Chapter 4: Roses Are Cool

Just a little bit of experimenting had made me pass out, so I should probably hold off. It could be dangerous.

Psh. You’re going to let that stop you? Danger’s our middle name. What fun is life without danger?

Fiiiine, you make a good point. You win.

Wait, aren’t we the same person? So didn’t we both win?

Fine. We- I mean, I win?

Exactly.

I convinced myself to experiment some more, but before I do, I text the only expert I know on spirituality and chakras.

Hey Mom? What do the different chakras do?

A few seconds later my screen lights up with a message.

OMG! Are you interested? I can sign you up for my meditation class tomorrow!

Abort! Abort! Disaster approaching! Abort mission! I hurriedly type out a response, but hesitate to send it. What if there are actually useful things to learn in a class like that?

Then I remember how boring those classes are, and send the text.

No thanks. I’m good.

I sit in my bed for a few seconds before my phone dings with a response.

Aww. Too bad :(

The three dots dance across the screen for a minute as my mom types. The phone vibrates as a large text comes in.

First we have the root chakra that has to do with survival, life, death and our connection with the earth. Then there’s the sexual chakra (your dad’s favorite!). Third is our solar plexus, the power chakra. Fourth is your heart chakra (my favorite!) It stands for your connection with the earth, love, family and green growing things! Fifth is your throat chakra, which is for communication. Sixth is the third eye, which is perception or the sixth sense. Finally, there’s the crown chakra, our connection to god.

I hope that helped! I love you Elle.

I send a quick message back saying that I love her too, then spend some time re-reading her message, trying to memorize it. My eyes automatically skip over her comments. If I don’t see them, they’re not real.

Thinking about all this reminds me of that book that Sheyla gave me before I left. Maybe I should open i-

Wait. The gods that are supposedly “watching me” have been seeing nothing for the last half hour as I lay in bed and experiment with my psi. It’s positively uninteresting.

Oooh, good point! Maybe I can scare them off with more boring meditation and reading!

I gleefully pull out the book that Sheyla gave me from my inventory. I open it to the first page.

This is Sheyla’s Personal Book Of Spells! This book is currently analyzing your different magical energies to give you a large selection of personally curated spells, please wait a few moments before turning the page!

The text disappears and is replaced with

You may turn the page now.

I shrug and follow the instructions.

You can only use Psi (very sad)! Please state which of the energies you can use (only one sadly) that you would like to learn more about.

“Hello strange book.” I say, my tone honey sweet. My smile is sharper than usual as I continue. “If you would be so kind as to show me psi. I’d appreciate it, and I definitely won’t cut you to ribbons for any snide comments. That would be cruel… and unusual. Very unladylike, you know?”

You may turn the page now.

I turn the page, and see a diagram of a female body with psi chakras clearly drawn. A flow chart of psi is shown, showing a strange circulation pattern, then it has brief descriptions of what simply increasing the speed of circulation in a certain area would do.

I study the page, then close my eyes, storing the book in my inventory. A meditative state comes to me quickly. I mentally trace the psi through my body.

Starting with my crown chakra, I grab my psi and guide it along the path the book recommended, connecting each chakra to the next.

I do this for a good while, keeping the flow to a regular speed. Once I feel comfortable with that, I focus on my third eye chakra.

I pull the psi there, guiding it and increasing the speed until it's a small whirlpool.

A strange sensation on my forehead draws me out of my meditation. I open my eyes and my vision shifts as the world takes on another hue of color.

I run over to the purse sitting on my nightstand. I don’t like mirrors, but it’s hard to do makeup without them, which is why I… there it is.

I pull out a small handheld mirror and stare at my reflection. A third eye actually looks back at me. The eye is blue with specks of green and the pupil is shaped like a cat’s pupil.

My door opens and I spin around. My mother looks at me with a smile. “Sorry Elle, I know you wanted some time to yourself, but Miss Elkins has been trying to get a hold of you.”

I tilt my head questioningly, but when my mom looks confused, I shrug. “Thanks.”

I expected her to comment on the whole Third Eye thing, but she acts as if she can’t even see it.

She gives me one last curious look before leaving the room.

So only I can see the Eye.

A blue screen pops up and I look down at it.

You have learned the spell [Eye Of Truth]

“What does [Eye Of Truth] do?” I ask.

Another blue screen pops up.

[Eye Of Truth] allows you to see all that is being hidden from you. It is a passive skill that requires your Third Eye to be open in order for it to work.

So it’s invisible, but I can see it in the mirror because it lets me see the invisible. Makes sense.

My mind finally catches up with what my mom had been telling me, and I sigh.

I pull out my phone, and see that Miss Elkins had, in fact, been trying to get ahold of me. School seems so… unimportant when I have a literal third eye.

I sigh as I unlock my phone and start her voicemail.

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“Hi Elena! This is Miss Elkins, I was hoping you could show a new girl around school tomorrow. Her name is Rose, and she just transferred over from California. I’m sure she could use a friend. Do you think you could show her the proverbial ‘ropes’? I know this is last minute, but I know I can count on you. Please text me.”

I smile at her wording, then text her that I can meet the other girl. She responds immediately with a thumbs up, then texts me to meet the girl in the school office.

I close my phone. A sound from outside my window draws my attention, My father closes the door to his car, and walks towards the door. I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.

With a skip in my step, I leave my room. I practically run down the stairs, reaching the front door just as my dad opens it.

His tired expression shifts as he catches sight of me, breaking into a wide smile. “Hey Elle. Is your mom here? Today was a… long one.”

My father’s shoulders sag slightly, but they still hold the wiry strength of a healthy lifestyle. He might be 52 years old now, but he has the strong brown eyes and curly brown hair that made my mom fall in love with him.

“She’s home.” I give him a hug, and feel as he relaxes. “Another gang shooting?” I ask as I let go.

“Two in a row.” He kicks off his shoes and walks to the couch. He collapses with a loud sigh. “Something’s going on, but no one knows what.”

“I’ll go get mom.”

He nods slightly, his eyes already closed.

I walk into the kitchen where mom is stirring some pasta sauce. “Hey mom? Dad’s home. He looks like he could use you.”

She pauses as she looks at me, “Is it bad?”

I nod.

She lets go of the ladle and walks towards the living room. “Could you start the noodles while I check up on him?”

“Sure thing.” I say to her back, but she’s already gone.

***

A loud noise wiggles its way through my half asleep mind.

I slam the alarm clock with the back of my hand, then turn to grumble into my pillow. With a groan, I push myself up and blow my hair out of my eyes. I stretch and yawn, working out all the kinks in my back.

There’s less aching than usual. Ever since I leveled up, I’ve been feeling better physically, and my mind has been clearer. The voices are still there though.

I glance at my gloves, where they sit on the nightstand. I’ll grab them later, when I’m not half-asleep.

I force myself through my morning ritual. I shower, brush my teeth and apply some basic makeup. By the end of it, I feel human again.

I walk down the stairs to find my dad reading the newspaper in the kitchen.

“Anything interesting happen?” I cover a yawn as I pull out some eggs and get to cracking.

“Ha! They’re at it again! Every day, it’s another exaggeration or half-assed story. And when it turns out that they’re wrong, they barely even apologize. Look at this!” He shows me a clipping that I look at from the corner of my eye.

I start some toast, flip the eggs, then give him a knowing smile. “News is a business, whatcha gonna do?”

“Knowing is doing something.” He grumbles.

I finish the eggs and toast, then grab two plates. I set one in front of both my dad and me.

“Thanks Elle.”

“No problem dad.” I sit down across from him. “I’m going to be running to school today. I promised to meet someone early.”

“I was wondering what you were doing up so early.” He says around a bite of toast. “Want a ride? Elizabeth is still at her sleepover.”

I shake my head as I eat.

I do my best to not rush my meal. Once I’m finished, I grab my backpack and head towards the door.

“Have fun at school Elle!”

“When is school not fun?” I yell back at him as I open the door.

My dad’s laughter is cut off as I close the door. I put my earbuds in, select a rock song, and start running.

My steps match the beat of the song, as I fall into a rhythm.

I’d had a little time before bed last night, and I’d played around with one other spell listed in Sheyla’s book. Using the psi in the power chakra in my stomach, I’d learned to cast [Unmatchable Speed].

It does what it sounds like, making my body move at a speed I can barely follow with my eyes. It used up a good chunk of my psi, but I’d gotten it back fairly quickly. It seems useful, but it’s a little much for my morning run, so instead I just lightly rotate the psi of my power chakra, noticing how my steps seem to have slightly more power to them.

I follow the sidewalk to the parking lot of my highschool and slow down as I get to the main office.

I stop outside of the building to catch my breath. My water bottle comes in clutch and I drink greedily. My running had managed to keep the chill air away, but now that I’d stopped, I can see the mist coming from my breath.

I put my water bottle away and enter the office.

“Do you need something Elena?” The lady at the front desk calls out.

I put on my best smile as I walk over to her. “Yeah, I’m looking for a girl named Rose?”

“That’s me.” A voice says from behind me.

I turn around to look at the transfer student.

She’s a pretty girl, with shoulder length pink hair, and blue eyes. My eyes are immediately drawn to the small piercing in the corner of her mouth as she gives me a small smile.

I return her smile, “I’m Elena. It’s good to meet you.” I hold out my hand.

She looks surprised by the gesture, but shakes my hand all the same. “Rose, but you knew that. I hear you’re my tour guide?”

“That’s me.”

“Great! I was worried I’d be left waiting here.” She turns around, walking towards her backpack.

The little short-skirt sways back and forth, attracting my attention.

She looks back at me, “Are you coming?”

“Yep! So what do you want to see first?” I walk over to her.

“Well, it would be nice to see my homeroom first…”

“Of course!” I knock on my head. “Sorry, must’ve lost my mind there for a second. Follow me.” I head towards the elevators. “As Juniors, we’re lucky enough to get the second floor mostly to ourselves…” I start as I lead her.

Rose is an interesting girl. That’s for sure. The entire time I’m with her, she keeps a polite, but “I don’t want you to get too close to me” face on. She dodges any personal questions like an olympic athlete would dodge rocks.

What I find most odd though, is the fact that she intrigues me so much. I mean, I just discovered how to read someone’s mind and look into the secrets of the universe, yet I can’t seem to get the girl out of my mind.

Maybe there’s something I’m missing? Maybe she has something to do with The System™ and I’m subconsciously realizing it?

No, that doesn’t seem right either.

How odd.

I roll through the rest of my classes in a haze of thought. It’s only when the bell rings that I realize why I’d been so distracted. Mrs. Everheart, the exchange student in middle school, and now this new girl…

I’m gay.

Oh nice, now that that’s over with, I can continue my life in a normal manner.

I say goodbye to the couple of people I usually hang out with as the bell rings. With a little bit of time left in the day, I decide to head towards a cute little coffee shop close to the school.

As I leave the school, I notice Rose walking in the same direction as me. She gazes at the sky, her steps meandering.

“Where are you heading?” I ask, matching pace with her.

She jumps, her hand moving to her purse before she recognizes me. “Jesus. You scared me.” She gives me a genuine smile.

“Sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just deep in thought.”

“What’s on your mind?” I ask,

“Just about life. It has the strangest twists sometimes, y’know?” She sighs in an exaggerated manner and looks up at me.

“I get the feeling.” A car passes us by and we grow quiet.

The silence is surprisingly comfortable, and I see a small smile on her face as we walk.

“You never did answer my question.”

“What question?” Rose gives me a confused look as we stop at a traffic light.

The pedestrian sign shows the little green man, allowing us to go. We walk across, entering a fancy district with lots of empty office buildings.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“We? When did I invite you?” The small smile on her face takes the sting out of her words.

“You didn’t. I invited myself.” I say, then pause. A harsh feeling of being watched makes me shiver and I turn my gaze to the large industrial building

“I don’t think that’s the way that works. But-”

I grab her arm, stopping her mid sentence.

She watches me curiously, but I ignore her as I close my eyes and accelerate my throat chakra’s psi. My thoughts push out of my body, moving through the buildings. They’re mostly empty, and I brush across only a few minds. One quickly stands out to me.

Come on, just a little further. I promise it’ll be over quick. The thoughts come from the building just a little down the street. I look through eyes that watch us through a scope.

I open my eyes, my hand tightening on Rose's arm. My psi accelerates as I activate [Unmatchable Speed]. I jump at Rose, wrap my arms around her and push both of us behind an office building.

Gunshots fire, and I feel an impact on my back.

We land on the dirt behind the building.

Rose shoves me off of her, and I yelp from pain.

She curses, looking me over. “Elena?! Are you okay?”

I move my hand over to my shoulder, and pull it back to see it covered in blood. I smile up at her. “It’s just a flesh wound?”

“Shit.” Rose says.

An apt expletive.

A shock of pain makes its way through my shoulder and arm as I move, distracting me from my thoughts.

My gloves have healing abilities, I’ll just put them on- I left them on my nightstand, didn’t I?

God this hurts, I am such an idiot.