"Renat?!" The aforementioned jumped, giving a startled yelp as a wild Anna appeared burst through the bushes.
"Where've you been boyo?" Anna gave Richard a dirty look. "We've been worried, you've been acting weird. Speaking weird, and acting weird..."
"You already said that."
"Yes I know I said that." Anna looked serious. She could be scary at times, especially when she was angry or very worried about someone. Sometimes it could be hard to tell which.
"Seriously Renat, what's been going on? You've had us worried."
Renat knew there was no getting out of this one, no more running from facing this discussion. I'll have to tell them the truth... What else can I do? "I-I... Uh..." he stuttered, unsure where to start. His friends, even Richard, were listening intently. "I discovered that I have a power," telling his friends about this was harder than his parents, "I didn't... I'm sc-... Please don't regard me as a freak. I wish it would just go away, but it isn't... I don't want it. I didn't ask for it. I don't want to be one of the weirdos that have been showing up the past month. If the U.S.F finds out, the-"
"Renat," Anna interrupted him, bending down to just above eye level with the sitting Renat, as he started to spew out panicked sentences, "calm down. You are going to be ok. Take a deep bre-"
"No you're not! I'm off to report you now," declared Richard, marching off. Anna rolled her eyes, standing up again, and placing her right hand on her hip. Renat released a pent-up sigh. 3... 2... 1... A half... A quarter... Renat counted, Guess maybe he has- Nope, here he is. The bushes rustled and Richard returned a grin plastered to his face. Despite his terrible humour, Richard never failed at least slightly lift the mood. "I need more information for the cops. Carry on."
"I found out about a week ago. I've been avoiding you guys because I wasn't sure how I could tell you or if I could tell you. But now that I have and it's over, I feel a bit better. Before it felt like an impossible feat. It's weird how the human brain works. We're emotional creatures and it can- Sorry, going off topic as usual. See, I'm still me. Guys?"
"Of course you're still you. Having a power doesn't change who you are it only-"
"Makes you even cooler! Dude, we'll stick by you, don't worry so much."
"What he said. Come now, we're all going to my house to work on the interpretation and conclusion from that science prac we did in class last week. The thing is due tomorrow and you didn't show up when we were planning to do it originally. Maybe we can work together on the maths module we started today, since you didn't seem to be paying attention and Richard is, well, Richard."
"Heeeeey!"
"Come, let's go." Anna's word was final. Renat placed his tablet into his backpack, got up, brushed himself off, hung his pack on his shoulders and followed his friends out the bushes. It surprised him how immensely satisfying it felt to be back with his companions.