Whatever Happened to Normal?

Jay's POV

I walked towards Ellie's house in deep thought. We have powers that we have barely any control of and we have to keep them secret, how fun. My magic still isn't doing what it's supposed to. I'm not sure how I did that thing with the TV and the blankets the other night. It felt like it was more out of feeling and instinct rather than actual skill. I need to actually be able to use my magic effectively. As a kid, I always wanted to be able to do magic. Like the kids in Wizards of Waverly Place or Harry Potter. Now that power is actually in me and I can't use it. This is some fuckery. Why did I have to get the short end of the stick with my stupid powers?

Before I could get closer to her door Ellie was already running out of her house furiously.

"Don't expect to see me home later Sarah!" Ellie yelled as she slammed her front door and stormed away from her porch. I turned tail and followed her. She is fast when she is mad. Or maybe she's just faster now. We didn't give her super-speed right? Oh, wait I do. Maybe if I just increase my speed slightly I can catch up faster. So I tried it and ended up running far past her. And by far I mean the end of the street. She stopped her angry walking and looked very concerned. Maybe I should only be using my powers in a controlled environment. I should not be trusted with these powers. Ellie ran the rest of the way to me while I waited for her to catch up.

"What the fuck did you just do. You can't get us caught by doing shit like that." She scolded. I at least had the decency to look sorry about it.

"I know, I just didn't realize I'd go so far. I tried to go fast enough to catch up to you quickly. I'm not sure that super-speed is gonna be something I use too often."

"Good because it doesn't seem like your kind of power. Who suggested it anyway?"

"I think it was Myles. He wanted us to match or something." We both laughed as we arrived at the gates of our school. We traversed the crowds of people until we reached the table where we normally meet up. Myles was the only one there and when he spotted us he shut his laptop rather quickly. He looked rather engrossed in whatever it was he was looking at before. I'm gonna ask him about that later. When we're alone though because it feels personal. No not personal, embarrassing. I never realized how good it is to be able to feel others' emotions. It's a little hard to sift through with all these people around, but once I lock on, I'm good. Myles is familiar so finding his emotions feel normal.

"What's up Myles, how have you been? Are you keeping your thing secret?" Ellie asked as she eyed me. You make one mistake and all of a sudden the entire state knows you messed up. Disrespectful.

"You could say that… maybe… if you squint." He had a sheepish smile on his face.

"What did you do?" I asked hesitantly. Who knows what he could've done with his powers.

"I accidentally short-circuited my toaster and it caught fire. But I told my parents it was a faulty wire or something so I'm good." We both stared at him in awe. He set his motherfucking toaster on fire. I should've got rid of our powers when I had the chance. None of us are responsible. "What did Jay do?"

"I'm glad you asked. He thought it was a good idea to use his speed and accidentally ran to the end of the block on our walk here." I put my head in my hands.

"Maybe leave the running to me." He reached across the table and patted my head. The table shook and I looked up to see Amy and Johnny sit down. We passed around greetings before getting back to the conversation.

"How have your powers been treating you?" I asked the two newcomers. Turns out that they've been over to go the one day we've been apart with no supernatural incident. Good for them. The bell rings and we all go our separate ways. I went upstairs to the science hallway alone. When I got to chemistry, Ray was already in the seat next to mine. When he saw me he smiled and I did too. I took my seat and prepared for extensive note-taking.

"Hey Ray, how come you didn't come to sit with us when you got here?" I asked.

"I saw you all but, I didn't want to intrude on your group." You would think after what happened two days ago that he wouldn't be shy to talk to us. We literally had a weird superpower emergency and he thinks talking to us is scary? This boy confuses me.

"You wouldn't be intruding. Here." Without thinking an index card appeared between my fingers and I wrote my number down on it. When I held the card out and he just stared at me finally clicked. I really need to be more responsible with my powers. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to take them away from myself. Maybe if I could use my magic properly then I would be better at this.

Ray takes the card from me and puts it in his bag. I smile at him. He's a little stubborn once you get to know him. But, I swear on my magic powers that I will befriend (and possibly date) this boy if it's the last thing I do. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I look at the message. It says it's from an unknown number.

[Unknown Number]

Number: You've gotten your powers from the book. Good. You're gonna need them to get you through what's to come. Keep training with your friends. I'll be in contact. –D

I feel shocked and violated. How could this person know about any of this? I would brush it off as a joke if all the information wasn't correct. This person knows everything. Not just our powers but about the book too. Maybe this is the person who dropped it in front of me. That would mean that they did it intentionally though, that he chose me to get the book. I typed out a response to their message.

Me: Who are you? And how do you know all of this?

Number: I can't tell you everything now. Just keep practicing your powers and don't let anyone outside of your group know about this. I'll help you learn your magic in due time. Watch your back and trust no one. If you value your safety, you'll listen to me.

So they know how to help me with my magic? That's great right? God this is so confusing. I hand my phone to Ray without saying anything. He eyes my phone suspiciously before taking it and reading through the messages. Once he's done he hands it back.

"Holy shit, that's a lot to take in." He looks like how I feel. What have I gotten all of us into?