Across the hall, Alice saw a tall, dark-haired boy reading the previous day's newspaper, with that embarrassing black and white photo of her on the front page. Suddenly he looked up and stared straight at her. she had never seen anyone with eyes this shade of blue. they were green-blue, like the smooth pieces of sea glass she'd found on the beach, and so bright they sparkled. a look crossed his face as he caught her gaze. Disappointment? She didn't have time to think about it any longer, because he pushed himself from the display case he had been leaning against and came towards her. He had the smile of a movie star and Alice's heart gave a strange, fluttery jump.
"Is this you?", he asked, pointing to the photo. Alice nodded and couldn't say a word. He looked about seventeen years old and was without a doubt the most handsome boy she had ever seen. Then why had he spoken to her? "I thought so." He peered at the photo and then back at her. "I didn't realize you had brown eyes." "Um…yeah," she stammered. "how so?" He raised his shoulders. "No reason." There was something strange about the conversation, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. And she couldn't place his accent either. It sounded a bit British, but different. More concise? It irritated her, but she didn't know why. "Are you in this class?" Alice asked. As soon as she said it she wanted to shove the words back into her mouth: of course he wasn't in her class. She had never seen him before. She wasn't used to talking to boys - especially ones this handsome - and it made her brain go soft. "No," he said, and there was that perfect smile again. Then he pointed to the drawing on the classroom black board that the teacher had drawn. It was an Albertosaurus. "Question: do you really think they looked like that? That doesn't make sense, does it?" "Sure," Alice said, trying to see what he saw. The dinosaur looked like a small T-rex: big sharp teeth, ridiculously short front legs. Nothing wrong with it. "What do you mean? What do you think they looked like?" He laughed. "Never mind. I won't keep you any longer. Nice to meet you, Alice."
He turned to walk away, but just then a couple of annoying kids stormed down the hall. The overwhelming wave of screeching voices was enough to send Alice reeling backwards, but their mental voices were of a completely different order of pain. Thoughts were like high, pricking needles, and such a large group felt like an angry porcupine was attacking her brain. She closed her eyes and her hands flew to her head, rubbing her temples to get rid of the stitches in her skull. But she had forgotten for a moment that she was not alone. She glanced around to see if anyone had noticed her reaction and her eyes fell on the boy. He pressed his hands to his forehead and looked as anguished as she probably had done a few moments earlier. "Did you hear that?" he asked in a choked tone. The blood drained from Alice's face. He didn't mean... It must have been about the screaming of those children. That was quite a racket in itself. Screaming, cheering and giggling and then about sixty voices chatting away. Voices.
She gasped and took another step back, realizing what was wrong with their conversation. She heard the voices of everyone in the hallway. But she only heard the boy's distinctive voice when he talked out loud. His thoughts were completely absent. She didn't understand it. "Who are you?" Alice whispered. His eyes widened. "You heard them too, right?" He came closer and leaned towards her. "Are you a Telepath?" he whispered. Her face contorted. Telepath? She had turned pale. "Yes! Incredible," he whispered. Alice shuffled backwards towards the exit, startled. She really didn't want to believe this. Certainly not if a complete stranger said this. "Calm down," he said. He raised his hands and slowly approached, as if she were a wild animal he was trying to calm down. "You don't have to be afraid. I am one too." Alice froze.