Kaylee stayed up all night and managed to get huge eyebags beneath her perfectly-shaped eyes. She still could not believe it. She got ready for school, had breakfast and even went out of her front door but it still made no sense to her. She had been a lady of science, she believed anything that happened could be explained in scientific terms. She left her house and did not even notice the extraction workers trying to remove the poplar tree which had fallen on Anna's car.
Anna herself was seated on her porch thinking about karma and how life could be cruel sometimes. She was living alone, had no friends and always seemed to be doing the wrong thing each time. She thought about her life in vain and did not notice the extraction workers removing the poplar tree and the terrible state her car was in. The tinted windows were shattered, the huge windscreen was in tatters as the wheels were even displaced from the car. It was totally smashed.
Kaylee cycled through the slippery tarmac road as her mind drifted away into a world of oblivion. Cars passed around her honking, drivers screaming and yelling brutally at her but she could not hear a single thing. She thought about how her life would change now that she had supernatural powers and then she had an episode.
She saw two male policemen at the school's main gate. They were walking towards the school with the headmaster as their escort. They wore their uniforms and had parked their small blue police car on the school ground. Students were constantly staring at them as the police officers did not mind the situation.
When she awoke from her episode she was still cycling and stopped to breathe in. She remembered her grandmothers' words, anyone with supernatural abilities would be murdered. She started pondering on it and realised it was all in vain. The police were in the school definitely not because of her.
She got back on her antiqued bicycle stopped contemplating and rode to school. When she reached her school she saw the same people she saw on her episode being directed to the school by the headteacher. Everyone was in clutters and were whispering about the policemen. Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation on her neck. She was startled and swiftly turned back to see Rhoda holding her books close to her chest while heaving.
"You have got to stop doing that.....," Kaylee gasped.
"Oh, sorry. Did I surprise you? I just wanted to ask if your willing to speak with me regarding what we saw yesterday." Rhoda murmured.
"I can't, am busy."
"You can't give me two minutes of your time to help someone who is currently being looked down upon by the basketball team. How could you be so heartless?"
Kaylee ignored the words of Rhoda as she continued walking. She knew she did not want to get involved in anything that she could not handle. She went to her first class of the day. She continued with her day normally totally forgetting about what she can do when suddenly she got another episode while getting her books for the fourth period.
She saw the infamous Clare and her friend Sarah, talking to Rhoda in the biology laboratory. They had crossed their hands and maintained direct eye contact with Rhoda. They looked enraged while Rhoda was explaining something to them when Clare suddenly slapped her. She and Sarah then hit her as Rhoda coiled herself at the filthy floor. Her episode was interrupted by the PA system of the school.
"Students, we are having an emergency assembly. Please correctly proceed to the auditorium. Remember, teachers will be stationed at each of the hallways to make sure all the students have reached the auditorium. Students failing to do so will be punished. This is your headmaster, Mr Wong."
Kaylee closed her locker and walked towards the auditorium. The hallway was already filled to the brim as the pushing and shoving of teenagers continued. The meeting was unusually long in which the police officers held speeches about anti-bullying and its punishment in law. They emphasised the same thing and how they are disappointed in the youth for bullying. Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Kaylee was safely ensconced in her seat as she tilted her head backwards to see the number of people in the room, her eyes met with Rhoda's close-set vapid eyes. She still was wearing a pink cardigan and a plaited skirt, She had her two pigtails tied up and looked at the stage with utter concentration. Then she remembered what was going to happen to her and felt miserable. The innocent, gullible lass with a love for validity was about to be thrashed. She simply could not ignore it, although she was extremely annoying and talkative she could neither let her get beaten up nor let her suffer in silence. She waited patiently for the meeting to end and then walked up to her.
"Hey, Rhoda!" yelled Kaylee.
"What Kaylee, do you need something?" she asked in a serious tone.
"Oh, I was wondering if we could form a study group."
"Fine, text me," she said as she turned her back and started walking towards the dining hall.
Kaylee immediately saw Clare and Sarah waiting impatiently for Rhoda at the entrance of the auditorium. Clare simply wanted revenge on her boyfriend, 'even if he was the worst how dare she gets him suspended', that is what Clare thought. She held her waist with one hand as her tight jeans held her skinny bones leaving her as slender as a model.
"Wait a minute, Rhoda. Do you want to have lunch with me? We could talk about when to do our study groups. And also I don't have a phone," Kaylee exclaimed.
"Okay, then but we are going to have lunch with Ricardo. I made plans with him."
At lunch the three were seated together in one group at the end of the dining hall, Kaylee was annoyed by whatever was happening and kept playing with her burger when Rhoda suddenly started bombarding her with questions. At first, she only nodded to the questions but as it continued it seemed impossible to dodge them and started answering her. "Do you have a partner for the biology project?" Rhoda then inquired with a lot of enthusiasm in her voice.
"What biology project?" Kaylee wondered.
"You know the one about homeostasis, where we have to research and stuff. Are you even paying attention in class? you seem to be in a trance a lot these days. Ricardo, you know I fell yesterday on my way to school and she did not even notice."
"Did you get hurt?" Ricardo asked with a lot of concern in his voice.
"No, am fine," Rhoda answered and continued with her long and unnecessary talk.
Meanwhile, Kaylee felt exceptional with her behaviour. It had been the first time she had helped anyone and she felt good about it. Maybe supernational powers aren't so bad after all she thought. They finished their seemingly endless lunch and proceeded back to class.
They finished their classes and the bell rang. Kaylee got up to leave and had an episode. This time it took a few seconds before Rhoda taped her back and she awoke from her deep unconscious state. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I have to go, do you need something?" Kaylee mumbled.
"Yeah about the biology project, there are supposed to be three people as a team would you mind if Ricardo worked with us? He also doesn't have a partner," Rhoda asked with a low tone while looking at her feet in hopes of Kaylee agreeing with it.
Kaylee agreed to the humble request and quickly left the class as Rhoda screamed goodbye. She cycled back home while panting heavily. She reached her neighbourhood in approximately ten minutes which was twenty minutes less than the normal time.
She got off her bike and left it on the curb as she ran into Anna's house. She swung the wooden door open and perused through before running into the kitchen. Smoke had filled the room as she coughed her way to the stove and turned her gas off. She opened the windows as she heard a car being parked. She saw Anna coming out of her car in distress as she raced to her house with an alarming reaction. She entered her house as she choked on the smoke that was filled in the room. Kaylee was watching her as she looked around her house for a while before her face turned to a face void of any emotions.
She scanned her house thoroughly and then slowly turned around and left her house while Kaylee followed her. They sat on her golden coloured porch and after a few minutes of silence Anna uttered, "Thank you very much, Kaylee, it's Kaylee right?"
"Yeah, it's Kaylee and please don't worry about it. Am sure you would have done the same thing for anyone." She answered with a broad smile.
Kaylee's grandmother came over to them after a few minutes and they were involved in a lengthy discussion with Anna. Kaylee excused herself as she went to freshen up.
That night as she sat on her bed she thought of how her abilities had saved Anna. She had seen Anna's house burning down when she was at school. She pitied Anna as she faced a lot of misfortune but believed things would eventually turn out to be okay for her. She felt grateful, these were the few moments in her life when such abilities proved effective and meritorious. Although she still wondered why her abilities were abrupt they always differed in time and place. She thought about it for a long time but her body was too exhausted to continue trying to figure it out. A couple of minutes later she fell asleep.