Chapter 12
When he woke up it was already past breakfast, begrudgingly he left the comfort of his bed and changed his clothes, having finished his routine, he went straight to the dinning room, wondering if he would be able to get a bit of oatmeal.
While there was enough breakfast for him, he couldn't help but look at Ms Sarah, she was sitting next to the table, reading a newspaper.
"G- Good morning Ms Sarah" Allen greeted her
"Mh, Good morning Allen, I was waiting for you" She folded the newspaper in half, now looking at him.
Allen felt his stomach drop, could she have noticed his power? "What do you wanna talk about Ms Sarah?" He asked while holding back his nervousness.
"I've seen you even more reclusive now than before, ever since the football incident with Jimmy, and while I do see you going out of your room, and excited to do other things, it's always alone" Ms Sarah commented with a sad look on her face. "I understand that you don't like being with the rest of the kids, but that doesn't mean you don't have to talk to them "
"I'm sorry Ms Sarah" Allen commented, looking towards the ground "but I think I'd rather spend my time doing something that I enjoy rather than being with people who don't like me" He looked back, straight at her with a determined gaze.
Ms Sarah let out a sigh, dropping down her shoulders, she couldn't say anything anymore since she knew he was right.
Ever since Allen came to the orphanage the other kids have been wary of him, whether it's because he was younger, or because he showed comprehension better than other kids his age, the kids realized, and alienated him, but that didn't stop him, he didn't care, as long as the other children left him alone, he was more than happy to be by himself in his room or the lounge reading one of the few books that the orphanage has.
Ms Sarah already knew that while Allen might not be a genius, having the awareness that he has at his age it's something impressive but sad at the same time, he should've wanted to be a kid, play, run, scream, and she couldn't help it but feel sad about it, thinking that it was the orphanage's fault that he grew up too quickly to defend against the treatment of the others.
She has always tried to keep the kids together, even before Allen, while not friends, they could maintain a cordial relationship where they would tolerate each other, but with Allen and the others it was different. If only they could be at least closer to age maybe they could be more amicable but alas, that's not meant to be.
What she can do however is help him as much as she can, without neglecting the other children.
A loud sigh left her mouth while she massaged her brow with her eyes closed, she opened them and looked at Allen.
She decided to let him be for the time being, he looked happier, even if he was alone, so that was at least better than before.
"Okay, I'll let you be for now young man, but when you enter school I want you to get along with the rest of the children there, alright?" She told him in a bossy tone, almost pointing her index finger at him, with one hand on her waist.
A beamed smile shone on Allen's face, while Ms Sarah wouldn't stop meddling so much, she at least gave him the chance to go and continue doing whatever he was doing, according to her.
He nodded up and down at top speed "Thank you Ms Sarah!" Allen exclaimed "I'll try to have at least one friend!" He told her while looking at her.
A soft "Maybe…" left his mouth while avoiding her eyes.
Ms Sarah looked at Allen with a satisfied face "Alright, eat your breakfast so you can go and do whatever it is that you do"
"Thank you!"
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Once Allen finished his breakfast and was ready to leave, Ms Sarah stopped him in his tracks "One minute Allen, before you leave, I wanted to talk to you about something else"
"Y- Yes, what is it?" Allen tip toed around the question, wondering what else she was curious about.
"Your last name… I think you should stop people from trying to call you by your last name, it's not a bad name dear, and in school the rest of the kids and even your teacher refer to you by your last name"
Allen cringed thinking about his last name, raising his shoulders and trying to hide his face.
"I know it's not bad" He answered her, thinking of what to say "It's just… embarrassing Ms Sarah, and I don't like it" Allen scratched the back of his head, looking from left and right, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Well" Ms Sarah continued "Whether you like it or not, whether it's embarrassing or not, it's your name, and people will call you by that, you should get used to it, or at least try to not show such a strong reaction against being called by your last name" She opened the newspaper where she left it and crossed her legs "If they try to make fun of you because of it just ignore them, ignoring people it's the best solution when they are being annoying"
"… I'll keep it in mind Ms Sarah, thank you" Allen nodded.
"Alright, you can leave now, have fun" She finished while reading the newspaper.
"Yeah, thanks" Allen took his leave, not wanting to continue this conversation any longer.
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Allen spent a long time in one of the corners of the garden, he was laying down, with both hands on top on his chest, a nice breeze reached him while he could smell the scent of the grass. He was resting from the previous conversation with Ms Sarah, since every time he talked to her, it always drained his energy to do anything, she reminded him of a nagging mother, or aunt, always asking for something.
A frown appeared on his face the more he thought about it, it's not like he hated her, but it was always tiring to speak with her.
Determined to think of something else, he thought back on his powers and how he used them the last couple of weeks. He could now create fire and water at will without thinking too much about it.
Allen raised both of his arms showing his index fingers, a small flame in the left one, and a droplet of water in the other. If the power was smaller in size, he could even use them both at the same time, since it didn't require a lot of concentration to keep something so minuscule.
While time passed, he kept on thinking what else he could do to 'exercise' more."
Telekinesis is too tough on me if I overexert myself, I'm scares of using the physical enhancement beyond the exterior of my body"
He continued to list the rest of things he could do.
"Fire it's scary if I'm not careful enough... Water seems the safest bet and light, can't help but feel like it only has one use"
Allen stayed on the ground for a while, thinking about each of his powers.
Until a sudden idea came in, fire and water. He stood up suddenly and walked in circles, trying to get the idea out of his system.
"If I can create fire and water, what is stopping me from creating air and earth, just like that one kids' show, where a kid could master all four elements!" Realizing the sudden potential, he wanted to get to it right away, but a sudden question popped in his mind "Is that even an esper power? Wait! Is the control of water even something an esper could do?!" Allen exclaimed, almost shouting, but he realized on time that the other kids were watching him.
"Pyrokinesis is the control of fire, isn't it? Then the control of water would be something like aquakinesis?"
Allen slumped down on his feet, shocked by the sudden questions that assaulted his mind.
No one actually told him that his powers were a form of psychokinesis, he just assumed it to be like that because of the sudden manifestation of the poltergeist phenomenon he experienced and decided to go with the explanation that a true crime podcast once explained in one of their episodes about it. Children manifesting their powers because of the abuse at home made sense to him in the past, but it's not like he believed it one hundred percent.
Now he wondered if it was actually psychic powers or something else.
Allen though long and hard about it, letting himself fall down on the ground again, with all of his limbs extended.
"I think… it's useless to think about it right now, it's not like it will change something if I knew exactly what kind of powers they are" He said to himself in a low voice, barely audible.
He stood up, leaving those thoughts for the future and readying himself to start practicing something new.
"Air bending! I mean…. Aerokinesis….?" He wondered "Does it even have a name? I might need to look it up when I have the time, or when the internet begin to exist"
he recalled the same feelings of happiness that he got so used to since the first time he practiced his powers, then, he thought about creating air, or a gust of wind in the palm of his hand, just a small ball of wind moving on top of it.
His intentions got transmitted to his emotions, which in turn activated his powers, letting the usual light to appear around him. He could see the light coming out of his hand forming a ball and rotating according to his will, a turquoise color this time, until he felt the air moving around him.
The only reason he realized that it was a success was mostly because of the light that covered the ball, it moved in a different way than the ball of water and fire. But he realized that while he might've succeeded, it doesn't feel like he did at all.
He closed his hand making a fist, releasing his powers, and thought what else he could do with air that would have a better use than just a ball.
"A fan!" Allen exclaimed internally "How could I forget about the fan"
Instead of thinking of a ball, he thought of a plate on top of his hand, where the air he created would spin and in theory, let out air.
Allen operated his powers again, the turquoise light seep through his fingers upwards, creating a small plate and when it was finished, he could feel his powers moving inside in a clockwise manner.
The moment he pointed his palm to his face, a fresh breeze of air swept over him, and not wasting any second he let out a vocal out of his mouth, wondering if it would work the same way when you put your face close to a fan.
"Aaaaaaaa" He let out of his mouth but the sound of his voice didn't change.
"… I guess it's because it doesn't have any fan blade made of plastic that it doesn't make any noise" Allen expressed, a bit disappointed "Oh well, at least it works"
Thinking about a way to use the air fan the same way he used the ball made of light, he remembered that the only thing that he did was make his intention clear, he wanted the light to stuck on the ceiling and his powers answered, meaning that it would work the same way this time.
Allen walked to the tree closest to him and let his intentions clear, he could feel his power responding in kind, feeling that it was okay to try it, he closed the gap between the air fan and the tree, letting the plate made of turquoise light stick to it.
He removed his hand, from the tree but the fan was still there, blowing air.
Allen let out a small chuckle, proud of the work before him.
"Guess I won't have to endure the summer heat now, since it will only get worse and worse with each year" Allen thought.
He sat down close enough to the tree so the air would reach him just fine, not too close not too far.
After enjoying the breeze for a while a sudden thought crossed his mind "Is that air sharp?"
Allen didn't know if the air fan he just made could be used for other things, like cutting or slashing, but just thinking about it gave him the creeps.
"… I honestly don't feel like finding out" It's the last thought that crossed his mind before making the air fan disappear and going back to his room