The Gifted (Privat)

You know when they say that being unique is your best trait? Everywhere today; on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter et cetera, there are always people telling the world how being unique is good, how we should value the difference between people more. However, it seems like they only say that until they really meet someone that’s different, someone that’s Gifted. Now you’re probably wondering what a Gifted is? Well, it’s pretty simple. A Gifted person is a person with a special gift or ability. It’s not an ability like being good at playing the piano or good studying skills, no. The Gift we’re talking about is something special, for example, there is a girl who can walk through walls, a boy who has wings and can fly with the birds and a girl whose touch will give you a horrible pain that will make you wish you never were born. So, how do you keep these people from using their abilities for evil? Well, there is a border school called Riverbank. The school is hidden, both geographically and by magic. The protective walls keep the curious eyes out, and the magic makes it possible to mention the school to someone who is not Gifted if asked. The school is close to a town called Queenstown, which makes it easier for the pupils of the school to socialize with others than the pupils of the school. The headmistress, Arla Harris, created the school 20 years ago, and since then, she has helped a lot of students to learn about their Gift and how to use it properly. Of course, the school has other subjects such as maths, science and history. Usually the Gift will kick in when you are around 15, which is why you start the first year of the school then, and you usually finish school when you are 19.

The people in the world do know about the Gifted, and rumours are starting to spread. People believing all Gifted people are evil, and they are afraid. That is why the Gifted keep a low profile, which is a big difference from 40 years ago, when Gifted and non-Gifted lived together without trouble. However, today is different.

It’s morning, pretty early morning. It’s 7.30 am, and the school is quiet. Most of the pupils and teachers are still sleeping. A girl is walking down the corridor, and out though the main entrance. The school area is huge, with lots of trees and also a little lake. The girl walks past the basketball court and down to the lake. There, she sits down under a tree and takes a book out of her bag. Her black hair is braided and her green eyes are gazing out at the water. The water is still, and the sun is reflecting on the surface. Someone is running laps around the lake. If she guesses correctly, it is Shawn, the boy whose Gift is that he runs almost as fast as light. He is in year Three, just like her. Her red nails are browsing through the book to find the page she last read, and finds it. It is a wonderful morning.

There are so many things that make early mornings as lovely as they are. The air is damp and pleasant to breathe and the grass feels nice and cool underneath my bare feet. It's quiet and peaceful. I think that's what I like the most about mornings. It's the perfect time to be running, so I won't be disturbed. School doesn't start until 10.30 am, so no one would usually be up in a long time. However, today seems to be different.
I slow down the pace so I can have a proper look at the girl who's appeared underneath a tree on the other side of the lake. What's she doing up so early?
I don't think I've ever seen her before, but I can't help to notice how pretty she is. I can see that her eyes are green all they way from here, they're overpowering. As much as I want to go up and talk to her, I won't. A pretty girl like her wouldn't want to be friends with me, I think looking down at my worn out sneakers and sweaty t-shirt.

Most people going to this school come from rich families. Sometimes people pay unreasonable amounts of money to hire a gifted person for their gift.
My family, however, is very poor. Who would want to hire my mom, who can smell the future? Or my dad, who can grow his hair on command? I love my parents, but what kind of gifts are those? Completely useless! Being poor isn't easy. I get teased a lot, because I can't afford fancy clothes and sometimes not even a haircut. That's why I've let my brown wavy hair grow long. I look a lot like my mother. We both have the same nose, short and thin, full lips and we have the same eyes, a kind of honey color. I got my muscular build from my dad though. Or from running.

I stop to catch my breath, sometimes catching a glimpse of the girl.

She is completely amazed by the book. It is a mystery novel, her favourite kind. It was her mother who had introduced her to books in the first place, when she was little. She is a copy of her mum, even their height is the same down to the inch. Although, they don’t have the same Gift. Her mother has one of Gifts that are very easy to abuse. Whatever she tells someone while looking them in the eyes to do, they will do, without asking questions. This isn’t very nice when you don’t feel like doing the dishes and the only thing she needs to do is to tell you to do them. However, her mother had never abused her Gift, even though she has gotten lots of job offers which isn’t very clean. Her mum is a very proud woman, and would never get her hands dirty. Her dad is a non-Gifted, and he was surprised when her mother told him what she is capable of, and now he is fighting for the Watch, which is a group of people, both Gifted and non-Gifted, fighting for the Gifted people’s rights.

She looks up at the lake again, and the boy has slowed down a bit. She has seen him before in school, but she can’t remember his name. She thinks it is Shawn, but she is not sure. The first time she saw him run the fastest he could, he turned into a streak of blur. It was pretty cool, and must be a very useful Gift. Her own Gift is also pretty useful, depending on the situation. She is a shapeshifter, and can turn into any human or animal as long as she has seen him, her or it in a picture or in real life. Before she could control her Gift and moved to the school, she remembers how her so called “friends” had forced her to turn into random people on the street and steal things from different shops. They had blackmailed her that they were going to out her as a Gifted if she didn’t do what they said. She shook her head at the memory and stretched her arms. The sun had gotten a little bit higher in the sky and she felt its warmth on her skin. She looks over at the lake, and the boy has stopped. She reaches into her bag again and pulls out a bottle of water.
“You need some?”, she shouts over the grass, “You look warm”.

I've been so busy with school lately, I haven't had time to do anything but study. It's spring and the school year is coming to an end, which means sooo much stress. Thanks to spring, it's been a long time since I've ran properly. This morning I've been running for hours nonstop, and man, I've missed it. I've always loved the feeling you get after a good run, when your legs feel like spaghetti and your whole body feels warm, even on the coldest winter days.

The girl underneath the tree shouts at me asking if I need some water. She thinks I look warm and I can feel my face turn red from embarrassment. I probably look absolutely terrible right now. I'm a sweaty mess. If someone saw me right now they wouldn't think running was my hobby.
I could actually use some water right now, but the girl looked so enchanted by her book before, I wouldn't want to bother her.
"Thank you, but I'll be fine". I give her a friendly smile and wave before I start walking towards the dormitory, in which I live during the school year. I take a long hot shower before I head to the library. I still have some unfinished work I have to do before class.

She shrugs when he turns down her offer for a drink, and takes a sip from the bottle. She looks at her watch. 8 am. She puts her stuff back in her bag and stands. She looks over the lake once again, and the boy is gone. She turns towards the school and starts walking in that direction. She has a study session with her study group, the exams are starting soon. She enters the school, and it is much more lively now than before.
“Hey, Tempi!” she hears a familiar voice shout. She turns around, and one of her friends, Stella, is walking towards her. She has her usual black gloves on. Her Gift is one of the more horrible ones. If Stella touches someone with her bare skin, they will experience the worst pain they have ever felt. Tempi, or Temperance which is her full name, has never felt her touch, and she wishes she never will.
“Hey S. Are the others in the library?” Tempi asks and Stella shrugs.
“Don’t know, why don’t we find out?” she says and nods towards the corridor which eventually leads to the library.
“So, out reading your book as usual?” Stella asks as they walk down the corridor.
“Yes, and this time I wasn’t alone, actually” Tempi says and Stella raises her eyebrows.
“Yeah? Who else but you are refusing to sleep when you’re supposed to?” she asks and Tempi grins at her, she can’t help that she is a morning person.
“You know the boy that runs really fast? He was out running” she says and Stella frowns, she is trying to remember who Tempi is talking about.

They enter the library, and two of their other friends, Jake and Rose, are waving at them from a table.
“Seems like you’re not the only early bird in our group”, Stella mutters and Tempi laughs, boxing her friend’s arm, making sure it is on the clothed part of her arm. They sit down with their friends and Tempi pulls out her books.
“So, let’s start with science, right?”. She opens the book and they start to discuss the latest lesson and what was said, and comparing notes. Exams, here we come.

I take a seat next to the window and start piling up my books on the table. I stare at the pile of books, exhausted. The run was clearly a mistake, because I can barely keep my eyes open. I groan and lean my head in my hands. There's so much I have to do. Sometimes I just feel like giving up on school, because no matter how hard I try, my grades will never as good as I want them to be. I mean they're decent, but I put so much effort into my schoolwork and still I don't have a single A. It's so frustrating. I plug in my headphones and start taking notes. Just a few months left and this is all over.
"Michael Jackson, huh?" My friend Patrick sits down next to me with a grin. "You need to find some better music, that stuff is ancient". His gift is his amazing hearing, obviously. He takes every opportunity he can to show it off. It's annoying sometimes, but he's still my best friend.
"You look exhausted! Here, have some coffee", he says handing me his cup of coffee he brought. "You went running, didn't you? I thought I heard someone talking outside, was it you? Who were you talking to?"
"Yeah, I wasn't the only one awake today, strange enough. There was some girl outside reading, she asked if I needed water after I finished running", I say as someone else comes into the library. A group of girls, including the one at the lake.
"Look, there she is. The one with the braids", I tell Patrick. He glances over at the girl.
"Tempi, I think that's her name. She's some kind of shapeshifter I think". I nod. That's a gift I wouldn't mind having.
I return to taking notes, ignoring Patrick's attempts to continue the conversation. I need to get my work done before class.

Tempi sighs. Her group has now worked past science and gone into history, her worst subject. It’s just random events you need to remember. She likes maths and science better, at least that’s subjects you can discuss.
“Guys, I need some coffee” she says and gets up from the chair. She looks over at the corner where the coffee machine is. She walks over, and sees the boy from the lake. If only she could remember his name. The library is not very full, only three tables are taken. Most students probably procrastinate studying to the afternoon on weekends. Well, Tempi likes having the studying done so she can go out in the town or do something else during the afternoon. She comes up to the coffeemaker, the most used machine in the whole school, and presses the button to have some hot, black coffee. Three disappointing words show up on the screen; “Out of Coffee”. She sighs loudly and turns around.
“Very nice of you, taking the last coffee and all” she says sarcastically and smiles to the boy next to the lake-boy. Patrick, she is pretty sure his name is. It’s a big school, you can’t keep track on everyone. She looks over at the books on the table.
“Are you guys studying for the exams on Tuesday as well?” she asks and realizes she is still holding the empty paper cup which is supposed to have coffee in it.

A voice interrupts me from my studies. I look up at the girl who spoke, it's Tempi, from the lake. Patrick laughs at her sarcastic comment. I don't understand how communicating with strangers comes so naturally to him. I wish I was more like Patrick. Everyone seems to like him. He's nice and funny and he doesn't look too bad either. Me on the other hand, clumsy, embarrassing and plain-looking.
"Sorry, I'd give it to you, but my friend Shawn here needs it". Patrick pats my shoulder. "He was up all night running. He's such an idiot", he says playfully. I shake my head.
"No, you can have it if you want to, I haven't even touched it yet. You probably need it, you got up pretty early today. It was you at the lake, wasn't it?" Of course it was her. That was a dumb question. Who'd forget those eyes? "It might not be hot anymore, but coffee's coffee, right?" I slide the cup across the table towards Tempi.
"I haven't even started studying for Tuesday's exam yet, but there's lots of time left so I'm not too worried about it", Patrick explains as he puts his feet on the table, getting dirt from his shoes all over my books. I give him an annoyed look but don't care to say anything about it.

“Idiot is a bit harsh, isn’t it?” Tempi says, smiling, “if I could run that fast, I would probably run for an entire night too, just for the good of it” she adds and laughs. She turns to Shawn (yes, she is thrilled that she got his name right!)
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll just find someone that knows how to add more coffee to the machine, I won’t steal your coffee, reading isn’t close to as exhausting as running” she says and turns again to Patrick, who now has his feet on the table. She wrinkles her nose a bit at the dirt falling off his shoes, onto the table and the books there.
“Lots of time? You do realize it’s Saturday, right?” she says and grins, “or are you one of those wiz-kids that don’t need to study because they are super smart?” she says. She reacts to someone shouting her name across the room.
“Temperance! Stop flirting with boys and get your ass back here!”. Of course it’s Stella. The librarian looks angry at her, and she grins. Tempi feels how her cheeks turns a bit red.
“Sorry, she can be embarrassing sometimes” she says and rolls her eyes towards Stella, “as you might have heard, I have to get back to the books, but I hope I’ll see you guys at the barbeque party down at the lake tonight? I hear the music will be great” she says and smiles before she turns her back to Shawn and Patrick.

“Can you be a little louder or what?” she says as she sits down with the others. Stella grins and nods towards the boys.
“Is that the one down by the lake?” she says and nods towards Shawn.
“Yes, and his friend Patrick. They’re nice, so please don’t ruin my attempt to make new friends, please” Tempi mutters and Stella laughs.
“Please, you don’t need any more friends, you’ve got me, Jake and Rose” she says and puts a gloved hand on her arm. Tempi rolls her eyes and starts reading her history book once again.

"I never study, but the difference between me and wiz kids is that I'm not smart!" Patrick laughs. Atleast half of his grades are F's and that makes me feel a bit better about my own.
I twitch when a girl who I believe is called Stella shouts Tempi's name. Temperance, I've never heard that name before, but it is quite beautiful. I wonder what it means.
"Yeah, Tempi, stop flirting with us" Patrick says with a grin. Tempi was already blushing, but her face turns even more red after Patrick's comment.

"You're going to the lake tonight, right?" Patrick says to me after Tempi has gone back to her friends. "It's your chance to make new friends!" he says with a friendly smile. I guess it is, but I've never been a big fan of parties. The music always drives me insane! Besides, I don't even mind only having a few friends. I sigh.
"I don't know. I really need to study but I guess I could".
"Perfect!" Patrick rests his head in his hands that are behind his head. His face looks like he's trying to concentrate, trying to hear something. "Did you hear that? They're talking about us. Tempi thinks we're nice and she wants to be our friend" he says. I shake my head. Of course I didn't hear it, I'm not a fricking bat.
"Stop listening to other people's conversations, how would you feel if someone did the same to you?" Patrick blushes and I laugh at his guilty looking face. "Come on, lets go to class" I say as I start loading my books back into my backpack.