The Eclipse I

"...nineteen...twenty!" I yelled as I forced my torso forward to meet my raised knees, finishing my last stomach crunch.

Breathing heavily, I removed my feet from the edge of the bed and stood up, beads of sweat rolled down from all over my body to the floor.

Today, I decided to start some exercises to get my body in shape before I got to the hard stuff, and boy was it frustrating. I could only do ten push-ups, eleven if I strained myself, fifteen sit-ups, and twenty abdominal crunches.

It was a far cry from what I could do back in the day, but it was a good start, just a little bit frustrating.

My body ached all over but I ignored the pain and took a step toward the door. My phone vibrated on the desk so I moved to it rather to see who texted me.

I took the phone and opened the messaging app. It was Claire and she wanted to meet me at three-thirty pm, thirty minutes after school.

I cocked an eyebrow in confusion but I shrugged and sent her replied her text, sending an 'okay'. When I saw the message was sent, I put the phone down and dragged my aching body to the bathroom.

I brushed my teeth, took a cold shower after applying some shampoo, and walked back to my room with a towel wrapped around my waist.

Drying myself, I did my usual body rituals and chose the clothes to wear for the day. I opted for a dark blue sweater with an edgy skull design on the front, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers that fit my feet perfectly.

Checking myself in the mirror, I styled my wavy hair using a comb and after a few minutes of hard work and suffering, I managed to get what I wanted.

My hair settled comfortably on my head, with the front part extended to cover parts of my forehead, the edges lying on my light brown eyebrows. The rest of the hair extended to my neck, in line with my chin, and the sides were tucked behind my ears.

I didn't look dorky anymore and if I had a video game status bar, I was sure my looks or charisma would go up a point or two. I'd give myself an objective eight...

Chuckling at my almost narcissistic thought, I put the mirror down on the stand and packed my books for today using the timetable. When I was done with everything, I slung the bag to my back and was about to leave the room when a mischievous smile drew on my face.

I concentrated on a certain feeling, and instantly, my surroundings warped, everything became colorless and I was floating.

I passed through the door, left the room, and phased through the ground when I heard the sound of utensils clinking.

I arrived in the kitchen and saw my father standing in front of the kitchen counter pouring milk into a white bowl filled with cereal from a plain carton. I was hovering just behind him.

He turned to face and his blue eyes fell on where I was, but as if he didn't anything, he turned and placed the bowl of cereal on the kitchen table.

He passed by me again but treated me like air, he passed by me and went back to the counter, pouring a box of cereal into another bowl.

Not once did he acknowledge my presence and that was because I was invisible. I was right, I had some form of invisibility as a sub-power. I found out yesterday when I tried it on the next-door neighbors after recuperating for about ten minutes.

Like right now, none of them could see me, not even their dog. It couldn't even smell me. No one could hear me also.

It was pretty cool, not gonna lie, and I had to stop myself from abusing the heck out of it when some intrusive thoughts ran through my mind.

Didn't want to join the dark side this early so I just left and came back home...knowing very well that wasn't going to be the last time I would have such thoughts...

Wiping the mischievous smile off my face, I de-transitioned and landed on the ground quietly, barely leaving a sound, and tapped my father's shoulder.

He turned to face me, sharply, his body tensed, and sighed when he saw that I was the one.

"You nearly scared me bud. How did you get behind me so quietly?" He asked in confusion, a smile on his face as he put the milk down.

"It's a secret," I whispered with a smile, my tone strained to sound mysterious.

He just chuckled and turned to pour the milk into another cereal-filled bowl.

"I hear you son. Take a seat, your breakfast is almost ready." He commented casually, sounding amused.

I nodded and sat in the chair which, if had to guess, was the original's designated seat and in just a few seconds, my father placed the bowl in front of me, a spoon inside. He then went to sit on his own which was across the table in front of me.

We started eating.

"Dad, today why don't you go home without me after school? I have something to do later but I'll be back before it's too late." I told him causally as we ate. He paused and rose an eyebrow in surprise.

"Is that so? What are you going to be doing?" He asked, trying to sound casual, but I could sense a faint sense of worry in his voice.

"Nothing really, just meeting someone." I shrugged with an innocent smile on my face. I had more or less memorized the route from here to the school and back so I was positive I could home by myself after the meeting.

"Meeting someone? Please tell me it's a girl." His eyes brightened up, the worry in his voice gone and replaced by curiosity and relief, a playful smile on his face.

"Yeah, it's a girl." I shook my head lightly, almost chuckling at his words that sounded like he was pleading. My previous father would've never said something like this.

"Thank the Lord. I want to ask who but I'll respect your privacy...for now. It's good to see you're making friends bud, I'm happy you're finally coming out of your shell. Don't worry, take all the time you need." He assured and smiled with extreme fondness, his voice showing that he meant what he said.

I just smiled genuinely in response and we ate in peace. We finished up, I washed the dishes, and we left the house to go to school. It was a peaceful and satisfying ride, one that made me thankful to God or whoever gave me this life. My new father was making it worthwhile...

We got to the school in no time and entered the main building with a flood of students. After waving to him, I walked to my classroom and steeled myself to endure the torture for now.

I was going to graduate early after the approaching storm disappeared. I just couldn't see myself going to school again...

The day passed by slowly until it was break. I came out with the rest and walked in the direction of the library. I had something important to look up.

Yesterday, I practiced my powers all night, testing my limits over and over again. During that night, I found out what would happen if I brought something into the dimension and left it outside my sphere of influence. I used a pencil.

What happened was simple destruction, it just glitched, crumbled, and straight up disappeared out of my view and probably, existence. It was a scary and eye-opening experience...

This prompted me to search more about my power, to be honest, I was still horrified by what I saw. Would that same thing happen if I brought a human or a living being to that dimension and left? How safe was I even in that place?

I didn't have answers to these questions and I didn't want to search on the internet lest I attract some unwanted attention so I decided to search for something that might give me answers and I knew just the thing.

Suresh's book on human evolution...

Entering into the library, I walked to the stairs on my far right and climbed it to the second floor, to the biology section. I passed some students and started navigating through the aisles, looking everywhere for the book but I couldn't find it.

Sighing, I left the place and descended back to the first floor. Then I walked up to the librarian's counter. Maybe, they kept it off the shelves because of how controversial it was.

"Excuse me miss?" I called the old lady with gray straight hair, wearing a brown dress that fitted her lean figure, who was reading a sociology book.

She looked up at me and seeing my face, she frowned.

"What do you want?" She asked in a low tone, but her voice showed I was unwelcomed. Probably because of what happened the last time I was here.

"Sorry for interrupting but I'm looking for a certain book on human Evolution by Professor Suresh." I forced a smile on my face, annoyed by her attitude, but due to my previous cultural upbringing, I forced myself to sound polite.

"Never heard of it. You can go now." She dismissed me nonchalantly and brought her head down to continue reading.

My eye started twitching and I clenched my fist, angry at her rudeness, and was about to open my mouth to argue when I saw people staring at me from the sides.

Unwilling to cause a scene, I clicked my teeth and squeezed out some words.

"I see, thanks for your time." Then I turned and left the library before I said something impulsive. If one day I happened to see her fall around me, she'd see who would help her...

It seemed I'd have to either buy the book online or ask my father to buy it in a bookstore.

With a light frown on my face, I decided to check out the cafeteria since I was hungry and food always helped to make me calm down. Using, the map on my phone, I found the place and entered.

I was instantly assaulted by a cacophony of noises, from clinking cutlery, laughter, whispers, the matrons serving the food, and a whole lot.

The smell of the place was rich in spices and ingredients, and the place was humid and packed.

Walking to the end of the line, I waited for my turn, took one of the rectangular silver trays, and got my serving when it was my turn.

The meal they gave me was chicken and rice with a red sauce on it, salad, a burger, and some brown rolls. The quantity wasn't going to satisfy me but at least it looked presentable, it was better than what I had to eat in Highschool...

My face neutral I glanced around, looking for a spot to sit since almost every table was full, people grouped with their friends or cliques, and saw one at the far back. I could see only two people there.

I walked there and sat down near a guy dressed in dark colors with black painted lips, fingernails, and eyelashes and he wore black bracelets. His eyebrow was pierced.

A busty pretty girl was seated in front of us, and she was dressed similarly with even skull-shaped earrings. Her nose was pierced.

Great, I just had to pick the goths...

I nodded at them and ignoring their weird stares, I started eating my meal.

They were still staring, no food placed in front of them, and the guy leaned closer, his dark eyes a little droopy.

"...Are you here to join the dark side?" He whispered his voice in a forced drawl.

I turned my head and flashed him a weird look, my eyebrows furrowed but he just continued to stare so I sighed helplessly and shook my head.

"No, I'm not," I commented dryly and turned back to finish my meal.

"...Such a shame..." He whispered and leaned back to his initial position, no longer paying me any attention. The girl though was still staring.

I raised my head to look into her eyes and she flashed me a sly coquettish smile. I smiled back and seeing that she wasn't going to stop staring and wasn't going to say anything, I decided to ignore her and finished my food in peace.

The siren rang after I stood up to throw the plastic tray away. I left the place soon after for my next class.

The day passed peacefully and finally, the siren rang again, the sun waning when I looked through the windows.

Loud screeches and chatters filled the classroom as we all got up to leave, and together with the rest, I left the classroom and headed for the exit.

It was three pm. There were thirty minutes left till I met Claire but having nothing better to do, I decided to go to the football field to kill time.

I heard today was cheerleading practice, so I might as well see Claire in action...

Within minutes, I left the main building and arrived at the place. Before I even entered, I could hear some girls shouting something in a symphony, meaning they'd already started practice.

I strode to the stands and climbed them to sit at the highest level, giving me a clear and wide view of the entire field.

Ten beautiful girls, half of them blondes, were wearing white full shells with a mascot printed on them with red long sleeves, and a v-shaped neckline that gave a peek at their bust with a red skirt that had red and orange lines underneath.

In their arms were red pompoms which they were waving around as they shifted their bodies into a series of elaborate positions.

They were arranged in two rows and standing at the front row, next to Jackie, was Claire. Her outfit really did her curvy body wonders...

Intrigued, I rested my elbows on my thighs and used my hands to hold my face, and started watching them practice. Claire was among those who shined the most during the practice, she had a lot of talent in it.

Time passed quickly and before I knew it, the training stopped and they walked back into the locker room on the right side of the field.

I took out my phone, sent her a message, and pocketed it again as I climbed down to the ground.

Claire came running out a few minutes later with a brown bag hanging from her shoulders, a smile on her face as she walked towards me.

"You sure are early. How long have you been here?" She asked casually when she came near, stopping at arm's length. I could smell her lavender perfume from my position.

"Not really, just thirty minutes." I shrugged with a smile on my face and a look of surprise dawned on her face.

"You've been here this whole time?" She asked in shock, looking at me weirdly.

"What? Can't I watch the cheerleading squad of my prestigious school practice?" I asked playfully with a smirk on my face, acting like I was proud of my school.

She giggled cutely and shook her head, her smile widened.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry I've wounded your pride. I'm glad at least someone in this school loves it so much that they'll sit down to watch attractive girls show off their curves for thirty minutes straight. There's nothing wrong with that at all..." She said with a wide innocent smile, her voice dripping with playful sarcasm.

I couldn't stop myself from chuckling and it seemed to infect her as she also chuckled, both of us amused by her joke.

"So, what is this all about? Why did you want to meet up so soon?" I stopped chuckling and asked, my voice now neutral but my lips were still drawn into a smile.

"It's a surprise. Follow me." She smiled and turned to walk away, gesturing to me with her grey eyes to follow.

I kinda knew or had an idea of where this was going so I just shrugged and followed her. If it was what I thought it was, then together with the upcoming solar eclipse, the rest of the day wouldn't be boring...