Chapter 3 - Wanting What We Don't Have

Just like that: a shimmer in the air and the girl wasn't there anymore. My brain panicked for a second, but before I would even swirl my head around the room, it had caught up, and my alertness dropped. I finished getting up, my shoulders dropping a little. Inside of me a wave of jealousy came to mind bringing with it the reminder that the forums had been shut down. I pushed down on those emotions, keeping a level voice, I spoke up:

"Delilah? Can I assume you're still here in the room with us?"

After a second, a hesitant and shaky voice came from the same place she was standing: "Y-yes."

Simple invisibility then perhaps? I mused "in any case, do you think you could deactivate it?"

I started moving to the door, noting the fact that the girl wasn't appearing, showing that she still had to get her newfound powers under control.

"It's no matter" I reassured her preemptively. "You'll get it in time. Do you think you can accompany me to the office?

"Yes sir." her disembodied voice answered me.

"Come along then, careful not to trip." As I held the door, I noticed how I couldn't know if she had come out or not, shaking my head, I just asked her to tell me if she had gone out already. A voice from the corridor told me yes and I called to the class:

"We'll be going to have to resolve this little happenstance, as it's protocol with triggers, it gets precedence. So, don't mess around too much, okay? We'll be back soon."

At that, I went out and gestured to Delilah to follow me. Midway through the way there, she reappeared, physically still the same, I noticed interested. As much as the jealousy inside of me was making my insides twist, my interest for all kinds of powers was still genuine. Invisibility types weren't even that rare, although hers seemed to be quite the through one.

"Did you disactivate it on your own, or you think you have some kind of timer?"

She grimaced, shaking her head slightly: "I'm not sure, sir."

"It's okay. You'll have time to know your limits soon, but let's talk about that in the office."

I passed by the secretary and told them about what had happened. The girl meekly following behind me, looking at the ground and not saying a word. Was she disappointed with her power? Doesn't matter, I'd find out soon enough.

I unlocked my office and let us in, offering; "water or tea?" to the girl. She wanted none of it. I took a cup of tea for myself.

I sat in my chair, she was in one of the seats facing it, still looking downcast. I tried giving her a reassuring smile, "it seems the nervousness served for something good for once. Wouldn't you say so?" My attempt to brighten the mood a bit fell flat as my recipient kept her silence, not even a polite chuckle. "Are you worried about something Delilah?" I asked concerned.

She took a deep breath collecting herself, "Is there really no way to..." she hesitated, looking around the room, particularly at the pictures of powered ex-students who made it big, relatively. I just silently waited for what she had to say. "Is there really no way to get rid of it?"

She said it like it was a bad present she got from her aunt, like it was troublesome. I reflexively straightened my back. My stare must've been pretty intense because the girl recoiled. I felt my face muscles twitch a bit, realizing my blunder, I coughed once and made an effort to look sheepish.

"Sorry, it's just... I've never had any student want to..." Even the idea sickened me, what was wrong with this girl? how didn't she realize the luck she had? what wouldn't I give to be on her place, I set my mug on the desk to not risk breaking it.

The girl looked even more spooked now, like a rabbit caught in a trap. Just staring at the ground. It would be hard getting anything out of her in this state, I held in a sigh.

"Why would you want to get rid of it?" I asked, trying for a conversational tone, although after my blunder she probably knew what I thought of the idea.

"Doesn't..." she started in a small voice, afraid of any reproach, I imagine. "Doesn't it corrupt people?" She asked finally.

My astonished face must've been all the answer she needed, as her eyes shot straight down again, her hands clenching over her lap. "That's just a baseless superstition." I started. "It was debunked years ago. I assure you, miss Delilah. There's nothing that would corrupt you in your powers." She stayed silent, so I continued. "They are part of you. Can't you feel it as naturally as if you were born with them?"

"No, I can't, I can't I can't." She shook her head vehemently. "I shouldn't feel it." It seemed she would continue but just stopped talking, breathing more haggardly now, the hair disheveled.

"I assure you Delilah, no matter what you were told, your power is yours to do as you wish, it can't exert any control over you."

The silence extended, she was averting her gaze now, I was not getting through to her. I was about to continue when she finally said something.

"You're one of them aren't you." she said in a low voice, her expression telling me she thought she had figured something out.

I stared at her silently for a second, trying to gather her meaning.

"One of them who." I finally asked

"Power worshippers." she said like a judge giving a verdict. "You're trying to convince me to let it corrupt me!"

My patience was steadily being eroded by this foolish girl. "Again, there is no corruption. If... "

"I won't listen to it!" she shrieked putting her hands around her head. "I was warned, I won't let you all make me like my brother."

I was startled and infuriated. This girl was completely indoctrinated, the view she was getting at was an extremely unpopular one, the government ruled by power. It controlled the civilians simple by not letting any free powered roaming around, recruiting every one of them. And not by pretending like they were the holy ones and all other powered the devil like some other countries might do.

"Dad warned me, he warned me" She kept saying the phrase over and over like a mantra.

I put the pieces together as I saw her state. Her family is probably member of a minority in society that is completely against powers, saying that it was a contamination, the devil's temptation or some kind of curse, it varied. But only people driven to paranoia or on an attempt at justification were part of it. She must harbor some trauma regarding powers then, or her parents did and passed it along.

"Miss, calm down please." I tried again but she was recoiling from me. Why did such a problematic kid like this awaken. I swear its always the ones who don't want it who end up triggering, what's up with that?

"Calm down. You have to accept it; these powers are part of you now. They're not going away!"

"No!" she was starting to get frantic now, rejecting reality. Is the situation more dire than I thought? I tried again to talk to her telling me to explain what was going on and why she was so afraid but any attempt I made to reach her were unsuccessful.

At this point in the conversation, she went invisible again, which only made her more panicked and I could only listen her crazy ramblings and accusations of me cursing her.

I pounded a fist on the table, the girl went quiet, my patience had finally run dry. My emotions snapped out of my grasp. I gave the empty room a glare. Silence, my fists were tightening to an almost hurtful state.

"You should be grateful." the phrase came out unbidden

"What?"

"You should be fucking grateful!" I had stood up in my fury, pounding the table again for emphasis, the frustration of the past days boiling over. Even if I knew my anger wasn't, shouldn't be directed at her, the dam was broken.

The girl had even become visible again in her shock, but before our confrontation could escalate even more one of the secretaries entered the room, looking at the situation worriedly. I just took my leave, closing the girl inside the room.

"Amy, can you please call the EIOD?" I told her, sticking to the protocol of when a trigger event was complicated or dangerous. "And book an appointment with their psychologist, she seems to be vehemently against powers, she'll need some help. The probability of this ending in some kind of self-harm or even suicide is pretty elevated, now if you'd excuse me."

I just went my way then, completely ignoring the fact my outburst had been completely noticeable.

Walking out of the secretary and then out of the school building, I stopped at the patio, just standing there, my fingernails biting into my hands, just feeling the awfulness, the unfairness. "Fucking hell."

I never got around to getting back to that classroom