Chapter 7: What I Saw

"No!"

Pauline's scream was so loud, so raw, that it brought the entire field to a standstill. Even those in the midst of demonstrating their powers and abilities froze, their gazes instinctively snapping toward the source of the desperate cry—the trembling girl at the center of it all.

Her body curled in on itself as she dropped to her knees, her back hunched as the agonized scream tore from her throat. Her glasses nearly slipped from her face, but Hannah caught them—along with Pauline herself—just in time to keep her from collapsing completely.

The scream eventually faded, but her mouth remained open, her breath still escaping in ragged, frantic gasps. She wasn't silent. No, she was still screaming—just not out loud. The sound had been swallowed, trapped inside her mind, where it echoed endlessly.

The senior student responsible for overseeing their group, raised an eyebrow as a little bit of interest finally crawled on her face—she did not, however, do anything but just watch with a slightly amused smile. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't stand by watching on the side for long as Hannah called for her.

"Ms. Hera, what do we do!?" Hannah screamed as she grabbed Pauline's chin, making sure she wouldn't bite her tongue, "Do something!"

Hera sighed, crossing her arms as she approached the screaming Pauline and said,

"You know what my power is, right? What do you want me to do, punch her to sleep?"

"But—"

"Chill," Hera blew on the gum she was chewing, creating a bubble before sucking it back in, "Pauline Cain. 15 years old. Powers started exhibiting 3 years ago. Telepathy, and possible mind control. Her known weakness is her amplified emotional stress whenever using her abilities."

Not only Hannah, but Bella, Benjamin, and Jericho were also surprised as they heard Hera list Pauline's profile. Hannah pulled Pauline closer to her, supporting her and making sure she didn't drop before looking up at Hera and looking at her and asking,

"You… know her?" 

"Of course," Hera shrugged her shoulders before glaring at the other examinees, silently telling them to look away. And look away they did before she continued and said,

"I know all of you and I've read your profiles. The only one I don't know is him because he's not supposed to be here."

Hera pointed at Riley, who was only staring at the struggling Pauline with his head tilted to the side. He returned Hera's look and glanced at her, but only for a moment before looking back to Pauline. He was quiet, still. But his mind was completely filled with all sorts of thoughts.

I've never heard someone scream that way. It was so pure, so unhinged. So… beautiful. But why did she stop? But why did she scream when she looked at me? Did I forget to take a bath? Is she still reading my mind right now? Does that mean that she knows I'm thinking that her screams were beautiful?

And while he was lost in thought, Pauline soon started to calm down. Her face, filled with sweat enough to trail down her neck.

"Are you… okay?" Hannah asked as she carefully helped her up, and Pauline responded with a nod and a very heavy, but stuttered breath. Jericho and the twins also seemed concerned, but Hera stepped forward before they could comfort Pauline.

"What happened?" Hera asked, "What did you see in his mind that made you scream like that?"

Riley tilted his head to the other side when he heard Hera ask that, his sharp and elongated ears somewhat twitching as he wanted to hear the answer. Pauline wiped her sweat first, recovering her breath before looking back at Riley and whispering,

"Nothing. I saw… nothing."

"Nothing?" Hera raised an eyebrow, "You screamed because you saw nothing?"

"It… I'm sorry." Pauline bit her lip as she looked to the side, "It… was the first time I saw something like that, it felt like I was drowning and I… I'm sorry, Riley."

"Why are you apologizing, Ms. Pauline?" Riley blinked a couple of times, genuinely confused, "Should I not be the one to apologize for causing your distress?"

"No, I…" Pauline glanced at Riley before quickly looking away again, "...I screamed at you."

"No, you screamed at everyone," Riley shook his head, "Everyone in the field was looking at you, Ms. Pauline. You must be so embarrassed right now, it is times like this that I value my lack of emotional—Oh."

Before Riley could finish his words, Hannah rushed at him and gently slapped the back of his head.

"Sorry for the idiot," she sighed in frustration while covering her face, "And as you've witnessed firsthand, Pauline—there's nothing in my brother's head. If anything, you probably saw everything the dude was thinking, which is absolutely nothing."

Riley shook his head at his sister's words and said, "That is not true at all, Hannah. I was thinking something while she was screaming."

"Please don't say anything backhanded."

"I was thinking her voice was extremely beautiful, Hannah."

"Yup. There it fucking is," the hand covering Hannah's face became two as she cringed at her brother's words before looking at Pauline, "Don't… think too much about it. Riley doesn't have a filter like the rest of us."

"No, it's…" Pauline's face slightly became red as she glanced at Riley, "...It's fine. I'm… sorry again."

And before anyone else could say anything, Hera clapped her hands and scoffed.

"Alright, alright, alright," she muttered while shaking her head, "You freaks can do all the flirting you want later, let's just finish the demonstration for now. Twins, you're up next. I don't care who goes first."

Bella was about to step to the center of the platform, but her brother suddenly pulled her back by the hair.

"Hey!"

"Ssh!"

She complained, but Benjamin quickly shushed her down by putting a finger on her lips. She raised her fist and cracked her knuckles, but Benjamin quickly backed away while spinning and tiptoeing like a ballerina.

"I am afraid the beauty comes before the brute, my dear sister," Benjamin laughed in a high-pitched tone while pretending to cover his mouth. Bella raised her middle finger at him, but Benjamin completely ignored her as he stretched his arms to the side,

"Aight, y'all," He said quite flamboyantly, "I will show you what a real damn demonstration is."