"You're joking, aren't you?" Theo said.
Liam shook his head. "Did you not see that she was looking at me just now? The way she stared was the same way I looked at her. It lasted long enough to tell me she must have seen me somewhere before."
"You're speaking so out of the ordinary," Theo muttered, scoffing.
Liam, still serious, replied, "Everything I've witnessed this afternoon has been out of the ordinary. What just happened between me and that girl is one of them."
He started walking toward the girl, but before he could take more than two steps, someone else moved ahead of him, a guy wearing a football uniform. Jack Runner.
Liam stopped and watched. Jack looked like he was trying to make a move on the girl. He kept talking and walking closer and closer while the girl slowly stepped back, looking uncomfortable. It continued until she couldn't take it anymore.
She brushed past Jack with her shoulder and walked away.
The people around started whispering and laughing. Some even mocked Jack. No one could believe that someone, especially a girl, would do that to him.
Jack became Furious that he went after her. The girl was walking in Liam's direction, and Liam thought he might finally get the chance to speak to her. But she passed by him without a glance and went into the building.
It didn't take a while and Jack caught up to her. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
She struggled, trying to pull her hand free, but Jack's grip was too tight.
"Don't you ever do that to me again," Jack said harshly. "And especially not in front of people. You might not know who I am, but I'm the king of the students here in Blacklake. I'll pardon you this time because you're new, but next time, you'll be dead meat."
The girl scoffed, which only made Jack angrier. "King of students, my ass," she snapped. "You may as well call yourself the king of madness."
Jack's face was full of rage, and he tightened his grip even more.
"Let me go!" the girl yelled. Jack's hold was clearly hurting her.
Liam, who had been watching, finally stepped forward. He grabbed Jack's hand, trying to pull it away from the girl's wrist. "So you hurt girls now, huh?" he said.
Jack sneered. "Seems like you want another scar on your face. Creepy."
Then he released the girl and swung his fist at Liam.
The punch hit Liam hard and he staggered back a step, his jaw throbbing. He touched it and winced at the pain, then straightened up.
"The Liam you know isn't here anymore," he said coldly. "I don't like people hurting me."
Before Jack could respond, Liam threw a strong punch at his face too and Jack stumbled backward, with eyes wide with shock. Then, growling, he rushed forward to attack.
"Enough!" a voice said loudly.
Everyone froze and turned. A woman was walking toward them, Dr. Elara Quinn, the genetics teacher.
"You two are lucky I'm in a good mood today. Because if I weren't, you wouldn't want to imagine the punishment for fighting in my presence. Now, get back to whatever you were doing." She said to them.
Jack glared at Liam. "Whatever happens to you, know that you brought it upon yourself, Scottish. Better watch your back." Then he turned and walked away.
Liam looked around to find the girl, but she was gone, as if she had vanished into thin air.
He frowned and began searching for her. He didn't know why, but he desperately wanted to talk to her.
As Liam walked down the hallway looking for the girl, he noticed someone just entering the ladies' restroom. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to peek, just to see if it was her.
It was.
He was about to call out when something stopped him. The girl was standing in front of the mirror, staring at her wrist where Jack had grabbed her earlier. The skin was red and bruised.
But the way she looked at it seemed… strange.
Then, before Liam's eyes, the wound slowly disappeared, fading away until her skin looked completely normal.
Liam froze. His eyes were wide with shock and he was completely speechless. "What… what was that?" he whispered. "Could it be? Does she have powers too? Healing powers?"
Just then, the girl turned and saw him standing by the door. She was startled.
"What…" she began, but Liam quickly said, "You can heal, can't you?"
She didn't answer. She just went forward and walked out of the restroom.
"I know what I saw!" Liam called after her. "You healed, didn't you?"
"I didn't!" she snapped. "You don't know what you…" She stopped talking and kept walking.
Liam followed her down the hallway. "I know what I saw! And maybe that's why I recognized you earlier!"
She suddenly stopped and turned to him, glaring. "Seems like all the boys in this school are either perverts or jerks. Or maybe both. Leave me alone, please."
At that moment, the same teacher from before appeared, Dr. Elara Quinn.
"Any problem, Miss Frey?" she asked, looking from the girl to Liam.
The girl hesitated, then shook her head. "No, ma'am. I'm fine. Just want to be alone." She turned and walked away.
Liam sighed and gave up chasing after her. As he turned around, he saw Theo waiting near the entrance.
He hurried over and pulled Theo aside. "You won't believe what just happened," he said in a low voice. "I saw the new girl heal herself."
Theo blinked. "What do you mean?"
"She had a wound on her wrist," Liam explained quickly. "When I followed her to the restroom, I saw it heal right in front of my eyes."
"What?" Theo said, his voice full of disbelief. "Are you sure about that?"
"Of course I am,"
Theo rubbed his temples. "What the hell is going on? How many people in this school have powers now? Is this some kind of pandemic or something?"
Liam looked across the hall and saw the girl again, Miss Frey, standing a few steps away.
"Not many people have powers," Liam said quietly. "But out of the few who do, I only know one who could control hers, and I'm not letting this one slip away."
Before Theo could say anything, Liam walked off toward her again.
He caught up to her and said, "Miss Frey, huh?"
She turned immediately, ready to snap, but he quickly added, "I'm harmless, I promise. I just want to talk. I just want to get to know you, nothing more, nothing less."
"I've got nothing to do with you," she said coldly. Then she frowned. "But who was that woman who mentioned my first name?"
"Oh, that's Dr. Elara Quinn," Liam replied. "She's the genetics teacher. She must have seen your student file."
"That's impossible," the girl said, sounding uneasy. "I haven't submitted any file to the school. My family just moved here last night. No one knows my name, not in the school, not in this town."
Liam frowned. "Maybe your parents contacted her or something?"
"My parents would have told me," she replied, sounding serious.
Liam looked at her, thinking hard. "Then what are you saying?" he asked. "That our genetics teacher is a…" He paused as his eyes widened. "A seer?"