After working up the courage to face whatever may come, Joe finally emerged from the bathroom. Courage that instantly left every ion of his body the moment he opened the door. Tilting his head down, he was greeted by the top of Laine's head. A sight that slowly changed to her exasperated surprise as her gaze made its way up his chest until their eyes met. Her jaw, which had previously been clenched to the thought of being awake, nearly hit the floor as all words left her thoughts. With an awkward chuckle, Joe decided to break the silence. "Morning Laine. Sorry about that, took a bit longer than usual to get ready this morning."
Realizing she had been staring as if in a trance, Laine's face instantly turned a fiery crimson before she turned and booked it into the kitchen. "Mom! It's Joe. H-he changed! I didn't even know it was him at first…" Hearing the growing commotion coming from down the hall, Joe steeled himself before taking hesitant steps towards the rest of the family. With each step, he felt his legs growing heavier. His heart rate spiked higher with each rapid pulse. Just before he was to turn the corner and be visible to the waiting looks, he made a decision.
Whatever they decide, I will respect their wishes.
Standing awkwardly in front of the girls, Joe failed to find his words. All he could do was give them a moment to take in the new him and decide how they would react. Allison, who appeared to be coming out of a literal mental shock that had caused all her thoughts to turn white, was the first to break the silence and his anxiety. "Happy birthday Joe. Guess it's a coincidence that I made your favorite for breakfast today. It'll be ready soon so go ahead and get the table ready for me."
The relief came like a flood sweeping over his entire existence. With an abashed smile, Joe quickly set the table before taking his regular seat beside Sarah. Moments later, Allison came into the dining area and promptly set a heaping plate of waffles and another of bacon in the center of the table. Unlike the meals they had been enjoying until now, every person ate in absolute silence. Once all the plates were free of food, Joe collected all the dishes and proceeded to wash them as he always would. The girls made their way back to their rooms to finish preparing for the day ahead.
"We can go shopping for some new clothes this weekend. I imagine that nothing you used to wear would still fit. It feels like only yesterday, I opened that door to find you and Sarah standing there. You've quickly grown into a fine young man. You look after the girls and you're constantly lending a hand around the house without being asked. I am proud to have you as a member of my family."
Allison walked beside Joe and began to dry the now cleaned dishes as Joe handed them to her. Despite the changes and her initial shock, she treated this as any other morning. To her, both Sarah and Joe had long sense become her family. She could no longer imagine a future that didn't have the two of them in it.
When Laine and Joe arrived at school, every pair of eyes were transfixed on Joe. Most within their year had yet to go through their awakening. To them, his attitude radiated calmness unlike any they had witnessed before. The upperclassmen were an entirely different story. The older guys instantly targeted Joe as a threat to their popularity. Where he had seemingly been reborn overnight, they had merely grown a couple of inches and had their voices deepen. The jealousy that was flooding their bodies began to pour out through their glares.
As for the older girls, they had long since become painfully aware of the men around them and their ulterior motives for talking to them. Still, there was visible drool beginning to form on their lips. Many were convinced he was a transfer student because he had become nearly unrecognizable in one night. Others quickly took note of Laine walking beside him and began to piece together what had happened.
This realization only served to enrage the guys even more. Not so much as Joe himself, but at the blatantly unfair workings of life. The guys began to curse the heavens while the girls believed he had been blessed by some unknown God. If it was an act of God, they were ready to believe for the first time in their lives.
For Joe, the day progressed while being filled with awkwardness. The never-ending glares from the guys around him and the ungodly number of girls that approached him unsettled him. Nearly every one of them had never spoken a word to him even in passing. When he finally arrived back home, he hastily ate his dinner in silence before returning to his room and collapsed on his bed. He was running on mental fumes that were puttering out. Luckily, no homework had been assigned that day, so he was able to effortlessly fall asleep.
The following morning, Joe awoke at his usual time and instantly began dreading the day to come. He had never sought any amount of attention from anybody. He enjoyed his quiet life to risk it by carelessly mingling with others. Yesterday shattered that carefully crafted life and all he did was show up.
With lazy steps, Joe worked his way across the hall and grudgingly got ready for what he expected to be another mentally exhausting day. Despite the disdain, he knew he couldn't just stay home. That would not only worry Allison but would also spit in the face of everything she had done for him. All he wanted was to continue to make her proud and become a man that could repay every ounce of happiness she had given him these past two years.
As he had expected, the day dragged on the same as the previous one. The same glares from the guys and the same expectant looks from the girls. Once again, Joe just wanted to disappear into his room the moment he arrived home. However, before he could make his escape from the dining table, Allison emerged from the kitchen carrying a small, wrapped box.
Placing the box directly in front of Joe, she simply smiled and gestured for him to open it. Inside was a small cubic object he instantly recognized. The seemingly mundane cube was a simple device to measure the level of a person's powers. This simple, abyssal black crystal was readily available in the market, but repeated use would lessen the accuracy. The existence of a readily available object that could detect how strong a person is was highly debated. After all, once others know they're stronger than you, they would ensure you knew just where your "rightful place" was.
Seeing Joe hesitating to pick up the Amorite cube, Allison chimed in with reassurance. "No matter what it says, nothing changes for any of us. You are a member of this family and that will never change. None of us will tell others about it either. That is your private information. It just helps to know your own limits to ensure you don't overexert yourself."
With a trembling hand, Joe slowly reached into the box and took the cube. Closing his eyes, he focused on the powers that were spiraling within himself and mentally pushed them into the cube.