the black dog as he leaped over a fallen log, landing hard on the ground as the leather bag hanging from his mouth fell against the mossy undergrowth. Tossing up leaves and dirt as the animal skidded to a halt, it turned around, open jaws scooping up the bag before it circled around again and continued to run. Dashing between the alternating oaks and maples, the canine skirted the base of an evergreen before emerging into Mather Park as it came into its second wind and bolted towards the school on the far side of the park.

Circling around the back of the school, the dog lowered itself, pushing through a thick shrub until it fell into the building’s boiler room. Landing roughly, the dog spread its limbs as it landed, staggering before it dropped the satchel in front of itself as it sat panting. Turning its head, the animal began to growl before being replaced by a faint whine as the room echoed with the sound of cracking bones. Paws began to spread out the toes lengthening as the fur receded, claws becoming nails as hands appeared.

The face compressed in on itself as the form of the black dog was replaced by the shivering naked body of Noah Gallagher as he quickly reached for his leather bag and pulled on a pair of boxers before continuing to dress. Gasping for breath, Noah slung his messenger bag over his shoulder as he braced himself against a nearby guardrail as he hobbled towards the door. Reaching behind the heavy metal door, Noah wrapped his hand around his hidden crutch as he pulled it out and tucked it beneath his arm before making his way up the stairs and into the school’s main level.

At this time of day, the school was mostly empty with only the instructors and the overzealous roaming its halls. Noah, however, was required to arrive early due to his commitments to the school radio. It would have been a lot harder to pull off his little stunt this morning had Noah not been granted early access to the school yesterday in order to run the radio booth through its pre-startup inspection.

Sliding into the booth, Noah placed his bag on the ground beside his chair before sitting down and placing the headphones over his head. Flashing a quick smile as his co-host, Kim Carlisle, took a seat beside him as Noah queued up the first of many playlists that would echo through the school’s hallways as the student body made their way to their lockers.

“How was your summer, Noah?” Kim asked as Noah looked up from his laptop.

“Never long enough, how about yours?”

“It was alright but like you said, never long enough.” Kim replied as she batted some loose curls away from her dark eyes.

“Did you see that Kaitlyn is still missing?” Noah asked pointing towards the list of approved discussion topics from Principal Fitzgerald.

“That’s really too bad, I didn’t know her that well but I mean she was still one of us.”

“Yeah, I just wish there was something I could do to help.” Noah lied, memories of the previous night floating to the forefront of his mind as he recalled searching the forest as ‘Shadow’. He hadn’t found anything yet, but he also wasn’t quite sure on how to make the best use of the dog’s senses.

If he could maybe get his hands on something that had belonged to Kaitlyn…

“You okay?” Kim’s voice asked as Noah snapped back to the present.

“I will be,” He answered looking at the time in the corner of the screen before turning back to Kim.

“Duty calls.”

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:30pm | The ‘Loft’}

Taking a seat amongst his peers in the previously abandoned classroom, Noah took a look around at the unusual seating arrangement as he tried to sit as close to Ivy as he could without sitting directly beside her. Listening as Jonas introduced himself, Noah pulled a leather-bound book from his back, opening it as he began to joint down a couple of notes. Copying the question from the board to his book, Noah started to write an answer beneath it.

Why would I want anything but what I already have?

Most of the students remained silent, one had even decided to read a book of his own choosing as Noah looked around the room. Allowing his mind to wander, Noah quickly found himself distracted by an enticing aroma as he realized he was smelling Ivy’s perfume. Shaking his head, Noah tried to refocus as Ivy opened her mouth to answer Jonas’ question.

”Uhm… if I could pick my own ability, it would be able to change into an animal.”

Noah felt his ears go hot as his face went flush. Did Ivy know that he was ‘Shadow’? Was this her way of calling him out. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Noah opened his mouth to answer the question only for another student to beat him to it.

"Isn't the whole idea that no one wants to be hype in the first place?"
It was hard to argue with the girl’s point but Noah had to admit that despite the harm his abilities had brought upon his body, he never found himself regretting them. Adjusting his glasses with the back of his hand, Noah moved to answer but paused as he watched another girl hold up her notepad to communicate a counterpoint to the previous girl.

She was cute and Noah couldn’t say he had noticed her before which led him to assume she must have been in one of the younger grades. He quickly found himself nodding in agreement to her written sign as a smile crept across his place as he watched her silently express her desire to fly. He couldn’t help but agree. While he hadn’t spent near as much time in the form of a bat as he had as a dog, flying was a sensation that Noah didn’t see losing its appeal any time soon.

Opening his mouth to finally answer, Noah quickly found the words trapped in his throat as the Prince of Hyperhuman Destruction himself joined in on the discussion. Sneering at Marcus’ answer, Noah retorted with a thought of his own.

“I guess the Hypes can count themselves lucky that you’re not a technopath.” He muttered, “Your dad would have turned you into a weapon.”

“That sort of talk isn’t productive towards acceptance.” Jonas intervened, “Did you have an answer of your own, Mr. Gallagher?” Jonas asked as Noah felt his face flush further.

“I don’t know,” He muttered, “Uh, what Ivy said sounded good to me.” He hastily added as Jonas looked back to the rest of the class, his gaze quickly focusing on Benjamin as he cleared his throat.

“Mr. Hope, if you aren’t interested in participating then perhaps there is a better use of your time.” He snapped as he massaged a temple. “Otherwise, perhaps you’d like to answer the question on the board.” Jonas added, tapping a finger against the board.

“And I don’t it’s an issue of nobody wanting to be a Hype, Miss Bronse,” Jonas continued as he turned towards Chloe. “I believe it’s an issue of no everybody being a Hype. We live in a world that is obsessed with inclusivity and creating equality where it can’t. But the minute society feels insecure they create walls to exclude that which it does not understand.” He ranted. “We’ve done it for years, the Crusades, the Witch Trials, the Holocaust, the list goes on and on.” Taking a deep breath, Jonas paused.

“So we need to be better.” He continued. “Social Conscience is defined as being a sense of responsibility or concern for the problems and injustices of society. As Hyperhumans, you more than anyone else have to be responsible and more than anyone else in the last fifty years, you have suffered the worst of society’s injustices. I’m hoping this program can be the first step in changing that.” Turning to the class, Jonas addressed them again.

“If just one rule surrounding Hyperhumans could change today, what would you like to change and why specifically that?” Jonas asked before looking directly at Benjamin. “Mr. Hope, as I so rudely prevented you from answering the previous question, why don’t you start us off?”

[Eleven]

A U R O R A Z H A N G

Z H A N G R E S I D E N C E

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 5:26 AM}

If ever there was a testament to the breadth, depth, and height of a father's love, Rory thought it would be this: waking up in the buttcrack of dawn after two consecutive all-nighters to join your daughter in her weird photosynthesis thing. She and her dad were up on the rooftop, sat huddled under a warm duvet and testing the fortitude of the deck they built over the past three weekends. Their TV had been on nonstop HGTV all day, every day, as though that would help them absorb all the DIY tips they needed and magically turn her dads—the least handy people she knew—into proper carpenters. Spoiler alert: it didn't. The wooden platform and its railing were rickety and unpolished, a mishmash of recycled planks and an accident waiting to happen.

Rory wouldn't have it any other way.

Her eyes flicked up to her dad as his hand moved to stifle a yawn. The dawn light shone on the purple under his eye, casting deeper shadows that perfectly reflected his sleep-deprived state. Rory knocked her head against his shoulder and smiled. "Thanks for doing this with me."

"Are you kidding?" Xian tousled her hair affectionately. "Do you know how lonely I've been since you started sleeping early like a normal person? I'm getting as much Rory-time as I can."

Rory laughed. Her body underwent a lot of changes when her powers manifested, but nothing more apparent and life-changing than the metamorphosis from night owl to early bird. Before the emergence of her power—also known as two months ago—Rory had never been a morning person. She'd grown accustomed to the sporadic schedule of a prolific writer with a penchant for barely meeting deadlines. There were lots of late night hot chocolates, midnight Disney movie marathons, and 2AM Just Dance tournaments that have earned them a complaint or four over the past years.

But now it was like she had grown an internal alarm clock attuned to the sunrise, one she was unable to snooze or turn off. Every morning, minutes before the sun would rise, she would wake with a feeling she could only compare to hunger, even though it wasn't exactly that. It resonated throughout her entire body, beckoning for her to sate its appetite. When she explained it to her dads, she said it was like having a voice whisper right in her ear, bossy and incessant just like pop.

The craving goes away the moment sunlight touches her skin, as it did now. Rory sighed contentedly, feeling a lot like she'd just eaten a whole cake, and watched as streaks of orange and yellow and purple paint the sky. All at once, she felt more awake and energized. She felt the warmth of the light within her, enveloping her. It was so familiar and so natural to her; she could hardly remember what it was like before.

When she had her fill, Rory turned to her dad with an excited grin. "Fully charged! Can I practice it right now?"

Xian nodded, standing up to brace himself for what was going to happen--which could be literally anything, as he'd learned over the past few weeks. "Alright, sunshine, show me what you got. This time, remember to control it. The principal probably wouldn't like you causing a blackout."

During the summer and within the confines of their home, her dads had encouraged her to freely use and experiment with her abilities. Any collateral damage was pre-approved. But in school, she would need to show restraint. Lots of it. Her dads have been worried nonstop; they've seen and worked with so many ostracized hyperhuman students that they're torn between allowing her to stay true to herself, as they've always preached, and keeping her safe from smallminded people that could hurt her.

"Yep, yep, I remember," Rory waved his concerns away. Like her dads, she was aware of how people like her were treated--she grew up around them, has heard many accounts of their plight. Unlike her dads, she had hope that the students in Mather Memorial were more openminded than people give them credit for. Wasn't that why they agreed to that new program? When she finally gets to tell her friends about her new abilities, she was certain they wouldn't treat her any differently. "Okay, here goes!"

The exercise today was simple: make her light warm but not bright. She tried to think of the lamp she had on her bedside table for reference: it had a dull yellow glow, but it still burned when she accidentally touched it. Instead, her mind drifted as it often did, and she thought about Street Fighter and Hadouken and how cool would it be if she could do that?

Turns out one stray thought was enough to derail her focus. Before she knew what was happening, a small beam of light burst out of her hand. It was bright and solid and it went barreling towards their rickety railing. Rory tried to stop it to no avail, losing her balance instead (as you would when your already unstable DIY rooftop deck gets blasted and blown to pieces). She saw her dad's panicked face as he tried to grab her hand and thought about how, were circumstances any different, she would be laughing at how funny he looked with his mouth and eyes wide open like that.

Then she fell.

N O R T H C R E S T W O O D H O S P I T A L

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 1:48 PM}

Rory left the hospital sporting a pink cast on her right arm and a sheepish grin directed at her dads, who'd gotten an earful from a very angry mother just minutes before. She tried to console her mom that a broken wrist was pretty lucky all things considered, but that had only seemed to add to her fury. The doctor advised her to take it easy the rest of the day, and while she wasn't normally the type to skip skipping classes, she begged to at least be allowed to attend the last class of the day. Rory had been looking forward to meeting the cool new teacher, the only one brave enough to help out hypes in school. She had also been excited to be able to share her abilities with hypes her own age, and not just her parents or their friends.

It took her biggest, saddest pair of puppy dog eyes (one she liked to use sparingly, for maximum effectiveness) for them to relent.

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 2:33 PM | The Loft}

Rory rushed to the top of the main building, giving no pause to the reprimand one of the teachers called out for running down the hallway. She stopped only momentarily to catch her breath and tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. When she noted a pause in the discussion happening inside, she slipped through the door as discreetly as she could--an endeavor made obsolete by her loudly announcing her presence afterward.

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late!" she waved her broken arm at the group. From a brief sweep of the room, she recognized a couple of faces, noting Felix in particular. Rory grinned and took the empty seat next to him. After the fiasco during the game, she had made it a personal mission to help him out, but he had been nonreceptive to any of her attempts. Maybe Mr. Lehrer was what he needed!

Rory gave him a little wave and leaned in to whisper. "So what are we talking about?"

[Lionhearted]

F E L I X A L E X A N D E R B R O O K S

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 2:30 pm | The Loft}

"Isn't the whole idea that no one wants to be hype in the first place?"

Chloe Bronse. Now that was a sight formidable enough to get his mind off of things. Chloe matched Claire's beauty, but in more mysterious ways that Felix longed to explore, partially for the sake of rebounding from Claire, but also to, perhaps, enjoy a friendship again. Chloe's appearance opposed Claire's bright, girlish features with a tall, beautiful body that Felix could only seem to find in magazines or Pornhub. While his main intention is to sexualize the girl, he's become curious of what personality lies underneath the mystery that was always rumored among his old popular friends. Before he knew it, Felix could be caught eyeing Chloe while lost in thought, remembering back to all the times he tried to contact her over the summer out of pitiful desperation. Felix shook his head lightly to break out of his creepy stare, looking down towards the ground and cupping his forehead with his hand to massage his temples with his thumb and forefinger. 'I should probably apologize for that after class. . .' he thought to himself; a confrontation to not just apologize for being a persistent creep, but more for the sake of having an excuse to have one last chance at trying to talk to her.

In contrast to the dark, beautiful amazon, a girl with a perceived, similar edge, in which came off more innocently, caught the attention of the class. In reaction to fast, foreign hand gestures, he gave a confused look with an added touch of his constant agitation, letting out a rather hostile, "What'd she say?" As she stopped, he began to wonder if she was actually unable to talk, or if she was one of those weird kids that just don't talk. Regardless, he took this moment to draw in her appearance -- rather short, probably a freshman, dark hair and eyes, notably thick thighs. She has a cute figure that somehow attracted Felix, stirring up ideas of seducing her to have a girl for potential hookups. He did miss the attention he used to get from girls.

The next few responses happened too quick for Felix to comfortably get any words in, so he let it be. Felix found that all the answers given were all powers that he'd choose over his own. In addition to his parents imprinting that 'hyperhumans are today's biggest problem' within his head, he associates his power with the worst mistake he's made in his life, leaving him the way he is today. Although, Noah's response to Marcus caused Felix to let out an uncontrollably loud "Ha!" while snapping and pointing at Noah as a 'good one' gesture.

After Jonas lightly reprimanded Noah's remark, Felix actually gave him his attention as he lectured. Jonas' words actually laid out the beginning of a potentially heated debate, which made Felix wonder who in the group was Hyperhuman and who was not. As he implied that the class should work towards the acceptance of hyperhumans, he couldn't help but disagree on the matter. While Felix's own self-hatred added to his belief that hyperhumans have no place in the world, he did firmly believe that this scenario of inequality was much too extreme to try to fix by means of acceptance. He agreed that equality is much too fine of a line to try to follow, but Felix believes that hyperhumans go past that of any other previous issue of inequality since the race of hypes could serve as a threat to humanity. As his next question would've gave an opportunity to speak, he gazed over to the student he called on.

The student was oddly familiar to Felix, and the feeling was strong enough to let him lose his train of thought. The spotlight of the class was clearly cast onto the so-called Mr. Hope, but Felix interjected immediately to try and save the guy from any embarrassment, "Yo teach," he paused, waiting to make eye contact with Ben in an attempt to recognize him before turning back to Jonas. While the spotlight was shifted to Felix, he didn't actually have any response to his question. He sat silently for a moment before someone came through the door.

A short, Asian girl came in with an underlying spring of joy in her steps. Felix could recall the tardy girl and her known optimism vaguely, thinking back to the times she tried to contact him with intentions to comfort him. He was always short with her, trying to show that he wasn't interested in any form of comfort or pity, but he did feel somewhat guilty for rejecting the help from such a sincere girl. He scooted over slightly as she found a spot next to him, but his wide stance still made his legs brush up against hers.

Felix moved in closer to her to whisper back, "Um. Well, I was about to answer a question, but I kinda forgot." He chuckled, stirring up a cheeky smirk that revealed the dimple on his left cheek.

[Aeolian]

B E N J A M I N H O P E

Summer's Gone

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 2:35 PM | The Loft}

There really was nothing like reading a good book. Aside from providing him with endless knowledge, it doubled as a mechanism to escape his surroundings. It was a remarkably effective and quiet way of saying to those around him to leave me alone and fuck off. With one leg gently crossed over the other, he had quite a cold, yet sophisticated way of existing within the cacophony that permeated around him. With one hand relaxed on the edge of his book for balance as it sat nestled upon his elevated knee, the other hand was tasked with flipping through the pages, his fingertips autonomously dancing upon the crease until it was time for him to turn to the next page, his head tilting curiously in unison as he did so. Ben didn't pay too much attention to those around him, though he remained rather cognizant in the case that someone said something particularly interesting, taking only the briefest of glances to acknowledge who had spoken before returning back to the book.

Truthfully though, he was only half-listening. He heard everything, but was too shy to entwine himself into the discussion, nor did he care too quite frankly. One girl exclaiming that she'd like to be able to metamorph into animals got nothing but a peeved glance and an eye roll from him. Idyllic, yet highly impractical. But the girl who interjected shortly after was probably right. "Isn't the whole idea that no one wants to be hype in the first place?". Though Ben's eyes remained in his book, he couldn't help but slightly nod his head in agreement. It's not that he was ashamed of his powers, but was it really worth the persecution and discrimination? To him, naw....

He missed the mute girl as she communicated inaudibly to the class. A shame too, as he probably would have found her to be rather interesting. Only 15 minutes into the class and he had already burned through 42 pages; A bookworm through and through. He particularly listened in when someone mentioned technopathy as their power of choice, a much better idea than fanua morphism at least, though the notion of everyone being super-powered made him shiver. It was a frightening thought. The world was already messed up as is, and seemed this Gallagher kid agreed, though, his outburst towards the other kid seemed a bit, personal? Ben rolled his eyes and looked back to his book as the boy with the glasses was reprimanded. However, it wasn't until he heard his name suddenly called out, that he poignantly looked up from his book and essentially froze, his vexed gaze looking around to see that his professor and his classmates had suddenly focused on him.

"Err..." he mumbled, unable to synch his tongue and thoughts together as he shut his book with a clemented clap. Ben was very delicate with his books. When he looked back to the professor, his countenance was notably more aloof than before as he laid his hand upon his lap and sighed deeply. "Sorry professer, but I can't answer that fer ya" he said suddenly, his strikingly thick cockney accent finally revealed to the rest of this washed up committee.

Jonas looked at him curiously, his eyebrow suddenly rising. "Elaborate."

Benjamin's gaze had fallen to the floor, his hands frigidly clasped together in his lap. But before he could mutter anything further, a student interjected, his voice familiar. Benjamin looked to where the voice had originated and they shared a momentary gaze at one another. He hadn't even realized that this was the same boy with whom he had seen in the halls earlier, the one who was queerly familiar to him, as though they had met before somewhere. Highly impossible, but Benjamin just couldn't shake the feeling. It was then that another figure interjected, the sprightly young girl noticeably more cheerful than most as she entered, belatedly mind you. How opportune; Benjamin was quick to seize the moment to make his escape.

"Excuse me. Lavatory..."

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 2:40 PM | Boy's bathroom 27 near the Loft}

Down the hall from the Loft was the bathroom, numbered GB-27 and BB-27 respectively. Ben entered BB-27 with an uncharacteristic slouch, loosely hanging himself over the sink as though he were feeling nauseous and about to puke. God did he hate having a bunch of eyes on him. Just the thought of all their pupils plastered upon him made him want to gag. He nearly would have had he not made his cleverly timed and hasty retreat, though he did have the sprightly girl and the familiar boy to thank for their efforts.

He heard someone enter the bathroom but he didn't look up, too preoccupied as he sluiced his face in the refreshing cold water. Ben let out a relieved breathe as he patted his face down, though he came to an awkward pause when he noticed that the figure that came in behind him was now staring at him through the large bathroom mirror, the other boy's frame twice his size in musculature and height. He had on a jersey. A jock. Of course. Yippee....

They shared a brief glance before Ben looked away and returned to gaze upon his own reflection in the mirror. He patted his face in what seemed like slow motion, clearly perturbed by this much larger male standing and staring from behind him and then tossed the soaked paper towel in the bin and swiveled around so he was facing the jock, his body firmly pressed against the long sink counter to maintain their distance, "I'm sorry, is there sumthin wrong?" he mumbled to the jock.

"Damn you're cute..." he muttered, though when he suddenly looked away and scratched his head, it was apparent that he hand't meant to say that aloud. Ben looked at him with a confused expression, "Pardon?". The jock shook his head and heaved his backpack back up onto his left shoulder, "Nothing nothing. Umm..." he began, nervously stepping a bit closer to Ben, though the latter had nowhere else to backtrack so he reactively tensed up.

"Ben right?"
"Yes?" Ben answered cautiously.
"Cool cool...ummm, I'm Hakeem. I uhhh..." he stuttered, "I just saw you running out of that class for hyper-freaks. Looked like you were about to vomit or some shit. Soo ummmm...so I just thought I'd...you know, check to see if you were good or...whatever."

Truthfully, Ben wasn't sure why this Hakeem guy was acting so nervously, but he was relieved that he hadn't followed him in here to cause him trouble. And based on his statement, he wasn't aware that Ben was one of those hyper-freaks he so openly referred to them as.

"I'm fine." he said quietly, linking his arms together as he returned Hakeem's equally awkward gaze, "I'm sorry, hyper-freaks?" Hakeem grimaced, much to Ben's dislike, but he tried to keep his face as neutral as possible and charastically reticent. "Yeah. Those weird fucks in that class you came out of. They creep the shit out of me."

"Right..." Ben murmured, his expression suddenly downtrodden, "Excuse me ..." he said abruptly, quickly making his way around Hakeem towards the exit. The jock must of felt that he might have disrespected Ben in some way because he hastily turned around and grabbed him by the arm to halt him from leaving, "Please wait..." he pleaded in a low-tone. Ben looked at Hakeem once he had been stopped from leaving, the jock's expression surprisingly regretful for someone of his social status in the school hierarchy, "Shit. I didn't mean to offend you. I didn't even think that you might be one of...." he paused as though thinking of right word, "them...".

Ben kept his blank gaze on Hakeem, though his expression had noticeably softened a bit at the jock's off-hand attempt at an apology. "Well...I'm not" he lied, his voice almost fragile like he knew he just put himself into a glass jar just waiting to be dropped at the slightest mishandle, "Now can you please let me go?" he asked politely, motioning to Hakeem's hand that was still wrapped around his arm. "If I do, will you go out with me sometime?"

"No" Ben said coldly, tugging at his arm in a feeble attempt to pull away. Hakeem kept his grip on Ben's arm, if not tighter, though he didn't seem to notice that Ben began to wince, a painful tingle suddenly surging on his arm where Hakeem was holding him. "Please?" he implored gently. Ben was really feeling a pain now and it was less of a painful tingle and more like a burning sensation, "I said no! And your hurting me, let go!" Ben yelped, his powers triggering in the spur of the moment, causing his arm to simply fall out of Hakeem's grip. Ben fell to the ground, his eyes bubbling as he looked at his arm where Hakeem had been holding onto him, obvious burn marks tracing around his flesh. As Ben sniveled from the pain of the burn's he had suddenly been given, Hakeem, mouth gaped and in complete shock, slowly backed away, his eyes dilating as he was finally coming to the realization of what had just happened. He looked at his pulsating palms in complete confusion.

"Your a fucking hyperfreak!?" he stated, though, it was less of a statement, and more of a desperate and confused exclamation. Ben, still crying from the pain, stood up off the floor and began running water over the burns on his arm to try and alleviate some of the pain, too little effect unfortunately, "So are you..." he whimpered to the jock. Hakeem was wobbling over to the door in a stupor, his gaze still upon his hands. He looked up to Ben with an apologetic expression on his face, "Fuck! Fuck! fuck! I'm so sorry. I didn't know! Shit! I'm sorry...I've gotta go!"

And so Hakeem fled the scene...
...leaving Ben to cry alone in the Boy's Lavatory 27.

Even through the pain, Ben knew that wouldn't be the last he'd be seeing of him.

[Mirandae]

_{T h e L o f t}

---

The usual scenario of acceptance rarely involved Esther’s hyperhuman ability. Nobody would ever know about it unless she actively showed it. However, her other disability was always the arrow being shot in the dark. She never knew where it was going to hit or how hard. Most people were able to accept it, but there was always one or two that had difficulties with it. The bunch sitting all around her were no different. Esther did not have to read their minds. Their expressions said everything that she needed to know. The eyes, the lips, the eyebrows—all of it told a myriad of words in their own right. A prime example was Felix Brooks’ reaction. Esther had seen and heard it all before, but hopefully it would go away rather soon. She gave the boy a brief glance that amounted to nothing. There was no point in acting offended. Hopefully, the participants of this class would overlook Esther’s minor setback in everyday life.

The modest bickering between Marcus Weston and Noah Gallagher was slightly amusing. A few other students seemed to think so as well. Although, Esther mostly agreed with the teacher in that the comment was not productive. She was not quite sure yet what her position was towards comments or jokes about father figures. Memories of the dream the previous night occupied her mind for just a moment. However, Esther returned to the material world upon hearing the teacher speaking of the ‘Holocaust’ and the typical notes on equality. The things that Esther’s father had taught her about that war and those events were quite different from what most people said about it. She had seen memories that belonged to her grandfather, who had been there. Whether those visions were true or false remained to be uncovered, as Esther had never fully figured it out. Either way, the topic of Germany during that war always made her uncomfortable.

Luckily, the discussion was interrupted by the rather delightful appearance of Aurora Zhang followed by Benjamin Hope excusing himself. Esther eased down from the teacher’s additional question, as there were too many things happening at once. She did not have an answer, anyway. The only ‘rule’ that she knew was her own about not entering peoples’ minds at random to snoop around or speak to them. However, if there was something that Esther had to change, then it would be to forbid hyperhumans altogether. She would never say it out loud, of course, and she did not know how anyone would go about to make it happen. It just seemed that the last thing the world needed was another ‘kind’ of people to deal with. Esther knew too much about people who thought themselves better than others. She had grown to dislike them all, equally. The only difference now was that the ‘special’ people were objectively special. It was not based on some ancient race or decree by gods—it was real.

Moments later, an all too familiar surge hit Esther. Such was the nature of her curse that some of its aspects could not be ‘turned off’. They were sporadic and unpredictable. One of those chaotic elements was her increased sense of empathy. It had always been difficult for Esther to explain exactly what this higher form of that common human trait entailed. The best she could do was to compare it to a gut feeling—it was half psychic, half intuition. The psychic part of it was the one that she could not control. Esther could randomly tap into a person’s state of mind without also hearing their inner thoughts. This part of her ability made public places quite a challenge for her at times. Luckily, movement and distance played into the effectiveness of the empathy. However, this particular instance, this particular surge came from nearby and showed no sign of moving away.

Esther’s curiosity peaked. She discretely excused herself with a modest gesture to the teacher. Outside in the hall, Esther was met by a rather well built boy that seemed to be in a hurry. He did not even spare her a glance. It became painfully clear that he was the source of her empathy surge, as he passed her by. However, she did not have time nor courage to confront him about it, so there was nothing left to do other than return to the class. Just as she was about to turn around and head back, the surge hit her again—it was still there. Esther continued down the hall and halted for a moment to feel where it was coming from. She briefly closed her eyes and ventured into some unknown realm within her mind. Her hand stretched out to touch the outer door of one of the bathrooms. It was the boys’ room.

Much to her relief and horror, Esther found one of the students of the class in distress. She already had an idea of what had happened, but also wished not to pry any further. Esther’s motion was slow and graceful, extending a gentle hand to touch upon the boy’s arm. It was her signal to him of her presence. The expression on her visage was mellow, yet of worry and concern. Unfortunately, Esther did not have her notebook with her. She had left it on her seat back in class. The boy most likely did not know sign language, and there was no way for Esther to ask ‘the question’. At any time when she had to or wanted to speak to someone telepathically, Esther always asked if it was alright with that person. However, there were exceptions as there are to all rules. She hoped that he would forgive her.

“I’m so sorry to do this, but are you okay? What happened?” Esther’s inner voice echoed throughout his mind, yet her lips did not move.

[Tackytaff]

C H L O E B R O N S E

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:36pm | The ‘Loft’}

While not incredibly invested in the discussion, Chloe turned to her left to see what the fuss was, to notice some younger girl painfully writing out her answers. With mild disappointment at the lack of excitement, her eyes drifted over the rest of class again only to catch Felix Brooks staring at her with the most deliciously pathetic look that made her more vengeful and sadistic side smirk. Instead, she ignored him as his attention quickly snapped away towards the silent student who was still writing.

She focused on her nails, running the new pass-card under them while vaguely aware that others were still talking, thinking only of what a complete waste of time the class was turning out to be and if it was too late to take something else instead. For a brief moment she considered taking out her phone, but the memory of physics that morning was still fresh enough for her to think the better of it.

It wasn't the teacher, but the entrance of an all-too-happy Asian girl waltzing in late that broke her trance. Vaguely familiar, but mirroring the same bight-eyed cheeriness that Chloe found so distasteful among her own 'friends', she quickly looked away as to not inadvertently invite the newcomer to sit too close.

The new kid left, followed by the mute girl shortly after, leaving an uncomfortable silence in their wake. Chloe tapped her foot on the floor, eager to move things along to actual learning.

"Finding a way to cure hypes or prevent them in the first place would do a lot more good than changing the rules every few years." She raised an eyebrow at Mr. Lehrer, she was being deliberately provocative but anything she could do to further separate herself from the known freaks in the class, the better.

[Lord Wraith]

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:43pm | The ‘Loft’}

A soft knock echoed from the otherside of the Loft’s door as Jonas paused holding his tongue as he moved his gaze from Chloe Bronse towards the interrupting noise. Pushing himself off of the desk at the front of the room, Jonas opened the door as he looked down at the blonde haired student who patiently waited on the other side.

“Hello Mr. Lehrer,” The older teen started as he took a step forward as if to enter the room only for Jonas to step in front of him, intercepting the student from advancing any further. “Uh, oh right, you’re new here.” He muttered, running a hand through his well groomed hair before continuing.

“My name is Elroy Bain, I’m the student body president.” He smirked before brushing off his shoulder, “Returning actually, probably was the youngest in Mather’s history.” Elroy continued to brag as Jonas looked at him unimpressed.

“Oh, you probably know my father, he’s-”

“Mr. Bain, if you could please explain why you’re interrupting my class, I’d appreciate it.”

“Well, like I said, I’m the student body president-” Elroy reiterated before swallowing hard as Jonas motioned for him to get to the point.

“I have a community announcement I’d like to make to the class and since I can tell that you’re a man who values efficiency, I’d rather just address the class instead of repeating it twice.”

“Mind that attitude, Mr. Bain.” Jonas replied with a small smile as he stepped out of the student body president’s. “It’ll get you in trouble one day.”

“If you knew who my father-” Elroy retorted before cutting himself off. “Ah nevermind, you won’t last long enough around here to be worth the trouble.” He muttered as he walked into the room, giving his head a shake as he wiped away his frustration and replaced it with a political smile.

“Hey guys,” He exclaimed, tugging at the collar on his polo before sticking one hand in his pockets of his jeans as he flashed a perfect smile at the small class. “I’ve got two little announcements for you coming hot off of the student council’s desk, Gallagher there knows what’s up.” Elroy smiled as he nodded towards Noah who half heartedly waved back.

“First order of business, as you all are no doubt aware, a fellow Raven is missing. So on the behalf of the Crestwood Police Department and Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, I’d like to invite any willing volunteer out tonight at six, to Mather Park to take part in a community wide search. The more eyes, the more likely we are to find Kaitlyn and bring her home.” Elroy stated as he rubbed his hands together as his somber expression changed back to his million dollar smile.

“Now, in more school related news as you know all know, here at Mather Memorial we like to kick the year off right and traditionally that means ‘definitely not getting drunk’ and definitely dancing our asses off.” Elroy stated with a wide smile and a wink as Jonas coughed behind him.

“So in Mather Memorial tradition we will be holding our first themed dance of the year, this month’s theme is ‘Danse Macabre’ because I’m an impatient bastard who couldn’t wait for Hallowe’en.” He continued with a smug shrug.

“I expect each and everyone of you there.” Elroy added making ‘finger guns’ with both hands as he ‘shot’ each member of the Hyperhuman Social Conscience class. “No excuses, I want to see you all let loose.” He smiled before turning around to Jonas.

“Class is yours again, Sir.” His sarcastic tone didn’t go unnoticed as Jonas quickly closed the door and turned back to the gathered class only for the bell to ring as it signaled the end of the day.

“Saved by the bell then,” Jonas smiled as he walked behind the large desk at the front of the room before running his hand over his messenger bag as the clasps released before he opened it. Watching as the class began to leave, Jonas cleared his throat to catch their attention before speaking again.

“It would be, *ahem*, responsible to attend the Community Search tonight.” He smiled before resuming packing up as the class was dismissed.

[BoyMom69035]

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M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:44pm | The ‘Loft’}

Well, it seemed her volunteering to be the first to answer Me. Lerher’s question started a domino effect. A few of the students had stood and answered, each one earning a smile from her. Then, there were a few that didn't. Chloe’s statement had frustrated her, but she could understand where the girl was coming from. None of them asked to have these “gifts”, but they had them. All they could do was try to make the best of it. What else was there to do? She listened as the select few spoke, and watched as two others excused themselves to the bathroom. Ivy let her eyes move across the room, landing on each individual person there. Was there really hope for them? Could Mr. Lerher help them?

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by knock at the door. Ivy turned her attention to it, then to Mr. Lerher as he made his way to the door. When he opened it, she couldn't help but wince and scoff. Elroy Bain. Student Body President. Could he be anynore fake? Rolling her eyes, she turned back around around faced the front of the classroom. Although she didn't look his direction, she listened. Ivy had never really been popular, never cared to be, and since she discovered she was a Hype, she was alone for the most part. It had been that way for a while, and quite honestly, she was happy to keep it that way. Yeah, friends would be nice, especially ones more like her. She glanced around the room again, feeling her hope for any sort of friendship, diminish. Then, the sudden mention of a search party was mentioned.

Ivy perked up a bit in her seat and turned her head just the slightest to hear better. A search was going on tonight at Mather Park. For the missing girl. Since she had nothing else to do, Ivy decided then and there, that she would be going. It was the least she could do. Aaannd then, the dance came up. Ivy shook her head. Nope, not going to that. The decision was instant. She couldn't dance. Not that, that stopped her from doing it… just not in front of the whole student body. More like, at home, where no one could watch. She doubted anyone would ask her anyways. It didn't bug her. Not in the least. Though, on the off chance someone did, she just may say yes. May.

It was at that point, the bell rang, dismissing the class. Ivy sat for a moment before slowly packing her things up. There was so much going on, and it had her brain in a frenzy. Zipping up her bag, she stood and pulled it up and over her head. Dropping the strap onto her shoulder, Ivy looked up at Noah for a brief moment before averting her eyes and following the remaining students out of the room. Once she was back outside, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest. She had been so tense during that class. Ivy closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, then opened them again. Time to head home.

Maybe she could catch Noah before she left to join the search party.

[Tackytaff]

C H L O E B R O N S E

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 03:00pm | Hallways}

"We want you to come out with us tonight." Chloe's eagerness to leave the classroom evaporated with the first syllable. She looked up to see Hannah Ellis leaning against her locker, Gabby in toe.

Chloe scoffed and gently pushed her shoulder, she moved away willingly enough but remained too close for comfort.

"You two are going to help look for Stewart?" The thought was about of absurd as Ellis showing up at Chloe's locker. Especially after the latter had been explicit about her lack of desire to have a friendly relationship. Multiple times in fact. But Hannah Ellis had never really had practice in the word 'no'.

She rolled her eyes and Chloe promptly shrank three inches. "No that's just the excuse everyone's using to get out. We're having a cheer meet up, and want you to join."

"Weren't your tryouts weeks ago?" It was impossible to ignore Hannah, but Chloe managed to avoid looking at her and focused on her locker combination. It wasn't really a surprise, they'd been trying to get her to join since junior year. Then at least she'd had her trips to New York as an excuse.

"Can always make an exception for special cases. Besides, word is we'll be needing a replacement in a few months." The comment was ominous, and prompted and snicker from Gabby that made Chloe's skin crawl.

"What are you planning exactly?" Chloe looked at the two of them as her locker opened, Gabby all excited smiles, Hannah watching her too closely.

"A little tradition is all. Initiations from the seniors for the new recruits." A hazing. Chloe glared at her.

"How stupid do you think I am Ellis?"

"Relax Chloe, you're one of use right? We just want you to come down and help out. Who knows maybe you'll even have a good time."

Chloe didn't respond and took her time moving her books into her locker. She briefly considered holding onto the pass-card, but opted to leave it behind as well rather than draw any attention from the other girls. It didn't take long for Hannah to lose her patience.

"We're meeting at the graveyard behind St. Betran's. Be there at 6:30." Finally a smile broke through her too-still face. It might have even seemed genuinely friendly to someone that hadn't been subject to Hannah's torment before.

Chloe put less effort into making her own believable but did wave after Gabby as she made one final plea for her to come. They were lost in the hallway crowds before Chloe slammed her locker shut and leaned her forehead against the cool metal. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath.

B R O N S E R E S I D E N C E:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 6:10 PM}

The Madden boots were missing. Chloe stared at the collection of ill-gotten shoes at the bottom of her closet in disgust, perfectly aware that with every passing second she was growing later. Maybe it was the last remnant of self-preservation against Hannah Ellis. Not that she had anything to be afraid of anymore. Not really. She pulled an alternate pair of long black suede boots and red skirt to change into.

"Chloe!" Chloe pushed past her mother just as she opened it and looked her up and down "Are you going out? You're father's gone so I was thinking we could order in and talk about your first day."

"Sorry mom, can't. Everyone's out looking for Kaitlyn tonight." Mrs. Bronse frowned at the back of her daughters head.

"You need heels and lipstick to join a search party?"

"One of my teachers wanted the entire class to go."

"I don't really feel comfortable with you being out there Chloe, whatever happened to that girl..." Chloe's features softened as she turned to her mother, still carrying Thomas in her arms. She could never quite shake the feeling of betrayal that came with lying to her mother.

"Teachers and parents will be around mum, nothing to worry about promise. But I gotta go." She gave both a quick kiss on the cheek and took the stairs down to the street two at a time.

[Lord Wraith]

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 02:50pm | The ‘Loft’}

Noah could feel Ivy’s eyes on him as he packed up his belongings before bracing against his crunch. Taking a hold of it, he stood up from his seat on the couch, quickly looking away from the beautiful redhead as he did so. His cheeks flushed red as his mind wandered to the idea of asking Ivy to the dance before he quickly dismissed the thought as the fantasy that it was.

The first day of the Hyperhuman Social Conscience Program had been interesting to say the least. If the class he had just experienced was anything to go off of, this was going to be an easy credit and a complete fluff class. A bunch of high school students weren’t about to revolutionize Hyperhuman rights, but hey if Jonas wanted to sit in the dustiest classroom and talk philosophy then Noah had no problem with that.

It was interesting that Elroy had brought up the proposition of the search party to the class in the school mostly likely to be able to help and less likely to care. Kaitlyn Stewart had been a member of the cheerleading squad, a real ‘Raven’ try-hard and among the school’s popular clique. She wasn’t exactly the kind of girl to go out of her way to be kind to someone outside of her clique, let alone a Hype.

Still, Noah had already been looking for her and he wasn’t the type to wish ill on anyone so he’d be showing up to help. Though it wouldn’t be as himself, Noah Gallagher was far from athletic and the woods were not the best of places for a man who hobbled along with a crutch. However, ‘Shadow’ as Ivy had named one of his other forms was far more equipped for the woods.

M A T H E R P A R K:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 06:01pm | Search Party Registration}

The large black dog quickly padded along the outskirts of Mather Park as it lifted its nose into the air to take a whiff at the various smells surrounding the park. It would have helped if he had more of a reference to go on for Kaitlyn, but Noah was relying entirely on his memory of her sickly sweet perfume.

The air was filled with the smells of the various volunteers but overpowering all of that was the enticing aroma of hot chili and freshly steamed hot dogs that some of the community restaurants had come together to produce for the volunteers. Sticking to the pines, Noah skirted the outside of the park as he avoided the K9 Units the police had brought along to aid in the search.

Looking for a familiar face in the crowd, Noah felt his stomach growl as a fresh whiff of hotdog wafted in front of his sensitive nose.

Why not?

Running forward, Noah put his front paws up on the table as people gasped at the sight of the wolf-like dog, frozen in surprise as Noah quickly woofed down a couple of hotdogs before dashing off into the crowd again with a playful bark as he headed towards the St. Betran’s Church.

[DELETED jdl3932]

ALEXANDER THOMAS

THOMAS RESIDENCE

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Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 3:30pm

Alexander let out a long, tired, sigh as he stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, lost in thought. While today wasn't as bad as he'd expected it to be, it had left him with a lot to think about. He let out another sigh as he ran his left hand through his hair, his mind going back over the events of the day...

MATHER MEMORIAL

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Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 2:20pm | The Loft

Alexander had managed to wake up earlier than usual today, which gave him plenty of time to eat breakfast, brush his teeth, take a shower, and get dressed before he had to embark on the thirty minute drive from his house to Mather Memorial High in his silver Ford Mustang.

When he got to the school, Alexander had parked his car and wandered around for a bit before heading to his class, which was being held in a place called "The Loft." After a short walk Alexander found himself standing outside of the class room, his hand hovering indecisively over the doorknob and his heart beating at a million miles a minute. "No need to be nervous." He muttered to himself. "Everyone in there has powers just like you." He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before grabbing the knob, twisting it, opening the door, and stepping inside.

He gave the room a quick once over before sitting down at the nearest unoccupied couch where he found a passcard and a syllabus for the program, both of which he placed in his coat pockets. Alexander remained silent for the duration of the class, preferring to silently observe the proceedings rather than taking an active role in them. The teacher, a man with a smoothly shaved head and a gravely voice named Jonas, asked the class several questions.

The first question was simple. If you were a Hyperhuman what ability would you have? While Chronokinesis wouldn't have been Alexander's first choice it was his power, one which he had learned to live with over the years and even enjoy.

The man's second question was more challenging, since there were many rules he'd like to change. But if he had to give an answer, he would change the laws policing the use of Hyperhuman abilities. These were powers that people like himself and many other's were born with, things that they couldn't just ignore or get rid of. It was infuriating how people treated Hypes. People were free to be whatever gender or sexuality they wanted, so why weren't Hypes free to use the powers they were born with?

He felt a sharp pain in his palms and realised his fingernails were digging into his skin. With a slight wince, Alexander unclenched his fists and calmed himself. There was no use in getting worked up over a question. The class went on, only being interrupted once by an arrogant ass named Elroy who somehow managed to burn up the rest of the alloted class time.

Alexander sighed in annoyance as he got up from his seat and left the room. After that he had made his way through the crowded hall ways and back outside to his car, where he got in, started it up, driven back to his house, gone inside, and collapsed onto his bed where he now found himself, still staring at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

[BoyMom69035]

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H A R P E R R E S I D E N C E:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 05:35 pm | Bedroom}

With a heavy sigh, Ivy closed her book and let her head fall onto it in an exaggerated motion. What the Hell was the point of homework, anyways? All it did was irritate her and give her headaches. She closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again and grabbing her phone beside her. Lifting her head, she hit the home button. The screen lit up and revealed the time. The search would be kicking off pretty soon if it hadn't already. With a soft groan, Ivy pushed herself off of the bed and brought her foot down to the floor, the other following shortly after. Standing, she stretched her back out, her spine popping in several places, making her groan in appreciation.

”It's probably too late to stop by Noah’s, now. Damn,” she cursed as she pulled her boots on. ”Suppose I'll see him at the park, then.” Ivy looked in the mirror that hung from her bedroom door and made sure she looked alright before grabbing the handle and jerking the door open.

As she entered the hall, she noticed that the house was dark and quiet. Either mom and dad had left already, or were still at work. There was a good chance it could be either.

Hopping off the last step, Ivy went into the kitchen, flipping the light on. Her destination, the fridge. She desperately needed a snack, and the one thing on her mind at that moment. Go-Gurt. As she opened the fridge and pulled the crisper drawer open, she couldn't help but smile. Her dad would always ask her “how old she was” or “If she was ever going to grow up”. As if Go-Gurts were only reserved for kids. Of course, it was always in a playful manner, when he'd ask. It was just the sort of relationship they had. He would tease her, and she would tease him.
Ivy shut the drawer and the fridge door, tearing the tube open with her teeth. Reaching up, she took the plastic from between her teeth and tossed it in the trash, then proceeded to go to town on her snack as she left the kitchen. Without missing a beat, she headed straight for the door, and stepped out into the evening. This night should prove interesting.

M A T H E R P A R K:

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 06:02 pm | Search Party Registration}

When she arrived at the park, it was a flurry of activity and looked almost like a mob. It looked as if over half the town were there. Her faith in humanity went up a few notches. Sure, she had expected people to show up, but not as many as there were. It was a sight that made her smile, despite the circumstances. They were all coming together to find one of their own. The smile quickly faded and she made her way into the mob. She recognized alot of student and staff from the school. Parents. Siblings. One person in particular though, she hadn't seen yet. Well, several. She hadn't seen her mom or dad just yet, and she hadn't seen Noah.

It was at that moment, she heard a bark. Her head jerked in the direction it had come from, and Ivy saw a black blur disappear down the street. Again, a smile graced her face. Even Shadow was here. That was when the smell of food hit her nose. She couldn't help the laugh that burst past her lips and roll her eyes. ”That's why you're here.” With a shake of her head, she continued her search, weaving in and out of people, trying to find anyone she was even remotely friends with… which weren't many people.

[DELETED jdl3932]

ALEXANDER THOMAS

THOMAS RESIDENCE

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 5:32pm | Alexander's Bedroom}

Alexander felt his eyelids grow heavy as his mind went from thinking, to daydreaming, and finally into a sort of pre-hibernation state. Unfortunately his drowsiness was soon replaced by a gnawing hunger. "Shit. I haven't eaten anything since this morning." He grumbled internally as he slowly got out of bed, stretching a little to wake up. He walked over to a small wooden table, grabbed his wallet, pocket watch, and phone. After putting all the items into their respective pockets, Alexander opened the front door and stepped outside.

He turned around and locked it before walking down the path leading from his front door to the sidewalk his Mustang was parked next to. He got inside, buckled his seatbelt, put his keys into the ignition, and put his foot on the brake while simultaneously starting the car. Its engine roared to life as Alexander shifted it into drive and checked his rearview mirror for any oncoming cars or pedestrians.

Seeing none he took his foot off of the brake pedal and pressed down slightly on the gas pedal. Pulling out into the street, Alexander sped off into the night and headed towards the nearest fast food joint.

MCDONALD'S TEN MINUTES LATER....

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 5:40pm | The inside of a local McDonald's}

"....The search for missing Mather Memorial High student, Kaitlyn Stewart, is still ongoing. So far, authorities have not uncovered any new information concerning her location. The Crestwood Police Department asks that anyone who has knowledge of her current whereabouts, come forward immediately..." Alexander stared at the tv, burger in hand, as the memory of what Elroy had said earlier that day rushed back into his mind. "On behalf of the Crestwood Police Department and Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, I’d like to invite any willing volunteer out tonight at six, to Mather Park to take part in a community wide search. The more eyes, the more likely we are to find Kaitlyn and bring her home...” He sat there, slowly chewing on the last portion of his burger as he mulled the idea over in his mind. On the one hand he didn't even know this girl since he had never met her in his very short time at Mather Memorial High, so he had no personal reason or motivation to look for her, but on the other hand he knew it was the right thing to do even if she was a complete stranger.

After a few more painfully slow moments of deliberation, Alexander decided to help search for the girl. He got up from his table and threw his trash into a nearby bin, before leaving the McDonald's, getting in his car, and heading towards Mather Park.

MATHER PARK

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^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 6:03pm | Search Party Registration}

After finding a place to park, which wasn't easy considering how many people were around, Alexander had walked over to the registration area within the park and now found himself waiting in a twenty person line. He let out a small sigh and looked around at the park, at least as much of it as he could see through the mob of people around him, and and noticed the same redheaded girl that had been in class earlier that day. "Good to know I'm not the only Hype here." He thought as the line moved forward slightly before grinding to a halt. Alexander cracked his knuckles and stared up at the darkening sky. "This is going to be a long night..."