The room was a mess. Clothes were on the floor, on the bed, but not in the wardrobe. Empty energy drink cans were scattered everywhere, and his phone lay on the nightstand.
Charles was lying on the bed in a tank top and shorts. He hadn't slept all night because of nightmares. He was thinking about what to do today, but he was too lazy to even get out of bed.
Suddenly, his phone rang loudly. Charles waited a moment, then picked it up to see who was calling.
It was Claire, his classmate. His classmates were his best friends.
He answered the call.
— "Hello..." Charles said in a very tired voice, still lying on his bed.
— "Come outside, we're all waiting for you here! Come on, come on!" Claire sounded cheerful and full of energy. She was standing right outside his building.
— "I'm too tired, I don't want to," Charles replied, sounding like he was on the verge of death.
— "Come on, you'll have fun and get some energy," she insisted, trying to guilt him into coming out.
Charles groaned a little, thought about it, hesitated, and finally said:
— "Fine, wait for me, I'll come out," then got up to look for something to wear.
He walked to his wardrobe, thinking about what to put on. It was cold outside, so he decided to wear a scarf, a white T-shirt, and black pants.
Charles left his room and headed for the door.
— "Mom, Dad, I'm going out, I'll be gone for a while," he called out before leaving.
His classmates were already waiting for him near his building. It wasn't that cold outside, but they were freezing from waiting. Charles finally came out, and Claire crossed her arms.
— "Why did you take so long? We're freezing here!" she said, slightly annoyed.
Charles put his hands behind his head and said playfully:
— "At least I came," and laughed.
Claire walked over and gave him a light smack on the back of the head.
— "Alright, let's go to a café already," one of the group suggested.
They went into a café, talked, drank, ate, and had a good time.
Charles was spinning a spoon in his tea when he accidentally noticed a boy sitting at a distant table. The boy looked exactly like him, except he wore a cap that covered his face. A chill ran down Charles's spine.
He stood up.
— "I'll step out for a bit, I'll be back soon," he said and walked to the bathroom.
There, he went to the sink and splashed water on his face. When he looked into the mirror, he saw his reflection — and behind him, the same boy.
Charles quickly spun around, but no one was there. He turned back to the mirror — and now the boy was gone from there too.
Charles started to panic but calmed himself down, deciding he probably just needed more sleep.
He decided to go back.
Walking through the crowd of people, he noticed it was noisy — someone must have been celebrating something, he thought.
When he returned to his friends, he looked a little shaken. Everyone noticed.
— "Something wrong? Are you okay, Charles?" asked Albert, one of the group.
Charles looked at him for a couple of seconds, then smiled.
— "Ah, yeah, I'm fine, just me being weird," Charles said, scratching his head.
— "Alright, but if something's up, just say so," Albert replied. He looked serious, but deep down he was kind.
They continued talking, laughing, and having fun. They stayed there until nightfall, then decided to go home. Everyone went their separate ways, but Claire and Charles walked together since they lived along the same route.
— "Want me to walk you home? It's pretty dark," Charles asked, glancing at Claire.
She thought for a moment, then smiled.
— "Sure, I don't mind," she said, clearly pleased, though she seemed cold.
After walking a bit, Charles looked at her and asked:
— "Are you cold?" He was worried and didn't want her to catch a chill.
She crossed her arms.
— "A little, yeah," she said with a laugh.
Charles looked at his scarf, took it off, and handed it to her.
— "This will be warmer, take it," Charles said. He looked distant, but he was just exhausted. He didn't even look at Claire.
She smiled and wrapped herself in the scarf.
— "Thanks a lot, it really is warmer," she said happily.
They were almost at Claire's house.
— "Our birthdays are in seven days. Crazy how we were born on the same day," Charles said with a small laugh.
Claire giggled too.
It was dark, snow was falling lightly, streetlights illuminated their path but were spaced far apart.
When they reached Claire's house, she hugged Charles.
He was a bit startled but hugged her back.
After saying goodbye, Charles started heading home.
As he walked, he kept feeling like someone was behind him, but whenever he turned around, no one was there.
Walking alone under streetlights in such darkness and snow really was boring.
When Charles got home, he called out:
— "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" He began taking off his clothes.
His dad immediately shouted from the living room:
— "So, did you all get drunk?" He laughed, sitting cross-legged on the couch reading a comic.
His mom walked over and smacked him on the back of the head.
— "You and your sarcasm, Emmerich," she said, sounding annoyed but then laughed.
Charles smiled and went to his room. He was exhausted and immediately lay down on his bed. He thought about playing something but decided to sleep instead. He fell asleep so fast, not even a tram could wake him.
In his dreams, he saw a dark, stormy sky. He was standing in a field, and in the center stood a boy whose face he couldn't see. Lightning struck constantly. When Charles tried to approach the boy, he suddenly woke up.
It was already 8:00. He decided to lie in bed for a bit, but then someone came into his room.
Charles groaned.
— "What is it?" he asked sleepily, still lying in bed.
His father, Emmerich, walked in. He looked very serious.
— "Come to the kitchen, we need to talk. There's something I think you've already heard about," he said and left for the kitchen.
Charles lay there for a moment, thought about it, then got up and went to the kitchen.
He decided to make some tea while talking to his parents.
— "So, what did you want to say?" Charles asked while preparing his tea.
Emmerich sat across from his wife at the table.
— "You've probably heard the news that some kids have started, well, getting powers, right?" he asked seriously, staring straight into Charles's eyes.
Charles looked back calmly.
— "Oh that? Yeah, it's probably fake. Just a way to get more views on the news," he said with a laugh.
— "Yeah, I think it's fake too. But tell me, what would you do if you got a power?" Emmerich asked. He looked like he knew something but didn't want to say it. He was worried about Charles.
Charles stared into his father's eyes.
— "What would I do?" He didn't know what to say and thought for a moment.
— "I think... I'd just use it to make life easier for myself and others," Charles replied calmly, even with a smile.
Emmerich was surprised but smiled and relaxed.
— "Alright then. Want a drink?" he asked with a wink and a smile.
Charles's mom didn't approve, smacking Emmerich twice. He stopped and went back to reading his comic. Everyone laughed.
— "By the way, is Theo still asleep?" Charles asked his parents.
Theo was Charles's younger brother.
— "Yeah, he's still sleeping. Just like you, sleepyhead," Emmerich said, laughing, and kept reading his comic on the couch.
Charles smiled and went back to his room to rest and play something on his PC.
While playing, he noticed the sky outside was full of clouds.
— "Ugh, looks like rain or a storm's coming. Guess I won't go anywhere today," Charles said to himself, looking out the window.
He closed it and kept playing.
6 days until Charles's and Claire's birthday.